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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒03‒08
24 papers chosen by |
| By: | Susanne Väth (University of Marburg); Michael Kirk (University of Marburg) |
| Abstract: | With the rising demand for agricultural land, land deals must be designed to benefit not only the investors but also the local population. This paper looks at two ways this might be done for farmers in the vicinity of a large-scale oil palm investment in Ghana: contract farming and secure property rights to land. We compare farmers to whom outgrower contracts were allocated, in a quasi-natural experiment, with independent oil palm growers. We find that property rights have a significantly positive effect on households’ agricultural income, profit per acre, and perceived future security, but that while contract farming has a significantly positive effect on households’ aggregated assets and perceived future security, its effect on agricultural income and profit per acre is significantly negative because of effort substitution, since outgrowers have a higher probability of engaging in non-farm business. The identified effects are highly significant and supported by robustness checks. We conclude that large-scale investment need not be to the disadvantage of the local population if it respects existing bundles of property rights and may be beneficial for those who participate in contract farming. |
| Keywords: | Contract farming; Property rights; Large-scale land investment; Quasi-natural experiment; Oil palm; Ghana |
| JEL: | D60 O17 Q13 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201416&r=agr |
| By: | Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge; Livingston, Michael; Mitchell, Lorraine; Wechsler, Seth |
| Abstract: | More than 15 years after their first successful commercial introduction in the United States, genetically engineered (GE) seeds have been widely adopted by U.S. corn, soybean, and cotton farmers. Still, some questions persist regarding the potential benefits and risks of GE crops. The report finds that, although the pace of research and development (measured by the number of USDA-approved field tests) peaked in 2002, other measures show that biotech firms continue to develop new GE seed varieties at a rapid pace. Also, U.S. farmers continue to adopt GE seeds at a robust rate, and seed varieties with multiple (stacked) traits have increased at a very rapid rate. Insecticide use has decreased with the adoption of insect-resistant crops, and herbicide-tolerant crops have enabled the substitution of glyphosate for more toxic and persistent herbicides. However, overreliance on glyphosate and a reduction in the diversity of weed management practices have contributed to the evolution of glyphosate resistance in some weed species. |
| Keywords: | Genetically engineered crops, agricultural biotechnology, seed industry, research and development, adoption, crop yields, pesticide use, corn, soybeans, cotton, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:164263&r=agr |
| By: | Buzby, Jean; Farah-Wells, Hodan; Hyman, Jeffrey |
| Abstract: | This report provides the latest estimates by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) on the amount and value of food loss in the United States. These estimates are for more than 200 individual foods using ERS’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data. In 2010, an estimated 31 percent or 133 billion pounds of the 430 billion pounds of food produced was not available for human consumption at the retail and consumer levels. This amount of loss totaled an estimated $161.6 billion, as purchased at retail prices. For the first time, ERS estimates of the calories associated with food loss are presented in this report. An estimated 141 trillion calories per year, or 1,249 calories per capita per day, in the food supply in 2010 went uneaten. The top three food groups in terms of share of total value of food loss are meat, poultry, and fish (30 percent); vegetables (19 percent); and dairy products (17 percent). The report also provides a brief discussion of the economic issues behind postharvest food loss. |
| Keywords: | Food consumption, food loss, food recovery, food waste, foodservice, recycling, plate waste, processing, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:164262&r=agr |
| By: | Vicente Pinilla (Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain); Gema Aparicio (Agri-food Economic History Group, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain) |
