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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒12‒03
110 papers chosen by |
| By: | Anonymous; Wigier, Marek; Bułkowska, Małgorzata |
| Abstract: | Evaluation of the potential of Polish agriculture and the impact of the new CAP programmes in 2014-2020 on increasing its competitiveness in the European Union and in the world. Distributional and income effects of direct payments under the new CAP – the case of Germany. Effects of the new agricultural policy on the specialised agricultural region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany). The new CAP and competitiveness of agricultural enterprises and the food industry. Structural change in livestock sector as challenge for new CAP: Lithuanian case. The impact of the current and new agricultural policy on the development of the major crops in Bulgaria. Competitiveness of the Romanian agri-food trade and the new agricultural policies. Financial aspects of sustainability of agriculture. Changes in the socio-demographic structure of villagers and employment in individual agriculture. Agriculture and climate change. Political rent and agricultural producers’ investments. The role of government in building the competitiveness of rural areas in Serbia. Some issues of resource management in terms of food shortage and energy gap. Exploring linkages between the Common Agricultural Policy and food security in the Mediterranean region. |
| Keywords: | Polish agriculture, CAP, European Union, competitiveness, direct payments, agricultural enterprises, agricultural policy, agricultural region, food industry, livestock sector, agri-food trade, socio-demographic structure, climate change, political rent, rural areas, food security, Common Agricultural Policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Production Economics, Evaluation of the potential of Polish agriculture and the impact of the new CAP programmes in 2014-2020 on increasing its competitiveness in the European Union and in the world. Distributional and income effects of direct payments under the new CAP – the case of Germany. Effects of the new agricultural policy on the specialised agricultural region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany). The new CAP and competitiveness of agricultural enterprises and the food industry. Structural change in livestock sector as challenge for new CAP: Lithuanian case. The impact of the current and new agricultural policy on the development of the major crops in Bulgaria. Competitiveness of the Romanian agri-food trade and the new agricultural policies. Financial aspects of sustainability of agriculture. Changes in the socio-demographic structure of villagers and employment in individual agriculture. Agriculture and climate change. Political rent and agricultural producers’ investments. The role of government in building the competitiveness of rural areas in Serbia. Some issues of resource management in terms of food shortage and energy gap. Exploring linkages between the Common Agricultural Policy and food security in the Mediterranean region., |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:179498&r=agr |
| By: | Chamberlin, Jordan; Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob |
| Abstract: | This is a draft paper, submitted in advance of presentation at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association. |
| Keywords: | smallholders, land rental markets, land access, rural development, agricultural productivity, sub-Saharan Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Q15, O12, O13, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170434&r=agr |
| By: | Murakami, Tomoaki; Nakajima, Shinsaku; Takahashi, Taro; Nishihara, Yukinaga; Imai, Asako; Kikushima, Ryousuke; Sato, Takeshi |
| Keywords: | Farmers Market, land use, program evaluation, geographically weighted regressions, difference-in-differences, GIS, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Q12, Q15, R32, R58, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170668&r=agr |
| By: | Songsermsawas, Tisorn; Baylis, Kathy; Chhatre, Ashwini |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170168&r=agr |
| By: | Zhang, Wendong; Na, Chen; Irwin, Elena G.; Martin, Jay F.; Gebremariam, Seyoum Y.; Gildow, Marie |
| Abstract: | Incomplete and Preliminary Draft – Please Do Not Cite |
| Keywords: | Land use change, crop rotation, SWAT, Lake Erie, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Q12, Q28, Q57, Q51, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170599&r=agr |
| By: | YUKO, NAKANO; Takuji, Tsusaka; Valerien, Pede |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170239&r=agr |
| By: | Bharad, Abhishek; Harrison, R. Wes; Davis, Christopher |
| Keywords: | Food Safety, Food Marketing, Media Information, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:180072&r=agr |
| By: | Seixas, Renato; Silveira, José Maria |
| Abstract: | We investigate the environmental effects due to pesticides for two different genetically modified (GM) seeds: insect resistant (IR) cotton and herbicide tolerant (HT) soybeans. Using an agricultural production model of a profit maximizing competitive farm, we derive predictions that IR trait decreases the amount of insecticides used and HT trait increases the amount of less toxic herbicides. While the environmental impact of pesticides for IR seeds is lower, for the HT seeds the testable predictions are ambiguous: scale as substitution effects can lead to higher environmental impacts. We use a dataset on commercial farms use of pesticides and biotechnology in Brazil to document environmental effects of GM traits. We explore within-farm variation for farmers planting conventional and GM seeds to identify the effect of adoption on the environmental impact of pesticides measured as quantity of active ingredients of chemicals and the Environmental Impact Quotient index. The findings show that the IR trait reduces the environmental impact of insecticides and the HT trait increases environmental impact due to weak substitution among herbicides of different toxicity levels. |
| Keywords: | Brazil, Agriculture, Environmental Impact, Genetically Modified Seeds, Herbicide Tolerant Soybeans, Insect Resistant Cotton, Pesticides, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q12, Q18, Q51, Q52, Q53, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170226&r=agr |
| By: | Newton, John; Thraen, Cameron S.; Stephenson, Mark |
| Keywords: | Diary, MILC, Adverse Gaming, Policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:171602&r=agr |
