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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2011‒12‒19
57 papers chosen by |
| By: | Mather, David; Boughton, Duncan; Jayne, T.S. |
| Abstract: | In many African countries, as well as in other parts of the world where a significant part of the rural population is poor and food insecure, policymakers face what is called the food price dilemma. On the one hand, they need to provide farmers with incentives to increase the quantity of marketed food staples to feed a growing population, especially in rapidly growing urban centers where unrest can be politically destabilizing. On the other hand, because staple foods account for a large portion of total household expenditures for both urban and rural households, policymakers also are drawn to policies that lower the retail price of staple foods for consumers. Achieving both objectives â increasing marketed supplies of food staples while maintaining low retail prices â are also key to continued poverty reduction, as smallholder incomes increase when they receive higher prices for their surplus marketed output, while lower retail food prices decrease the cost of living for both rural and urban households. Hence, these objectives figure prominently in Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) investment plans and the United States (U.S.) Feed The Future initiative. |
| Keywords: | maize, Africa, food security, food supply, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:118473&r=agr |
| By: | Wallander, Steven; Claassen, Roger; Nickerson, Cynthia J. |
| Abstract: | The recent 9-billion-gallon increase in corn-based ethanol production, which resulted from a combination of rising gasoline prices and a suite of Federal bioenergy policies, provides evidence of how farmers altered their land-use decisions in response to increased demand for corn. As some forecasts had suggested, corn acreage increased mostly on farms that previously specialized in soybeans. Other farms, however, offset this shift by expanding soybean production. Farm-level data reveal that the simultaneous net expansion of corn and soybean acreage resulted from a reduction in cotton acreage, a shift from uncultivated hay to cropland, and the expansion of double cropping (consecutively producing two crops of either like or unlike commodities on the same land within the same year). |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), bioenergy, ethanol, indirect effects, land use, corn production, environmental impacts, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:117982&r=agr |
| By: | Clemens Breisinger, Olivier Ecker, Perrihan Al-Riffai, Richard Robertson, Rainer Thiele, Manfred Wiebelt |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a model-based assessment of local and global climate change impacts for the case of Yemen, focusing on agricultural production, household incomes and food security. Global climate change is mainly transmitted through rising world food prices. Our simulation results suggest that climate change induced price increases for food will raise agricultural GDP while decreasing real household incomes and food security. Rural nonfarm households are hit hardest as they tend to be net food consumers with high food budget shares, but farm households also experience real income losses given that many of them are net buyers of food. The impacts of local climate change are less clear given the ambiguous predictions of global climate models (GCMs) with respect to future rainfall patterns in Yemen. Local climate change impacts manifest itself in long term yield changes, which differ between two alternative climate scenarios considered, with implications for income and nutrition |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Food security, Hunger, Development, Growth, Yemen, Middle East and North Africa |
| JEL: | C63 C68 O13 O53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1747&r=agr |
| By: | Low, Sarah A.; Vogel, Stephen J. |
| Abstract: | This study uses nationally representative data on the marketing of local foods to assess the relative scale of local food marketing channels. This research documents that sales through intermediated marketing channels, such as farmersâ sales to local grocers and restaurants, account for a large portion of all local food sales. Small and medium-sized farms dominate local foods sales marketed exclusively through direct-to-consumer channels (foods sold at roadside stands or farmersâ markets, for example) while large farms dominate local food sales marketed exclusively through intermediated channels. Farmers marketing food locally are most prominent in the Northeast and the West Coast regions and areas close to densely populated urban markets. Climate and topography favoring the production of fruits and vegetables, proximity to and neighboring farm participation in farmersâ markets, and good transportation and information access are found to be associated with higher levels of direct-to-consumer sales. |
| Keywords: | Local foods, direct marketing channels, direct sales, intermediated sales Acknowledgments: The, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:118025&r=agr |
| By: | Pullabhotla, Hemant; Shreedhar, Ganga; Ganesh-Kumar, A.; Gulati, Ashok |
| Abstract: | This study examines the existing status, policies, and institutions for promoting agricultural output in Nepal, in particular cereals. In this context, it reviews the policies on agricultural input such as seed, fertilizer, water, agricultural equipment, research and extension, and agricultural credit. It also provides an overview of the policies and programs related to agricultural output marketing and procurement of food grains in Nepal. |
| Keywords: | cereals, maize, Wheat, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1114&r=agr |
| By: | Ecker, Olivier; Mabiso, Athur; Kennedy, Adam; Diao, Xinshen 22905 |
| Abstract: | Extreme poverty and chronic malnutrition are widespread in rural Tanzania, where smallholder agriculture dominates the economy. Given the sector's role as the main source of food and livelihood for many malnourished people, agriculture has substantial potential to reduce poverty and hunger. Unfortunately, to date, the agricultural sector has not yet reached this potential, and agricultural growth has not translated to significant improvements in nutrition outcomes at large. In this study, we explore the links between agriculture and nutrition in Tanzania and review the evidence on how these links can be strengthened for improved nutrition. We further quantitatively evaluate the potential nutrition outcome of agricultural growth through productivity-enhancing investments over the next five years. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Nutrition, food security, Development strategy, intervention, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1124&r=agr |
| By: | Pouliot, Sebastien |
| Abstract: | Concerns about beginning farmers in Canada derive from trends in data that show that the population of farmers and the number of young farmers are declining. This paper discusses and analyses issues regarding the constraints and opportunities beginning farmers in Canada face. The discussion covers whether issues peculiar to beginning farmers are, from an economic policy point of view, a source of concern and whether there are motives for government intervention. The main conclusions are 1) the decline in the number of farms in Canada responds to economic forces, 2) the price of fixed assets constitutes the main barrier to entry and 3) government support to entry in agriculture would have a negligible effect on the number of farms and the entry of new farms. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Barriers to Entry, Beginning Farmers, Fixed Assets, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Q10, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2011–11–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:spaawp:118019&r=agr |
| By: | Vivas Viachica, Elgin Antonio |
| Abstract: | This paper was submitted in the III National Congress of Rural Development during 24-25 November 2011. UPOLI Nicaragua. |
| Keywords: | Intensification, Extensive, Productivity, Agricultural Finance, Productivity Analysis, D: 24, L: 25, P: 42, |
| Date: | 2011–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nauncp:118270&r=agr |
| By: | Foreman, Linda F.; McBride, William D. |
| Abstract: | The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 eliminated tobacco quotas and tobacco price supports and allowed producers to plant any amount or type of tobacco regardless of geographic location. The authors found that flue-cured tobacco producers made greater adjustments to their operations after the buyout than did burley tobacco producers. Flue-cured tobacco producers were more likely to increase tobacco acres per farm, pushing up the tobacco acreage per farm at a faster rate compared with burley tobacco producers. Flue-cured producers also were more likely to invest in their tobacco enterprises and invested more per farm after 2004. As a result of increased acreage, tobacco operations became more sensitive to changes in labor costs. With over 75 percent of tobacco farms using hired or contract labor in 2008, the availability and cost of workers have become increasingly important to tobacco producers. This report is based on data collected from the tobacco version of the 2008 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), which focused on U.S. producers of burley and flue-cure tobacco in 2008 and how their tobacco operations have changed since 2000 and 2004. |