| Abstract: | The present study offers a new quantitative base to analyze the evolution of exports of agricultural and food products from South America in the complicated period between 1900 and 1938. The data base has been elaborated from the information published by the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA), in those years. The paper also constructs a terms of trade series for South American agricultural exports, using the data of Grilli-Yang (1988), updated by Pfaffenzeller (2007). It is considered to be the first time of offering for this period a series for the evolution for the terms of trade in the region which takes into account in its construction the relative weight of the exports of the distinct agricultural products. An explanation is provided of the position of South America in the world market for agricultural products on the eve of the First World War. Then it is analyzed first the impact of the war on the volume of agricultural exports from the region and in second place that of the Great Depression. Finally the evolution of the terms of trade of South American agricultural exports throughout the period is analyzed.. |
| Keywords: | Latin American Economic History, International Agrifood Trade, Great Depression. |
| JEL: | J20 F14 N56 N70 N76 Q17 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1406&r=agr |
| By: | Moon, Jin-Young; Apland, Jeffrey; Folle, Solomon; Mulla, David |
| Abstract: | National policy supports the production of renewable energy from cellulosic feedstocks such as corn stover and switchgrass. These feedstocks have contrasting impacts on water quality. In this study, the regional supply response for cellulosic biofuel from these two feedstocks is estimated for the Le Sueur Watershed in South-Central Minnesota. The impacts of the resulting agricultural production activities on water quality in this northern corn belt watershed are also estimated. The Le Sueur River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, which in turn feeds into the Mississippi. The analysis is conducted with a multi-region, endogenous supply, mathematical programming model of the agriculture sector in the watershed. A unique aspect of the analysis is the spatial detail used in the production model. Results from a simulation analysis conducted with the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model are used in the economic model to simulate the effects of the feedstock supply response on water quality in the Le Sueur. Sediment and nutrient losses from corn stover production make switchgrass more promising on environmental grounds, but the relatively high cost of production causes switchgrass to cover only a small part of crop land if farmers have unrestricted choice about how to supply cellulosic feedstocks. |
| Keywords: | Biofuel, Cellulosic Feedstock, Water Quality, Watershed, Mathematical Programming Sector Models, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:164042&r=agr |
| By: | Palacios-López, Amparo; López, Ramon E. |
| Abstract: | This paper shows the implications of credit and labor market imperfections on gender differences in agricultural labor productivity, especially highlighting how both imperfections negatively affect female productivity by discouraging off-farm income generating activities and restricting access to inputs. The paper theoretically models the relationship between gender differences in agricultural labor productivity and market imperfections and it provides empirical evidence consistent with our theoretical model by decomposing the contribution of different factors to such gender differences. We find that agricultural labor productivity is on average 44 percent lower on plots belonging to female-headed households than on those belonging to male-headed households. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Agriculture, Productivity, Decomposition Methods, Sub-Saharan Africa, Malawi, International Development, Labor and Human Capital, Productivity Analysis, C21, J16, Q12, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umdrwp:164061&r=agr |
| By: | Petrick, Martin; Oshakbaev, Dauren; Wandel, Jürgen |
| Abstract: | Kazakhstan is now widely regarded as a key player on world agricultural markets, with considerable export potential in the wheat, beef and dairy sectors. Based on unique farm-level data covering all production systems currently relevant, we offer new insights into the constraints that hamper further economic growth and provide an assessment of the government´s agricultural development strategy. A frequently mentioned bottleneck is agriculture´s lacking access to finance. But most farm managers in the farm survey doubt that agricultural investments deliver a sufficiently reliable return required for credit funding and thus do not take loans. Despite the vast land resources, a lack of land supply is now the most cited constraint to farm expansion in the highly regulated land market of the northern grain region. Another set of constraints in wheat production is related to the market power of elevators, the vagaries of trading over long distances in an underdeveloped rail and seaport infrastructure, and the intervention activities of state agencies. In the cattle sector, there are significant problems in year-round fodder supply. The value chains for beef and dairy are bifurcated into an import-dependent chain for industrially processed products serving urban consumers, and a local chain of raw products serving rural consumers and urban bazaars. Recent modernisation strategies of the government tend to focus on the provision of subsidised capital, while they