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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒06‒02
34 papers chosen by |
| By: | Newton, Doris |
| Abstract: | According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, 294,000 farms operated on 10 or fewer acres in 2007. While most small acreage (SA) operations did very little farming, approximately 50,000 SA farms had gross sales of $10,000 or more in 2007; 3,600 reported grossing $500,000 or more. Thus, a limited land base does not necessarily translate into low sales. This report focuses on SA farms, especially those grossing $10,000 or more in a given year, and examines such characteristics as production strategies, types of products, sales, household income, and financial performance. The 46,000 SA farms with sales between $10,000 and $500,000 in 2007 were primarily active in floriculture, tree nurseries, and fruits and vegetables, while the 3,600 SA farms with at least $500,000 in sales were primarily active in confined livestock production. SA farms produce only small amounts of field crops, such as wheat, corn, or cotton, which require larger amounts of land. |
| Keywords: | small acreage farming, farm structure, farm financial performance, farm operator household income, 10 acres or less, women farmers, women principal and secondary operators, small acreage farm characteristics, small farms, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:168380&r=agr |
| By: | Mohajan, Haradhan |
| Abstract: | Republic of Kenya is the fourth largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 60% people of Kenya live below the poverty line. Rapid increases in inflation could reduce economic growth and worsen the poverty levels of the citizens of Kenya. The agricultural sector is still the backbone of Kenya’s economy and economic development is dependent on agricultural improvement. Main staple food of Kenya is maize, which accounted about 65% of total staple food caloric intake and 36% of total food caloric intake. Kenya is the largest food and agricultural products importer in the eastern Africa. At present the Government of the country is trying to reduce poverty. The country is developing in food security and nutrition since the last decade. To make the country in a medium develop Government should stress on food security, poverty reduction, transformation of agriculture from survival to commercial farming and agribusiness, markets, efficient use of agricultural products. The objective of this paper is to increase food production of Kenya to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition. An attempt has been taken here to discuss the food and nutrition situation of Kenya to build a healthy nation. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Food aid, Food security, Inflation, Nutrition. |
| JEL: | Q18 |
| Date: | 2014–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56218&r=agr |
| By: | Baumeister, Christiane; Kilian, Lutz |
| Abstract: | U.S. retail food price increases in recent years may seem large in nominal terms, but after adjusting for inflation have been quite modest even after the change in U.S. biofuel policies in 2006. In contrast, increases in the real prices of corn, soybeans, wheat and rice received by U.S. farmers have been more substantial and can be linked in part to increases in the real price of oil. That link, however, appears largely driven by common macroeconomic determinants of the prices of oil and agricultural commodities rather than the pass-through from higher oil prices. We show that there is no evidence that corn ethanol mandates have created a tight link between oil and agricultural markets. Rather increases in food commodity prices not associated with changes in global real activity appear to reflect a wide range of idiosyncratic shocks ranging from changes in biofuel policies to poor harvests. Increases in agricultural commodity prices in turn contribute little to U.S. retail food price increases, because of the small cost share of agricultural products in food prices. There is no evidence that oil price shocks have caused more than a negligible increase in retail food prices in recent years. Nor is there evidence for the prevailing wisdom that oil-price driven increases in the cost of food processing, packaging, transportation and distribution are responsible for higher retail food prices. Finally, there is no evidence that oil-market specific events or for that matter U.S. biofuel policies help explain the evolution of the real price of rice, which is perhaps the single most important food commodity for many developing countries. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; biofuel; consumer prices; corn; crop prices; ethanol; food crisis; food price volatility; globalization; inflation; pass-through |
| JEL: | E31 Q11 Q42 Q43 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9689&r=agr |
| By: | Christophe Muller (Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), CNRS & EHESS) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we test and reject the separability of production and consumption decisions of agricultural households in Ethiopia, using data from a rural household survey conducted in 1994 and an estimated labour demand equation. We also elicit socio-demographic and asset variables that are positively linked with agricultural labour demands. These results reflect the limited development of fully organised labour markets in rural Ethiopia. They also imply that purely market-driven agricultural policies, e.g., price subsidies or taxes, may have only limited or perverse impacts, and should be complemented by policies directly affecting household decisions, such as food aid, technology transfer, free supply of fertilizers, etc. |
| Keywords: | agricultural household, separability, Ethiopia |
| JEL: | O13 Q12 D13 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1418&r=agr |
