|
on Agricultural Economics |
|
Issue of 2012‒03‒08
thirty-six papers chosen by |
| By: | Masanori Takashima |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd11-223&r=agr |
| By: | Mason, Nicole M.; Myers, Robert J. |
| Abstract: | More than two decades after the initiation of agricultural market reforms in eastern and southern Africa (ESA), governments in the region are increasingly using parastatal grain marketing boards (GMBs) and/or strategic grain reserves (SGRs) to directly influence the prices faced by farmers and consumers (Jayne, Chapoto, and Govereh 2007). In Zambia, the government through the Food Reserve Agency, an SGR/GMB, purchased nearly 400,000 MT of maize from smallholders in 2006/07 and 2007/08, or more than 50% of the maize marketed by this group. |
| Keywords: | Zambia, Smallholder, Food Security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:120764&r=agr |
| By: | Antonio Yunez-Naude (El Colegio de Mexico) |
| Abstract: | The paper is dedicated to examine the implications of agricultural trade liberalization within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for food security in Mexico. Since NAFTA implementation has almost 20 years of existence, the Mexican experience is relevant to draw lessons for other emerging economies in South East Asia involved in regional free trade agreements. Taking into consideration agricultural heterogeneity in Mexico at both production and regional levels, the main objective of the paper is to evaluate empirically the effect of NAFTA and domestic reforms on Mexico´s agricultural prices, production, trade and food security with special attention to Mexico´s non-competitive crops under NAFTA: grains and oilseeds and maize (the major food staple of Mexico). The study shows that some of the official expectations about the effects of NAFTA have not been realized: e.g. domestic production of maize has increased. In order to explain unexpected trends, I propose that particular reactions of subsistence household farmers to market-price changes and subsidies to commercial farmers producing staples explain unforeseen trends. With respect to food security during NAFTA, I find that per capita food consumption in Mexico has increased, partially at the expense of “import dependency” and “self-sufficiency”. However, what causes concern is that income inequality and poverty prevails, meaning that food security has not been granted for all Mexicans. I conclude that food production and security can increase in Mexico by “reforming the reforms” in a market oriented and globalized context by a long run effective policy design that favors the provision of public goods and that integrates social policies with productive policies for rural households with a competitive potential. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, trade, food security, maize. |
| JEL: | Q18 F13 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emx:ceedoc:2012-01&r=agr |
| By: | Christian K.M. Kingombe and Salvatore di Falco (Overseas Development Institute / Graduate Institute of International Studies / London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the dynamic impacts of rural road improvements on farm productivity and crop choices in Zambia’s Eastern Province. There are several channels through which the feeder road improvements impact on farmers. Our aim is to estimate whether the differential outcomes in the five treatment districts and three control districts generated by the expansion of market agricultural activities among small to medium scale farmers could be explained by rural road improvements that took place after the new Chiluba MMD government in 1995 had completed an IMF rights accumulation programme bringing the principal marketing agent system to an end. Our district-level empirical analysis is an extension to the Brambilla and Porto(2005, 2007) cross-provincial level approach which proposes a dynamic approach accounting for entry and exit into the agricultural cotton sector to avoid biases in the estimates of aggregate productivity, when measuring productivity in agriculture applied to a repeated cross-sections of farm-level data from the Zambian post-harvest survey (PHS). Despite the limitations of the PHS data covering the period from 1996/1997 to 2001/2002 when the Eastern Province Feeder Road Project (EPFRP) was being implemented. The identification strategy relies on differences-in-differences of outcomes (i.e., cotton productivity) approach across two phases (pre-treatment and post-treatment). We use maize productivity to difference out unobserved household and aggregate agricultural year effects. Through our descriptive analysis we do find that changes in land allocation and in yields to Eastern Province’s most important cash crop – cotton did occur at the district level. However, it is difficult to conclude that these changes are linked directly to the improved accessibility obtained from the implementation of the EPFRP based on our differences-in-differences estimator or our Tobit model. |
| Keywords: | Impact evaluation, Cash crop choice; Cotton productivity; Africa; Zambia (Eastern Province). |
| JEL: | C2 C83 D2 O12 O13 Q12 R3 |
| Date: | 2012–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:giihei:heidwp04-2012&r=agr |
| By: | Mason, Nicole M.; Myers, Robert J. |
| Abstract: | This policy synthesis estimates the effects of the Zambia Food Reserve Agencyâs (FRA) activities on maize market prices in the country. The FRA, a government parastatal strategic food reserve/maize marketing board, buys maize at a pan-territorial price that typically exceeds wholesale market prices in major maize producing areas. It then exports the maize or sells it domestically at prices determined by tender, at auction, or administratively. In deficit production years, the Agency often imports maize and sells it to select large-scale millers at below-market prices. |