underestimate the knowledge and incentive problems inherent to a state-guided management of sector development. The government should rather focus on providing impartial, reliable and high-quality public services to the sector, making sure that the weakest links in food chain development are identified and private entrepreneurs are provided with the necessary incentives to strengthen them. Our evidence suggests that a bundle of measures improving the local institutional environment of agriculture is more important than massive state funding of certain production lines. -- Von internationalen Beobachtern wird Kasachstan eine zunehmend wichtige Rolle auf den Weltagrarmärkten zugeschrieben. Das Land verfügt über Exportpotenziale in den Bereichen Weizen, Rindfleisch und Milch. Basierend auf speziell erhobenen Betriebsdaten aller derzeit wichtigen Betriebsformen untersuchen wir die Hemmnisse für weiteres wirtschaftliches Wachstum in diesen Sektoren. Darüber hinaus bewerten wir die landwirtschaftliche Entwicklungsstrategie der kasachischen Regierung. Ein häufig genanntes Entwicklungshemmnis stellt der fehlende Zugang zu Finanzierungsquellen dar. Die meisten der befragten Betriebsleiter bezweifeln jedoch, dass landwirtschaftliche Investitionen hinreichend verlässliche Erträge nach sich ziehen, um damit einen Kredit zu bedienen. Sie sehen daher davon ab, Kredite aufzunehmen. Trotz der enormen Flächenausstattung nennen die Befragten das fehlende Angebot an Nutzflächen das bedeutsamste Hindernis für Betriebswachstum. Ein Grund dafür ist der stark regulierte Bodenmarkt im Norden des Landes. Weitere Hindernisse für die Ausdehnung der Weizenproduktion bestehen in der Marktmacht der Getreidehandelshäuser (Elevatoren), den Unsicherheiten des Handels über große Entfernungen bei wenig entwickelter Bahn- und Hafeninfrastruktur sowie den Markteingriffen der staatlichen Behörden. Zahlreichen Rinderhaltern bereitet es Schwierigkeiten, ihr Vieh ganzjährig mit ausreichendem Futter zu versorgen. Die Verarbeitungsketten für Rindfleisch und Milch sind zweigeteilt. Ein von Einfuhren abhängiger Zweig für industriell verarbeitete Produkte bedient vorwiegend städtische Verbraucher. Ein jeweils lokaler Zweig für unverarbeitete Rohware beliefert vor allem ländliche Verbraucher sowie städtische Basare. Der Schwerpunkt der jüngsten Modernisierungsstrategien der Regierung liegt auf der Bereitstellung von Kreditsubventionen, während sie die Wissens- und Anreizprobleme einer staatlich gelenkten Steuerung des Sektors unterschätzt. Stattdessen sollte die Regierung sich darauf konzentrieren, unparteiische, verlässliche und leistungsfähige öffentliche Dienstleistungen anzubieten. Sie sollte sicherstellen, dass die Schwachstellen in den Verarbeitungsketten erkannt werden und private Unternehmer mit den nötigen Anreizen versorgen, um sie zu stärken. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein Bündel an Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der örtlichen institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen der Landbewirtschaftung wichtiger erscheint als die massive staatliche Finanzierung bestimmter agrarindustrieller Produktionslinien. |
| Keywords: | agricultural development strategy,agricultural finance,agricultural marketing,livestock feeding,Kazakhstan,landwirtschaftliche Entwicklungsstrategie,Agrarfinanzierung,landwirtschaftliche Vermarktung,Tierernährung,Kasachstan |
| JEL: | O13 P32 Q12 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:145&r=agr |
| By: | Andrew L. Dabalen; Saumik Paul |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimate the causal effects of conflict on dietary energy supply in Côte d’Ivoire. To identify the true impact of conflict, we use prewar and post-war household data bracketing the conflict period and the spatial variation in the prevalence of conflict between the North and South regions. Our second identification strategy uses the specific counts of conflict events across departments. For our third identification strategy, we employ self-reported victimization indicators at the individual level. Combining data from household surveys (Households Living Standards Surveys) and the conflict database (ACLED), we find robust and statistically significant evidence of households in the worst-hit conflict areas and individuals who are the direct victims of the conflict having lower dietary energy supply. The propensity score matching estimates do not alter the main findings. Other robustness checks including firstly, subsamples of households with children and secondly, alternative estimation of conflict intensity provide mixed but encouraging evidence that supports the impact of conflict on food security. JEL Classifications: I20, I3, D12, C40, H43, O15 |
| Keywords: | Conflict, Food security, Nutrition, Evaluation, Africa |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notcre:12/09&r=agr |
| By: | Anand, Mukesh (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy) |