| Keywords: | Tobacco, structural change, farm adjustments, adaptations, Agricultural Resources Management Survey (ARMS) Acknowledgments, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:117969&r=agr |
| By: | Korir, Luke Kipkurgat |
| Abstract: | Farmers face many risks which arise from natural, economic and socio-political environments. Risk sharing institutions like national insurance and credit schemes that help reduce the burden of risk to society are weak in Uasin Gishu county. Private sector insurance products are still in their developing stages and this has prompted farmers to turn to self insurance strategies that include diversification and social mechanisms for coping with risk. Off-farm investment is one of the diversification strategies whose prevalence and effectiveness in risk management have not been evaluated. This study sought to determine risk attitudes of farmers, to identify the determinants of off-farm investments and to investigate the effectiveness of off-farm investments in risk management. Data was collected from 100 randomly selected farm households. The ELCE method was used and exponential utility functions fitted by the method of nonlinear least squares and used to estimate the coefficients of absolute risk aversion. A logit model was used to identify determinants of off-farm investments. Effectiveness of off-farm investments in risk management was assessed by simulating the effect of replacing the weight of off-farm income with that of farm income on the coefficient of variation of total income. Results indicated that the major risks of concern to farmers were drought, market/price, pests and diseases and institutional risks with prevalence rates of 59, 34, 4 and 3% respectively. All the farmers in the study were risk averse. Years of experience in farming, employment income, gender and farm income significantly determined off-farm investment decisions. Simulation results showed that off-farm investment income reduces risk. Government policies and institutional mechanisms that reduce risk (such as crop insurance and irrigation technologies) and those that facilitate farmersâ access to assets like off-farm investments in order to manage risks in farming are required. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:117806&r=agr |
| By: | Marko, Jelocnik; Lana, Nastic |
| Abstract: | The economic crisis had transferred to Serbia at the end of 2008, causing the economic growth slowdown and macroeconomic stability endangerment. Agriculture, the strategic branch of national economy was affected as well, and despite favourable climatic, natural, human and technical-technological potentials, it had influenced reduction of agricultural development far below the real possibilities. Prior to the crisis potentials for agricultural development in Serbia were unused. Comprehensive and more intensive institutional support lacked, along with growing necessity for the concept based on profitability, market orientation and competitiveness of national agriculture. All segments of agriculture would have to be harmonized with the policies of agrarian and rural development of EU, mainly in terms of agri-food safety, and economic, social and ecological efficiency of agriculture. Due to decrease in living standard in most of the households in Serbia various survival strategies models have been created, in which the great part of personal consumption is being used for purchase of agri-food products. Changes in local population’s daily food consumption are reflected not as much in the reduction of quantities used as in the quality of used nutrients. That leads to a conclusion that to food production in Serbia should be paid greater attention, especially during the period of economic crisis. |
| Keywords: | Republic of Serbia; agriculture; food security; economic crisis;employment |
| JEL: | J43 Q11 E21 |
| Date: | 2011–10–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35365&r=agr |
| By: | Reardon, Thomas; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | There has been a rapid transformation of food supply chains in India over the past two decades. Modern retail sales are growing at 49 percent per year and quickly penetrating urban food markets and even rural markets. The food-processing sector is growing quickly while also concentrating and undergoing a rapid increase in the capital-output ratio, with little increase in employment. A modern segment is emerging in the wholesale sector, with the penetration of modern logistics firms and specialized modern wholesalers. |
| Keywords: | wholesale markets, Supply chains, Farmers, Supermarkets, Food processing, logistics, cold chain, Food markets, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1115&r=agr |
| By: | Bomuhangi, Allan; Doss, Cheryl; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth |
| Abstract: | Rapid growth of demand for agricultural land is putting pressure on property rights systems, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where customary tenure systems have provided secure land access. Patterns of gradual, endogenous change toward formalization are being challenged by rapid and large-scale demands from outsiders. Little attention has focused on the gender dimensions of this transformation. Based on a study of land tenure in Uganda, this paper analyzes how different ways of defining landownership—based on household reports, existence of ownership documents, and rights over the land—provide very different indications of the gendered patterns of landownership and rights. Although many households report that husbands and wives jointly own the land, women are less likely to be listed on ownership documents, especially titles, and women have fewer land rights. A simplistic focus on title to land misses much of the reality regarding land tenure and could especially have an adverse impact on women's land rights. |
| Keywords: | Gender, land acquisitions, Land tenure, landownership, Property rights, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1136&r=agr |
| By: | Ribaudo, Marc; Delgado, Jorge; Hansen, LeRoy; Livingston, Michael J.; Mosheim, Roberto; Williamson, James M. |
| Abstract: | Nitrogen is an important agricultural input that is critical for crop production. However, the introduction of large amounts of nitrogen into the environment has a number of undesirable impacts on water, terrestrial, and atmospheric resources. This report explores the use of nitrogen in U.S. agriculture and assesses changes in nutrient management by farmers that may improve nitrogen use effi ciency. It also reviews a number of policy approaches for improving nitrogen management and identifi es issues affecting their potential performance. Findings reveal that about two-thirds of U.S. cropland is not meeting three criteria for good nitrogen management. Several policy approaches, including fi nancial incentives, nitrogen management as a condition of farm program eligibility, and regulation, could induce farmers to improve their nitrogen management and reduce nitrogen losses to the environment. |
| Keywords: | Reactive nitrogen, nitrogen management, fertilizer, water quality, greenhouse gas, economic incentives, conservation policy, regulation, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:118022&r=agr |
| By: | Ayuya, Oscar Ingasia |
| Abstract: | Carbon markets are developing world wide with the major aim of environmental protection and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Some carbon sequestration projects have been started in Kenya though it is still not yet a vibrant investment in spite of the available suitable biophysical land. Njoro district has no such project regardless of being affected by deforestation. One inevitable result has been the unpredictable rainfall pattern constituting overall climate change, increased surface run off, the low water levels in river Njoro, loss of biodiversity and the increased poverty in the region. It is still not clear if such projects are to be initiated, the smallscale farmers would be willing to accept and adopt them. There was need therefore, to assess the willingness of small scale farmers to accept and adopt carbon trade tree project in order to understand farmerâs decision making process. The study used multi-stage sampling procedure to select 150 small-scale farmers in Njoro district. Both primary and secondary data sources collected using observations and interviews with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, ordinal logit model and the double hurdle model using STATA computer programs. The results indicated that 29% of the farmers practiced tree planting/agro-forestry as the voluntary CDM practice in the study area. On the level of awareness the result indicates that 58% of the farmers were not aware of the project, 23% were aware and correct and 19% of the farmers were aware but wrong signifying low levels of awareness of the CDM project among farmers. Gender, household size, farm debt, attitude towards risk, farm size, land tenure, availability of voluntary CDM and perception of the technology were found to influence the willingness to accept the project. Further, age, extension contacts, attitude towards risk, land tenure and perception towards the technology influenced on the extent the farmer is willing to adopt. The study therefore, recommends policy interventions in increasing awareness, improved training through extension services on agro-environmental programmes, formation of agro-environmental self help groups by farmers and creation of strategies that would improve socio-economic conditions of smallholder farmers in Kenya. Through this, adoption of carbon tree trade would be successful consequently increasing carbon sinks and increased smallholder farm income hence poverty reduction and sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:117799&r=agr |