| Keywords: | Zambia, Maize, Food Security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:120766&r=agr |
| By: | Mason, Nicole; Jayne, T.S.; Myers, Robert J. |
| Abstract: | More than two decades after the initiation of agricultural market reforms in eastern and southern Africa (ESA), governments in the region are increasingly using parastatal grain marketing boards (GMBs) and/or strategic grain reserves (SGRs) to directly influence the prices faced by farmers and consumers. In Zambia, for example, the government through the Food Reserve Agency, a SGR/GMB, purchased nearly 400,000 metric tons (MT) of maize from smallholders in 2006/07 and 2007/08, or more than 50% of the maize marketed by this group. This marked a sharp increase in the level of FRA purchases: between its establishment in 1996 and the 2005/06 marketing year, FRAâs annual maize purchases only once exceeded 100,000 MT. Then in 2010/11, the FRA purchased more than 80% of expected smallholder marketed maize (878,570 MT). |
| Keywords: | Zambia, Food Security Smallholder, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:120768&r=agr |
| By: | Mason, Nicole; Myers, Robert J |
| Abstract: | Over the last decade, governments in eastern and southern Africa have become increasingly involved in grain marketing via strategic reserves and marketing boards. Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia all have one or both of these entities, and their level of involvement in grain marketing has generally increased in recent years. Yet, to date, relatively little is known about how the resurgent activities of strategic grain reserves and marketing boards are affecting market prices. This paper estimates the effects of the Zambia Food Reserve Agencyâs (FRA) activities on maize market prices in the country. |
| Keywords: | Zambia, Food Security, Maize, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:120771&r=agr |
| By: | Surabhi Mittal (ICRIER); Sanjay Gandhi; Gaurav Tripathi |
| Abstract: | Deficits in physical infrastructure, problems with availability of agricultural inputs and poor access to agriculture-related information are the major constraints on the growth of agricultural productivity in India. The more rapid growth of mobile telephony as compared to fixed line telephony and the recent introduction of mobileenabled information services provide a means to overcome existing information asymmetry. It also helps, at least partially, to bridge the gap between the availability and delivery of agricultural inputs and agriculture infrastructure. This paper investigates a series of questions that explore this topic : What kind of information do farmers value the most to improve agricultural productivity? Do mobile phones and mobile-enabled agricultural services have an impact on agriculture? What are the factors that impede the realisation of the full productivity enhancing potential of mobile phones? The answers to these questions have important implications for mobile operators, for information service providers, and for policymakers. The quality of information, its timeliness and trustworthiness are the three important features that have to be ensured to enable farmers to use it effectively to improve productivity. The study found evidence that mobiles are being used in ways which contribute to productivity enhancement. However, to leverage the full potential of information dissemination enabled by mobile telephony will require significant improvements in supporting infrastructure and capacity building amongst farmers to enable them to use the information they access effectively. As mobile penetration continues to increase among farming communities and information services continue to adapt and proliferate, the scope exists for a much greater rural productivity impact in the future. |
| Keywords: | telecommunications, India, agriculture |
| JEL: | Q10 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:wpaper:23188&r=agr |
| By: | Hoken, Hisatoshi |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of land rental market development on the efficiency of labor allocation and land utilization in rural China. To test the hypothesis that the shadow wage of a rent-in household with limited off-farm opportunities will increase with the development of a land rental market for households, a statistical comparison between the shadow wage and the estimated market wage was conducted. The results showed that the shadow wage for both rent-in households and non-rent-in households was significantly lower than the market wage, but that the wage for the rent-in households was statistically higher than that for non-rent-in households in Fenghua and Deqing, the two counties surveyed in this study. In addition, the estimated marginal product of farmland for rent-in households was statistically higher than the actual land rent that those households paid, while a null hypothesis that the actual rental fee accepted by rent-out households is equivalent to the marginal product of farmland for those households was not rejected in Fenghua county where land transactions by mutual agreement were more prevalent. These results indicate that the development of the land rental market facilitates the efficiency of labor allocation and farmland utilization in rural China. |
| Keywords: | China, Land use, Farm management, Farmers, Household, Land Rental Market, Agricultural Production Function, Household Model |
| JEL: | J22 O13 Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper323&r=agr |
