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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2011‒09‒16
thirty papers chosen by |
| By: | Akibode, Comlanvi Sitou |
| Abstract: | Food legumes in Sub-Saharan Africa play a vital role by being a source of livelihood for millions of people; and offer tremendous potential to contribute to the alleviation of malnutrition among resource-poor farmers. They contribute to the sustainability of cropping systems and soil fertility. Cowpea and dry beans are the two main food legume crops grown in Sub-Saharan Africa. Area harvested under all food legumes was more than 20 million ha in 2006-08, representing 28% of the global food legume area harvested. Yields are low compared to other developing and developed countries; however they have increased at an annual rate of 1.6% with an increase in production of 3.9% per year. The region has stayed a net importer over the period. Price has increased 5% in real terms from mid 1990s to 2006-08. Per capita availability for consumption has increased at an annual rate of 1.7% and is estimated to be 12.3 kg in 2006-08, which is about 35% higher than the average for developing countries. The future of the legume crop sector remains positive in Sub-Saharan Africa if these crops get the required policy attention in terms of research and institutional infrastructure. However, factors such as scientific breakthroughs and policies regarding competing crops for land use (such as biofuels) or protein sources are highly unpredictable and could rapidly change this positive outlook. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security, Poverty, International Development, Marketing, Production Economics, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Marketing, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midagr:114247&r=agr |
| By: | Poon, Kenneth; Weersink, Alfons; Deaton, Brady |
| Abstract: | Canadian governments collect data on the agricultural sector through a variety of surveys, income tax filings, and support program applications. The definition of a census farm provides the benchmark to estimate aggregate commodity supply which is most critical to analyze and forecast commodity prices. Prices are also collected and made available, but there is growing concern about the lack of price data for contracted commodities. The farm and rural population characteristics are also adequately portrayed through the linkage of the Census of Agriculture with the long-form Census of Population (up to 2006) and the voluntary National Household Survey in 2011. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canadaâs typology captures different size and motivation for units of production, but broad inferences on the sector based on this characterization must recognize that it is only for unincorporated farms. These farms tend to be smaller and represent a shrinking percentage of the sector. In contrast, incorporated farms are becoming common place and produce the majority of farm cash receipts. The growing complexity within agricultural production units extends to the relationships with these units back to input suppliers and forward to processors. These components of the supply chain are becoming intricately linked over time and these linkages cannot be presently described with the publically available data on the sector. As the heterogeneity in the agricultural sector grows, the data and information demanded for various analytical and administrative purposes grows along with it. The demands for data to determine the need, design, and evaluation of public policy are simultaneously narrower and greater than the broad requirements by private and public users for aggregate production numbers. Farm support programs are meant as a safety net for viable farms in times of unexpected need so the first step involves assessing financial health and identify farms that are ânormally competitiveâ from the ones that are never competitive. Information from an income statement and balance sheet are required along with input and output levels by farm units over time. No single data set supplies all the data necessary to determine need and effect of farm support programs. Performance measures based on tax data are limited to production margin so this data, while detailed in many respects, lacks information on assets/liabilities, inputs /outputs, and demographics. The latter may become important if future support programs are to target âactiveâ farms. The proposal to consider the individuals behind a unit of production in the determination of support eligibility would drive a large gap between data demands and the current supply of publically provided data. The potential change reflects the growing heterogeneity of the agricultural sector. The initial focus on the unit of production was appropriate for all users of the data. The unit of production was the farm and it was generally operated by a single farmer and it supported a single farm family. This no longer generally applies. This growing heterogeneity forces the objectives of agricultural policy to be clearly specified, i.e. efficiency vs. equity, but the political rhetoric has yet to catch up with the changes as the terms farm, farmer, and farm family are interchanged as if they were still one. The growing distinction between them may result in changes in the nature of the data collected on the sector. |
| Keywords: | data demand, data supply, farm heterogeneity, policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:spaawp:114094&r=agr |
| By: | Diego Angemi (Centro Studi Luca d\'Agliano) |