| By: | Mason, Nicole M.; Burke, William J.; Shipekesa, Arthur; Jayne, T.S. |
| Abstract: | In 2011, Zambia recorded its second consecutive record-breaking maize harvest, and aggregate maize production levels in 2011 were more than double the average level from 2006 to 2008. The expansion in maize production over the period corresponds with the scaling up of the Government of the Republic of Zambia's (GRZ) two flagship agricultural sector programmes. These are: (i) maize purchases at pan-territorial, above-market prices through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA); and (ii) subsidized fertilizer distribution through the Fertilizer Support Programme and its successor, the Farmer Input Support Programme (FSP/FISP). More than 90% of GRZ funding for Poverty Reduction Programmes is devoted to the FRA and FSP/FISP, yet there has been no major reduction in rural poverty rates in Zambia since 2004. |
| Keywords: | maize, Zambia, poverty, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:118477&r=agr |
| By: | Nkonya, Ephraim; Place, Frank; Pender, John; Mwanjololo, Majaliwa; Okhimamhe, Appollonia; Kato, Edward; Crespo, Susana; Ndjeunga, Jupiter; Traore, Sibiry |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence has shown that farmers can adapt to climate change by using sustainable land and water management (SLWM) practices that provide local mitigation benefits, reducing or offsetting the negative effects of climate change at the level of the plot, farm, or even landscape. However, adaptation to climate change using SLWM practices in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains low. This study was conducted to examine the impact of government policies on adaptation to climate change. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Sustainability, Water management, Adaptation, local institutions, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1126&r=agr |
| By: | Jayne, T.S.; Mason, Nicole; Burke, William; Shipekesa, Arthur; Chapoto, Antony; Kabaghe, Chance |
| Abstract: | The past two years are a tribute to Zambian farmers; they have responded admirably to government efforts to promote maize production. But ironically, rural poverty remains stubbornly high despite the fact that the government has spent over 2% of the nationâs gross domestic product in supporting maize production and subsidizing inputs for farmers. Why is it that maize production has increased so impressively without making a serious dent in rural poverty? And what are the lessons for the new government? |
| Keywords: | maize, poverty, Zambia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:118476&r=agr |
| By: | Smale, Melinda; Olwande, John |
| Abstract: | Kenya has been recognized globally as maize success story since the 1970s. Released on the eve of independence, Kenyaâs first maize hybrid diffused faster than did hybrids in the U.S Corn Belt during the 1930s-1940s. In recent decades, policy researchers have lamented that earlier gains in maize productivity have not lived up to their potential. Claims of stagnating yields and stagnating adoption are offset here, at least in part, by longitudinal survey data showing rising yields and adoption rates on farms. Tegemeo survey data confirm that Kenya has reached its adoption ceiling years ago in the major maize producing zones of the country, and is near to doing so in other zones. Data show adoption rates topping 80% of farmers. |
| Keywords: | maize, Kenya, Africa, household farms, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:118474&r=agr |
| By: | Ulimwengu, John; Liverpool-Tasie, Saweda; Randriamamonjy, Josee; Ramadan, Racha |
| Keywords: | Agricultural productivity, Consumption, Nutrients, malnutrition, production model, structural equations model (SEM), |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1128&r=agr |
| By: | Todd, Jessica E.; Leibtag, Ephraim S.; Penberthy, Corttney |
| Abstract: | Although healthy foods can be affordable, if less healthy foods are cheaper, individuals may have an economic incentive to consume a less healthful diet. Using the Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database, we explore whether a select set of healthy foods (whole grains, dark green vegetables, orange vegetables, whole fruit, skim and 1% milk, fruit juice, and bottled water) are more expensive than less healthy alternatives. We find that not all healthy foods are more expensive than less healthy alternatives; skim and 1% milk are less expensive than whole and 2% milk and bottled water is generally less expensive than carbonated nonalcoholic drinks. We also find considerable geographic variation in the relative price of healthy foods. This price variation may contribute to geographic variation in diet and health outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database (QFAHPD), healthy food, price, geographic variation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:117976&r=agr |
| By: | Smale, Melinda |
| Abstract: | Women are central to food production and maize is a dominant food staple in Sub-Saharan Africa, but published gender analyses of hybrid seed use in Sub-Saharan Africa are uncommon. Building on previous work, this paper tests the effects of headship definitions on hybrid seed use and explores the variation between male- and female-headed households and among female-headed households in Kenya. Analysis is based on survey data collected by Tegemeo Institute of Egerton College during the 2009-10 cropping season. |
| Keywords: | maize, seed, Kenya, household headship, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:118475&r=agr |
| By: | Coleman-Jensen, Alisha; Nord, Mark; Andrews, Margaret; Carlson, Steven |
| Abstract: | An estimated 85.5 percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2010, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.5 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 5.4 percent with very low food securityâmeaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food. The prevalence rate of very low food security declined from 5.7 percent in 2009, while the change in food insecurity overall (from 14.7 percent in 2009) was not statistically significant. The typical food-secure household spent 27 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. Fifty-nine percent of all food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs during the month prior to the 2010 survey. |
| Keywords: | Food security, food insecurity, food spending, food pantry, soup kitchen, emergency kitchen, material well-being, SNAP, Food Stamp Program, National School Lunch Program, WIC, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:118021&r=agr |
| By: | Prasad, Sanjay K.; Pullabhotla, Hemant; Ganesh-Kumar, A. |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to estimate the future supply and demand for cereals in Nepal. While there has been considerable research in the past examining the agricultural sector in Nepal, to the best of our knowledge there has been no analysis of the supply-demand scenario for food grains in the country. The analysis undertaken in this paper attempts to bridge this gap in the literature by estimating supply and demand models for the three most important cereals in Nepal's food basket: rice, wheat, and maize. The supply projections have been carried out on the basis of a single-crop production function model using data for the period 1995–2008. For estimating the demand function and projecting future demand, data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey II (NLSS II), undertaken in the year 2003/04, are used. |
| Keywords: | cereal supply, cereal demand, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1120&r=agr |
| By: | Tímár, Levente (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and GNS Science) |
