|
on Agricultural Economics |
|
Issue of 2013‒09‒13
seventeen papers chosen by |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin; Ito, Fusao |
| Abstract: | There are few publications on various impacts of Fukushima nuclear disaster on agri-food sector in Japan in English. Moreover, due to the scale of contamination and affected agents, impact’s multiplicities and evolution, spillovers, and long time horizon, and the lack of “full” information and models of analysis, the overall impacts of Fukushima disaster on agrarian and food sector is far from being completely evaluated. This paper tries to fill the gap and assesses diverse impacts of Fukushima nuclear disaster on Japanese agriculture and food chains. First, a framework of analysis is presented. Second, immediate and short-term radiation effects, and effects on nearby population, safety regulation and inspection system, markets and consumer’s behavior, agrarian and food products, and health, as well as economic impacts on farming and agri-businesses, are all assessed. Third, overall shorter and longer-term impacts on agriculture, food industries, and consumers in Fukushima region, neighboring regions, and other parts of Japan are estimated. |
| Keywords: | Fukushima disaster, impacts, agriculture, food chains, Japan |
| JEL: | Q12 Q13 Q15 Q17 Q18 Q2 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49462&r=agr |
| By: | Benedikter, Simon; Waibel, Gabi |
| Abstract: | Vietnam’s agrarian system has profoundly changed since the government initiated its renovation policy in 1986. Various policy directives and institutional reforms have been aimed at increasing the production of cash crops for the export markets and ensuring the nation’s food security. The government has undertaken considerable investments in irrigation and water control to boost local rice production, especially in the Mekong Delta. Today, a large water bureaucracy plans, implements and maintains the hydraulic infrastructure, but farmers have to contribute to funding and managing the irrigation systems. In this context, water user groups started to emerge from the 1990s onwards. This study on the trajectory of group development in Can Tho City shows that party-state authorities strongly stimulate group formation processes and organise the collaboration between farmers and the state. As a result, water user groups have become an integral part of local water management and instrumental in meeting the state-mandated production targets in agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Water resources management; Vietnam; Mekong Delta; water user groups; irrigation; rural production; decentralisation |
| JEL: | Q0 Q1 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49468&r=agr |
| By: | Kritika Mathur; Nidhi Kaicker; Raghav Gaiha; Katsushi Imai; Ganesh Thapa |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:man:sespap:1312&r=agr |
| By: | Watson II, Derrill D. |
| Abstract: | The food price crisis revealed contradictions in creating food policy. Much of the common policy response can be explained by a benevolent, unitary government. To understand the variance between countries, however, requires understanding fractured governm |
| Keywords: | political economy, food price crisis, public choice, case study |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-050&r=agr |
| By: | Ariel BenYishay (University of New South Wales); A. Mushfiq Mobarak (Economic Growth Center, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | Low adoption of productive agricultural technologies is a puzzle. Agricultural extension services rely on external agents to communicate with farmers, although social networks are known to be the most credible source of information about new technologies. We conduct a large-scale field experiment on communication strategies in which extension workers are partnered with different members of social networks. We show that communicator actions and effort are susceptible to small performance incentives, and adoption rates vary by communicator type. Communicators who face conditions most comparable to target farmers are the most persuasive. Incorporating communication dynamics can enrich the literature on social learning. |
| Keywords: | social learning, agriculture, technology adoption, Malawi |
| JEL: | O33 O13 Q16 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egc:wpaper:1030&r=agr |
| By: | Randall Blair; Kenneth Fortson; Joanne Lee; Anu Rangarajan |
| Keywords: | Foreign Aid, Agricultural, Armenia, International |
| JEL: | F Z |
| Date: | 2013–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7879&r=agr |
| By: | Anna Bartczak (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw; Warsaw Ecological Economics Center) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of an individual trait of altruism on social preferences and hence willingness to pay (WTP) for changes in forest management strategies in the Białowieża Forest in Poland. We used data from a discrete choice experiment (CE), where attributes described changes in the quality of the forest and recreation and were framed to capture the respondents’ non-use and use motivations. Patterns in the individual differences in altruistic behavior were elicited using a self-reported questionnaire developed by Rushton et al. (1981) concerning the frequency of an engagement in different altruistic behaviors. The application of the choice experiment technique allowed for the disentangling of the effect of a trait of altruism with regard to different attributes and their levels. The parameterization we employed in the survey was a WTP-space model (Train and Weeks 2005). Results show that the level of altruism has a significant effect on the valuation of restrictions in the forest visitor numbers; however, the altruism influence on the existence and bequest value from improving nature preservation depends on the current status of the forest. |
| Keywords: | altruism, Choice Experiment, forest naturalness, number of visitors, use and non-use value, WTP-space model |
| JEL: | Q23 Q51 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2013-20&r=agr |
| By: | P. Y. HARDY; C. BENE; L. DOYEN; J. C. PEREAU; D. MILES |