| By: | Ester Ferrari (PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOTER), Italian National Research Council (CNR), Torino, Italy.); Luigi Bollani (Researcher, University of Turin, Department of Economics and Statistics, Torino, Italy); Mario Coccia (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy); Eugenio Cavallo (PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOTER), Italian National Research Council (CNR), Torino, Italy.) |
| Abstract: | Latest advancements in tractors engineering have allowed farmers to increase productivity, and simultaneously to reduce operator’s hazards. However, little attention has been given to farmers’ behaviour and attitude toward the adoption of technological innovations concerning agricultural tractors. The study explores farmers’ behaviours on agricultural tractors current and future technological trajectories. A main case study concerning Italy is analyzed. Results show three different behaviours of farmers concerning tractors’ technological innovations. These adopters’ profiles would help developing new technologies that satisfy, more and more, farmers’ needs and expectations, speeding up the adoption process, enhancing agricultural tractors’ efficacy and efficiency. |
| JEL: | Q16 Q55 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csc:cerisp:201305&r=agr |
| By: | Gebreeyesus M. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | Global trade in agriculture and food products is increasingly governed by an array of standards. A survey conducted in 2010 covering all operational firms in the nascent floriculture industry in Ethiopia revealed that only 36 per cent have managed to acquire certification for international private standards. This study uses a census-based panel dataset from Ethiopian floriculture to empirically examine the determinants of firms adoption of international private standards. It also analyses overall industry level efforts and public-private partnership to launch and implement a national scheme for Good Agricultural Practice and build firms capacity to comply with the standards. Key words standards, certification, floriculture exports, estate farms, Ethiopia, Africa |
| Keywords: | Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility; International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations; Agriculture in International Trade; |
| JEL: | L15 O19 Q17 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014007&r=agr |
| By: | Cai, Ruohong (Princeton University); Feng, Shuaizhang (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics); Pytlikova, Mariola (KORA - Danish Institute for Local and Regional Government Research); Oppenheimer, Michael (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | While there is considerable interest in understanding the climate-migration relationship, particularly in the context of concerns about global climatic change, little is known about underlying mechanisms. We analyze a unique and extensive set of panel data characterizing annual bilateral international migration flows from 163 origin countries to 42 OECD destination countries covering the last three decades. We find a positive and statistically significant relationship between temperature and international outmigration only in the most agriculture-dependent countries, consistent with the widely-documented adverse impact of temperature on agricultural productivity. In addition, migration flows to current major destinations are especially temperature-sensitive. Policies to address issues related to climate-induced international migration would be more effective if focused on the agriculture-dependent countries and especially people in those countries whose livelihoods depend on agriculture. |
| Keywords: | international migration, climate variability, agricultural productivity |
| JEL: | Q54 J10 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8183&r=agr |
| By: | Judith Beatrice Auma Oduol (World Agrofestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya); Dagmar Mithöfer (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Well-functioning factor and product markets can provide the poor, particularly smallholder farmers, with avenues for wealth creation. Yet in sub-Saharan Africa, markets for agricultural inputs and outputs are often thin or disorganized. Challenges to smallholder women farmers are particularly high, because they potentially face higher entry barriers than men in modern market chains. This study aims to examine bottlenecks to and opportunities for different categories of women to participate in the stages of the value chains for high value agricultural commodities, with a view to identifying interventions that can promote women’s participation in markets for high value agricultural commodities. The study focuses on two categories of women namely those in male and female -headed households. The findings are based on a case study of avocado value chain in Kenya, which depicts export and domestic market orientation. The data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and household surveys. The results show that where the chain is well developed and the returns are high as in the export avocado chain, women dominate the production stage while men tend to own the fields, make decisions on sales of fruits of premium quality and control revenues. Nevertheless, women in female headed households appear to be fully integrated in most of the stages of the export value chain, although they face greater challenges than men in performing tasks that are physically demanding like harvesting and those that require specialised skills such as grading and spraying. Consequently, integrating such women into the export market will require alleviating constraints that limit their participation in such markets like provision of interlinked services for spraying, harvesting, and grading coupled with prompt payment of the proceeds. Nevertheless, integrating women in male headed households in the export market will require involving them in the trainings on certification standards. |