| Abstract: | A hornet's nest could be an apt simile for fossil fuel prices in India. Over years a policy maze has evolved around it, with sharply diverging influence on disparate constituencies. We estimate the increase in total cost of farming as a multiple of direct input costs of fossil fuels in farming. Over the period between 1990-1 and 2010-1, direct use of fossil fuels on farms has risen and there is also increasing indirect use of fossil fuels for non-energy purposes. Consequently, for Indian agriculture both energy intensity and fossil fuel intensity are rising. But, these are declining for the aggregate Indian economy. Thus, revision of fossil fuel prices has acquired greater significance for Indian agriculture than for the remainder of the economy. We validate these findings by utilising an input-output table for the Indian economy to assess the impact of fossil fuel price increase. We assess that fossil fuels sector has strong forward linkages and increase in its price has a steep inflationary impact. Using a three-sector I-O model for Indian economy, we estimate that a 10 per cent increase in fossil fuel price could cause, ceteris paribus, the wholesale price index (WPI) to rise about 4.3 percentage points with 0.7 percentage points being contributed by the farm sector alone. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture ; Fossil-fuel intensity ; Inflation ; Input-output analysis |
| JEL: | C67 E31 Q12 Q43 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:npf:wpaper:14/132&r=agr |
| By: | Greijdanus, Auke; Kragt, M.E |
| Abstract: | This report gives an overview of physical, socioeconomic and financial characteristics and best management practices of broadacre farming in several Australian Agroecological zones (WA Northern, WA Central, QLD Central, NSW ne/QLD se, SA-Vic Mallee and SA Midnorth – Lower Yorke Eyre zone). Average grain yields tend to be highest in Queensland Central and NSW ne/QLD se Agroecological zones. Lowest yields are found in the SA-Vic Mallee zone. Farm business profits highly vary between zones. During the period 2006-07 to 2008-09, highest business profits were realized in the Queensland Central zone. Average yearly farm business profits for WA Northern, SA-Vic Mallee and SA Midnorth Lower Yorke Eyre zone were estimated to be negative for this same period. Next to grains production, beef cattle is an important source of income in the northern regions (Queensland Central Zone, and to a lesser extent NSW ne / QLD se). In the southern and western regions, sheep and wool production is a more common source of income on broadacre farms (next to grains). Information about on-farm management practices that are considered to achieve enhanced productivity and environmental management is provided in this report. The most important best-management practices are no-tillage and stubble retention, which are widely adopted across Agroecological zones. We also briefly review corporate farming in Australian broadacre agriculture, showing that only 1.8% of all broadacre farms were considered to be corporate farms in 2013. |
| Keywords: | Broadacre cropping, Grains, Wheatbelt, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, N57, Q19, |
| Date: | 2014–02–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:164256&r=agr |
| By: | Kimberly Burnett (UHERO, University of Hawaii at Manoa); Christopher A. Wada (UHERO, University of Hawaii at Manoa) |
| Abstract: | Demand for water will continue to increase as per capita income rises and the population grows, and climate change can exacerbate the problem through changes in precipitation patterns and quantities, evapotranspiration, and land cover—all of which directly or indirectly affect the amount of water that ultimately infiltrates back into groundwater aquifers. We develop a dynamic management framework that incorporates alternative climate-change (and hence, recharge) scenarios and apply it to the Pearl Harbor aquifer system on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. By calculating the net present value of water for a variety of plausible climate scenarios, we are able to estimate the indirect value of groundwater recharge that would be generated by watershed conservation activities. Enhancing recharge increases welfare by lowering the scarcity value of water in both the near term and the future, as well as delaying the need for costly alternatives such as desalination. For a reasonable range of parameter values, we find that the present value gain of maintaining recharge ranges from 31.1milliontoover1.5 billion. |
| Keywords: | Groundwater management, Climate change adaptation, Watershed conservation |
| JEL: | Q25 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hae:wpaper:2014-3&r=agr |
| By: | Dury, S.; Alpha, A.; Bichard, A. |
