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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2011‒09‒22
seventeen papers chosen by |
| By: | Catherine Laroche Dupraz; Angèle Postolle |
| Abstract: | The 2008 food crisis has challenged the political legitimacy and economic efficiency of the liberalization of international agricultural trade. An alternative vision defended by the food sovereignty movement is that long-term food security cannot rely on dependency on food imports, but must be built on the development of domestic production with enough barrier protection to shelter it from world price fluctuations and unfair trading. The purpose of this paper is to look into whether the West African nations can achieve food sovereignty given their various trade commitments and other external constraints. The particularity of our approach is to combine a historical economic analysis with a political approach to food sovereignty and trade commitments. Our results suggest that external brakes on the development of food sovereignty policies are marginal, as the countries still have unused room for manoeuvre to protect their smallholder agriculture under the terms of draft World Trade Organization agreements and Economic Partnership Agreements and under the international financial institutions’ recommendations. Rather, the international environment seems to be instrumented by West African states that do not manage to secure a national political consensus to drive structural reforms deemed vital and further the food security of the urban populations over the marginalized rural populations. Recently, the regional integration process has made headway with a common agricultural support and protection policy project that could herald an internal political balance more conducive to food-producing agriculture. |
| Keywords: | food sovereignty, West Africa, protection, agricultural policy, WTO negotiations |
| JEL: | O10 O13 F13 F50 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201103&r=agr |
| By: | Singh, Prakarsh |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence for a particular channel through which sustained terrorism in rural areas may affect growth in developing countries. Using micro-level data from agricultural surveys during the period of insurgency in Punjab (India), I find significant negative effects of terrorism on the level of investment in long-term agricultural technology but effects are small and insignificant for short-term investment. The presence of a major terrorist incident in a district in a year reduces long-term fixed investment by around 17% after controlling for district fixed-effects, time trends, district trends and other farm-level controls. These negative effects are greater for richer farmers and those living in bordering districts. This results in a farmer losing close to 4% of his income annually because of the insurgency. |
| Keywords: | Terrorism; Rural Conflict; Violence; Investment; Agriculture; Farmers; Punjab |
| JEL: | D21 D74 O16 O13 D92 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33328&r=agr |
| By: | Jaraite, Jurate (CERE); Kažukauskas, Andrius (CERE) |
| Abstract: | The EU farmers are subject to mandatory cross compliance measures requiring them to meet environmental conditions to be eligible for public support. These obligations reinforce incentives for the farmers to change their behaviour towards the environment. We apply quasi-experimental methods to measure the causal relationship between cross-compliance and farm environmental performance. We find that cross compliance reduced farm fertiliser and pesticide expenditure. This result also holds for farmers who participated in other voluntary agro-environmental schemes. However, the results do not support our expectations that farmers who relied on larger shares of public payments had a stronger motivation to improve their environmental performance. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; Common Agriculture Policy; cross-compliance; environment; EU; farm |
| JEL: | Q12 |
| Date: | 2011–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slucer:2011_013&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:1732&r=agr |
| By: | Loening, Josef L.; Ianchovichina , Elena |
| Abstract: | New estimates of pass-through coefficients for the Middle East and North Africa indicate that a rise of global food prices is transmitted to a significant degree into domestic food prices. Over the past decade, transmission from international to domestic prices has been particularly high for Egypt, Iraq, Djibouti, United Arab Emirates and West Bank and Gaza, while being particularly low in Tunisia and Algeria. Where international food price increases translate into domestic prices, overall inflation tends to be higher. |
| Keywords: | Price transmission, inflation, food prices, Middle East and North Africa |
| JEL: | O23 E31 N15 N17 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33393&r=agr |
| By: | Isabell Adenauer; Javier Arze del Granado |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effectiveness of policies taken by the Burkinabè authorities to protect the poor from the adverse impact of a combined food and oil price shock in 2008. Estimates of the impact based on household survey data and a price pass-through model suggest that these policies were not well-targeted, benefiting the wealthier groups of the population rather than the poor. More effective policy measures, such as a conditional cash transfer system, which is already being implemented on a pilot basis in urban areas, are discussed as an alternative policy option. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural prices , Burkina Faso , Energy prices , Fiscal policy , Price increases , Price stabilization , Social safety nets , |
| Date: | 2011–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:11/202&r=agr |
| By: | Scheierling, Susanne M. |