| Keywords: | Women; agricultural value chains; Avocado; sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/11&r=agr |
| By: | Sigei, Geoffrey; Bett, Hillary; Kibet, Lawrence |
| Abstract: | Marketing agricultural produce is important amongst smallholder farmers because they derive benefits such as income and rural employment. In developing countries like Kenya, most smallholder farmers are characterized by poor market participation because they lack market information on pineapple marketing. In Bureti district; pineapples have been perceived to have high market value, resulting in trade-offs with staple food. Despite pineapples market value, its market participation has not been fully studied and quantified results in poor prices among small-scale farmers. The objectives of the study were: to describe socio-economic characteristics of small-scale pineapple farmers, institutional and market characteristics in Bureti district; to determine the factors influencing market participation and its extent, and; to determine the factors influencing the choice of pineapple marketing outlet in Bureti district. The study was conducted in five locations (Kapkisiara, Kisiara, Tulwet, Getarwet and Tebesonik). Multistage sampling procedure was employed to contact 150 respondents. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from small-scale pineapple farmers through face to face interview. The data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics, Heckman two-stage selection model and Multinomial Logit model. SPSS and STATA computer programs were used to process the data. The results showed that age, gender, education level and pineapple yields significantly influenced the decision to participate in pineapple marketing. Gender, price information, group marketing, marketing experience, vehicle ownership and marketing under contract significantly influenced the extent of market participation. Further, gender, group marketing, pineapple yield, price information, marketing under contract and vehicle ownership significantly influenced the choice of pineapple marketing outlets. The study recommends that, for holistic market participation among pineapple farmers, proper market infrastructure like pineapple hub must be put in place. The government and other policy makers should increase the marketing information and ability of pineapple farmers through avenues like mass media, extension service, and other means of capacity building. |
| Keywords: | Heckman two-stage model, market participation, small-scale pineapple farmers |
| JEL: | M2 |
| Date: | 2014–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56149&r=agr |
| By: | Kalkuhl, Matthias |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the transmission from global commodity to domestic food prices for a large set of countries. First, a theoretical model is developed to explain price transmission for different trade regimes. Drawing from the competitive storage model under rational expectations, it is shown that domestic prices can respond instantaneously to global prices even if no trade takes place but future trade is expected. Using a global database on food prices, we construct national and international grain price indices. With an autoregressive distributed lag model, we empirically detect countries in which food prices are influenced by global commodity prices, including futures prices. Mapping transmission elasticities with the size of the population below the poverty line which spends typically a large share of its income on food, we are able to estimate the size of vulnerable population. Our empirical analysis reveals that 90 percent of the global poor (income below 1.25$/day) live in countries where domestic food prices respond to international prices - but the extent of transmission varies substantially. For 360 million poor people, international prices transmit to their country at rates of 30 percent or higher within three months. |
| Keywords: | time series econometrics, poverty, trade, storage, market integration, volatility, shocks, price indices, Agricultural and Food Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, C22, E3, F1, F6, Q1, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:168591&r=agr |
| By: | Sara Pavone (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy); Elena Pagliarino (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy) |
| Abstract: | Training plays a strategic role in improving the competitiveness and the productivity of the agricultural sector. Its role is widely recognized by the European Union that encourages it through the Rural Development Program, financing training courses for agricultural and forest operators. The present working paper reports the results of a research carried out in Piedmont Region to evaluate the public agriculture training system. It explores the quality of training courses and the coherence with the training needs expressed by farmers and forest workers. In addition, it tries to reflect about public fund flows, suggesting policy implications for future actions. The methodology includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis and it is characterized by an exhaustive field research. The main results show a high satisfaction among participants, a good coherence between training offer and training needs, but also some weak points related to the management of the training system and the relationships among the several actors involved. |
| Keywords: | rural development, agricultural training, public policies, quality |
| JEL: | Q18 I25 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csc:cerisp:201320&r=agr |