| By: | Sébastien Foudi |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the interactions between soil biota and agricultural practices in the exploitation of soil ecosystem services. A theoretical bioeconomic model stylized this set of interactions and combined a production function approach with optimal<br /> control theory. In the model, a farmer decides his optimal use of external input and land use given that (i) land uses modify soil biota composition, (ii) the external input reduces soil biota population. The results show how the combination of ecological interactions, farmer\\\'s expectations on the evolution of the stock of soil biota and the technology of production determines the optimal decisions. The interpretation of the results helps to understand why and under which circumstances a sustainable or a non-sustainable use of soil ecosystem services may be optimal for farmers. A particular emphasis given to the role of property rights and time preferences in the use of soil biota services reveals the ambiguity of their role on the conservation of soil ecosystem services generated by soil biota. |
| Keywords: | Ecosystem services, land uses, agriculture, heterogeneous environment, time preferences. |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcc:wpaper:2012-02&r=agr |
| By: | David Berre (IESEG School of Management (LEM-CNRS) and University Lille 1); Jean-Philippe Boussemart (IESEG School of Management (LEM-CNRS) and University Lille 3); Emmanuel Tillard (UMR SELMET / CIRAD La Réunion) |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Data Envelopment Analysis, Environmental Studies |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ies:wpaper:e201202&r=agr |
| By: | Dumea, Andrei-Cosmin; Andrei, Andreia Gabriela |
| Abstract: | Food consumption patterns are rapidly changing nowadays as a result of environmental issues, concern about the nutritional value of food and health issues. Issues such as quality and safety in food attract consumer interest in organic food that is free from pesticides and chemical residues (Childs and Polyzees, 1997; Zotos et al., 1999; Baltas, 2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002). This study is attempted to gain knowledge about organic food consumer demographic characteristics and purchase behaviour of organic food in Romania. The research method used was online survey. A structured questionnaire was used which employed with true-false questions, multiple-choice questions and Likert scale questions. A convenience sample was used for this research. |
| Keywords: | organic food; organic consumer; demographics profile |
| JEL: | D12 D10 M30 |
| Date: | 2012–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:36865&r=agr |
| By: | Birol, Ekin; Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Karandikar,Bhushana; Roy, Devesh |
| Abstract: | This study explores farmer acceptance and valuation of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. We focus on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most important staple crops. A choice experiment is used to investigate farmer preferences for and trade-offs among various production and consumption attributes of pearl millet. The key pearl millet attributes studied included days it takes pearl millet to mature, color of the roti (flat bread) the grain produces, the presence of high-iron content (nutritional attribute), and the price of the pearl millet seed. Choice data come from 630 pearl millet-producing households randomly selected from 3 purposefully selected districts of Maharashtra. A latent class model is used to investigate the heterogeneity in farmers' preferences for pearl millet attributes and to profile farmers who are more or less likely to choose high-iron varieties of pearl millet. Our results reveal that there are three distinct segments in the sample, and there is significant heterogeneity in farmer preferences across these segments. High-iron pearl millet is valued the most by larger households that produce mainly for household consumption and currently have lower quality diets. Households that mainly produce for market sales, on the other hand, derive lower benefits from consumption characteristics such as color and nutrition. These results have implications for the design of targeted strategies to maximize adoption and consumption of high-iron pearl millet varieties. |
| Keywords: | Biofortification, Choice experiment, latent class model, preference heterogeneity, Pearl millet, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:harvwp:7&r=agr |
| By: | Armas, Enrique Blanco; Osorio, Camilo Gomez; Moreno-Dodson, Blanca; Abriningrum, Dwi Endah |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the trends and evolution of public spending in the agriculture sector in Indonesia, as well as the impact of public spending on agricultural growth. It finds that, in line with empirical work undertaken in other countries, public spending on agriculture and irrigation during the period 1976-2006 had a positive impact on agricultural growth, while public spending on fertilizer subsidies had the opposite effect. The composition of spending patterns in Indonesia over the past decade can partly explain why significant increases in public spending for agriculture have not resulted in a commensurate increase of agricultural production. The paper is structured as follows. Section I presents analytical and empirical findings about the impact of overall public spending on growth, with a particular focus on Indonesia, followed by an analysis of the government's role in agriculture. More precisely, it discusses how public spending can contribute to higher productivity and faster growth in the sector. The section draws lessons from the empirical literature and country examples worldwide, exploring the implications of some of these findings in the Indonesia context. Section II presents the results of an empirical analysis of the impact of agriculture public spending on agriculture gross domestic product per capita growth in Indonesia, using time series analysis with both ordinary least squares and generalized method of moments econometric techniques. Section III analyzes in detail agriculture public spending trends in Indonesia over the period 2000-08, highlighting that a large and increasing share of the spending is being allocated to subsidies (fertilizer, credit, seeds) and to fund transfers to farmers and farmers'groups. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics,Agricultural Research,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Agribusiness |
| Date: | 2012–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5977&r=agr |
| By: | Donovan, Cynthia; Haggblade, Steven; Salegua, Venâncio Alexandre; Cuambe, Constantino; Mudema, João; Tomo, Alda |
| Abstract: | Cassava supplies roughly 30% of all calories consumed in Mozambique, making it the countryâs most important food security crop. Over the past several decades, growing urbanization and shifting demand patterns have led to growing opportunities for cassava processing and commercialization. This paper examines the commercial dynamics in Mozambiqueâs cassava value chain as well as the food security implications of growing cassava commercialization. |
| Keywords: | Mozambique, Cassava, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:120744&r=agr |
| By: | Mather, David; Jayne, T.S. |
| Abstract: | Despite the resurgence of parastatal marketing boards and strategic grain reserves over the last decade in eastern and southern Africa, there is little empirical evidence about how their activities affect smallholder input use and cropping decisions. This paper uses panel survey data from 1997-2007 on Kenyan smallholders to investigate the effect of Kenyaâs National Cereal Produce Board (NCPB) activities on farm-gate maize price expectations, output supply, and factor demand. |
| Keywords: | Kenya, Marketing, Smallholder, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:120742&r=agr |
| By: | Howes, Stephen (Asian Development Bank Institute); Wyrwoll, Paul (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | The developing economies of Asia are confronted by serious environmental problems that threaten to undermine future growth, food security, and regional stability. This study considers four major environmental challenges that policymakers across developing Asia will need to address towards 2030: water management, air pollution, deforestation and land degradation, and climate change. We argue that these challenges, each unique in their own way, all exhibit the characteristics of “wicked problems”. As developed in the planning literature, and now applied much more broadly, wicked problems are dynamic, complex, encompass many issues and stakeholders, and evade straightforward, lasting solutions. |
| Keywords: | asia environmental problems; food security; water management; air pollution; deforestation; land degradation; climate change; wicked problems |
| JEL: | O10 O44 O53 Q28 Q53 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2012–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0348&r=agr |
| By: | Walls, Margaret (Resources for the Future); Riddle, Anne (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Natural ecosystems provide a variety of benefits to society, known as “ecosystem services.” Fundamental to the provision of ecosystem services in a region is its underlying biodiversity, i.e., the wealth and variety of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Because the benefits from ecosystem services and biodiversity are not valued in market exchanges, private landowners tend to undersupply them. We compare and contrast the different approaches taken to providing ecosystem services on private land in three federal programs—the Endangered Species Act, the Conservation Reserve Program, and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) places restrictions on land uses for private landowners if endangered species, or critical habitats for endangered species, are found on their properties. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) compensates farmers for removing valuable property from agricultural production to preserve wildlife habitat, water and soil quality, and other ecosystem values. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act prohibits destruction or damage to wetlands, unless individuals buy credits for equivalent wetlands created by third parties—so-called “wetlands mitigation banks.” These three policies run the gamut from a command-and-control regulatory approach to a “payment for ecosystem services” option. We summarize the economics literature on key findings from these programs. |
| Keywords: | biodiversity, critical habitat, conservation, green infrastructure, payment for ecosystem services, public goods, wetlands mitigation |
| JEL: | Q57 Q15 Q25 Q28 |
| Date: | 2012–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-12-08&r=agr |
| By: | Richard H. Steckel; William J. White |