| Abstract: | Irrigation water reallocations are playing an increasingly important role in both developed and developing countries. With growing urban and environmental water demands, rising costs for the development of new water supplies, and irrigated agriculture usually including the least economically valuable use of water, transfers of irrigation water to alternative uses are increasing. However, such reallocations are often controversial, and it is often questioned whether the benefits resulting from these transactions are large enough to outweigh the associated costs. This paper reviews the experience with irrigation water transfers, including the involvement of the World Bank. It discusses the problems of assessing the direct economic effects of reallocations, with a focus on the foregone direct benefits in irrigated agriculture. Because foregone direct benefits cannot easily be directly observed, they need to be estimated. However, assessments have shown widely differing estimates -- even when the same methodology was used. The paper reviews the methodologies and model specifications used for estimating foregone direct benefits; illustrates the impact of different model specifications on the magnitude of estimates of foregone direct benefits based on an application in an example case; and draws conclusions with regard to future efforts in assessing reallocation effects, including calculating adequate compensation for farmers. Because estimating the direct benefits of irrigation expansion is methodologically equivalent to estimating foregone direct benefits from reduced irrigation water supplies, the findings have implications for a broader range of water allocation decisions. |
| Keywords: | Water Supply and Systems,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Water Conservation,Water and Industry |
| Date: | 2011–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5797&r=agr |
| By: | Loening, Josef L. |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to identify likely factors driving the 2010 rice price hike and suggest options to manage rice price volatility in the future. Regional trade is likely the main proximate cause for high glutinous rice prices. Trade with Vietnam was likely the main reason for short-term price fluctuations, while trade with Thailand affects medium- and long-term price trends. By contrast, traditional supply and demand factors explain only a small part of rice price inflation. There is, however a possibility that major supply shocks may be regional, which could affect Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam simultaneously. The effectiveness of government policy measures has been mixed. There is a need to closely coordinate rice production and trade policies in order to effectively manage price volatility. Future analysis should look at regional glutinous rice production trends and related trade flows. |
| Keywords: | Food prices; rice prices; sticky rice; regional trade; economic policy; Lao PDR; Thailand; Vietnam |
| JEL: | O18 Q11 O53 F14 I32 |
| Date: | 2011–08–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33443&r=agr |
| By: | Aoyagi, Midori (Asian Development Bank Institute); Suda, Eiko (Asian Development Bank Institute); Shinada, Tomomi (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | There is increasing evidence that climate change has an impact on natural disasters, such as flooding, and on agricultural production, both of which have implications for gender issues. In this paper the authors briefly review issues related to gender and poverty and examine the relationships between gender and various indices. They then look at systems of land ownership and inheritance, and discuss an example of job recovery after a disaster through interviews with three female agricultural workers in Japan. The results of the interviews demonstrate the recent empowerment of women in agricultural production and that these women have strong adaptive abilities. |
| Keywords: | climate change; natural disasters; gender issues; agricultural production |
| JEL: | J16 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2011–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0309&r=agr |
| By: | David M. Bruner; William L. Huth; David M. McEvoy; O. Ashton Morgan |
| Abstract: | Consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for post-harvest processed (PHP) raw oysters – oysters without health risks – is studied in experimental nth-price auction markets. The experimental design decomposes the effects of taste, objective risk information, and information on four PHP technologies on consumers’ valuations. Results show that relatively uninformed consumers are willing to pay equivalent amounts for PHP and traditional raw oysters. However, after a blind taste test consumers are willing to pay a significant premium for traditional raw oysters. The premium for traditional oysters persists after objective information on risk and processing technology is provided. The results are robust over PHP technologies. Key Words: experimental auction market, food safety, risk preference elicitation, consumer perceptions, oysters |
| JEL: | C9 D8 I18 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:11-09&r=agr |
| By: | Reyes, Luis Carlos |
| Abstract: | Coca eradication has been aggressively pursued by the Colombian government to reduce the amount of land that agricultural households in the Andean country devote to this illegal crop. However, little work has been done to assess the causal effect of the policy on land allocation decisions. I use a six year panel of observations covering the entire country for the years 2001-2006 to estimate this effect at the municipality level, exploiting exogenous sources of variation in eradication and taking an IV approach to estimation. The instruments are derived from changes in the expected cost of coca eradication as crews get far from the zone where Antinarcotics Police helicopters can protect them from the illegal armed groups that try to shoot them down. IV estimation shows that the causal effect of a one percent increase in eradication is slightly less than a one percent increase in coca cultivation. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Development; Coca; Cocaine; Colombia; Illegal Crops; crime |
| JEL: | O17 K42 Q12 O12 |
| Date: | 2011–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33478&r=agr |
| By: | Carl Gaigné; Julie Le Gallo; Solène Larue; Bertrand Schmitt |
| Abstract: | The well-known increase in the geographical concentration of hog production suggests the presence of agglomeration economies related to spatial spillovers and inter-dependencies among industries. In this paper, we examine whether the restrictions on land application of manure may weaken productivity gains arising from the agglomeration process. We develop a model of production showing the ambiguous spatial effect of land availability and the restriction on the manure application rate. Indeed, while the regulation of manure application triggers dispersion when manure is applied to land as a crop nutrient, it also prompts farmer to adopt manure treatment that favors agglomeration of hog production. Estimations of a reduced form of the spatial model with a spatial HAC procedure applied to data for French hog production for 1988 and 2000 confirm the ambiguous effect of land limitations induced by the restrictions on manure application. It does not prevent spatial concentration of hog production, and even boosts the role played by spatial spillovers in the agglomeration process. |