| Abstract: | This manuscript investigates the extent to which children contribute to the household’s agricultural activities. The conclusion that children play an important role in the farming activities of Ugandan agricultural households is supported by two key findings: (i) Child labour accounts for approimately 9% of the household’s annual agricultural earnings; and (ii) on the bases that most child labour is performed on the family farm and smoothly functioning labour markets are rare, land ownership increases the household’s demand for child labour in agricultural activities. |
| Keywords: | Child labour; labour market; agricultural earnings; land ownership |
| JEL: | J22 O12 |
| Date: | 2011–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:315&r=agr |
| By: | Bhajantri, Shrinivas |
| Abstract: | Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) popularly known as âThe king of vegetablesâ, is grown in more than 100 countries in the world. Karnataka is one of the important Potato growing state in the country grown mainly in the districts of Hassan, Belgaum, Chikkaballapur and Kolar. The study was conducted to analyze Production, Processing and Marketing of Potato in Karnataka. The study reveals that Hassan district alone account for more than 41 percent potato production in the state. However production (0.40%) and productivity (9.22%) in the district during the last 5 years has shown insignificant growth rate. In Belgaum district potato production and productivity has increased with a growth rate of 5.23 and 10.26 percent which is significant. The potato processing industry is growing significantly in Belgaum and Hassan districts with a growth rate of (1.97%) and (3.82%) indicating potential opportunity for the establishment of small scale potato processing industries in these districts. Potato is mainly marketed through regulated markets by the farmers. The important regulated markets for Potato are Bangalore, Hubli, Belgaum, Hassan, Chikkaballapur and Kolar. The study reveals that vast majority of farmers (64%) are selling directly to Commission agents/Wholesalers in regulated markets. The producer who sold potato through Producer - Wholesaler - Retailer - Consumer realized the highest share (65%) in consumer rupee compared to other channels indicating the efficiency of this channel. |
| Keywords: | Potato, Production, Processing, Marketing, Economic, Analysis, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uasbam:113945&r=agr |
| By: | Dubois, Pierre; Ligon, Ethan A. |
| Abstract: | Using data on individual consumption expenditures from a sample of farm households in the Philippines, we construct a direct test of the risk-sharing implications of the collective household model. We are able to contrast the efficient outcomes predicted by the collective household model with the outcomes we might expect in environments in which food consumption delivers not only utils, but also nutrients which affect future productivity. Finally, we are able to contrast each of these two models with a third, involving a hidden action problem within the household; in this case, the efficient provision of incentives implies that the consumption of each household member depends on their (stochastic) productivity. The efficiency conditions which characterize the within-household allocation of food under the collective household model are violated, as consumption shares respond to earnings shocks. If future productivity depends on current nutrition, then this can explain some but not all of the response, as it appears that the quality of current consumption depends on past earnings. This suggests that some actions taken by household members are private, giving rise to a moral hazard problem within the household |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:2221195&r=agr |
| By: | Juliana Speranza (Instituto de PesquIsa Económica Aplicada) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to assess the long-term effects of global climate change on Brazilian agriculture. In particular, it will address the following questions: (i) What are the long-term effects of global climate change in terms of land values in the distinct Brazilian biomes?; and (ii) do these effects differ according to farm size? In order to answer these questions, the hedonic approach proposed by Mendelsohn et al. (1994) is estimated for Brazilian municipalities. Since the intention is to assess socio-economic issues regarding global climate change, the paper also conducts a disaggregated analysis of the effects according to farm size, so as to evaluate whether large and small Brazilian farms would be distinctly affected by climate change. The simulations of the effects of global climate change on Brazilian agriculture refer to 2020, 2050 and 2080 time slices. The climate projections are from ten General Circulation Models of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (2007) according to A2 and A1B scenarios. The results show that the expected effects of global climate change on Brazilian agriculture vary spatially and by farm size categories. In the Pampa region, for example, the effects on land values are quite different depending on the farm size category. We believe that the outcomes of this research will be of great importance for supporting the formulation of risk mitigation and adaptation strategies, poverty and welfare policies in Brazil’s future, especially because the breakdown of farms by size and biomes is a pioneering application in Brazilian scientific literature. |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lae:wpaper:201019&r=agr |
| By: | Martin Berka; Michael B. Devereux; Thomas Rudolph |