| Abstract: | Agricultural development status impact individual nutrition through food, health and care practices. Many recent studies are focused on the positive side of the impact pathways. However, in some cases, those interventions may have negative outcomes on nutrition. We explore those potential negative outcomes based on a review of scientific papers and institutional reports as well as expert interviews. We identify six categories of risks related to incomes, prices, types of products, women social status and workload, sanitary environment and inequalities. ....French Abstract : Les interventions de développement agricole affectent la nutrition des individus via l’alimentation, la santé et les pratiques de soin. Les chemins d’impact sont complexes et sont l’objet de nombreux travaux récents, essentiellement centrés sur les effets positifs. Néanmoins certaines interventions agricoles peuvent avoir, dans certains cas, des effets négatifs sur la nutrition. Cet article propose de les mettre en lumière à partir d’une revue de la littérature scientifique et institutionnelle ainsi que d’entretiens avec des experts. Six catégories de risques sont proposées, relatifs aux revenus, aux prix, à la nature des productions, au statut social et au travail des femmes, à l’environnement sanitaire et aux inégalités. |
| Keywords: | AGRICULTURE; NUTRITION; RISK; FOOD SECURITY; IMPACT PATHWAYS; SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE; CHEMINS D’IMPACT |
| JEL: | Q18 Q12 I15 O13 O22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umr:wpaper:201401&r=agr |
| By: | Emilie Ginon (Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, LESSAC - Laboratoire d'Expérimentation en Sciences Sociales et Analyse des Comportements - ESC Dijon); Pierre Combris (ALISS - Alimentation et sciences sociales - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) : UR1303); Youenn Loheac (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, FBS - France Business School - France Business School); Géraldine Enderli (ALISS - Alimentation et sciences sociales - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) : UR1303, CSGA - Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation - CNRS : UMR6265 - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) : UMR1324 - Université de Bourgogne); Sylvie Issanchou (Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) |
| Abstract: | Consumer preferences for different variants of a given food product can be directly obtained with hedonic measurements or revealed with willingness-to-pay measurements. The aim of this paper is to present a comparison of the data collected using these two types of measurements on four data sets collected in our laboratory for different food products (bread, cooked ham, cheese and orange juice). This comparison was conducted at two levels (global and individual) and was based on two criteria: discrimination between variants and consistency in variant ranking. For the four data sets, hedonic measurements and willingness-to-pay measurements were collected for each participant in a 'full information' condition, i.e. in a condition where participants tasted each variant associated with extrinsic information. To reveal consumer willingness-to-pay, the BDM mechanism was used (Becker, DeGroot, & Marschak, 1964), which consists in real sales at a random price. Aggregate results were similar for the two measurements. In addition, in two out of four studies, willingness-to-pay measurements led to slightly higher discrimination between variants than hedonic measurements. At the individual level, more inconsistencies were found. This result is in line with previous studies. Nevertheless, participants were more consistent concerning the most-liked variant than concerning the least-liked variant. Our results also showed that hedonic score distributions did not reveal any cut-off point below which consumers chose the no-purchase option; this cut-off point largely depended on individuals and products. |
| Keywords: | Willingness-to-pay; Hedonic scores; Consumer preferences; Consistency; Discrimination; Food valuation |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00950490&r=agr |
| By: | Marie-Laure Allain; Claire Chambolle; Stéphane Turolla; Sofia B. villas-boas |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of a merger in the French retail sector on food prices, using a consumer panel data. We perform a difference-in-differences analysis by comparing price changes in stores for which the local market structure is affected by the merger to unaffected stores. In addition, we empirically investigate economic forces behind the observed price changes. On average, we find that the merger significantly raised competitors' prices contemporaneously with merging firms' price increases. Further, we show that competitor prices increase more in local markets that experience larger structural changes in concentration and chain differentiation. |
| Keywords: | ex-post merger evaluation, retail grocery sector, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | K21 L11 L66 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201402&r=agr |
| By: | Jussi Lintunen (Finnish Forest Research Institute, Finland); Jussi Uusivuori (Finnish Forest Research Institute, Finland) |