| Abstract: | The small-scale fishery sector in many Pacific islands is facing increasing challenges in relation to resource availability, economic opportunity, demographic and social pressure. In particular, intensifying cash-oriented livelihood strategies can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and threaten food security, poverty alleviation and resource conservation. In this paper we develop a bio-economic model and a quantitative measure of resilience to explore the interaction between socio-economic and ecological dynamics, and to analyse the potential role that cooperation and collective arrangements can play in this interaction to maintain the viability of the system. Based on the case of the customary system called wantok found in Solomon Islands, numerical examples are used to illustrate the gain that cooperation between fishers can bring in terms of subsistence, profitability, ecological performances as well as resilience to shock. |
| Keywords: | resilience, cooperation, viability, crisis time, fisheries, wantok |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2013-18&r=agr |
| By: | Jonathan Argent; Britta Augsburg (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Imran Rasul (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London and IFS) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents evidence from Rwanda's Girinka ('One Cow per Poor Family') program that has distributed more than 130,000 livestock asset transfers in the form of cows to the rural poor since 2006. Supply side constraints on the programe results in some beneficiaries receiving complementary training with the cow transfer, and other households not receiving such training with their cow. We exploit these constraints to estimate the additional impact of receiving complementary training with the cow transfer, on household's economic outcomes up to six years after having receieved the livestock asset transfer. Our results show that even in a setting such as rural Rwanda where linkages between farmers and produce markets remain weak, the provision of training with asset transfers has permanent and economically significant impacts on milk production, milk yields from livestock, household earnings, and asset accumulation. The results have important implications for the current generation of 'ultra-poor' livestock asset transfer programes being trialled globally as a means to allow the rural poor to better their economic lives. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Asset Transfer, Training, Ultra-poor |
| JEL: | O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:13/23&r=agr |
| By: | Himelein, Kristen; Eckman, Stephanie; Murray, Siobhan |
| Abstract: | Livestock are an important component of rural livelihoods in developing countries, but data about this source of income and wealth are difficult to collect because of the nomadic and semi-nomadic nature of many pastoralist populations. Most household surveys exclude those without permanent dwellings, leading to undercoverage. This study explores the use of a random geographic cluster sample as an alternative to the household-based sample. In this design, points are randomly selected and all eligible respondents found inside circles drawn around the selected points are interviewed. This approach should eliminate undercoverage of mobile populations. The results of a random geographic cluster sample survey are presented with a total sample size of 784 households to measure livestock ownership in the Afar region of Ethiopia in 2012. The paper explores the data quality of the random geographic cluster sample relative to a recent household survey and discusses the implementation challenges. |
| Keywords: | Livestock and Animal Husbandry,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Wildlife Resources,Science Education |
| Date: | 2013–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6589&r=agr |
| By: | Lloyd Grieger (Center for Research on Inequalities and the Life Course, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University); April Williamson (Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University); Murray Leibbrandt (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); James Levinsohn (Yale School of Management, Jackson Institute for Global Aff airs, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | We use longitudinal data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) to document the extent of recent short-term residential and household compositional change in South Africa. We analyze the demographic correlates of these transitions, including population group, age, urban/rural status, and income. We examine educational and labour market transitions among movers and the prevalence of the four major types of compositional change – births, addition of joiners, deaths, and loss of leavers. We find that short-term household change is prevalent in South Africa. During a 2-year period from 2008 to 2010, 10.5% of South Africans moved residence and 61.3% experienced change in household composition. We find that moving is more common among blacks and whites, very young children, young adults, urban individuals, and those with higher incomes. Among non-movers, compositional change is more likely for blacks and coloureds, young adults and children, females, urban individuals, and individuals with lower incomes. |
| Keywords: | household change; residential dynamics; moving; National Income Dynamics Study |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:106&r=agr |
| By: | Akpalu, Wisdom; Dasmani , Isaac; Normanyo, Ametefee K. |
| Abstract: | In most coastal developing countries, the artisanal fisheries sector is managed as a common pool resource. As a result, such fisheries are overcapitalized and overfished. In Ghana, in addition to anthropogenic factors, there is evidence of rising coastal |
| Keywords: | climate variability, optimal tax, generalized maximum entropy, Ghana |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-052&r=agr |