| By: | Asongu Simplice (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Nguena Christian |
| Abstract: | Large-scale agricultural land acquisitions have been covered substantially in recent literature. Despite the wealth of theoretical and empirical studies on this subject, there is no study that has reviewed existing literature in light of concerns over sustainable and equitable management. This study fills the gap by analyzing and synthesizing available literature to put some structure on existing knowledge. The paper has a threefold contribution to the literature. First, it takes stock of what we know so far about the determinants of land grab. Second, it presents a picture of sustainable and equitable development of the foreign land acquisitions. Third, policy syndromes are examined and policy implications discussed. Based on the accounts, the issues are not about whether agricultural investments are needed, but on how they can be sustainably and equitably managed to make positive contributions to food security and domestic development. |
| Keywords: | Governance; Equity; Sustainable Development; Land Grab |
| JEL: | F21 O13 O55 Q15 Q34 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:14/001&r=agr |
| By: | Hebous, Sarah; Klonner, Stefan |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically analyzes sources of extreme economic distress in rural India. We use district-level data on farmers' suicides in two major states during the years 1998 to 2004 to estimate the effects of transitory economic shocks and structural change in agriculture on the incidence of suicides in farm households. To elicit the causal effect of transitory economic shocks on suicides, we use rainfall conditions as an instrumental variable. For the state of Karnataka, where rainfall and poverty were especially variable around the turn of the millennium, we find that transitory spikes in poverty caused by a lack of rainfall increase suicides among male and decrease suicides among female members of farm households. According to our point estimates, a poverty increase of one percent increases male suicide mortality by 0.57 and decreases female suicide mortality by 1.05 percent. Given that suicides among male farmers are four times as frequent as among females on average, the combined causal effect of a poverty shock on suicides in farm households is positive. We also find that a shift from subsistence crops to cash crops, especially cotton, is associated with a decrease in male suicides. |
| Date: | 2014–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:awi:wpaper:0565&r=agr |
| By: | Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq; Rosenzweig, Mark |
| Abstract: | We estimate the general-equilibrium labor market effects of a large-scale randomized intervention in which we designed and marketed a rainfall index insurance product across three states in India. Marketing agricultural insurance to both cultivators and to agricultural wage laborers allows us to test a general-equilibrium model of wage determination in settings where households supplying labor and households hiring labor face weather risk. Consistent with theoretical predictions, we find that both labor demand and equilibrium wages become more rainfall sensitive when cultivators are offered rainfall insurance, because insurance induces cultivators to switch to riskier, higher-yield production methods. The same insurance contract offered to agricultural laborers smoothes wages across rainfall states by inducing changes in labor supply. Policy simulations based on our estimates suggest that selling insurance only to land-owning cultivators and precluding the landless from the insurance market (which is the current regulatory practice in India and other developing countries), makes wage laborers worse off relative to a situation where insurance does not exist at all. The general-equilibrium analysis reveals that the welfare costs of current regulation are borne by landless laborers, who represent the poorest segment of society and whose risk management options are the most limited. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Wages; General Equilibrium Effects; Index Insurance |
| JEL: | O13 O16 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9797&r=agr |
| By: | McCalla, Alex |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews 40 years of tortured history of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research’s (CGIAR) attempts at structural reform. Yet the basic structure of independent centers created in the 1960’ and 70’s remains in place despite repeated attempts to restructure the basic building blocks of the system. Instead successive layers of super structure: eco-regional programs; Challenge programs; CGIAR Research Programs (CRP’s); and finally a Consortium with another Board and CEO have been added to foster inter-center and interdisciplinary research. The failure of reforms is attributed to the unwillingness of donors, and the World Bank leadership of the CGIAR, to take on entrenched center interests. Some success in modest reform has occurred at the sub-system/center level but only with much difficulty. The paper concludes with some suggestions as to how reform might be fostered. |
| Keywords: | development economics, poverty programs, global agriculture, international agricultural research, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, F00, Q00, O2, I3, Q1, |
| Date: | 2013–09–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ucdavw:168373&r=agr |
| By: | Rachel Slater; Rebecca Holmes; Nicholas Mathers |