| Abstract: | Private land-use decisions are critical for a broad spectrum of environmental and social outcomes, ranging from water quality and climate change to rural income distribution. I use a large dataset of the land-use decisions of New Zealand landowners to estimate a cross-sectional multinomial logit model of land use. In this model, the optimal land-use choice depends on geophysical attributes of the land, the cost of access to markets, and on land tenure (M?ori freehold title versus general freehold title). I employ the estimated relationship in a counterfactual scenario to assess the overall impact of M?ori tenure on the willingness of landowners to supply land for the four most important rural uses in the country: dairying; sheep or beef farming; plantation forestry; and an economically unproductive use, scrub. This allows me to conjecture about the environmental implications of New Zealand’s land-tenure system. |
| Keywords: | land use, land tenure, discrete choice model |
| JEL: | Q15 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:11_13&r=agr |
| By: | Yu, Bingxin; Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; Funes, José; Gemessa, Sinafikeh Asrat |
| Abstract: | The Ethiopian government has been promoting a package-driven extension that combines credit, fertilizers, improved seeds, and better management practices. This approach has reached almost all farming communities, representing about 2 percent of agricultural gross domestic product in recent years. This paper is the first to look at the extent and determinants of the adoption of the fertilizer-seed technology package promoted in Ethiopia using nationally representative data from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia. We estimate a double hurdle model of fertilizer use for four major cereal crops: barley, maize, teff, and wheat. Since maize is the only crop that exhibits considerable adoption of improved seed, we estimate a similar model for the adoption of improved seed in maize production. We find that access to fertilizer and seed is related to access to extension services and that production specialization together with wealth play a major role in explaining crop area under fertilizer and improved seed. One of the most important factors behind the limited adoption of the technological package is the inefficiency in the use of inputs, which implies that changes are needed in the seed and fertilizer systems and in the priorities of the extension service to promote more efficient use of inputs and to accommodate risks associated with agricultural production, especially among small and poor households. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, cereals, double-hurdle model, maize, Technical change, Technology adoption, teff, Wheat, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1131&r=agr |
| By: | Stéphane De Cara (UMR 210 Economie Publique, INRA-AgroParisTech.); Anne Fournier (UMR 7235 EconomiX-CNRS, University of Paris Ouest); Carl Gaigné (UMR 1302 SMART, INRA) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the impact of urbanization on the location of agricultural production and the GHG emissions related to transportation. We develop an economic geography model where the location of agricultural activities and urban population are endogenous. We show that increasing yields induce the spatial concentration of agricultural production in the most urban-crowded region if collection costs are relatively low and in the smallest one otherwise. In addition, we find that inter-regional trade in agricultural commodities may be desirable to reduce GHG emissions, except when urban population is equally split between cities. Finally, we highlight that the market may induce an excess of agricultural agglomeration when yields are high and/or collection costs are low. |
| Keywords: | Urbanization, Agricultural location, Transport, Greenhouse gas, Food miles |
| JEL: | F12 Q10 Q54 Q56 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1109&r=agr |
| By: | Allwardt, Jennifer |
| Abstract: | The potential of using carbon offset credits from agroforestry projects for farmers in developing areas has become more prevalent in both Clean Development Mechanism and voluntary carbon markets. Since the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, many international development organizations have been interested in using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to help both mitigate CO2 emissions through agroforestry projects offsets and as a poverty reduction tool. Few organizations that have begun talking with farmers about planting trees for carbon offset credits have been able to tell the farmers how much money they would receive from their new tree growth or the costs they will incur in doing so. For this study, a whole farm budget toolkit was designed to help fill this gap and to help evaluate payment methods for carbon offset credits in agroforestry projects. This toolkit is intended to be used by development assistance organizations and farmers starting carbon credit programs. It gives a rough estimate of payments based on a farmerâs or groupâs unique situation. For testing purposes, previous agroforestry projects were entered into the toolkit to evaluate the benefits accruing to farmers using data on carbon credit payment methods for two previous agroforestry projects in Africa. The toolkit was also field tested in Kenya with individual farmers and a farmersâ group. |
| Keywords: | agroforestry, budget toolkit, carbon credits, Clean Development Mechanism, payment methods, smallholder farmers, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Land Economics/Use, O13, O22, R30, Q54, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midagr:118497&r=agr |
| By: | Ollinger, Michael; Muth, Mary K.; Karns, Shawn A.; Choice, Zanethia |
| Abstract: | Food safety technology can increase a companyâs capacity to prevent a foodborne contamination. A food safety auditâa quality control tool in which an auditor observes whether a plantâs processing practices and technologies are compatible with good food safety practicesâcan indicate how effectively food safety technology is being used. Fast food restaurants, grocery stores, and other major customers of meat and poultry processing plants conduct their own audits or hire auditors to assess the soundness of a plantâs processing operation. Meat and poultry plants can also audit themselves as a way to help maintain process control. In this report, we document the extent of food safety audits in meat and poultry processing plants. We also examine the associations between the use of audits and plant size, firm structure, and food safety technology use. Results show that larger plants, plants subject to food safety audits, and plants that are part of a multiplant firm use more food safety technology than other plants. Plants subject to both plant-hired and customer-hired audits had greater technology use than single (plant- or customer-hired) audit plants. |
| Keywords: | Meat and poultry processing, safety standards, product recalls, food safety technology, food safety audits, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:117989&r=agr |
| By: | Carletto, Calogero; Savastano, Sara; Zezza, Alberto |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the role of land measurement error in the inverse farm size and productivity relationship. By making use of data from a nationally representative household survey from Uganda, in which self-reported land size information is complemented by plot measurements collected using Global Position System devices, the authors reject the hypothesis that the inverse relationship may just be a statistical artifact linked to problems with land measurement error. In particular, the paper explores: (i) the determinants of the bias in land measurement, (ii) how this bias varies systematically with plot size and landholding, and (iii) the extent to which land measurement error affects the relative advantage of smallholders implied by the inverse relationship. The findings indicate that using an improved measure of land size strengthens the evidence in support of the existence of the inverse relationship. |
| Keywords: | Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Regional Economic Development,Land Use and Policies,Rural Land Policies for Poverty Reduction,E-Business |
| Date: | 2011–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5908&r=agr |
| By: | Glendenning, Claire J.; Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo; Babu, Suresh C. |
| Abstract: | Introduction of private enterprises to deliver agricultural advisory services is seen as a strategy to increase the coverage and effectiveness of the pluralistic extension system in developing countries. The Indian national program of agriclinics and agribusiness centers, started in 2002, aims to provide farmers with a reliable alternative to the private input dealer by subsidizing technically trained agricultural graduates to establish their own agricultural input shops and agriclinic laboratories. In 2008, Tamil Nadu state began its own version of the program, called Agriclinics cum Mini Soil Testing Laboratories, which provides subsidized funding to establish soil testing laboratories by primary agricultural cooperative banks (PACBs) or independent agricultural graduates. |