| Abstract: | The role of twentieth-century agricultural mechanization in changing the productivity, employment opportunities, and appearance of rural America has long been appreciated. Less attention has been paid to the impact made by farm tractors, combines, and associated equipment on the standard of living of the U.S. population as a whole. This paper demonstrates, through use of a detailed counterfactual analysis, that mechanization in the production of farm products increased GDP by more than 8.0 percent, using 1954 as a base year. This result suggests that studying individual innovations can significantly increase our understanding of the nature of economic growth. |
| JEL: | N52 O30 Q16 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17879&r=agr |
| By: | Andrew Leicester (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) |
| Abstract: | <p><p>This paper considers what role in-home barcode scanner data could play in collecting household expenditure information as part of national budget surveys. One role is as a source of validation. We make detailed micro-level comparisons of food and drink expenditures in two British datasets: the Living Costs and Food Survey (the main budget survey) and Kantar Worldpanel scanner data. We find that levels of spending are significantly lower in scanner data. A large part (but not all) of the gap is explained by weeks in which no spending at all is recorded in scanner data. Demographic differences between the surveys accentuate rather than close the gap. We also demonstrate that patterns of expenditure across the surveys are much more similar, as are Engel curves relating food commodity budget shares to total food expenditures. A key finding is that the period over which we observe households in the scanner data significantly alters the distribution, but not the average, of weekly food expenditures and budget shares, which has important implications for whether two-week spending diaries common to budget surveys are giving a truly accurate reflection of a household's typical spending patterns. A second, more involved use of scanner data would be to impute detailed commodity-level expenditure patterns given only information on total expenditures, as a way of reducing respondent burden in budget surveys. We find that observable demographics in the scanner data explain little of the variation in store-specific expenditure patterns, and so caution against relying too heavily on imputation. </p></p> |
| Keywords: | Scanner data; expenditure; inflation; food; measurement. |
| JEL: | C81 C83 D12 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:12/01&r=agr |
| By: | Rosselynn Jaye Garcia de la Cruz |
| Abstract: | Mainstream adherence to land titling as a strategy to address rural poverty has gained even more sway against the backdrop of the contemporary phenomenon of large-scale farmland acquisitions, known to some as “global land grabbingâ€. The orthodox narrative, embraced in toto by organisations such as the World Bank, is that formal property rights mitigate the risks of these land acquisitions and allow the poor to access the benefits of these acquisitions. This paper attempts to critically investigate this narrative by problematising the land titling–land grabbing nexus under the lens of adverse incorporation. Situating the study in a bio-ethanol plantation in Isabela province, Philippines, the research compared two groups of small-holder farmers: one group with titles and another without titles. Initial findings show, firstly, that land titles do not neutralise the risks of adverse incorporation for farmers in highly-asymmetrical agrarian societies or protect against the market pressures that bear upon these farmers and secondly, that titles may, in fact, have a lubricating rather than insulating function—drawing title-holders into the global value chain and compromising their prospects for more equitable, pro-poor outcomes. In conclusion, the paper proposes a recasting of the land titling paradigm: viewing land titles not as apparatuses with invariant outcomes, but as contested tools for truly meaningful rights assertions. |
| Keywords: | Philippines;adverse incorporation;land grabbing;bio-fuels;land titling |
| Date: | 2012–02–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:euriss:534&r=agr |
| By: | Ecchia, Stefania |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the role of the informal rural credit markets in the palestinian agricultural development at the end of the Ottoman Empire. The analysis starts from the long term effects of the legal reforms, particularly the Ottoman Land Code, on the performance of these markets. Such effects are evident in the evolution of bay-wafa, salam and muzaraah contracts, typical of the rural credit markets, that are recorded in the acts of the Public Notary of Haifa during the years 1890-1915. These contracts show an emerging network of interlinked credit markets, managed by the local notables, at the core of the agricultural growth of late Ottoman Palestine. |
| Keywords: | Ottoman Palestine; informal rural credit markets; Ottoman Land Code |
| JEL: | N45 N55 N0 N25 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:36985&r=agr |
| By: | Bontemps, Christophe (GREMAQ,INRA); Nauges, Céline (LERNA-INRA); Réquillart, Vincent; Simioni, Michel (GREMAQ,INRA) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this article is to assess whether food safety regulations imposed by the European Union in the 2000s may have induced a slow-down in the productivity of firms in the food processing sector. The impact of regulations on costs and productivity has seldom been studied. This article contributes to the literature by measuring productivity change using a panel of French food processing firms for the years 1996 to 2006. To do so, we develop an original iterative testing procedure based on the comparison of the distribution of efficiency scores of a set of firms. Our results confirm that productivity decreased in two major food processing sectors (poultry and cheese) at the time when safety regulation was reinforced. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ide:wpaper:25480&r=agr |