| By: | Oseni, Gbemisola; McGee, Kevin; Dabalen, Andrew |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the determinants of agricultural productivity and its link to poverty using nationally representative data from the Nigeria General Household Survey Panel, 2010/11. The findings indicate an elasticity of poverty reduction with respect to agricultural productivity of between 0.25 to 0.3 percent, implying that a 10 percent increase in agricultural productivity will decrease the likelihood of being poor by between 2.5 and 3 percent. To increase agricultural productivity, land, labor, fertilizer, agricultural advice, and diversification within agriculture are the most important factors. As commonly found in the literature, the results indicate the inverse-land size productivity relationship. More specifically, a 10 percent increase in harvested land size will decrease productivity by 6.6 percent, all else being equal. In a simulation exercise where land quality is assumed to be constant across small and large holdings, the results show that if farms in the top land quintile had half the median yield per hectare of farms in the lowest quintile, production of the top quintile would be 10 times higher. The higher overall values of harvests from larger land sizes are more likely because of cultivation of larger expanses of land, rather than from efficient production. It should be noted that having larger land sizes in itself is not positively correlated with a lower likelihood of being poor. This is not to say that having larger land sizes is not important for farming, but rather it indicates that increasing efficiency is the more important need that could lead to poverty reduction for agricultural households. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Regional Economic Development,Agricultural Research,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7093&r=agr |
| By: | Mary, Sébastien; Gomez y Paloma, Sergio |
| Abstract: | The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank suggest that agricultural growth is the most effective way to fight (child) malnutrition. Whether this is indeed the case is still very much debated, partly because there is little direct evidence on this topic. Using a dataset of 50 MDG1 countries observed between 1991 and 2009, this paper estimates and compares the impact of agricultural growth on child stunting against those of industrial growth and services growth. We find that, to achieve a 1 percentage point reduction in child stunting, a 11.1% increase in agricultural GDP per capita is necessary, against a 9.7% increase in industrial GDP per capita and a 7.8% increase in services GDP per capita. In other words, contrary to the policy narrative developed by many international development organizations, the services sector is the most effective engine towards reducing child stunting. Finally, we find weak evidence of the impacts of food prices on child stunting and no evidence of the impacts of food prices volatility for the period observed. |
| Keywords: | child stunting, agricultural growth, food prices, price volatility, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, O11, O13, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:168368&r=agr |
| By: | Gvillo, Rejeana; Capps, Oral; Ishdorj, Aruin; Palma, Marco |
| Keywords: | Vending Expenditures, snack food, Consumer Expendture Survey (CES), Tobit, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, I00, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169929&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Weiwei; Khanna, Madhu; Puneet, Dwivedi; Robert, Abt |
| Keywords: | Forest Biomass, Bioenergy, Agricultural biomass, Partial Equilibrium Model, Land Use Change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170565&r=agr |
| By: | Young, Ethan R.; Shi, Guanming |
| Abstract: | China, a country developing at unprecedented levels, has experienced drastic changes throughout its recent economic history. Of primary interest is the continuing development and improvement of the rural agricultural sector, with even the slightest changes in this sector having dramatic ripple effects on rural economies. Estimates of rural households involved in agricultural production range from 65 to 70 percent (de Brauw & Rozelle, 2008; Rozelle, Taylor, & de Brauw, 1999). Improvements in agricultural production therefore have a direct impact on the livelihood of rural households in China. Thus, of primary interest are the factors influencing the smallholder farmers' agricultural investment strategies to improve agricultural yields. Households involved in agricultural production can primarily improve their yields through the use of various agricultural improvements made available by ongoing agricultural research. Of utmost interest is the following question: If the returns to agricultural technologies, such as fertilizers, pesticides, genetically-modified seeds, and fixed land improvements, have had positive effects for agricultural households, then what constrains households from applying them? Due to the complexities of the household production decision, literature devoted to finding the answer to this question is limitless and spans almost all regions of the world. However, this analysis focuses on the barriers to investment, potential strategies used to overcome them, and their joint impacts on agricultural investment in rural China. Data in this analysis are cross-sectional, collected over a period of three years between 2006 and 2008 from rural villages within six provinces in China. This analysis is applied over Hunan, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang provinces, intended to capture effects on the investment decision that may differ by region. Households surveyed over the three years total to 4,178, with a total of 3,718 used in this analysis. Of these households, 3,347 (90%) were registered under agricultural hukou, with 3,269 (87.9%) involved in agricultural production during the year of 2008. Major contributions of this analysis stem from the joint assessment of four main factors that influence the household’s agricultural investment decision. More specifically, the impacts of land tenure security, access to credit, education, and migration on agricultural investment are examined. Analysis of each of these four factors is conducted using a Heckman sample selection model across three surveyed provinces. Use of the Heckman model allows us to account for the existence of sample selection bias that exists between those farmers who choose to invest and those who do not. In the first stage of the Heckman model, impacts of each of the four core factors on the likelihood of agricultural investment are quantified. This is followed by a second stage examination of factors influencing the intensity of investment, conditional on the fact that the