| Keywords: | public–private partnership, Privatization, soil testing, agriclinic, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1125&r=agr |
| By: | Christopher Gilbert |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at commodity stocks, their role in price determination for storable commodities, and past efforts of international stockholding arrangements with economic provisions in stabilising world prices. Low stocks to use ratios of recent years were one of a number of contributory factors to the grain price spike in 2007-08, the paper finds. However, the experience with past international commodity agreements (ICAs) with price band provisions and stockholding obligations suggests that they had only limited success in reducing the volatility of the prices they set out to stabilise, as well as being prone to many other operational problems. The paper also suggests that as a possible response to apparently inadequate private storage, public sector storage would be costly, ineffective in countering price spikes once stocks are fully exhausted, and would crowd out private storage. Some market-based approaches to countering food price volatility are also examined as alternatives to commodity storage. |
| Keywords: | volatility, food security, grain prices, storage, public and private stocks, international commodity agreements |
| Date: | 2011–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:53-en&r=agr |
| By: | Skurray, James H.; Pandit, Ram; Pannell, David J. |
| Abstract: | The development of a market in groundwater usage rights can be inhibited by constraints arising from the institutional context. Such impediments may reduce the potential gains from trade and may generate high transaction costs for prospective traders. We analyse the regulations and policies influencing groundwater trading in a case-study area â the Gnangara groundwater system around Perth, Western Australia â and identify significant impediments to a groundwater market. Property rights are found to be conditional, temporary, and vulnerable to amendment. Regulatory approval is required for all trades. Facilitating infrastructure is lacking, and price information is unavailable. The limitation of transfers to within management area boundaries that reflect land ownership and use rather than hydrological realities eliminates much of the potential for gains from trade. Over-allocation and weak monitoring also impede the development of a market. The current management system is likely to obscure any unmet demand for water-rights transfers between users and usage-types. While we apply the analysis to an example location, the analytical approach is broadly transferable. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Political Economy, Public Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q15, Q25, Q28, Q38, Q56, Q57, Q58, R14, R52, H41, H23, H11, |
| Date: | 2011–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:117825&r=agr |
| By: | Alvaro Calzadilla, Katrin Rehdanz ,Richard S.J. Tol |
| Abstract: | Water and agriculture are intrinsically linked. Water is essential for crop production and agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater resources. However, this link is commonly ignored by economic models mainly because water use is not reported in the national economic accounts. Few regions have markets for water. This paper describes the new version of GTAP-W, a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model of the world economy. The new version of GTAP-W distinguishes between rainfed and irrigated agriculture and introduces water as an explicit factor of production for irrigated agriculture. Moreover, the new production structure accounts for substitution possibilities between irrigation and other primary factors. The new model has been used to study a variety of topics including: irrigation efficiency, sustainable water use, climate change and trade liberalization. This paper is a technical description of the data and features added to the standard GTAP model |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium, Irrigation, Water Policy |
| JEL: | D58 Q17 Q25 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1745&r=agr |
| By: | Nomman Ahmed, Mirza; Maas, Sarah; Schmitz, P. Michael |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the question whether the institutional environment of transition countries in Eastern Europe affects productivity growth in the agricultural sector. Situated in a neoclassical growth framework, a dynamic panel model for the period 1996-2005 provides evidence that poor institutional quality leads to a slowdown in agricultural productivity growth. Productivity growth is limited by a high degree of corruption, which is of particular importance given that corruption has been proven to be most prevalent in Eastern European countries. Moreover, agricultural productivity in countries where privatisation and transferability of land is restricted is found to grow at a slower rate than countries supporting market-oriented land reforms. Interestingly, the results suggest that a high degree of openness leads to a loss in agricultural productivity, suggesting that timing and sequencing of trade reforms matter. An improvement of the poor institutional quality is thus of central importance to accelerate productivity growth in Eastern European countries. -- |
| Keywords: | Eastern Europe,Transition,Productivity growth |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamo10:52695&r=agr |
| By: | Ingo Outes-Leon; Catherine Porter; Alan Sanchez |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the causal link between early childhood nutrition and cognition, applying instrumental variables to sibling-differences for a sample of pre-school aged Peruvian children. Child-specific shocks in the form of food price changes and household shocks during the critical developmental period of a child are used as instruments. The analysis shows significant and positive returns to early childhood nutritional investments. An increase in the Height-for-Age z-score of one standard deviation—keeping other factors constant—translates into increases in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) score of 17-21 percent of a standard deviation. The period of analysis includes the recent global food price crisis that also affected Peru between 2006 and 2008. This therefore is also a quantification of the nutritional and subsequent cognitive costs of food prices on the sample, which could be magnified in later years. |
| JEL: | I12 I20 J13 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:wpaper:4743&r=agr |
| By: | Zambrano, Patricia; Maldonado, Jorge H.; Mendoza, Sandra L.; Ruiz, Lorena; Fonseca, Luz Amparo; Cardona, Iván |
| Abstract: | This paper explores gender differences in cotton cultivation and looks into the perceptions and experiences of women and men with transgenic varieties. With few exceptions, researchers in the area of impact evaluation of crop biotechnology have only marginally included gender considerations in their work. This exploratory pilot study was developed in order to incorporate gender into our quantitative evaluation work. This study used a participatory and descriptive approach that allowed us to listen to women and men farmers' perceptions and insights. The project was conducted in the main cotton-producing regions of Colombia where a handful of transgenic varieties have been in the market for the past six years. |
| Keywords: | crop biotechnology, Genetically modified crops, Genetic engineering, Cotton, Gender, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1118&r=agr |
| By: | Kleinhanss, Werner; Offermann, Frank; Butault, Jean-Pierre; Surry, Yves |
| Abstract: | Summary: This study summarizes cost estimates based on the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network using the General Cost of Production Model, developed, applied and tested within the FACEPA project. Results are provided for wheat, pigs and milk for the main producer countries of the EU for the period 1999 to 2007. Estimated input-output coefficients are generally based on monetary figures, expressing cost shares referring to total output. Effects of scale, specialization and location can be derived by estimates based on respective sub-samples. Costs per unit are derived based on input-output coefficients and output values, providing costs per hectare or ton for wheat and per ton of milk. There is a considerable variation between Member States not only of production costs, but also of output, and output plus subsidies (due to the national implementations of full or partially decoupling schemes), especially for wheat and milk. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- Zusammenfassung: In dieser Studie werden Schätzungen von Produktionskosten basierend auf EU-Testbetriebsdaten unter Verwendung eines in dem EU-Forschungsprojekt FACEPA entwickelten Modells durchgeführt. Ergebnisse werden bereitgestellt für Weizen, Milch sowie für Schweine für die Hauptproduktionsländer der EU und für den Zeitraum 1999 bis 2007. Die geschätzten Input-Output Koeffizienten drücken die durchschnittlichen Kostenteile zum monetären Output des zugrundeliegenden Samples dar. Einflussfaktoren auf die Kosten wie BetriebsgröÃe, Standort und Spezialisierung können mittels Schätzung auf Basis entsprechend geschichteter Samples analysiert werden. Die Kosten je Einheit werden basierend auf den Schätzkoeffizienten und Outputs abgeleitet, und zwar je Hektar (für Weizen) sowie je Tonne für Weizen und Milch. Zwischen den Mitgliedstaaten bestehen erhebliche Unterschiede sowohl bei den Produktionskosten, dem monetären Output als auch den gekoppelten Direktzahlungen vor allem für Weizen und Milch. |