| Keywords: | hog production, land availability, manure application regulation, agglomeration economies, spatial econometrics |
| JEL: | Q10 Q53 R12 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201102&r=agr |
| By: | Loening, Josef L. |
| Abstract: | The Chad Rural Policy Note builds on the findings of a rural sector stocktaking exercise. An initial draft of the note was prepared as a just-in-time study designed to contribute to the preparation of the Chad Interim Strategy Note. This finalized version of the note intended mainly to establish a knowledge baseline. In that context, the objectives of the note are to summarize existing information about the rural sector in Chad, identify knowledge gaps, and highlight key policy issues around which the dialogue in the rural sector might focus, with the objective of improving rural growth prospects and reducing poverty. |
| Keywords: | Chad; poverty; public expenditures; rural development; finance; research and extension; markets; irrigation; climate change; livestock; cotton |
| JEL: | I30 O55 Q18 |
| Date: | 2010–10–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28951&r=agr |
| By: | Charles L. Baum; Shin-Yi Chou |
| Abstract: | An increasing number of Americans are obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. In fact, the latest estimates indicate that about 30% of Americans are currently obese, which is roughly a 100% increase from 25 years ago. It is well accepted that weight gain is caused by caloric imbalance, where more calories are consumed than expended. Nevertheless, it is not clear why the prevalence of obesity has increased so dramatically over the last 30 years. We simultaneously estimate the effects of the various socio-economic factors on weight status, considering in our analysis many of the socio-economic factors that have been identified by other researchers as important influences on caloric imbalance: employment, physical activity at work, food prices, the prevalence of restaurants, cigarette smoking, cigarette prices and taxes, food stamp receipt, and urbanization. We use 1979- and 1997-cohort National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data, which allows us to compare the prevalence of obesity between cohorts surveyed roughly 25 years apart. Using the traditional Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, we find that cigarette smoking has the largest effect: the decline in cigarette smoking explains about 2% of the increase in the weight measures. The other significant factors explain less. |
| JEL: | I1 I12 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17423&r=agr |
| By: | Muhammad , Anees; Ishfaq, Ahmed |
| Abstract: | The debate of environmental issues and their analysis is of vital interest for economic policies. Institutions are engaged in identifying and estimating the extent of environmental impact of determinants controllable via policy measures. Annual data from the on Carbon Dioxide emission, economic growth, consumption of energy, openness for foreign trade, urbanization, industrial growth and agriculture growth on Pakistan is used for 1971 to 2007. Augmented Vector Autoregression technique and cointegration analysis is implemented to test Granger causality. Gross domestic product significantly Granger causes emission of Carbon Dioxide and energy consumption. On the other hand emissions of CO2 affect economic growth, agriculture and industrial growth in the long run. It is also evident that energy consumption unidirectional Granger causes emission of Carbon Dioxide. Industrialization and urbanization bidirectional Granger causes each other. The results indicate the more careful industrial and energy policies to reduce emissions and control global warming. |
| Keywords: | Pakistan; Carbon Dioxide emission; Environment; Energy Consumption; Economic Growth; Foreign Trade |
| JEL: | C32 A12 O13 C22 |
| Date: | 2011–09–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33469&r=agr |
| By: | Sven Rudolph (University of Kassel); Christine Lenz (University of Kassel); Barbara Volmert (University of Kassel); Achim Lerch (Hesse University of Cooperative Education) |
| Abstract: | Domestic climate policy emissions trading schemes appear to be spreading all over the word. However, carbon markets in existence often suffer from dilution in terms of ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency, and social justice. Thus, in order to firmly base carbon markets on the main pillars of Sustainable Development, this paper defines the criteria of ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency and social justice and operationalizes them for giving design recommendations for sustainable carbon markets. Methodologically, the paper uses welfare and institutional economics, jurisprudential reasoning, and modern climate justice thinking in order to discuss the three criteria. In addition, design and implication analysis is applied in order to develop design recommendations for sustainable carbon markets. By doing so, the paper provides evaluation criteria for emissions trading schemes in existence and in planning, but also allows for improvements in order to make emissions trading a valuable instrument of a sustainable global climate policy. |
| Keywords: | sustainability, emissions trading, climate policy, justice, efficiency, effectiveness |
| JEL: | D62 D63 Q48 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201134&r=agr |
| By: | Mukherjee, Soumyatanu |
| Abstract: | In order to answer the pertinent question why developing countries are showing penchant for foreign capital over the last two decades in spite of its detrimental effects as revealed from the conventional two-sector mobile capital version of Harris–Todaro (HT) model in the presence of protectionist policy; this paper, in terms of a three-sector HT type general equilibrium model with agricultural dualism where advanced agricultural sector produces a non-traded intermediate input using capital apart from labour and land for the agro-based industry in the urban sector, tries to show that foreign capital inflow may not only improve social welfare, but also lower the magnitude of urban unemployment of labour or may render the phenomenon of ‘jobless growth’. |
| Keywords: | Foreign capital; Agricultural dualism; Non-traded intermediate input; Welfare; Urban unemployment; Jobless growth; Stolper-Samuelson theorem; General equilibrium model |
| JEL: | F16 O18 Q17 O13 J01 O33 J23 |
| Date: | 2011–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33410&r=agr |