| Abstract: | Social protection measures are policy instruments that are widely used across a broad range of developing countries in pursuit of many different development objectives. In many cases social protection measures such as food or cash transfers were first introduced to ensure minimum levels of food security for vulnerable households. However, as the policy objectives became more numerous and varied, the relationship between food security and social protection have become less prominent. This paper refocuses attention on the linkages between social protection and food and nutrition security and aims to contribute to better integrated policies on food and nutrition (in-)security and social protection, particularly among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and their partners. The paper explores the conceptual linkages between social protection measures and food and nutrition security, examines the evidence of practical benefits that different social protection instruments can deliver and assesses the linkages between the two subjects in the international development policy agenda and concludes by proposing ways to better integrate the two issues within development policies and by identifying the main challenges and trade-offs that DAC members and their partners are likely to face. |
| Date: | 2014–05–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dcdaaa:15-en&r=agr |
| By: | P. Mathiou (Department of Agricultural Economics and Development Agricultural University of Athens, Greece); Stelios Rozakis (Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Athens 11855, Greece); Rafal Pudelko ("Department of Agrometeorology and Applied Informatics, Institute of Soil Sciences and Plant Cultivation (IUNG), State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland"); A. Faber ("Department of Agrometeorology and Applied Informatics, Institute of Soil Sciences and Plant Cultivation (IUNG), State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland"); A. Petsakos (Economie Publique, Departement Sciences Sociales, Agriculture et Alimentation, Espace et Environnement (SAE2), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France) |
| Abstract: | Governments extensively use price support instruments to the energy industry combined with direct support for cultivating perennial crops to promote conversion of solid biomass to energy, in order to meet the goals of energy independence and mitigation of the greenhouse effect. In this paper, focusing on less fertile land classes in Poland, biomass supply is determined for a range of hypothetical prices and policy scenarios using bottom-up sector modelling. Risk-neutral and risk-averse farm-based models are run for examining willow and miscanthus adoption by Polish farmers at the municipal level. |
| Keywords: | Willow, Miscanthus, Mathematical Programming, Utility Function, Biomass Supply, Spatial allocation |
| JEL: | C6 Q16 Q41 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aua:wpaper:2014-3&r=agr |
| By: | Rigoberto A. Lopez (University of Connecticut; University of Connecticut); Nataliya Plesha (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | This report, produced at the request of the Dairy Committee of the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association, assess es the economic and dairy farm sustainability impacts of Connecticut’s Public Act 09 - 229 . Th e Act established a dairy farm sustainability and safety net program by providing payments to dairy farmers when ever the federal milk price falls below a minimum sustainable monthly cost of production . The Act has provide d $ 1 6. 72 million in payments between 2010 and 2012. T o this end, three supportive objectives are pursued: 1) to examine recent trends in Connecticut dairy farming and policies; 2) to assess the impact of the Act on dairy farming sustainability; and 3) to assess the economic impact of payments under the Act. The focus is on dairy farming and does not take into account impacts beyond the farm gate or impacts on open space and other environmental benefits. |
| Keywords: | milk, dairy, sustainability, Connecticut, pricing |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zwi:outrep:17&r=agr |
| By: | Zhu, Chen (University of Connecticut); Huang, Rui (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | We use a market-level natural experiment to evaluate how the voluntary Facts Up Front style Front-of-Package (FOP) nutritional labeling system would affect consumer choices, and whether it can promote the consumption of healthier food products. The new FOP system provides a quick summary of the calories, sugar, saturated fat, and selected positive nutrients, and is listed on the front of food packages. Using data of household-level Ready-to-Eat cereal (RTEC) purchases and difference-in-differences (DD) approaches, we find that the new FOP labels induce consumers to buy less RTEC, consume fewer calories, and less sodium, but only in households purchasing two RTEC packages per month or fewer. For RTEC products containing new FOP labels, consumers are observed to substitute more vigorously from products with poor nutritional quality to healthier RTEC products. We also find that household heads with education levels of a high school degree or less show the greatest improvement in their food choices, suggesting that the FOP labels change consumer behavior primarily through reduced information costs. |
| Keywords: | Front-of -Package (FOP) Nutrition labels, label restriction, self-regulation, distributional effects |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zwi:wpaper:27&r=agr |
| By: | Patrick DoupŽ (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) |