| Keywords: | econometric analysis, production costs, ökonometrische Analyse, Produktionskosten, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C39, Q12, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:118867&r=agr |
| By: | Taheripour, Farzad; Thomas Hertel; Jing Liu |
| Abstract: | In recent years there has been a flurry of activity aimed at evaluating the land use consequences of biofuels programs and the associated carbon releases. In this paper we argue that these studies have tended to underestimate the ensuing land use emissions, because they have ignored the role of irrigation, and associated constraints on cropland expansion. In this paper, we develop a new general equilibrium model which distinguishes irrigated and rainfed cropping industries at a global scale. Using the new model we evaluate the implications of land use change due to US ethanol programs, in the context of physical constraints on the expansion of irrigated cropland. We find that models which mingle irrigated and rainfed areas underestimate the global land use changes induced due to the US ethanol expansion by about 5.7%. They tend to underestimate the corresponding land use emissions by more than one fifth. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:workpp:3743&r=agr |
| By: | Stéphane De Cara (INRA, UMR 210 Economie Publique INRA-AgroParisTech and Chaire Economie du Climat); Pierre-Alain Jayet (INRA, UMR 210 Economie Publique INRA-AgroParisTech) |
| Abstract: | We propose a quantitative assessment of the marginal abatement costs (MAC) of greenhouse gas emissions from European agriculture and analyze the implications of the non-ETS burden-sharing agreement (BSA) for this sector. This assessment is based on MAC reduced forms, the generic specification of which enables simple parameterization and numerical computations. Such MAC curves are parameterized for each Member State using the outputs of a detailed model of the European agricultural supply. They are then used to compute total and marginal abatement costs involved by the BSA targets, as well as the costeffective effort sharing, the corresponding emission price and abatement costs. The main findings are: (i) flexibility mechanisms such as a cap-and-trade system for agricultural emissions could reduce the total costs of meeting the 10% EU abatement target by a factor two to three relative to the strict implementation of each country’s target, (ii) the corresponding equilibrium emission price is found to be 32-42 €/tCO2eq depending on the assumption regarding business-as-usual emissions, and (iii) a cap-and-trade system with allowances based on the BSA targets would involve substantial transfers from EU-15 countries to New Member States, an important share of which being made of ‘hot air’. |
| Keywords: | Greenhouse gas emissions, Agriculture, Marginal abatement costs, Cap-and-trade system, Methane, Nitrous oxide, European Union |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1105&r=agr |
| By: | Kariuki, Maina B. Joel |
| Abstract: | The role and contribution of the fisheries sub-sector in Kenya cannot be underestimated. In particular, the contribution of Rastrienebola Argentea, commonly referred to as Omena, or Dagaa is increasingly being recognized and appreciated by several Government institutions and Non-Governmental organizations. Omena production is valued at 200 million dollars while its trade supports more than 2 million livelihoods. Different interventions by the government and the Non-Governmental organizations have resulted to increased production of Omena fish. However, increased production alone is not enough to effectively develop this industry. Information on the marketing functions and the efficiency with which these functions are carried out is lacking. In addition, distribution of costs and benefits along the Omena marketing chain is not known while fluctuations in supply affect price transmission between different markets. The main objective of this study was thus to assess the performance of Omena marketing in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study included: assessing the effectiveness of the Omena marketing channels; evaluating the price spreads along the different marketing channels; and to determine whether the spatially separated markets for Omena are integrated. Primary data was collected in two purposively identified regional markets in Kenya (i.e. Kisumu and Nakuru) while additional secondary data from the Nairobi region was included only for the purposes of analyzing market integration. Selection of markets was based on whether the markets are deficit or surplus regions for Omena. A multistage sampling procedure resulted to a total of 43 fishermen; 42 small scale processors; 20 wholesalers; 31 retailers; 32 domestic consumers; and 7 industrial consumers making a grand total number of 175 respondents. Questionnaires were adopted as the major tools of data collection using one-on-one interviews. To analyze the resultant data, the study utilized gross margin analysis and co-integration modeling. Results indicate that Omena marketing channels are to a large degree effective as it regards to meeting the consumption needs. However, results also indicated that longer marketing channels resulted not only to high costs and thus high retail prices; but also to lower returns to the fishermen. Further, the study identified that there is no integration amongst Omena markets in Kisumu and Nakuru and that a weak degree of integration existed between Kisumu and Nairobi. Information generated by this study is important in guiding policy makers to identify points of interventions as well as in designing effective and efficient Omena marketing channels. |
| Keywords: | Marketing, |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:117805&r=agr |
| By: | Abraham, Vinoj |
| Abstract: | The rural labour market in India is still virtually, to a large extent, dominated by the agriculture related workers, both cultivators and hired workers consisting of more than 70 percent of the rural workforce even in the current decade. However, there have been signs of a shift from farm to non-farm occupations and industries during the recent times, at a magnitude relatively higher than the experience of the last three decades. This has brought in a lot of optimism among economy watchers that there is at last a visible structural shift in employment. Yet, it needs to be recognized that this shift has occurred in a period when the economy was reeling under the effects of a severe agrarian crisis. The trends and patterns in the structural shift support the argument that this has occurred mainly as a distress-driven response to the crisis. Logit and Multinomial logit analysis shows that in distress-driven regions the shift has occurred due to the push factors associated with the distress, while in the normal regions the shift has been relatively more responsive to growth driven factors. |
| Keywords: | Agrarian distress; Non-farm employment; Rural; India; Push factors |
| JEL: | J43 C35 J24 |
| Date: | 2011–12–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35275&r=agr |
| By: | Abdoul CISSE (IFREMER-Guyane et CEREGMIA, UAG); Sophie GOURGUET (IFREMER, UMR AMURE et CNRS-CERSP-MNHN); Luc DOYEN (CNRS-CERSP-MNHN); Fabian BLANCHARD (IFREMER-Guyane); Jean-Christophe PEREAU (GREThA, CNRS, UMR 5113, Université de Bordeaux) |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a theoretical and empirical modeling for ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM). A multi-species and multi-fleets model integrating Lokta-Volterra trophic dynamics and profit functions is developed for the coastal fishery of French Guiana. This small-case fishery constitutes a challenging example with high fish biodiversity, several non selective fleets and a potentially increasing local food demand due to demographic pressure. The dynamic model is calibrated with thirteen species and four fleets using catch and effort data on a monthly basis from 2006 to 2009. Several contrasting fishing scenarios including status quo, total closure, economic and viable strategies are simulated and compared from both biodiversity preservation and socio-economic performance viewpoints. We show that fishing outputs including food supply and profitability of fleets can be sustained although a significant loss of biodiversity cannot be avoided. |
| Keywords: | Small-scale fishery, biodiversity, sustainability, profitability, food security, multi-species, multi-fleets |
| JEL: | Q22 Q56 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2011-38&r=agr |