| Abstract: | First-best optimal forest sector carbon policy is examined. Using a comprehensive forest sector model with a detailed carbon cycle section we show that the renewability and carbon neutrality arguments do not warrant emission free treatment of forest bioenergy. However, under the biomass stock change carbon accounting convention followed by UNFCCC and IPCC, the forest owners pay for the roundwood emissions and, to avoid double counting, the use of roundwood is treated as emission free. The bioenergy from harvest residues cannot be treated as emission free either. Their emission factors are determined through the decay time-scales specific to residue fractions and discount rate used in welfare assessment. In addition, we show that an optimal policy subsidizes the production of wood products sequestering carbon. The relative magnitude of the subsidy is based on the fraction of the carbon stored, the lifetime of the products and the discount rate. Correspondingly, the carbon removals by biomass growth are subsidized and the harvest residue generation taxed. Further, we show that the supply side policies are independent of final use of harvested timber. Numerical solution of the model shows that, although the use of wood is not emission free, it is optimal to increase the use of wood, possibly also in the energy sector. Before the wood use can be increased, the forest biomass has to be increased. This initial carbon sink speeds up the convergence to the lower steady-state atmospheric carbon stock. |
| Keywords: | Optimal Policy, Forest Carbon, Effective Emission Factor, Age-Structured Forest |
| JEL: | Q23 Q43 Q50 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.13&r=agr |
| By: | Ko, Chia Chiun (University of Queensland); Frijters, Paul (University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the welfare loss of import restrictions on bananas in Australia and whether the import restrictions have turned into a particular form of export promotion. We set up a model in which there is free domestic entry, with banana producers accepting losses in normal years, off-set by large profits in years when cyclones destroy a large proportion of the banana plants because of sufficiently low elasticity of demand. Using the cyclones of 2006 and 2011 as exogenous events, we identify the elasticity of demand for bananas in Australia to be around -0.5. We indeed find limited evidence for an ‘over-shooting’ in terms of the supply response after these cyclones, leading to positive exports years after cyclones have hit and re-planted banana plants have become productive. Combining the elasticity estimates with information on turnover, we get an estimated welfare loss of 600 million dollars per year due to banana import restrictions. |
| Keywords: | competition, import restrictions, exogenous shocks, instrumental variables, surplus |
| JEL: | Q17 L2 C26 D61 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7988&r=agr |
| By: | Attanasio, Orazio; Augsburg, Britta; de Haas, Ralph; Fitzsimons, Emla; Harmgart, Heike |
| Abstract: | Although microfinance institutions across the world are moving from group lending towards individual lending, this strategic shift is not substantiated by sufficient empirical evidence on the impact of both types of lending on borrowers. We present such evidence from a randomised field experiment in rural Mongolia. We find a positive impact of access to group loans on food consumption and entrepreneurship. Among households that were offered group loans the likelihood of owning an enterprise increases by 10 per cent more than in control villages. Enterprise profits increase over time as well, particularly for the less-educated. For individual lending on the other hand, we detect no significant increase in consumption or enterprise ownership. These results are in line with theories that stress the disciplining effect of group lending: joint liability may deter borrowers from using loans for non-investment purposes. Our results on informal transfers are consistent with this hypothesis. Borrowers in group-lending villages are less likely to make informal transfers to families and friends while borrowers in individual-lending villages are more likely to do so. We find no significant difference in repayment rates between the two lending programmes, neither of which en-tailed weekly repayment meetings. -- |
| Keywords: | group lending,poverty,access to finance,randomised field experiment |
| JEL: | O16 G21 D21 I32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbeoc:spii2014303&r=agr |
| By: | Bîrhală, Brînduşa; Möllers, Judith |