| Abstract: | We study a newly released data set of scanner prices for food products in a large Swiss online supermarket. We find that average prices change about every two months, but when we exclude temporary sales, prices are extremely sticky, changing on average once every three years. Non-sale price behavior is broadly consistent with menu cost models of sticky prices. When we focus specifically on the behavior of sale prices, however, we find that the characteristics of price adjustment seems to be substantially at odds with standard theory. |
| Keywords: | Pricing ; Profit |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddgw:83&r=agr |
| By: | Md. I. Haque (Agricultural Economics and Rural Development Department, Agricultural University of Athens); Stelios Rozakis (Agricultural Economics and Rural Development Department, Agricultural University of Athens); A. Natsis ("Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering Agricultural University of Athens, Greece"); M. Walker; K. Mizak |
| Abstract: | "The purpose of this study is to evaluate ethanol cost- effectiveness with regards to carbon dioxide emissions. Actually, bio-fuel production is only viable thanks to the tax credit policy resulting in economic ‘deadweight’ loss. The environmental performance is assessed under the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework. Economic burden to society to support the activity divided by avoided CO2 equivalent emissions indicates the bio-ethanol cost effectiveness. Agricultural feedstock supply that comprises of sugarbeets, grains and industrial processing sub-models are articulated in a regional sector model. The maximization of total welfare determines optimal crop mix for farmers and the best configurations for industry. This is illustrated for bio-ethanol produced by the ex-sugar industry in Thessaly, Greece. Life cycle activity analysis showed that, at the optimum, CO2 emission is reduced between 1 and 1.5 t of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton of ethanol. The unitary cost falls in the range of 100 to 250 euro per ton of CO2 and it is remarkably dependent on the agricultural policy scenario. " |
| Keywords: | Cost effectiveness, ethanol, mathematical programming, life cycle assessment, greenhouse gases |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aua:wpaper:2011-3&r=agr |
| By: | MAITREESH GHATAK (London School of Economics); PARIKSHIT GHOSH (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi, India) |
| Abstract: | The new Bill on land acquisition recently tabled in Parliament is well intentioned but seriously flawed. Its principal defect is that it attaches an arbitrary mark-up to the historical market price to determine compensation amounts. This will guarantee neither social justice nor the efficient use of resources. The Bill also places unnecessary and severe conditions on land acquisition, such as restrictions on the use of multi-cropped land and insistence on public purpose, all of which are going to stifle the pace of development without promoting the interests of farmers. We present an alternative approach that will allow farmers to choose compensation in either land or cash, determine their own price instead of leaving it to the government’s discretion, and also reallocate the remaining farmland in the most efficient manner. Our proposed method involves a land auction covering not only the project site but also the surrounding agricultural land. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:204&r=agr |
| By: | Ligon, Ethan A.; Sadoulet, Elisabeth |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:2221326&r=agr |
| By: | Nidhi Kaicker; Vani S. Kulkarni; Raghav Gaiha |
| Abstract: | Our study examines changes in diets over the period 1993-2004. Diets have shifted away from cereals towards higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, oils and livestock products. Using household data, reduced form demand relations are estimated for nine food commodities. Significant own and cross-price effects that vary over time are confirmed, as also income/expenditure effects. Over and above these effects, more sedentary life styles and less strenuous activity patterns played a significant role in shaping dietary patterns. While changes in life style and activity patterns are irreversible, an important policy insight is that food price stabilization and expansion of livelihood opportunities deserve greater attention. |
| Keywords: | Diets, Demand, Prices, Income, Environment, India |
| JEL: | C23 D12 I32 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:asarcc:2011-10&r=agr |
| By: | Daiju Narita; Ulrich J. Wagner |
| Abstract: | The production of bioenergy is considered to be a promising energy source for a sustainable energy mix and it is politically promoted in many countries. With the exception of Brazilian ethanol, bioenergy not competitive to fossil energy sources, and therefore needs to be subsidised. Several types of bioenergy are based on bulky raw biomass with high per unit transport costs, importantly impacting on the plant’s production costs and profitability. In addition, considerable quantities of digestates are released, causing disposal costs. Various studies in the past aimed primarily at analysing transport costs of inputs. In this paper we focus on disposal costs of fermentation digestates from biogas production in Germany and analyse different processing techniques and their impact on profitability for three plant size in three case study areas. Our results show that especially in regions with only a small amount of agricultural land and a large heterogeneity in its agricultural area, processing of digestates increases the profitability of biogas production. The same accounts for regions with high livestock density, where the area needed for disposal is comparatively large. The cost efficiency is enforced by a high share of animal excrements on input and the biogas plant size |