| By: | Lluis Parcerisas; Joan Marull; Joan Pino; Enric Tello; Francesc Coll; Corina Basnou (Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We use a set of landscape metrics to study the long-term environmental transformation of a typical coastal Mediterranean area from 1850 to 2005. Our figures show a dramatic environmental deterioration between 1950 and 2005. The main proximate drivers of this landscape degradation are the effects of urban sprawl on former agricultural areas located in the coastal plains, together with the abandonment and reforestation of hilly slopes intercepted by low-density residential areas, highways, and other linear infrastructures. We carry out a statistical redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify certain ultimate socioeconomic and political drivers of these environmental impacts. The results confirm our interpretive hypothesis that: 1) land cover changes determine changes in landscape properties, both structural and functional; 2) these changes are not at random, but related to geographical endowments and socioeconomic or political drivers. |
| Keywords: | statistical redundancy analysis (rda), ecological connectivity, land-use change, socioeconomic drivers, mediterranean landscapes |
| JEL: | R14 Q56 N54 N53 O18 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bar:bedcje:2012273&r=agr |
| By: | Ken Miura; Hiromitsu Kanno; Takeshi Sakurai |
| Abstract: | This study re-examines the buffer stock hypothesis regarding livestock by taking into account differences in wealth level, asset types, and periods after a shock. This paper takes advantage of a unique panel data set of agricultural households in Southern Province, Zambia. The data were collected by weekly interviews of 48 sample households from November 2007 to December 2009, covering two crop years in which an unusually heavy rainfall event took place. If we consider delayed responses to the heavy rain shock, our econometric analyses support the buffer stock hypothesis for cattle as well as small livestock. Overall, this paper suggests that conventional annual data sets used by existing literature may miss the period-dependent transactions of assets after a shock. |
| Keywords: | Asset Smoothing, Buffer Stock, Weather Risk, Livestock, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd11-215&r=agr |
| By: | Jordi Domenech |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at the causes of rural conflict in 1930s Spain. Rather than stressing bottom-up forces of mobilisation linked to poor harvests and rural unemployment or the inability of the state to enforce reformist legislation, this paper explores the role of state policy in sorting out the acute coordination and collective action problems of mobilising rural labourers. I do so by looking at the effects of intervention on rural labour markets in dry-farming areas of Spain (parts of Castile and of Andalusia). Given the difficulties of constructing a conclusive test of my hypothesis, I follow three indirect testing strategies. Firstly, I look at the qualitative evidence on the functioning of labour markets in dry-farming areas of Spain. Secondly, because my argument implies the existence of severe restrictions to the labour supply of rural labourers during the harvest in the early 1930s, I study the evolution of harvest-to-winter wage ratios before and after the passing of legislation. Thirdly, in order to show that alternative hypotheses to explain rural conflict are not consistent with the historical record, I study the diffusion of union offices and general strikes in the early 1930s in several dry-farming provinces of Spain. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural labour markets, collective action, conflict, unions, wage differentials, migration, Spain |
| JEL: | N34 K31 J22 J31 J38 J43 J51 J52 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:whrepe:wp12-01&r=agr |
| By: | Chloe Duvivier (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Shi Li (School of Economics and Business Administration - School of Economics and Business Administration - Beijing Normal University); Mary-Françoise Renard (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of urban proximity on rural non-agricultural wages. Using the 2002 Chinese Household Income Project data, we study the determinants of rural non-agricultural workers' hourly wages. We find strong evidence that rural workers close to cities benefit from higher hourly wages, indicating that there is a spatial differentiation in wages across rural areas. Specifically, workers living close to cities are paid about 15% more for one hour worked. This is true even after controlling for living costs, suggesting that urban proximity leads to higher non-agricultural wages in real terms. We also find that migration enables remote workers to partially compensate for lower local wages, suggesting that restrictions on migration hurt remote workers more than other workers. |
| Keywords: | Wages;Remoteness;regional labor market;China Codes |
| Date: | 2012–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00673698&r=agr |
| By: | Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272) |
| Abstract: | This article presents an overview of the landscape valuation studies carried out in France. The reported studies are classified into three categories: rural landscapes, urban landscapes and periurban landscapes. We noticed that the majority of studies relate to rural landscapes, and more specifically to agricultural ones. Furthermore, we found that only one study relates to a remarkable architectural landscape and that no studies have been carried out in French overseas departments. Regarding valuation methods, the hedonic pricing method is the most widely used method. |