| By: | Jouanjean, Marie-Agnes; Maur, Jean-Christophe; Shepherd, Ben |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a novel dataset on US food import refusals to show that reputation is an important factor in the enforcement of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures. The strongest reputation effect comes from a country’s own history of compliance in relation to a particular product. The odds of at least one import refusal in the current year increase by over 300% if there was a refusal in the preceding year, after controlling for other factors. However, the data are also suggestive of the existence of two sets of spillovers. First, import refusals are less likely if there is an established history of compliance in relation to other goods in the same sector. Second, an established history of compliance in relation to the same product by neighboring countries also helps reduce the number of import refusals. These findings have important policy implications for exporters of agricultural products, particularly in middle-income countries. In particular, they highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach to upgrading standards systems, focusing on sectors rather than individual products, as well as the possible benefits that can come from regional cooperation in building SPS compliance capacity. |
| Keywords: | Product standards; SPS measures; Import refusals; Developing countries |
| JEL: | F15 F13 O24 |
| Date: | 2011–12–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35270&r=agr |
| By: | Zgarjnar, Jaka; Kavcic, Stane |
| Abstract: | The paper presents multiple criteria approach to deal with risk in farmerâs decisions. Decision making process is organised in a framework of spreadsheet tool. It is supported by deterministic and stochastic mathematical programming techniques applying optimisation concept. Decision making process is conceptually divided into seven autonomous modules that are mutually linked up. Beside the common maximisation of expected income through linear programming it enables also reconstruction of current production practice. Income risk modelling is based on portfolio theory resting on expected value, variance (E,V) paradigm. Modules dealing with risk are therefore supported with quadratic and constrained quadratic programming. Non-parametric approach is utilised to estimate decision makerâs risk attitude. It is measured with coefficient of risk aversion, needed to maximise certainty equivalent for analysed farms. Multiple criteria paradigm is based on goal programming approach. In contribution focus is put on benefits and possible drawbacks of supporting weighted goal programming with penalty functions. Application of the tool is illustrated with three dairy farm cases. Obtained results confirm advantage of utilizing penalty function system. Beside greater positiveness it proves as useful approach for fine tuning of the model enabling imitation of farmerâs behaviour, which is due to his/her conservative nature not perfect or rational. Results confirm hypothesis that single criteria decision making, based on maximisation of expected income, might be biased and does not necessary lead to the best - achievable option for analysed farm. |
| Keywords: | goal programming, risk modelling, risk aversion, production planning, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:118033&r=agr |
| By: | Jean-Marie Baland (Center for Research in the Economics of Development, University of Namur); Sanghamitra Das (Indian Statistical Institute); Dilip Mookherjee (Boston University) |
| Abstract: | This paper summarizes findings from a decade-long project on forest degradation in the mid-Himalayan region of India and Nepal. The analysis is based on LSMS data for Nepal and field work in Indian states of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh comprising sample surveys of forests, households and village communities, besides commissioned anthropological studies for select villages. The purpose was to ascertain the nature and magnitude of deforestation and degradation from ground-level forest measurements, its implications for living standards of local communities, the contribution of different factors commonly alleged such as local poverty, inequality, economic growth, demographic changes, property rights and lack of collective action by local communities. Principal findings, policy implications and questions for future research are discussed. |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nam:wpaper:1116&r=agr |
| By: | Jin, Ling; Chen, Kevin Z.; Yu, Bingxin; Huang, Zuhui |
| Abstract: | Rural households in developing economies frequently use precautionary saving to cope with income risk. Such prudent behavior can be strengthened in transition economies where more risks are typically faced by households during and after reforms. This paper uses a rich panel of rural households in Zhejiang, China, to examine the correlation between income uncertainty and the target ratio of wealth to permanent income as suggested by the buffer-stock model. The empirical results suggest that Chinese rural households hold a significant level of wealth to mitigate the adverse impacts of income risk. Simulation results show that an increase in income risk leads to a sharp increase in household wealth and precautionary saving could drop substantially if income risk is eliminated. The high level of prudence of rural households under economic transition can help us better understand the developments in China, which will have policy implications for both developing and transition countries. |
| Keywords: | buffer-stock model, Income risk, precautionary saving, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1127&r=agr |
| By: | Francesconi, Gian Nicola; Wouterse, Fleur |
| Abstract: | This study presents a stylized but insightful diagnostic of the problems limiting collective action in Ghanaian farmer-based organizations (FBOs). In our analysis, we use a structure-conduct-performance framework, econometrics, and new primary data for 500 FBOs collected through surveys and games. We find that most Ghanaian FBOs are inactive, failing to mobilize their members into any sort of collective action. To understand why this is so, we postulate that in rural Ghana, four typologies can be used to classify FBOs and to distinguish them on the basis of their membership structure and rules of conduct. We then show that FBOs fail to mobilize collective action whenever their structure and conduct are not aligned. In particular, misalignment leads mainly to problems of access to external credit and to a lesser extent to problems of internal cohesion. To maximize collective action, this study recommends the diversification of policy through recognizing the four different types of FBOs, each facing particular and to some extent opposing problems. |
| Keywords: | Collective action, Cooperatives, econometrics, games, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1129&r=agr |
| By: | Silverstein, David N. |
| Abstract: | Funding a response to climate change after Kyoto will require another look at both burden sharing and funding mechanisms. After reviewing the risks of cap-and-trade with carbon offsets and the advantages of a harmonized carbon tax, a method is proposed to utilize a harmonized carbon price to finance the Green Climate Fund. A common carbon price is set across all nations with either a carbon tax or an emissions trading floor price with carbon offsets excluded. The harmonized carbon price is incrementally increased until 2050 to reach the cost of atmospheric removal and achieve equilibrium. Carbon revenues collected internally within nations are used for internal investments in climate change. Financing for the Green Climate Fund is generated from transferring a percentage of the collected revenues, based on a sliding window of historical responsibility for fossil fuel emissions and national wealth. Collected revenue is disbursed for climate aid based on a set of national climate need factors for adaptation and mitigation, including preserving strategic carbon absorbers, low-carbon infrastructures, technology transfer and population management. In the interest of distributive justice, nations themselves determine the need factors of each other. Unlike cap-and-trade, this method does not explicitly set emissions caps, but total global emissions can be regulated nevertheless. Formulas are presented for collection and disbursement, which require parameters for a globally harmonized carbon price, a climate fund contribution rate, historical responsibility from fossil fuel emissions, a national wealth threshold for fund contributions and need factors for each nation. Published economic and emissions data are used with the formulas to demonstrate an example of how the financing can work. This presents an equitable way to address climate needs across all nations on both a global and regional level. |
| Keywords: | climate change; global warming; green climate fund; carbon tax; cap-and-trade; climate finance; Kyoto protocol |
| JEL: | F18 F35 Q56 F51 E01 F53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35280&r=agr |