| Abstract: | The clearing of forests for agricultural land and other marketable purposes is a well-trodden path of economic development. With these private benefits from deforestation come external costs: emissions from deforestation currently account for 12 per cent of global carbon emissions. A widespread intervention in reducing emissions from deforestation will affect the paths of agricultural expansion and economic growth of lower income nations. To investigate these processes, this paper presents a general, dynamic, stochastic model of deforestation and economic growth. The model is shown to generate unique deforestation and investment paths and a model without reduced deforestation policy is shown to have a stationary distribution of income and landholdings. There are three main findings. First, in the short run national output growth falls with compensation for reduced deforestation. Second, deforestation rates are reduced through compensating either reduced deforestation directly or the stock of forests; however, compensating the stock of forests is likely to be prohibitively expensive. Finally, by offering a fixed compensation rate, as opposed to a compensation rate tied to a stochastic carbon price, further reductions in deforestation can be achieved. |
| Keywords: | Reduced deforestation, economic growth, climate policy, stochastic stability |
| JEL: | Q38 Q56 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1402&r=agr |
| By: | Cinnirella, Francesco; Hornung, Erik |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of landownership concentration on school enrollment for nineteenth century Prussia. Prussia is an interesting laboratory given its decentralized educational system and the presence of heterogeneous agricultural institutions. We find that landownership concentration, a proxy for the institution of serfdom, has a negative effect on schooling. This effect diminishes substantially towards the end of the century. Causality of this relationship is confirmed by introducing soil texture to identify exogenous farm-size variation. Panel estimates further rule out unobserved heterogeneity. We present several robustness checks which shed some light on possible mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Education; Institutions; Land concentration; Peasants' emancipation; Prussian economic history; Serfdom |
| JEL: | I25 N33 O43 Q15 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9730&r=agr |
| By: | Markus Lampe; Paul Sharp |
| Abstract: | The late nineteenth century Danish agricultural revolution saw the modernization and growth of the dairy industry. Denmark rapidly caught up with the leading economies, and Danish dairying led the world in terms of productivity. Uniquely in a world perspective, high quality micro-level data exist documenting this episode. These allow the use of the tool of modern agricultural economists, stochastic frontier analysis, to estimate production functions for milk and thus find the determinants of these productivity and efficiency advances. We identify the contribution of modernization through specific new technologies and practices. |
| Keywords: | Dairies, Denmark, Development, Stochastic Frontier Analysis |
| JEL: | L2 N5 O3 Q1 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:whrepe:wp14-03&r=agr |
| By: | Ferrari, Emanuele; Boulanger, Pierre |
| Abstract: | The paper describes the construction of a regional agricultural Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Ireland for the year 2007. The SAM describes the full circular flow of money and goods in the Irish economy. The SAM includes 61 activities, 60 commodities, 40 factors of production, 7 households, 2 enterprises, government and investment/saving, 7 tax-related accounts, a trade and transport margin account and an external sector. Its construction starts from the Eurostat Supply and Use table for 2007. A prior unbalanced micro SAM with a regionalized agricultural sector is built with a variety of additional data sources. The final balanced SAM is estimated using the cross-entropy method. |
| Keywords: | social accounting matrix, regional agriculture, cross-entropy method, supply-used table, Ireland |
| JEL: | C82 Q10 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56270&r=agr |
| By: | Alix-Garcia, Jennifer (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Wolff, Hendrik (University of Washington) |
| Abstract: | Every year between 2000 and 2010, our planet lost native forests roughly the size of Costa Rica. (FAO, 2010). This rapid deforestation has dramatically changed the chemical composition of the world's atmosphere, the level of biodiversity, and the presence of vegetation key to maintaining watershed function and preventing landslides. There has been a boom in the design of local and international policy instruments to prevent further deforestation and encourage forest growth. This paper reviews the theory and evidence surrounding forest-related Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes intended to slow and reverse deforestation. We cover the most recent work touching on a range of issues related to PES programs, including research on targeting, contract design, environmental effectiveness, challenges to program implementation, spillovers, and distributional considerations of conditional cash transfers. We also highlight areas of potential future research. |
| Keywords: | environmental policy, deforestation, afforestation, reforestation, climate change, conditional cash transfers, PES |
| JEL: | H23 H43 J43 Q23 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8179&r=agr |
| By: | Secondo Rolfo (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy); Sara Pavone (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy); Gian Franco Corio (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy) |
| Abstract: | Selling directly to consumers is based on a quality convention (Eymard-Duvernay, 1989) related to social relationships, shared values and beliefs (Bénézech et al., 2008). This channel sales, concerning the relationships proximity, reports an increasing relevance on the multifunctional agriculture and on the sustainable production (Rossi et al., 2008). This study seeks to explore famers’ markets that take place in Turin (capital of the Piedmont region) and changes over time. If in Turin is placed the biggest European open market (Mercato di Porta Palazzo), where farmers have a reserved place historically, new initiatives have been launched in recent years, creating a wider supply. |