| Keywords: | Evaluation économique ; paysage |
| Date: | 2012–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00671540&r=agr |
| By: | Xiong, Bo; Beghin, John C. |
| Abstract: | We provide an ex-post econometric examination of the harmonization and tightening of the EU Maximum Residues Limit (MRL) on aflatoxins in 2002, and its impact on African exports of groundnut products. We show that the MRL set by the EU has no significant trade impact on groundnut exports from Africa across various methods of estimation. African domestic supply plays an important role in the determination of the volumes of trade and the propensity to trade. Our findings suggest that the trade potential of African groundnut exporters is more constrained by domestic supply issues rather than by limited market access. |
| Keywords: | food safety; standards; aflatoxin; MRL; groundnut; Africa; EU; market access |
| JEL: | F13 Q17 |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:34936&r=agr |
| By: | Hossein Mirshojaeian Hosseini; Shinji Kaneko (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University) |
| Abstract: | Iran has suffered ever-increasing domestic energy consumption mostly due to its price controlling policy. If the trend continues, it will become a pure importer in the following decades. To avoid that unlucky fate, Iran started the energy subsidies reform on December 2010. It increased domestic energy and agricultural prices up to 20 times, making it the first major oil-exporting country to reduce substantially implicit energy subsidies. The paper studies the inflationary impact of the energy subsidies reform on different non-energy sectors and urban and rural households in Iran. For this purpose, the input-output price model of Iran is made and energy cross-price elasticities of non-energy sectors are derived. The results evidence the tremendous effects of the complete reform on the production and consumption prices. |
| Keywords: | Energy subsidies reform, Production and consumption prices, Iran, Input-output price model, Decomposition |
| JEL: | C67 E31 Q48 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hir:idecdp:2-8&r=agr |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper sets out: (i) the principles underpinning debt management policy in the UK; (ii) the key factors influencing annual issuance decisions; and (iii) how some of those factors require judgements to be made in determining appropriate trade-offs. Key factors influencing annual issuance decisions are determined in accordance with the debt management objective. As part of this assessment the UK Government undertakes an analysis of the demand conditions in the gilt market and implications for the cost of issuance. Other factors such as market management and portfolio diversification considerations are also taken into account as well as practical and operational issues associated with any issuance strategy... |
| Keywords: | liquidity, risk management, Annual issuance program, trade-offs and issuance choices, yield curve, debt management principles, portfolio diversification |
| JEL: | E43 G18 H63 |
| Date: | 2012–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dafaaf:2-en&r=agr |
| By: | Kishan Khoday (UNDP); Leisa Perch (International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth) |
| Abstract: | The world is experiencing a historic convergence of increasing demand for natural resources from emerging economies, prices at record levels across various commodity groups, a downward trend in resource supply, serious trends of ecological instability, and the rise of inequality between those who develop and profit from such resources and the communities that host them. As the world convenes in 2012 for the Rio+20 Earth Summit and marks 50 years since the passage of the UN Declaration on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources, natural resources are once again changing the geopolitical landscape of countries around the world. Three and a half billion people?half of the global population?live in 56 resource-rich and resource-dependent developing countries, representing less than one third of the 193 members of the UN. (?) |
| Keywords: | Securing Greater Social Accountability in Natural Resource Management |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:140&r=agr |
| By: | Andrew Manale; Cynthia Morgan; Glenn Sheriff; David Simpson |
| Abstract: | Considerable interest has been expressed recently in prospects for water quality trading markets between nutrient sources in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Allowing such flexibility in response to the terms of recently announced total maximum daily load (TMDL) restrictions might considerably decrease costs of compliance with the TMDLs. Before an effective and efficient market for offsets can be established, however, certain preconditions must be met. In particular, there must be means by which nutrients can be measured, allowances can be assigned, and limits on nutrient discharges enforced. In this paper we consider some factors that may affect the realization of these preconditions. A recurrent theme is that there are tradeoffs in policy design. A regime that imposes tight restrictions on those who are eligible to trade may also limit the cost savings that might be realized from trading. On the other hand, a regime that maximizes market participation might fail fully to achieve the environmental goals of an offset or trading policy. We conclude with some recommendations for steps that might be taken to initiate limited markets in nutrient and sediment discharges. These markets might then be expanded as experience is gained and methods developed to assure improved market performance. |