investment decision has been made. Preliminary findings indicate that each of the four core factors have an influential role on both the likelihood and intensity of investment across rural agricultural households. Across all provinces, agricultural households with more than 80 percent of their landholdings being rented in are less likely to invest. However, conditional on investments being made, these households will tend to invest more intensively than those farmers with a greater proportion of allocated land. Additionally, access to credit has a significant positive impact on both the likelihood and intensity of investment across all agricultural households. Lastly, impacts of education and migration have been mixed, with larger positive impacts noticed from remission income sent home from migrant household laborers. Given negative impacts of land tenure insecurity on the likelihood of investment, it is clear that more should be done to improve the security of rental contracts. The need for this is real and apparent, as nearly 88 percent of rental contracts had not set a clear duration of the lease, and so many rented plots of land are rented under insecure terms (Gao, et al., 2012). Additionally, given positive impacts of credit access on the likelihood and intensity of investment, expansions to the rural credit market could encourage further agricultural investment. Combined, policy improvements and expansions to the rural credit market will produce positive multiplier effects and thus help improve the rural economies within China. |
| Keywords: | Land tenure, Agricultural Economics, Heckman, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170500&r=agr |
| By: | Gorton, Matthew; Torok, Aron; Tregear, Angela |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169085&r=agr |
| By: | McGuire, Julia |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170130&r=agr |
| By: | Torres, Marcelo; Howitt, Richard; Rodrigues, Lineu |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170647&r=agr |
| By: | Shikuku, Kelvin M.; Okello, Julius J.; Sindi, Kirimi; McEwan, Margaret; Low, Jan W. |
| Keywords: | Gender, attitudes, biofortified foods, adoption, sweetpotato, Tanzania, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:171425&r=agr |
| By: | Okello, Julius J.; Shikuku, Kelvin M.; Sindi, Kirimi; McEwan, Margaret; Low, Jan W. |
| Abstract: | Orange-fleshed sweetpotato, food insecurity, nutrition knowledge, adoption, Tanzania |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:171426&r=agr |
| By: | McMurtry, Bronc; Janssen, Dr. Larry; Miller, Dr. Michael; Osborne, Dr. Shannon |
| Abstract: | This study summarizes key economic results from 10 different no-till (NT) crop rotations and two conventional tillage (CT) corn-soybean rotations based on agronomic data (2001 – 2012) from a long-term crop rotation experiment conducted by the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory located in Brookings County, which lies in the East-Central region of South Dakota. A 1200 acre model crop farm was constructed for farm management budget and simulation analyses. Results indicate: (1) the CT rotation had the highest average net returns, but higher risk were also involved, (2) several four-crop NT rotations were preferred as producer risk aversion increased, and (3) diversification is a key risk management tool. |
| Keywords: | no-till crop systems risk management stochastic simulation farm management production economics, Farm Management, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, Q11, Q12, Q15, Q16, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169574&r=agr |
| By: | Nemec-Boehm, Rebecca L.; Cash, Sean B.; Anderson, Bruce T.; Ahmed, Selena; Griffin, Timothy S.; Orians, Colin M.; Robbat, Albert Jr.; Stepp, Richard A.; Han, Wenyan |
| Abstract: | The objective of this research is to estimate the economic impact of climate change on tea production in China. We use historical weather and production data from 1980 to 2011 to construct a yield response model from panel data that estimates the partial effect of specific weather factors on tea yields in China, with a specific focus on monsoon dynamics. We base our analysis upon methodologies employed in previous studies, many of which use a yield response model to estimate the impact climate change on crop yields or other economic indicators of agricultural productivity. Previous studies have tended to focus mostly on staple crops like maize as well as other food crops like fruits and vegetables, but tea is an important export crop for many developing countries. Instead of estimating the monsoon based on historical dates of onset, duration and retrieval we construct the actual approximated onset and retrieval dates based on the year-by-province cumulative precipitation function. To date our research is the first to estimate the monsoon period using this method. Results indicate that a later monsoon onset date, as well as a later monsoon retrieval date have a small but significant negative impact on yields over the last 30 years. A delay in either the monsoon onset or retrieval of only 3-4 days reduced yields by .1% each. However, we did not find a statistical association between the length of the monsoon. Total rainfall during the monsoon period was found to have a small and positive impact on yields, even when controlling for extreme temperatures and low precipitation. We also found a strong positive effect of increased maximum daily temperatures during the monsoon period on tea yields. Spring maximum daily temperatures did not have a significant impact on tea yields. Our results have important implications for tea producer in China in the face of future global climate changes. |
| Keywords: | climate change, tea, agriculture, China, yield response model, monsoon, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170486&r=agr |
| By: | Quan, Shiwen; Chen, Yuan; Zeng, Yinchu |
| Abstract: | This paper constructs a theoretical framework of consumers’ label-choosing and self-protection behaviors when meeting their demand for food safety. With data collected from a survey on vegetable consumers in Beijing, we employ a bivariate Tobit model to make empirical analyses. The results show that knowledge and non-wage income have positive effects on promoting consumers’ label-choosing and self-protection behaviors. Self-protection, compared to label-choosing is relatively more labor intensive, thus a higher wage rate will result a lower level of self-protection behavior due to relatively higher opportunity costs. Additionally, consumers of different ages will choose different ways to pursue food safety. The younger are inclined to purchasing more labeled vegetables while the elder tend to conduct a higher level of self-protection behavior. |