| By: | Emiliano Magrini (European Commission - JRC-IPTS - AGRILIFE Unit (Sevilla, ES)); Pierluigi Montalbano (Sapienza, University of Rome); Silvia Nenci (University of ROme 3) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this work is to assess the trade impact of preferential schemes in agriculture and fishery granted by the European Union (EU) to the Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs). This analysis presents several methodological improvements to previous works. First of all, we rely on a continuous treatment - i.e., preferential margins - to capture the ``average treatment effect'' of trade preferences rather than on a binary treatment based on dummy variables. Second, we apply non parametric matching techniques for continuous treatment, namely a generalized propensity score matching (GPS) technique, to assess the average causal effects of preferences on trade flows. Third, we use highly disaggregated data at sectoral level in order to evaluate properly the preferential treatment which is conceived to be applied at the product level. Our results show how the impact of EU preferences in agriculture and fishery granted to SMCs is positive and significant and better evaluated using impact evaluation techniques. We also assess the functional form of the relationship between EU-SMCs preferences and bilateral trade flows as well as the optimal level of preferential margin above which the marginal impact decreases. |
| Keywords: | International trade, EU-MED integration, Preferential trade agreement, Impact evaluation, Matching econometrics. |
| JEL: | C21 F10 F13 F15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:saq:wpaper:2/13&r=agr |
| By: | Masha Maslianskaia-Pautrel (TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272, GAINS - Groupe d'Analyse des Itinéraires et des Niveaux Salariaux - Université du Maine) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to study how the hedonic equilibrium is modified when group-wise consumer heterogeneity with horizontal differentiated housing supply is assumed. We complete the hedonic segmentation analysis of Baudry and Maslianska¨ıa-Pautrel (2011a,b) for vertical differentiation of housing supply by investigating the more realistic case of horizontal differentiation. Our results confirm the segmentation of the hedonic price function at equilibrium and the discontinuity of the implicit price of environmental quality on the borders of the segments. We also demonstrate that horizontal differentiation can lead to a partial sorting of consumer demand for housing attributes at hedonic equilibrium. Finally we show that according to model specification, the group-wise heterogeneity with horizontal differentiation can lead to modification of welfare assessment related to changes in environmental quality. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic model; Group-wise consumers' heterogeneity; Horizontal differentiation |
| Date: | 2013–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00856127&r=agr |
| By: | Daziano, Ricardo A.; Achtnicht, Martin |
| Abstract: | Previous literature on the distribution of willingness to pay has focused on its heterogeneity distribution without addressing exact interval estimation. In this paper we derive and analyze Bayesian confidence sets for quantifying uncertainty in the determination of willingness to pay for carbon dioxide abatement. We use two empirical case studies: household decisions of energy-efficient heating versus insulation, and purchase decisions of ultralow-emission vehicles. We first show that deriving credible sets using the posterior distribution of the willingness to pay is straightforward in the case of deterministic consumer heterogeneity. However, when using individual estimates, which is the case for the random parameters of the mixed logit model, it is complex to define the distribution of interest for the interval estimation problem. This latter problem is actually more involved than determining the moments of the heterogeneity distribution of the willingness to pay using frequentist econometrics. A solution that we propose is to derive and then summarize the distribution of point estimates of the individual willingness to pay under different loss functions. -- |
| Keywords: | Discrete Choice Models,Willingness to Pay,Credible Sets |
| JEL: | C25 D12 Q51 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13059&r=agr |
| By: | Essam Yassin Mohammed; Shannon Wang; Gary Kawaguchi |
| Abstract: | Developing countries have collectively displayed relatively high growth rates in the last decade. Although large disparities still persist in standards of living, low and middle income countries averaged economic growth of 6.2% between 2000 and 2008, pulling 325 million people out of poverty (World Bank, 2010). Global growth has been accompanied by environmental degradation and in some cases there are growing numbers of people still living in poverty. Key questions for development planning today in countries include: Can developing countries strike a balance between economic growth, societal well-being and environmental protection? Can inclusive, green growth be a way forward? This report presents a case study on Cambodia designed to answer these questions. The case study draws on several sources of information to compile a “snapshot” of the situation today. In particular, qualitative information was gathered through a two-day, multi-stakeholder workshop and through bilateral interviews conducted with relevant actors from both public and private sectors. It also draws on relevant literature to present a balanced picture of the state of play on green growth in Cambodia. |
| Date: | 2013–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envddd:2013/8-en&r=agr |
| By: | Durmaz, Tunç (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Schroyen, Fred (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered a critical technology needed to curb CO2 emissions and is envisioned by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an integral part of least-cost greenhouse gas mitigation policy. In this paper, we assess the extent to which CCS and R&D in CCS technology are indeed part of a socially efficient solution to the problem of climate change. For this purpose, we extend the intertemporal model of climate and directed technical change developed by Acemoglu et al. (2012, American Economic Review, 102(1): 131{66) to include a sector responsible for CCS. Surprisingly, even for an optimistic cost estimate available for CCS ($60/ton of CO2 avoided), we find that it is not optimal to deploy CCS or devote resources to R&D in CCS technology either in the near or distant future. Indeed, it is only when the marginal cost of CCS is less than $12/ton that a scenario with an active CCS sector (including R&D) becomes optimal, though not in the near future. |
| Keywords: | Carbon capture and storage CCS; climate. |
| JEL: | H23 O31 Q43 Q54 Q55 |
| Date: | 2013–08–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2013_014&r=agr |