| Keywords: | International environmental agreements (IEAs), climate policy, technology choice, expectations, multiple equilibria |
| JEL: | Q54 O33 H87 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1731&r=agr |
| By: | Ruth Delzeit; Ulla Kellner |
| Abstract: | The production of bioenergy is considered to be a promising energy source for a sustainable energy mix and it is politically promoted in many countries. With the exception of Brazilian ethanol, bioenergy not competitive to fossil energy sources, and therefore needs to be subsidised. Several types of bioenergy are based on bulky raw biomass with high per unit transport costs, importantly impacting on the plant’s production costs and profitability. In addition, considerable quantities of digestates are released, causing disposal costs. Various studies in the past aimed primarily at analysing transport costs of inputs. In this paper we focus on disposal costs of fermentation digestates from biogas production in Germany and analyse different processing techniques and their impact on profitability for three plant size in three case study areas. Our results show that especially in regions with only a small amount of agricultural land and a large heterogeneity in its agricultural area, processing of digestates increases the profitability of biogas production. The same accounts for regions with high livestock density, where the area needed for disposal is comparatively large. The cost efficiency is enforced by a high share of animal excrements on input and the biogas plant size |
| Keywords: | transport costs, biogas profitability, digestates processing, choice of location |
| JEL: | C69 Q16 Q55 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1730&r=agr |
| By: | Domenech, Pablo Andres; Saint-Pierre, Patrick; Zaccour, Georges |
| Abstract: | We adopt viability theory to assess the sustainability of the world’s forests while taking into account some of the competing economic, social, and environmental uses of these forests, namely, timber production, poverty alleviation through agriculture, and air quality as well as the negative externalities that these uses create. We provide insights on the different trade-offs faced to achieve sustainability and draw some policy implications as to what is the path leading to sustainability in the long run. |
| Keywords: | Viability theory; Sustainability; Forest; Emissions; |
| JEL: | Q01 Q34 Q32 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/6879&r=agr |
| By: | Aksoy, Ataman; Onal, Anil |
| Abstract: | During the late 1980s and the 1990s, most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa implemented agricultural policy reforms, along with national political and economic reforms. The agricultural reforms focused on opening up processing and marketing activities to increased competition and eliminating export taxes and restrictions to improve producer incentives. In eight of nine country/commodity case studies analyzed in this paper, output responded positively in the short run to the reforms. In many cases, however, the initial supply response was not sustained in the face of subsequent shocks. The studies suggest that stakeholder consensus on the distribution of sector-specific rents is a key variable affecting the sustainability of supply responses. Agricultural sector reforms lead to large changes in income distribution. The greater the acceptance of the distribution of rents following the reforms, the better sectors are able to accommodate subsequent shocks. In cases where the initial consensus on the distribution of rents is weak, shocks lead to reform reversals in some cases or an inability to design necessary support institutions in others. The diversity in outcomes across similar products and countries suggests it is possible to achieve sector and local level results that differ from national ones. |
| Keywords: | Markets and Market Access,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Emerging Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies |
| Date: | 2011–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5782&r=agr |
| By: | Nidhi Kaicker; Raghav Gaiha |
| Abstract: | In a recent study, Jensen and Miller (2011) propose a new measure of undernutrition, based on a calorie share of staples threshold. Among the merits of this measure are that (i) it dispenses with calorie norms, and (ii) relies on a behavioural approach to estimate this threshold. What our analysis with Indian household data for 1993 and 2004 points to is that the Jensen-Miller (2011) story is of limited interest and potentially misleading principally because it confines variation in calorie share to a measure of wealth. The calorie threshold is suspect as it is influenced by several other factors-especially food prices-that are omitted. Since even acutely poor substitute in response to changes in food prices, calorie and income thresholds change, and, consequently, the estimates of undernourished. In some cases, the divergences are large. Thus, both the predictive accuracy of the measure proposed and its descriptive richness leave a lot to be desired. |
| Keywords: | calories, staples, undernutrition, wealth, food prices, India |
| JEL: | I12 D12 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:asarcc:2011-11&r=agr |
| By: | Hartmann, Dominik; Arata, Atilio |