| Keywords: | food safety, labeling, self-protection, consumer behaviors, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170219&r=agr |
| By: | Bezabih, Mintewab; Di Falco, Salvatore; Mekonnen, Alemu |
| Abstract: | Weather fluctuations tend to be as important as climate change in farmers’ decision making in countries such as Ethiopia that have virtually no weather insurance. This paper assesses the distinct impacts of weather and climate change measures on agricultural productivity of households, measured in terms of crop revenue, in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Four waves of survey data, which included about 1500 households in each round, combined with interpolated daily temperature and monthly rainfall data from the meteorological stations, are employed in the analysis. The distinction between weather and climate is highlighted by observations in the temperature data, which show that the pattern of temperature for both short-term and long-term values follows a bell-shaped distribution, with the striking feature that the extreme ends of the distribution have fatter tails for the long term values. The analysis employs monthly rainfall and 14 temperature categories related to weather measures and four categories corresponding with the extreme ends of the long-term temperature distribution. The analysis also distinguishes between summer and spring seasons and different crops, in recognition that Ethiopia’s agriculture is multi-cropping and multi-season. The major findings show that temperature effects are distinctly non-linear, but only when the weather measures are combined with the extreme ends of the distribution of the climate measures. In addition, rainfall generally has a less important role to play than temperature, contrary to expectations for rainfed agriculture. |
| Keywords: | crop revenue, climate change, weather variability, Mundlak’s Fixed Effects method, Ricardian analysis, Ethiopia |
| JEL: | D2 Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2014–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-15-efd&r=agr |
| By: | Larochelle, Catherine; Alwang, Jeffrey |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170567&r=agr |
| By: | Rickard, Brad; Gergaud, Olivier; Hu, Wenjing |
| Abstract: | Revised version posted November 11, 2014. |
| Keywords: | Domestic regulations, EU-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Non-tariff barriers, Simulation model, Trade policy, Wine., Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Q13, Q17, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170462&r=agr |
| By: | Jayne, T.S.; Sturgess, Chris; Kopicki, Ron; Sitko, Nicholas |
| Abstract: | Vibrant agricultural commodity exchanges will greatly enhance the performance of Africa’s agricultural sectors and contribute to overall economic development. Yet specific conditions in grain markets are required for agricultural commodity exchanges to develop.1 The absence or short-lived nature of many of these conditions explains why commodity exchanges for staple grains have remained stunted in Sub-Saharan Africa despite strong interest in their development by the international donor community and by most elements of the private sector. This study identifies these preconditions and assesses the scope for development organizations to support the sustainable development of commodity exchanges in eastern and southern Africa. |
| Keywords: | Grain Markets, commodity exchanges, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:188568&r=agr |
| By: | Pellow, Ron; Edwards, Grant |
| Abstract: | Lincoln University Dairy Farm is a well-known, frequently visited commercial demonstration farm, operated by the South Island Dairying Development Centre (SIDDC) to showcase best practice sustainable, profitable farming. In late February 2014, part way through a very high payout and production season, the farm adapted its management to ensure predicted nitrogen leaching did not exceed that of past seasons. This action resulted in 8% less N-loss than the 2012-13 season and 17% less than initially forecast for the 2013-14 season (as predicted with Overseer®). The farm therefore made substantial progress in regard to the changing expectations expressed via the community and through the regional council’s (proposed) Land and Water Regional Plan. The cost however was approximately $84,000 for this individual farm. If extrapolated across the Canterbury region’s 1000 dairy farms, this impact would markedly change the local economy. Uncomfortable with the above outcome, yet seeing potential legislative reductions in N-loss within 2.5 years, LUDF is voluntarily changing its management for the 2014-15 season to operate with lower N-loss. The farm is adopting research undertaken within the Pastoral 21 (P21) research programme whereby farm systems research with self-contained farmlets has shown an irrigated nil-infrastructure, low input (N-fertiliser and supplement) system is theoretically as profitable as the previous system at LUDF, yet should further reduce the catchment nutrient loss. The farm management system of a nil-infrastructure, low input farm operated at scale on large dairy farms is still being developed and will determine the opportunity (or cost) of adapting management practices to the changing expectations and requirements of farmers in coming years. |
| Keywords: | DAIRY FARMING SYSTEMS, NITROGEN LOSS, PROFIT, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187498&r=agr |
| By: | Xie, Jing; Hyeyoung, Kim; House, Lisa |
| Abstract: | Information on production methods (genetic modification or organic production) and locations (country of origin) are commonly found on food package labels. Both pieces of information may be used as a proxy for food safety and quality by consumers. Our study investigates the interactive effects between information on production method and COOL by conducting choice experiments in the European Union, United States and Japan. This study also investigates the effect of information about potential benefits of biotechnology on consumer acceptance of GM foods. Results indicate that consumers preferred GM foods produced domestically to GM foods imported from foreign countries, and individuals with information on consumer benefits, producer benefits, and environmental benefits were willing to pay more than individuals without information in some cases, but the effect of information varied by type of information, location, and the country of origin of the products. |
| Keywords: | Genetically modified food, biotechnology, country of origin, consumer attitudes, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164737&r=agr |