| Abstract: | Searching for possible viable economic pathways for small-scale farms in Eastern Europe, this study is concerned with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). We are mainly interested in the costs and benefits for both sides, the farmers and the consumers, when entering into a direct, trust-based market relationship in the form of CSA. The study is theoretically embedded in the concept of solidarity economy. The analysis is based on three cases of farmers pioneering the CSA concept in Romania by offering organic vegetable to their local contracted consumers in the Western part of the country. All three CSA groups were initiated by a local NGO. Our empirical results shed light on CSA partnerships in Romania. With regard to consumers we find that they are drawn from a specific group of urban dwellers with higher education and income, and a particular interest in health and nutrition. Consumers show a high level of trust to their partner farmers: this is the basis for a functioning economic relationship. Solidarity is a value that is aspired by the initiating NGO. It is existing as one of the values sought by consumers when taking part in CSA. More important than solidarity is, however, the consumers' wish for organic-quality fresh products, which are not available elsewhere. On the producers´ side, the need for a stable market with fair prices is the main motivation to get involved in CSA. Thus, both farmers and consumer compensate for market failures through the CSA partnership. -- Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Phänomen der Solidarischen Landwirtschaft, welche einen möglichen Ausweg aus der schwierigen Situation für Kleinbetriebe in Osteuropa bieten könnte. Der Schwerpunkt des Interesses liegt auf den Kosten und dem Nutzen für die Akteure - Landwirte und ihre Konsumenten - wenn diese eine auf Vertrauen basierte Marktbeziehung in Form der Solidarischen Landwirtschaft eingehen. Die Studie ist theoretisch in das Konzept der Solidarischen Ökonomie eingebettet. Die Analyse basiert auf drei Fallstudien rumänischer Kleinbetriebe, die als Pioniere das Konzept der Solidarischen Landwirtschaft in Rumänien anwenden, indem sie Gemüse ökologisch anbauen, und an ihre urbanen Vertragspartner liefern. In allen drei Fällen war eine lokale Nichtregierungsorganisation Initiator. Unsere empirischen Ergebnisse geben Einblick in rumänischen Partnerschaften der Solidarischen Landwirtschaft. Die Konsumenten rekrutieren sich aus einer spezifischen Gruppe urbaner Verbraucher. Diese zeichnet sich durch relativ hohe Bildung und Einkommen sowie ihr ausgeprägtes Interesse an Gesundheits- und Ernährungsfragen aus. Die Verbraucher zeigen einen hohen Grad an Vertrauen in ihre landwirtschaftlichen Vertragspartner, was wohl als einer der Schlüsselfaktoren für das Funktionieren der Partnerschaft gesehen werden kann. Solidarität stand im Mittelpunkt des Interesses der initiierenden Organisation. In der praktischen Umsetzung zeigt sich, dass Solidarität in der Tat einer der Werte ist, den die teilnehm enden Konsumenten realisieren wollen. Gewichtiger ist allerdings der Wunsch nach frischen Nahrungsmitteln aus ökologischer Landwirtschaft, die sonst kaum auf dem Markt zu erhalten sind. Die Motivation der Produzenten liegt vornehmlich in dem Wunsch begründet, einen stabilen Absatzmarkt mit fairen Preisen zu betreten. Beide Seiten kompensieren also durch die Partnerschaft bestehendes Marktversagen. |
| Keywords: | community supported agriculture,CSA,small farmers,organic farming,Romania,solidarity economy,rural development,solidarische Landwirtschaft,kleinbäuerliche Familienbetriebe,ökologische Landwirtschaft,Rumänien,Solidarische Ökonomie,ländliche Entwicklung |
| JEL: | Q13 P13 O18 P32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:144&r=agr |
| By: | Scott Barrett; Astrid Dannenberg |
| Abstract: | According to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, global collective action is needed to stabilize “greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous [our emphasis] anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” The Framework Convention thus implies that, on the far side of some critical concentration level, climate change will be “dangerous,” while on the near side of the threshold, climate change will be “safe” (though perhaps still undesirable). Rather than be linear and smooth, the Framework Convention warns that climate change may be “abrupt and catastrophic.” |
| Keywords: | climate change, prisoners’ dilemma, catastrophe, negotiations, cooperation, uncertainty, experimental economics |
| JEL: | C72 F51 H41 H87 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_4573&r=agr |
| By: | Dixon, Huw (Cardiff Business School); Seaton, Jonathan (Loughborough University); Waterson, Michael (Department of Economics, University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | This paper delivers a significantly different empirical perspective on micro pricing behaviour and its impact on macroeconomic processes than previous studies, largely resulting from the fact that our weekly price data for the three major British supermarkets spans a seven year period including the crisis years 2008-2010. We find that there is a large and significant change in the behaviour of prices from 2008 onwards: prices change more frequently and the average duration of price spells declines significantly. Several of our findings run strongly counter to established empirical regularities, in particular the high overall frequency of regular or reference price changes we uncover, the greater intensity of change in more turbulent times and the numerical dominance of price falls over rises. The pricing behaviour revealed also significantly challenges the implicit assumption that prices are tracking cost changes. Key words: Micro pricing ; price flexibility ; regular prices ; menu costs JEL classification: E30 ; E31 ; L81 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1041&r=agr |