| Abstract: | In the last decades substantive advance has been made in the measurement and understanding of frontier innovation in highly industrialized settings. However, little research focused on the process of learning and the introduction of novelties in smallholder farming of poor agricultural communities. Considering that 1.5 billion people in developing countries live in such smallholder households this is an essential shortcoming. In addressing three crucial questions about the measurement and promotion of endogenous local development this paper contributes to close this research gap. The three questions are: a) how can we measure social capital and innovation in poor agricultural communities, b) what is the impact of external agents on local structures and c) what are the relations between the social capital and the innovative performance of the farmer. In a first step a comprehensive questionnaire with 89 questions on diverse dimensions of social capital and innovation has been elaborated and applied to the agricultural valley of Cháparra in the South of Peru. The results allow for an indepth analysis of the capabilities, network position and innovative behavior of the farmers. In a second step, we apply social network analysis techniques to analyze the role and position of the relevant actors in the local as well as in the external technical information networks with a special focus on the influence of an external NGO. The analysis reveals a deep structural impact of the NGO and significant correlations between the network position of the farmers and their innovative performance. Three crucial issues for research on smallholder innovation are identified. First, diverse dimensions of social capital and innovation have to be differentiated when studying endogenous development. Second, it has to be assessed to which degree the modification of the existing social structures by external agents can be harmful or beneficial. Third, social network analysis can help us to gain a better understanding of the complex relations between social capital and innovation and how these can contribute to foster sustainable development projects. -- |
| Keywords: | social capital,innovation,smallholders,Cháparra,Peru,network analysis |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fziddp:302011&r=agr |
| By: | Zuniga Gonzalez, Carlos Alberto |
| Abstract: | This paper don´t was submitted on the conference, however the author participated on the event. He member of the European Association of Agricultual Ecnomist (EAAE) |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity Growth, Malmquist Index, Data Envelopment Analysis, Productivity Analysis, D: 24, O: 13, O: 47, P: 51, Q: 10, |
| Date: | 2011–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nauncp:114036&r=agr |
| By: | Jeffrey R. Kling; Sendhil Mullainathan; Eldar Shafir; Lee Vermeulen; Marian Wrobel |
| Abstract: | Consumers need information to compare alternatives for markets to function efficiently. Recognizing this, public policies often pair competition with easy access to comparative information. The implicit assumption is that comparison friction—the wedge between the availability of comparative information and consumers’ use of it—is inconsequential because information is readily available and consumers will access this information and make effective choices. We examine the extent of comparison friction in the market for Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in the United States. In a randomized field experiment, an intervention group received a letter with personalized cost information. That information was readily available for free and widely advertised. However, this additional step—providing the information rather than having consumers actively access it—had an impact. Plan switching was 28 percent in the intervention group, versus 17 percent in the comparison group, and the intervention caused an average decline in predicted consumer cost of about $100 per year among letter recipients—roughly 5 percent of the cost in the comparison group. Our results suggest that comparison friction can be large even when the cost of acquiring information is small, and may be relevant for a wide range of public policies that incorporate consumer choice. |
| JEL: | D89 I11 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17410&r=agr |
| By: | Claudia D. Aravena (Queens University Belfast , UK) |
| Abstract: | The rapid increase in energy demand in Chile requires a choice for additional production between different kinds of energy sources currently available to the country. Current projects to develop large dams for hydropower in Chilean Patagonia impose an environmental price by damaging the natural environment. The increased use of fossil fuels on the other hand entails an environmental price related to emissions and global warming. This paper studies the debate on the future energy supply in Chile by investigating the preferences of households for different energy sources (fossil fuels, large hydropower in Chilean Patagonia and renewable energy). The paper also aims to value the externalities associated to these traditional methods of energy generation. Using the Contingent Valuation method, the willingness to pay for renewable energy sources over the other alternatives is elicited. Results suggest a strong preference for renewable sources with almost equally large environmental prices imposed by consumers on electricity from large dams and thermoelectric sources. Results also suggest possibility of introduction and promotion of incentives for renewable energy developments supported by consumers through green tariffs or environmental premiums. Key words: contingent valuation, willingness to pay, renewable energy, fossil fuels, hydropower |