| By: | Lee, Yu Na; Chau, Nancy; Just, David |
| Abstract: | The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program for farmers was established in 2002 to assist farmers adversely affected by import surges. Since its introduction, the program has been mostly underused by farmers, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 eased the program rules to drive more participation of farmers. Based on the decision-making model and the uniquely constructed panel data set, we find that farmers’ incentive to make up for the losses in other types of direct government payments as well as eligibility criteria explain farmers’ participation in the TAA program. Less time and efforts needed for participation, proxied by previously approved cases of the same or similar commodities, also seems to drive farmers’ participation. Results also confirm that the ARRA of 2009 was effective in increasing farmers’ participation. |
| Keywords: | trade, program participation, trade adjustment assistance, TAA, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, incentive, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, International Relations/Trade, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170597&r=agr |
| By: | Czekaj, Stefania; Czubak, Wawrzyniec; Góral, Justyna; Kagan, Adam; Majewski, Edward; Poczta, Walenty; Sadowski, Arkadiusz; Wąs, Adam |
| Abstract: | Scenarios for implementation of direct payments in the new financial perspective 2014-2020. “New Greening” of the Common Agricultural Policy and its importance for economic performance of the Polish farms. Projected effects of the new CAP legislative solutions for the large-scale commercial enterprises. Capitalisation of financial support to agriculture. |
| Keywords: | direct payments, Polish farms, financial perspective, Common Agricultural Policy, financial suport, CAP, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:182522&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Yumeng; Zhao, Shuoli; Yang, Zhihai; Liu, Donald J. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the causal relationship between the prices of rice, crude oil, wheat, corn and soybean in China, using monthly price data over the period of January 1998 to December 2013. Employing an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test, we explore the cointegration relationship among the price variables. We estimate the ARDL long-run price relationship and the short-run error correction process (ARDL-EC). The results show that rice price are affected by crude oil, wheat, corn and soybean price as the forcing variables. Both the long-run and short-run price transmission elasticity estimates suggest the importance of crude oil price on the formation of rice prices in China. Furthermore, the adjustment speed coefficient is found to be statistically significant, supporting the notion that there is an error correction mechanism for maintaining the long-run price relationship facing short-run shocks. |
| Keywords: | food prices, crude oil price, long-run and short-run relationships, ARDL-EC model, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170578&r=agr |
| By: | Krishnamurthy, Prasad; Pathania, Vikram; Tandon, Sharad |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether food price subsidies affect household nutrition using a dramatic expansion of the availability of subsidized rice in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh in the early 2000's. Households in Chhattisgarh increased their consumption of pulses, animal-based protein, and produce relative to households in districts bordering the state as the availability of subsidized rice expanded. This increase is driven by households eligible for rice subsidies, and we do not find evidence that ineligible households changed their diet. These results contrast with recent studies suggesting that food subsidies have little effect on nutrition. |
| Keywords: | Public Distribution System, Nutrition, India, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, D12, I38, O12, O21, O53, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169753&r=agr |
| By: | Tran, Van T.; Yiannaka, Amalia; Giannakas, Konstantinos |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the economic effects of labeling of food nanotechnology products using an analytical framework of heterogeneous consumers and imperfectly competitive suppliers. Labeling results in increased costs for nanofood producers that in turn increase nanofood prices and reduce their market demand; the cost effect of the labeling policy. Labeling also affects consumer preferences, the preference effect, by reducing uncertainty regarding the nature of the food product (certainty effect), and by potentially being perceived as a warning signal (stigma effect). The market and welfare impacts of nanofood labeling depend on which of the above effects dominate. If consumer aversion towards food nanotechnology increases due to labeling, nanofood suppliers incur losses to the benefit of suppliers of conventional and organic food substitutes and welfare decreases for most of consumers. Consumers who experience greater losses are those with relatively high aversion to interventions in the production process. On the other hand, if the labeling regime results in consumers becoming less averse to food nanotechnology and the preference effect dominates the cost effect, then nanofood suppliers see their profits increase. The economic impacts of nanofood labeling are intensified when consumers have low awareness of food nanotechnology prior to the implementation of the labeling policy and/or when competition among food suppliers is more intense. |
| Keywords: | food nanotechnology, consumer heterogeneity, consumer and producer welfare, food labeling, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, L13, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170220&r=agr |
| By: | Simplice Anutechia Asongu (Association of African Young Economists); Christian Lambert Nguena (Association of African Young Economists) |
| 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: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aay:wpaper:14_013&r=agr |
| By: | Yuan, Yuan; You, Wen; Boyle, Kevin J.; Estabrooks, Paul A. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170652&r=agr |
| By: | Lichtenberg, Erik; Tselepidakis, Elina |