| Keywords: | farmers’ markets, selling directly, open air market, multifunctional agriculture, sustainable development. |
| JEL: | Q13 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csc:cerisp:201319&r=agr |
| By: | Dammert, Ana C. (Carleton University); Mohan, Sarah (Carleton University) |
| Abstract: | Fair Trade has spread in developing countries as an initiative aimed at lifting poor smallholder farmers out of poverty by providing them with premium prices, availability of credit, and improved community development and social goods. Fair Trade is also viewed as a niche market for high value products in a context of globalization and trade liberalization policies that affect smallholder farmers in developing countries. The question of whether Fair Trade affects the welfare of rural farmers, however, is particularly contentious. This paper provides a review of the Fair Trade literature, both theoretical and empirical, with a specific focus on the analysis of small-scale producer's welfare in developing countries. Our review shows that while most empirical papers have focused on the impacts of Fair Trade on prices and income, our review highlights the importance of limited market access and changes in productivity. Likewise, little is known about the impacts of Fair Trade on labor markets and human capital investments. Persistent methodological challenges make it challenging, however, to assess the causal impact of this certification and labelling initiative. |
| Keywords: | Fair Trade, developing countries, market efficiency |
| JEL: | O19 P46 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8167&r=agr |
| By: | Prehn, Sören; Glauben, Thomas; Loy, Jens-Peter; Pies, Ingo; Will, Matthias Georg |
| Abstract: | For a considerable time, long-only index funds have been suspected of being responsible for price increases on agricultural futures markets, particularly those for grain. Utilizing partial equilibrium concepts, we analyze the market impacts of long-only index funds. Our analysis reveals that long-only index funds stabilize the market. The market entry of long-only index funds lowers risk premiums, so farmers can hedge at lower costs. This gives incentives for storage and dampens seasonal price fluctuations on spot markets, which is also in favor of consumers. However, the entry of long-only index funds reduces the profitability of speculation. Thus, there is no need for political action in this particular field. -- Long-only-Indexfonds stehen seit geraumer Zeit unter Verdacht, für die Preisanstiege an landwirtschaftlichen Warenterminmärkten, in sbesondere für Getreide, verantwortlich zu sein. Anhand von partiellen Gleichgewichts konzepten untersuchen wir die langfristige Marktwirkung von Long-only-Indexfonds. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass Long-only-Indexfonds den Markt stabilisieren. Der Markteintritt von Long-only-Indexfonds verringert die Risikoprämie, so dass Landwirte sich zu geringeren Kosten absichern können. Dieses fördert die Lagerhaltung und schwächt so saisonale Preisschwankungen am Kassamarkt ab, was auch im Interesse der Konsumenten ist. Allerdings wird durch den Markteintritt von Long-only-Indexfonds die Rentabilität des Spekulierens verringert. Von daher gibt es keine Notwendigkeit für politische Maßnahmen in diesem speziellen Bereich. |
| Keywords: | agricultural futures markets,price discovery,long-only index funds,Landwirtschaftliche Warenterminmärkte,Preisbildung,Long-only-Indexfonds |
| JEL: | G1 G13 Q02 Q14 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:147&r=agr |
| By: | Jelliffe, Jeremy (University of Connecticut); Bravo-Ureta, Boris (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | •In Recent Years, Wine Makers have gone Crazy over Climate Change! •"If you look at most of the places growing grapes worldwide, many of them have been right at the cool-limit margins and so a little bit of warming has made them more suitable" (Dr. Greg Jones, The University of Oregon). •“This means that over time wine-growing regions will shift north toward cooler climates in the Northern Hemisphere and further south in the Southern Hemisphere.” - CT growers may produce more sensitive & appealing varieties |
| Keywords: | Connecticut, Maritime Industry |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zwi:outrep:16&r=agr |
| By: | Boyd, James W. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Conservation investments are increasingly evaluated on the basis of their return on investment (ROI). Conservation ROI analysis quantitatively measures the costs, benefits, and risks of investments so conservancies can rank or prioritize them. This paper includes case studies—of three large-scale conservation projects—designed to assess current ROI capabilities in the field, barriers to ROI analysis, and opportunities to improve conservation ROI. The cases reveal important conservation assessment innovations, but also identify significant gaps in the availability of data and analysis needed to establish many of the basic elements necessary to an ROI analysis. |
| Keywords: | conservation, return on investment analysis, payment for ecosystem services |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-12&r=agr |
| By: | Bonnet, Céline; Bouamra-Mechemache, Zohra |