| Date: | 2010–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lae:wpaper:201016&r=agr |
| By: | Ligon, Ethan A.; Schechter, Laura |
| Abstract: | We conduct field experiments in rural Paraguay to measure the value of reciprocity within social networks in a set of fifteen villages. These experiments involve conducting dictator- type games; different treatments involve manipulating the information and choice that individuals have in the game. These different treatments allow us to measure and distinguish between different motives for giving in these games. The different motives we're able to measure include a general benevolence, directed altruism, fear of sanctions, and reciprocity within the social network. We're further able to draw inferences from play in the games regarding the sorts of impediments to trade which must restrict villagers' ability to share in states of the world when no researchers are present running experiments and measuring outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:2221355&r=agr |
| By: | Stephen P. Holland; Jonathan E. Hughes; Christopher R. Knittel; Nathan C. Parker |
| Abstract: | Instead of efficiently pricing greenhouse gases, policy makers have favored measures that implicitly or explicitly subsidize low carbon fuels. We simulate a transportation-sector cap & trade program (CAT) and three policies currently in use: ethanol subsidies, a renewable fuel standard (RFS), and a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). Our simulations confirm that the alternatives to CAT are quite costly–2.5 to 4 times more expensive. We provide evidence that the persistence of these alternatives in spite of their higher costs lies in the political economy of carbon policy. The alternatives to CAT exhibit a feature that make them amenable to adoption–a right skewed distribution of gains and losses where many counties have small losses, but a smaller share of counties gain considerably–as much as $6,800 per capita, per year. We correlate our estimates of gains from CAT and the RFS with Congressional voting on the Waxman-Markey cap & trade bill, H.R. 2454. Because Waxman-Markey (WM) would weaken the RFS, House members likely viewed the two policies as competitors. Conditional on a district's CAT gains, increases in a district's RFS gains are associated with decreases in the likelihood of voting for WM. Furthermore, we show that campaign contributions are correlated with a district's gains under each policy and that these contributions are correlated with a Member's vote on WM. |
| JEL: | H2 H3 K0 K2 L5 L7 L9 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17386&r=agr |
| By: | Bård Harstad |
| Abstract: | A conservation good, such as the rainforest, is a hostage: it is possessed by S who may prefer to consume it, but B receives a larger value from continued conservation. A range of prices would make trade mutually beneficial. So, why doesn't B purchase conservation, or the forest, from S? If this were an equilibrium, S would never consume, anticipating a higher price at the next stage. Anticipating this, B prefers to deviate and not pay. The Markov-perfect equilibria are in mixed strategies, implying that the good is consumed (or the forest is cut) at a positive rate. If conservation is more valuable, it is less likely to occur. If there are several interested buyers, cutting increases. If S sets the price and players are patient, the forest disappears with probability one. A rental market has similar properties. By comparison, a rental market dominates a sale market if the value of conservation is low, the consumption value high, and if remote protection is costly. Thus, the theory can explain why optimal conservation does not always occur and why conservation abroad is rented, while domestic conservation is bought. |
| JEL: | D62 D78 F5 H87 Q15 Q23 Q27 Q30 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17409&r=agr |
| By: | Nicole Grunewald (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Stephan Klasen (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Chris Muris (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | We document a U-shaped relationship between income inequality and carbon dioxide emissions per capita, using a newly available panel data set on income inequality (GINI) with observations for 138 countries over the period 1960–2008. Our findings suggest that, for high-income countries with high income inequality, pro-poor growth and reduced per capita emissions levels go hand in hand. |
| Keywords: | environmental quality; income inequality; panel data |
| JEL: | I3 O1 Q3 |
| Date: | 2011–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:092&r=agr |
| By: | Clark, Stephen J.; Cechura, Lukas; Berhanu, Adugna |
| Abstract: | This study examines farm to wholesale prices spreads to measure the impact of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) disease outbreak on the Canadian beef industry. The study uses structure break tests developed by Gregory and Hansen (1996) and Hansen (1992) examine possible breaks within cointegrating relationships. The study finds evidence that the industry began a realignment as a result of the UK BSE disease outbreak, and the Canadian BSE disease outbreak was simply the largest realignment of the process beginning with the UK disease outbreak. However, the only statistically significant break was the BSE disease outbreak itself in May 2003. Stability was not restored until the border was reopened in 2005. Specific results indicated that the processing sector exploited the border closure in May 2003 to enhance its market power and that the system returned to a competitive one after the border re-opened in July 2005. |