| Abstract: | We use data from a survey of leafy greens and tomato growers in the Mid-Atlantic region to investigate the prevalence and cost of produce safety practices required under the proposed Produce Rule implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act. Majorities of our respondents currently employ most of the food safety practices that would be required under the proposed Produce Rule. But the Produce Rule will nevertheless require changes on the part of a large number of growers. We find no evidence that the use of any of these practices is correlated with farm size. We do find some evidence that the shares of product sold to grocery/retail and to restaurants are positively correlated with the probability of testing water, soil amendments or product, consistent with theoretical literature suggesting that traceability increases incentives to take precautionary measures. We find that all of these practices exhibit substantial increasing returns to scale, implying that the burden of complying with the provisions of the Produce Rule is much lower for large operations than small ones. Our estimates suggest in addition that compliance costs are likely to be burdensome only for a handful of practices, notably testing of soil amendments, employee training, facility sanitation, and sanitizing harvest containers; further, that burden is likely to be much greater for small and very small operations than for large ones. |
| Keywords: | food safety, Food Safety Modernization Act, Produce Rule, tomatoes, leafy greens, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, I18, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014–05–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:168210&r=agr |
| By: | Cho, Sung Ju; McCarl, Bruce A.; Wu, Ximing |
| Abstract: | This study examines how the U.S. crop mix pattern has responded to climate and in turn the potential effects of projected climate change. We find that there are significant effects of temperature and precipitation on the crop choice decisions. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Land use, Crop mix, Fractional regression, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170015&r=agr |
| By: | Lim, Kar Ho; Hu, Wuyang |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170227&r=agr |
| By: | Bilby, David B.; Wilson, Paul N. |
| Abstract: | This study explores recent rulemaking interactions of agricultural and regulatory parties in developing best management practices for agricultural dust control. Regulatory outcomes are predicted based on each party’s interests and power utilizing a mutual gains negotiation framework. A triangulated research design reveals that the final rules satisfied the economic objectives of agricultural interests, met the rulemaking expediency of the regulators, and likely failed to significantly mitigate dust pollution. The analysis provides rare empirical support for the concern that a collaborative rulemaking process can be captured by regulated interests in the sense that required changes in regulatee operational practices are minimized in the adopted regulations with the, at least temporary, approval of the regulator. |
| Keywords: | best management practices, dust pollution, negotiation, rulemaking, regulatory capture, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Political Economy, Q15, Q53, Q58, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usazwp:185894&r=agr |
| By: | Perge, Emilie; Sullivan, Clare |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170309&r=agr |
| By: | Ayinde, Opeyemi E.; Bessler, David A. |
| Abstract: | Rice, which is one of the major sources of energy, vital nutrients and a staple food, is in short supply in many Nigerian households. Nigeria is among many African countries that have engaged in agricultural liberalization since 1986 in the hope that reforms emphasizing price incentives will encourage producers to respond. Hitherto, the reforms seem to have introduced greater uncertainty into the market given increasing rates of price volatility (Ajetomobi 2010). This study therefore models supply responses in Nigerian Rice production that include the standard arguments as well as price risk. Statistical information on domestic and imported quantities of rice was obtained for 41 years (1970 to 2011) from the AGROSTAT system of the statistical division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Federal Ministry of Agriculture statistical bulletins, Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletins and National Bureau of Statistic. (NBS). The data are analyzed using descriptive, equilibrium output supply function and co-integration models and vector autoregressive distributed lag. Producer price of rice was positive and statistically significant with coefficient 0.6334. The output response of rice to hectarage was statistically significant but was negative with the coefficient 1.5135. Rice importation showed a negative sign and was statistically significant in Nigeria at 0.05, with Changes in output also responsive to changes in price. There is the tendency for the price of agricultural products to drop, which may consequently reduce the level of domestic production and thus discourage commercial production. The results indicate that producers are more responsive not only to price and non-price factor but to price risk and exchange rate. It is therefore imperative to reduce price risk as to increase the response of producer to supply by bridging the gap in production. Rice, which is one of the major sources of energy, vital nutrients and a staple food, is in short supply in many Nigerian households. Nigeria is among many African countries that have engaged in agricultural liberalization since 1986 in the hope that reforms emphasizing price incentives will encourage producers to respond. Hitherto, the reforms seem to have introduced greater uncertainty into the market given increasing rates of price volatility (Ajetomobi 2010). This study therefore models supply responses in Nigerian Rice production that include the standard arguments as well as price risk. Statistical information on domestic and imported quantities of rice was obtained for 41 years (1970 to 2011) from the AGROSTAT system of the statistical division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Federal Ministry of Agriculture statistical bulletins, Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletins and National Bureau of Statistic. (NBS). The data are analyzed using descriptive, equilibrium output supply function and co-integration models and vector autoregressive distributed lag. Producer price of rice was positive and statistically significant with coefficient 0.6334. The output response of rice to hectarage was statistically significant but was negative with the coefficient 1.5135. Rice importation showed a negative sign and was statistically significant in Nigeria at 0.05, with Changes in output also responsive to changes in price. There is the tendency for the price of agricultural products to drop, which may consequently reduce the level of domestic production and thus discourage commercial production. The results indicate that producers are more responsive not only to price and non-price factor but to price risk and exchange rate. It is therefore imperative to reduce price risk as to increase the response of producer to supply by bridging the gap in production. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170347&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Xiaoying; Sarr, Mare; Swanson, Timothy |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of the introduction of uniform water-charging for aquifer management and provide evidence using a survey-based choice experiment of agricultural water users in rural Tunisia. Theoretically, we show that the implementation of the proposed second-best regulation would result both in efficiency gains and in distributional effects in favour of small landholders. Empirically, we find that resistance to the introduction of an effective water-charging regime is greatest amongst the largest landholders. Resistance to the regulation of common resources may be rooted in the manner in which heterogeneity might determine the distributional impact of different management regimes. |
| Keywords: | commons, water, aquifer, heterogeneity, Tunisia |
| JEL: | O13 Q11 Q24 Q25 |
| Date: | 2014–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-17-efd&r=agr |
| By: | Feng, Xiaoguang; Hayes, Dermot |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170579&r=agr |
| By: | Blare, Trent; Useche, Pilar; Grogan, Kelly A. |
| Abstract: | Ecuadorian women have traditionally been sidelined from full participation in the economy and have lacked equal political rights. Yet, Ecuador has made advances in gender equality in recent years. Women now have greater access to educational and career opportunities, equality in inheritance and martial property rights, and gained positions of authority in Ecuadorian society. However, these advances do not necessarily mean that Ecuadorian women have gained equity with men, especially in rural areas. Even though women legally have been granted greater equality in Ecuadorian society (Correia and van Ironkhorst 2000), many women, especially in rural areas and the coastal region of the country, have not equally participated in these advances. Many of these women have been excluded from utilizing these new rights, participating in economic activities, and being allowed to make important household and farm decisions (ECLAC 2011; Twyman 2012). Our research examines how the changing cultural norms and legal status in Ecuador impact women’s empowerment in the agricultural sector and in rural communities. We study women’s ability to influence household and production decisions. In particular, we examine the common view in the gender literature that sees women as the appropriate target group to mobilize for sustainable production and conservation (Plumwood 1992, Jackson 1993, Agrawal 2010). The cacao sector provides a particularly relevant case because of its economic and ecological importance to Ecuador and the region. This industry employs 12% of Ecuador’s economically active population (CORPEI 2009). In fact, cacao production is often the only source of cash income for many rural Ecuadorian households and traditionally the domain of men, who have usually managed household income and determined the economic activities of the household (ECLAC 2011). Thus, women’s involvement in cacao production is an important indicator of women’s status in a large share of rural Ecuador. The traditional cacao agroforests provide many ecological services such as habitat for many endangered plants and animals. However, they are not as profitable as the monoculture systems. So, smallholder households face a difficult choice between earning larger profits and protecting the ecosystem. Because of these economic and ecological concerns, promotion of cacao agroforests has been the focus of development efforts by the Ecuadorian government, nongovernmental organizations, and international donor agencies (Suarez 2013). Many of these institutions also have the additional goal of empowering women. Past research on gender relations in rural Ecuador only examined the differences in agricultural activities and asset ownership between women and men. There has been little research that examines women’s ability to influence household and production decisions. Due to the laws that protect female property rights, Ecuadorian women own 52% of all assets. However, women in the cacao growing region of coastal Ecuador are less likely to own important agricultural assets such as land than their counterparts in the Andean region, an area culturally distinct from the rest of Ecuador. Coastal women have ownership rights to 49% of agricultural land while women in the Andean had rights to 73% of the agricultural land (Deere and Diaz 2011). Although women may legally own the land, women are generally seen as helpers on cacao farms and are almost entirely excluded from marketing of the product (Ponton Cevallos 2005). Our study builds on this research to better understand women’s influence in the cacao sector and in rural households. We enhance the conjugal contract model developed by Carter and Katz (1997) to include a value for the nonmarket ecological and social benefits in the joint utility function. Through our innovative conceptualization of the model, a household may adopt the production method that does not maximize profits, cacao agroforests, if the utility from more nonmarket benefits are greater than the lost utility from larger profits. Male and female members of the household may differ in the value they place on these nonmarket benefits. Thus, they may have different preferences about whether the household adopts agroforestry or monoculture production systems. Women’s ability to influence production decisions could change the outcome of whether a household adopts production methods that are more sustainable. To determine the value that men and women place on these nonmarket benefits and the ability of women to influence household production decisions, we conducted 320 household interviews throughout coastal Ecuador from February through July, 2013. The household surveys examine not only women’s roles on cacao farms but also who makes production and management decisions on the farms. In addition, we implemented a choice experiment separately with the principle male and female member of the household. The choice experiment consisted of the household member choosing between pictures of two parcels to determine how much more profit he or she would need to receive in order to prefer the monoculture system over the agroforestry system. One picture had characteristics