| By: | Julian Cristia; William Evans; Beomsoo Kim |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of a large-scale contracting-out program in Guatemala, using two waves of living standard measurement surveys which collected data before and after the expansion of the program and exploiting variation in the timing of the program to estimate treatment effects. Results indicate large program impacts on immunization rates for children and prenatal care provider choices. The program increases substantially the role of physician and nurses as prenatal care providers at the expense of traditional midwives. There is no evidence of effects in family planning outcomes. Taken together these results suggest a potential effective role of contracting-out in the provision of health care. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:wpaper:4728&r=agr |
| By: | Arezki, Rabah; Lederman, Daniel; Zhao, Hongyan |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the volatility of commodity prices on the basis of a large dataset of monthly prices observed in international trade data from the United States over the period 2002 to 2011. The conventional wisdom in academia and policy circles is that primary commodity prices are more volatile than those of manufactured products, although most of the existing evidence does not actually attempt to measure the volatility of prices of individual goods or commodities. The literature tends to focus on trends in the evolution and volatility of ratios of price indexes composed of multiple commodities and products. This approach can be misleading. Indeed, the evidence presented in this paper suggests that on average prices of individual primary commodities are less volatile than those of individual manufactured goods. However, the challenges of managing terms of trade volatility in developing countries with concentrated export baskets remain. |
| Keywords: | Markets and Market Access,Emerging Markets,Commodities,E-Business,Access to Markets |
| Date: | 2011–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5903&r=agr |
| By: | Charness, Gary; Viceisza, Angelino |
| Abstract: | In the past decade, it has become increasingly common to use simple laboratory games and decision tasks as a device for measuring both the preferences and understanding of rural populations in the developing world. This is vitally important for policy implementation in a variety of areas. In this paper, we report the results observed using three distinct risk elicitation mechanisms, using samples drawn from the rural population in Senegal, West Africa. Whatever the intellectual merits of a particular elicitation strategy, there is little value in performing such tests if the respondents do not understand the questions involved. We test the understanding of and the level of meaningful responses to the typical Holt-Laury task, to a simple binary mechanism pioneered by Gneezy and Potters in 1997 and adapted by Charness and Gneezy in 2010, and to a nonincentivized willingness-to-risk scale à la Dohmen et al. We find a disturbingly low level of understanding with the Holt-Laury task and an unlikely-to-be-accurate pattern with the willingness-to-risk question. On the other hand, the simple binary mechanism produces results that closely match the patterns found in previous work, although the levels of risk-taking are lower than in previous studies. Our study is a cautionary note against utilizing either sophisticated risk-elicitation mechanisms at the possible cost of seriously diminished levels of comprehension or nonincentivized questions in the rural developing world. |
| Keywords: | comprehension, risk elicitation, laboratory experiments in the field, rural, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1135&r=agr |
| By: | Philippe Delacote (Researcher at INRA - Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière.) |
| Abstract: | The factors of deforestation at a global level have been widely studied in the empirical economic literature. However, the high heterogeneity among countries considerably limits the overall significance of the results. Using quantile approach, we show that some major deforestation factors are more prevalent in high deforestation countries, giving the insight that those factors have been under-estimated in previous studies. |
| Keywords: | Quantile analysis, Deforestation, Economic development, Environmental Kuznets Curve |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1110&r=agr |
| By: | Rabah Arezki; Daniel Lederman; Hongyan Zhao |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the volatility of commodity prices on the basis of a large dataset of monthly prices observed in international trade data from the United States over the period 2002 to 2011. The conventional wisdom in academia and policy circles is that primary commodity prices are more volatile than those of manufactured products, even though most of the existing evidence does not actually attempt to measure the volatility of prices of individual goods or commodities. Rather the literature tends to focus on trends in the evolution and volatility of ratios of price indexes composed of multiple commodities and products. This approach can be misleading. Indeed, the evidence presented in this paper suggests that on average prices of individual primary commodities may be less volatile than those of individual manufactured goods. |
| Keywords: | Capital goods , Commodities , Commodity price fluctuations , Commodity prices , Manufacturing , Prices , |
| Date: | 2011–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:11/279&r=agr |
| By: | Sebastian Sosa; Gustavo Adler |
| Abstract: | Commodity-exporting countries have significantly benefited from the commodity price boom of recent years. At the current juncture, however, uncertain global economic prospects have raised questions about their vulnerability to a sharp fall in commodity prices and the policies that can shield it from such a shock. To address these questions, this paper takes a long term (4 decade) view at emerging markets’ commodity dependence, the history of commodity price busts and the role of policies in mitigating or amplifying their economic impact. The paper highlights the stark difference in trends between Latin America - one of the most vulnerable regions given its high, and rising, commodity dependence - and emerging Asia - which has evolved from being a net exporter to a net importer of commodities in the last 40 years. We find evidence, however, that while commodity dependence is an important ingredient, a country’s ultimate degree of vulnerability to commodity price shocks is to a great extent determined by the flexibility and quality of its policy framework. Policies in the run-up of sharp terms-of-trade drops - especially when those are preceded by booms - play a particularly important role. Limited exchange rate flexibility, a weak external position, and loose fiscal policy tend to amplify the negative effects of these shocks on domestic output. Financial dollarization also appears to act as a shock "amplifier." |
| Date: | 2011–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:11/283&r=agr |
| By: | William D. Nordhaus (Cowles Foundation, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | This survey examines the history and current practice in integrated assessment models (IAMs) of the economics of climate change. It begins with a review of the emerging problem of climate change. The next section provides a brief sketch of the rise of IAMs in the 1970s and beyond. The subsequent section is an extended exposition of one IAM, the DICE/RICE family of models. The purpose of this description is to provide readers an example of how such a model is developed and what the major components are. The final section discusses major important open questions that continue to occupy IAM modelers. These involve issues such as the discount rate, uncertainty, the social cost of carbon, the potential for catastrophic climate change, algorithms, and fat-tailed distributions. These issues are ones that pose both deep intellectual challenges as well as important policy implications for climate change and climate-change policy. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Integrated assessment models, Environmental economics, Social cost of carbon, Large-scale mathematical models |
| JEL: | Q5 Q54 C6 H4 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1839&r=agr |
| By: | de Brauw, Alan; Gilligan, Daniel |
| Abstract: | Regression discontinuity design (RDD) is a useful tool for evaluating programs when a single variable is used to determine program eligibility. RDD has also been used to evaluate programs when eligibility is based on multiple variables that have been aggregated into a single index using explicit, often arbitrary, weights. In this paper, we show that under specific conditions, regression discontinuity can be used in instances when more than one variable is used to determine eligibility, without assigning explicit weights to map those variables into a single measure. |
| Keywords: | Regression discontinuity design, partitioned cluster analysis, Schooling, Impact evaluation, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1116&r=agr |