| Keywords: | water quality trading, offsets, transaction costs, adverse selection, leakage, additionality, monitoring, Chesapeake Bay, nutrients |
| JEL: | Q15 Q53 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp201105&r=agr |
| By: | Patrick Hamshere (Department of Economics, University of Queensland); Liam Wagner (Department of Economics, University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the potential impacts of subprime carbon credits on the impending Australian carbon market. Subprime carbon could potentially be created in carbon offset markets that lack adequate regulation, as projects face risks that can overstate emissions abatement. Recent research suggests that subprime carbon credits will likely cause significant price instability in carbon markets, with some authors drawing parallels to the US market for mortgage backed securities during the subprime mortgage crisis (Chan, 2009). To assess the impacts of subprime carbon credits on the impending Australian carbon market, carbon price fundamentals are examined using a marginal abatement cost curve for the year 2020. The 2020 Australian marginal abatement cost curve is derived using a bottom-up model of the Australian electricity sector, as well as findings by the (DCC, 2009) and (McKinsey, 2008). Impacts are evaluated under several scenarios, which consider different trading scheme limits on the use of offsets; different proportions of offset credits that are subprime; and different emissions reduction targets. The results suggest that subprime carbon credits will always result in overall emissions reductions to be overstated, while sometimes increasing price volatility in the carbon market, depending on the steepness of the marginal abatement cost curve, the proportion of offset credits that are subprime, and the trading schemes limits on the use of offsets. We conclude that carbon markets could benefit significantly from a carbon offsets regulator, which would ensure the environmental and financial integrity of offset credits. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Offsets, Marginal Abatement Cost, Carbon Market Regulation, Subprime Carbon |
| JEL: | Q52 Q31 L51 G18 G01 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uqeemg:14&r=agr |
| By: | Francesco Bosello (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, University of Milan and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change); Fabio Eboli (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change); Roberta Pierfederici (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change) |
| Abstract: | The present research describes a climate change integrated impact assessment exercise, whose economic evaluation is based on a CGE approach and modeling effort. Input to the CGE model comes from a wide although still partial set of up-to-date bottom-up impact studies. Estimates indicate that a temperature increase of 1.92°C compared to pre-industrial levels in 2050 could lead to global GDP losses of approximately 0.5% compared to a hypothetical scenario where no climate change is assumed to occur. Northern Europe is expected to benefit from the evaluated temperature increase (+0.18%), while Southern and Eastern Europe are expected to suffer from the climate change scenario under analysis (-0.15% and -0.21% respectively). Most vulnerable countries are the less developed regions, such as South Asia, South-East Asia, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. In these regions the most exposed sector is agriculture, and the impact on crop productivity is by far the most important source of damages. It is worth noting that the general equilibrium estimates tend to be lower, in absolute terms, than the bottom-up, partial equilibrium estimates. The difference is to be attributed to the effect of market-driven adaptation. This partly reduces the direct impacts of temperature increases, leading to lower damage estimates. Nonetheless these remain positive and substantive in some regions. Accordingly, market-driven adaptation cannot be the solution to the climate change problem. |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium Modeling, Impact Assessment, Climate Change |
| JEL: | C68 Q51 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2012.02&r=agr |
| By: | Carmen Camacho (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne); Agustín Pérez-Barahona (INRA - INRA-Economie publique) |
| Abstract: | We build a model to study optimal land use, encompassing land use activities, pollution and climate change. This benchmark set-up allows us to identify the spatial drivers behind the interaction between land use and the environment. Pollution generates local and global damages since it flows across locations following a Gaussian Plume. In constrast to the previous literature on spatial dynamics, we prove that the social optimum problem is well-posed, i.e., the solution exists and is unique. We close the paper with a numerical analysis which illustrates the richness of our model, and its global dynamics. We study the different drivers of spatial heterogeneity. In particular, abatement technology stands out as a fundamental ingredient to achieve steady state solutions, which are compatible with the emergence of spatial patterns. |
| Keywords: | Land use, spatial dynamics, pollution. |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00674020&r=agr |