| Abstract: | The market for organic products increases continuously over time. Because consumers are willing to pay a premium for organic goods, firms may have an interest in developing organic production strategies and entering a profitable market segment. The objective of this paper is to assess the profitability of such a strategy and to determine how the value added created by the existence of an organic label is shared in a vertical chain among manufacturers and retailers. Using purchase data on the French fluid milk sector, we develop a structural econometric model of demand and supply that takes into account the relative bargaining power between manufacturers and retailers. Our results suggest that the organic label segment is more profitable as it permits the existence of higher margins. Moreover, an organic label allows manufacturers to achieve more bargaining power relative to retailers and hence to obtain a higher share of total margins. The econometric model is then used to assess the impact of an environmental policy in favor of the organic segment based on a mechanism of price support. Our results suggest that while a subsidy policy towards organic products benefits both manufacturers and retailers, a tax policy toward conventional products benefits manufacturers at the expense of retailers. Moreover, the environmental impact of the policy is mitigated and depends on the environmental issues at stake. |
| Keywords: | fluid milk market, bargaining power, organic, environmental policy, manufacturers, retailers, structural econometrics |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:28220&r=agr |
| By: | Dubois, Pierre; Griffith, Rachel; O'Connell, Martin |
| Abstract: | Restricting advertising is one way governments seek to reduce consumption of potentially harmful goods. There have been increasing calls to apply a similar policy to the junk food market. The effect will depend on how brand advertising influences consumer demand, and on the strategic pricing response of oligopolistic firms. We develop a model of consumer demand and dynamic oligopoly supply in which multi-product firms compete in prices and advertising budgets. We model the impact of advertising on demand in a flexible way, that allows for the possibility that advertising is predatory or cooperative, and we consider how market equilibria would be impacted by an advertising ban. In our application we apply the model to the potato chip market using transaction level data. The implications of an advertising ban for consumer welfare depend on the view one takes about advertising. In the potato chip market advertising has little informational content. The advertising may be a characteristic valued by consumers, or it may act to distort decision-making. We quantify the welfare impacts of an advertising ban under alternative views of advertising, and show that welfare conclusions depend on which view of advertising the policymaker adopts. |
| Keywords: | advertising; demand estimation; dynamic oligopoly; welfare |
| JEL: | L13 M37 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9942&r=agr |
| By: | Edward J. Pinto (American Enterprise Institute); Stephen D. Oliner (American Enterprise Institute); Morris A. Davis |
| Abstract: | Our data show that land prices were more volatile than house prices during the recent boom/bust cycle. In areas where land was inexpensive in 2000, the land share of property value jumped during the boom, and this rise in the landshare was a useful predictor of the subsequent crash in house prices. These results highlight the value of focusing on land for assessing house-price risk. |
| Keywords: | housing market,Housing finance,housing bubble |
| JEL: | A G R |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aei:rpaper:41212&r=agr |
| By: | Pomfret, Richard |
| Abstract: | Central Asian governments frequently express the goal of economic diversification, and specifically of diversifying their agricultural sector, but with little actual impact. Diversification has not happened because high trade costs discourage farmers, potential foreign investors and others from identifying new products that could be produced competitively. This paper reviews recent international literature on trade costs, and the limited Central Asian evidence. Because of high trade costs, the phenomenon of global value chains has scarcely touched Central Asia, apart from a few cases in the Kyrgyz Republic. The examples of clothing and beans illustrate how a Central Asian country has joined international value chains. The paper draws conclusions about how Central Asian countries wishing to diversify their agricultural sectors could draw upon this experience. -- Viele zentralasiatische Regierungen verfolgen das Ziel der wirtschaftlichen Diversifizierung, insbesondere im Agrarsektor, allerdings oftmals mit geringer Wirkung. Hohe Handelskosten halten Landwirte, potenzielle ausländische Investoren und andere Akteure davon ab, neue Produkte zu entwickeln, die sie anschließend wettbewerbsfähig vermarkten können. Auf diese Weise wird eine wirtschaftliche Diversifizierung verhindert. Dieser Beitrag behandelt einige neuere internationale Arbeiten über Handelskosten und stellt empirisches Material mit Zentralasienbezug vor. Aufgrund der hohen Handelskosten hat Zentralasien, abgesehen von einigen Fällen in Kirgisistan, bisher kaum teil an globalen Wertschöpfungsketten. Beispiele aus den Bereichen Kleidung und Bohnenproduktion zeigen, wie ein zentralasiatisches Land in internationale Wertschöpfungsketten eingegliedert werden kann. Abschließend wird aufgezeigt, wie zentralasiatische Länder von diesen Erfahrungen lernen können, wenn sie eine weitere Diversifizierung ihrer Wirtschaft anstreben. |
| Keywords: | trade costs,agricultural trade,Central Asia,Handelskosten,Agrarhandel,Zentralasien |
| JEL: | F13 F14 Q17 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:146&r=agr |
| By: | Rigoberto A. Lopez (University of Connecticut; University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | 2013 Connecticut Milk Cost of Production Estimates, Statistical Uniform Price, and Application of Public Act 09-229 |
| Keywords: | Connecticut, milk, production |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zwi:outrep:19&r=agr |