| Keywords: | BSE, market power, Canada, beef industry, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:spaawp:114097&r=agr |
| By: | Ligon, Ethan A. |
| Abstract: | Recent research on household `vulnerability' has led to an increased appreciation of the welfare costs of risk. Measuring the risk borne by a particular household has generally involved the use of panel data, and in particular the use of time series variation in household expenditures to estimate the risk borne by the household in any given period. This has led researchers to focus on static measures of vulnerability, since once used to identify the distribution of consumption expenditures in a single period the time series variation can no longer be used to describe the intertemporal profile of the distribution of consumption expenditures--simultaneous estimation of inequality, risk, and time series variation in household vulnerability requires the additional structure of a dynamic model. Unfortunately, our present understanding of the economic circumstances in which most households are situated seems too limited to permit general agreement on what the right dynamic model is. We show that simple restrictions on households' intertemporal smoothing can be used to simultaneously estimate household risk preferences in a manner which is robust to a variety of different assumptions about the economic environment. Further, these simple restrictions and estimated preferences can then be used to robustly characterize the welfare costs of different sorts of variation in consumption expenditures. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:2221066&r=agr |
| By: | Erwann Michel-Kerjan; Paul Raschky; Howard Kunreuther |
| Abstract: | Using a unique dataset of insurance decisions by over 1,800 large U.S. corporations, this study provides the first empirical analysis of firm behavior that compares corporate demand for property and catastrophe insurance (here, terrorism). We combine demand and supply data and apply a simultaneous-equation approach to address the problem of endogenous premium decisions. The main finding is that demand for property and catastrophe insurance are not very different and that the demand for catastrophe coverage is actually more price inelastic. We also show that a corporation’s ability to self-insure affects the demand for catastrophe insurance but not for property insurance. |
| JEL: | D21 D81 G22 H56 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17403&r=agr |
| By: | Keiko Yamaguchi (Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University); Kenji Takeuchi (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University) |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for packaging with less material by using contingent valuation. We found that people who care about the environmental friendliness of a product, who have a positive perception of less packaging, and who live in a municipality implementing unit-based pricing of waste have a higher WTP. Use of economic instruments potentially affects the purchase of products with reduced packaging. However, when unit-based pricing is combined with plastic separation for recycling, it reduces the WTP. This suggests the possibility that the effect of economic instruments on source reduction of waste is weakened by the recycling policy. |
| Keywords: | Less packaging, Contingent valuation, Unit-based pricing |
| JEL: | M31 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koe:wpaper:1117&r=agr |
| By: | Ibon Galarraga; David Heres Del Valle; Mikel González-Eguino |
| Abstract: | This article uses the hedonic pricing method to estimate the price premium paid for the highest energy-efficiency label (A+) in the refrigerators market of the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain). The estimated figure is 8.9% of the final price or about 60 euro, which represents one third of the energy savings that a consumer gets during the lifetime of a refrigerator with the highest energy-efficiency label. This figure is then combined with the linear version of the Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS) to obtain own and cross-price elasticities of demand. The information presented here is useful for policy design and analysis. The results indicate that the demand for refrigerators with the highest energy-efficiency label is highly sensitive to price variations. |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcc:wpaper:2011-07&r=agr |
| By: | David Chilosi; Tommy E. Murphy; Roman Studer |
| Abstract: | This article documents and examines the integration of grain markets in Europe across the early modern/late modern divide and across distances and regions. It relies on principal component analysis to identify market structures. The analysis finds that a European market emerged only in the nineteenth century, but the process had earlier roots. In early modern times a fall in trading costs was followed by an increase in market efficiency. Gradually expanding processes of integration unfolded in the long-run. Early modern regional integration was widespread but uneven, with North-Western Europe reaching high levels of integration at a particularly early stage. Low-land European markets tended to be larger and better integrated than in land-locked Europe, especially within large, centralised states. In the nineteenth century, national markets grew in old states, but continental and domestic dynamics had become strictly linked. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:412&r=agr |