| By: | Gabriel Natividad (NYU Stern) |
| Abstract: | I exploit a 2009 reform that introduced individual fishing quotas (catch shares) for Peruvian anchovy – the largest fishery in the world – to assess the causal impact of production quotas on within-firm productivity and market prices. Unique features of the data allow me to create two alternative counterfactuals: (i) anchovy fishing operations in a region of the country that was mandated to implement quotas with a delay, and (ii) variation in quota allocations across ships. I find that quotas do not increase within-asset or within-firm productivity in quantities. Instead, a 200% increase in anchovy prices benefits extraction firms through higher revenues, consistent with two mechanisms enacted by individual fishing quotas: more orderly industry operations reducing excess supply and an increase in bargaining power of extraction firms with respect to fish-processing. Several market characteristics across geographies differentially affect market prices after the quota regime. Supplementary evidence on fewer operational infractions, higher product quality, and a lower banking delinquency observed during the quota regime suggests the existence of efficiency gains rather than purely rent transfers. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apc:wpaper:2014-006&r=agr |
| By: | Bet Caeyers |
| Abstract: | A pre-condition for grassroots participation, key for community-based development success, is widespread programme knowledge among the eligible population. The current literature on local participatory institutions mainly focuses on village meetings and media campaigns as a means to strengthen community awareness. The role played by social interactions in this process has received little attention to date. In this paper I use Manski’s (1993) standard linear-in-means model to estimate endogenous peer effects on the awareness of vulnerable groups on Tanzania Social Action Fund II (TASAF II), i.e. Tanzania’s flagship community-driven development programme. I employ a popular 2SLS estimation strategy developed by Bramouille et al. (2009) and De Giorgi et al. (2010) on a unique spatial household dataset from Tanzania to eliminate both the ‘reflection bias’ (Manski, 1993) and the ‘exclusion bias’ (Caeyers, 2014). Denoting the geographically nearest neighbours set as the relevant peer group in this context, I identify significant average and heterogeneous endogenous social interaction effects in the diffusion of information about TASAF II. The findings of this paper inform the design of effective sensitisation campaigns. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-11&r=agr |
| By: | Michael Carter; John Morrow |
| Abstract: | Abstract Commentators on the `East Asian Miracle' of inclusive growth have often pointed toward shared rural growth policies. But why were these policies not chosen elsewhere? This paper models voters who invest in either subsistence or a complex technology in which public goods complement private capital. Investment and technology choices vary with wealth and the level of public goods enforced by political lobbies. Outcomes depend on the strength of the incipient middle class who bolster political incentives through contributions. Economies with a stronger middle class due to lower inequality or lower risk may thereby sustain higher productivity through public good provision. |
| Keywords: | Poverty traps, political economy, inequality, lobby formation |
| JEL: | O1 D2 H4 Q1 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1259&r=agr |
| By: | O.A. Carboni; P. Russu |
| Abstract: | Economic and environmental efficiency has being receiving growing attention among researchers. In general terms, this concept is related to the capability of the economic systems to employ natural resources efficiently, so as to increase economic and human wealth. This clearly implies that both the economic and ecological aspects of decisions ought to be considered. Bearing this in mind, this paper considers economic and ecological performance together, by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) to investigating the efficiency of the 20 Italian regions from 2004 to 2011. The results reveal that the northern regions have been more efficient than the southern ones, highlighting the strong geographical differences between the two. Furthemore this paper uses the Grey System Theory to forecast regional economic and environmental efficiency. The results of the forecasting analysis show that the North-south duality remains strong and will possibly increase since the regions in the south get worse in term of environmental and economic efficiency. |
| Keywords: | panel data, forecasting, Data envelopment analysis (DEA), Malmquist productivity index (MPI), Grey system theory |
| JEL: | E17 C61 C23 C14 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201401&r=agr |