similar to a cacao agroforest and the other similar to a cacao monoculture field. The monoculture parcel was more profitable, but the cacao agroforests included nonmarket benefits. These nonmarket benefits included access to subsistence crops, enhanced soil quality, and a greater diversity of native plants and animals. Each respondent was presented with six choices, where the profits and characteristics of the agroforest differed randomly. By employing a multinomal Logit regression, we were able to estimate the value that men and women place on each of the attributes of the cacao agroforests (Birol et al. 2006) We found distinct differences between men and women in their land use preferences. During the focus group meetings, we discussed the benefits they received from agroforestry production systems. Women were more likely to prefer agroforestry production methods than men were. They were more concerned about food production such as raising plantains, oranges and other fruits than they were about profits. They also were more likely to prefer this production system because of the environmental benefits it provides and the ability to have diversified income sources. Although some men did prefer the agroforestry systems for many of the same reasons as the women did, especially since it provides a method to diversify production and price risk, the men were much more likely to prefer the monoculture system. The opportunity to obtain bigger yields and larger profits was more important to the male participants than the other environmental and social benefits provided by the agroforestry system. Preliminary results show that, despite heterogeneity in preferences across genders, men dominate household spending and production decisions even on the land that is owned by the women or jointly owned by men and women. Men manage the income in 36% of the households, women in 18% and both men and women in 46% of the households. Thus, women have a say in household spending decisions in only 64% of the households interviewed. Women have ownership rights in 44% of the land parcels as 56% of parcels are owned by men, 17% by women and 27% owned jointly. Yet, some women are excluded from managing the parcels they own. Seventy percent of the parcels are managed by men, 8% are managed by women, and 22% are managed by both genders. Women only participate in 30% of land use decisions. Only 17% of participants in agricultural training programs are women. Female empowerment in rural Ecuador, would likely encourage the adoption or continuation of cacao agroforests. Gender equity and female empowerment not only are important moral issue but also have large economic, social, and environmental impacts. Efforts to enhance gender equity in the Ecuadorian cacao sector would likely provide the additional benefits of encouraging the adoption and protection of sustainable production systems. References Agrawal, B. 2010. Gender and Green Governance: The Political Economy of Women's Presence Within and Beyond Community Forestry. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Birol, E, K. Karousakis, and P. Koundouri. 2006. Using a Choice Experiment to Account for Preference Heterogeneity in Wetland Attributes: The Case of Cheimaditida Wetland in Greece. Ecological Economics 60: 145-156. Carter, M.R. and E. Katz. 1997. Separate Spheres and the Conjugal Contract: Understanding Gender-Biased Development. Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Developing Countries: Methods, Models, and Policy. L. Haddad, J. Hoddinott, and H. Aderman eds. 95-111. Baltimore: John Hopkins. Coporación de Promoción de Exportaciones e Inversiones (CORPEI). 2009. Cacao. Ecuador Calidad de Origen. Quito, Ecuador Correia, M. and B. van Ironkhorst. 2000. Ecuador Gender Review. The World Bank. Washington D. C. Deere, C. D. and J. Contreras Diaz. 2011. Acumulación de Activos: Una Apuesta por la Equidad. Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLASCO): Quito, Ecuador. ECLAC (UN Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean). 2010. What Kind of State? What Kind of Equality? Santiago, Chile: ECLAC. Jackson, C. 1993. “Environmentalisms and gender interests in the Third World,” Development and Change, Vol. 24, No. 4. Potón Cevallos, J. 2005. Relaciones de Género en el Ciclo Productivo de Cacao: ¿Hacia un Desarrollo Sostenible?. Master’s Thesis. Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLASCO). Plumwood, V. 1992. “Beyond the dualistic assumptions of women, men and nature,” Ecologist, Vol. 22, No. 1 (lYY2), pp. 8-13. Suarez, L. Director of Conservation International Ecuador. Personal Interview. 18 Jul. 2013. Twyman, J. 2012. Intra-Household Distribution of Assets and Wealth in Ecuador. Doctorate of Philosophy Dissertation. University of Florida. |
| Keywords: | gender, cacao, Ecuador, willingness to pay, choice experiment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169782&r=agr |
| By: | Madhavan- Nambiar, Padmanand; Florkowski, Wojciech J.; Chinnan, Manjeet S.; Ressurrecion, Anna |
| Abstract: | Variations in different household expenditures across urban households in the Republic of Uganda are studied using a survey data. Multivariate Tobit estimation method is employed to quantify the effects of various factors, including household income. Expenditure elasticities of income vary across different categories of expenditures. Location and other factors such as education influence the expenditure decisions |
| Keywords: | Republic of Uganda, Household expenditures, Multivariate Tobit, Expenditure elasticities, Food expenditures, Education expenditures, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169641&r=agr |
| By: | Dharmasena, Senarath; Capps, Oral, Jr. |
| Keywords: | Organic beverages, milk, fruit beverages, carbonated soft drinks, censored demand, semiparametric methods, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D11, D12, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169807&r=agr |
| By: | Muscio, Alessandro; Nardone, Gianluca; Stasi, Antonio |
| Abstract: | The importance of eco-innovations for industry has been rising exponentially in recent years. However, even if recent trends show that firms are increasingly committed to eco-innovations, there is little knowledge on why and how companies integrate environmental sustainability into new product development. In this paper we offer a comprehensive analysis of the drivers of eco-innovation in the Italian wine industry on the basis of a large survey on Italian wine producers. We analyse the impact of firms’ characteristics and their technological and organizational capabilities on the introduction of eco-innovations. The relevance of the drivers in influencing the probability of introducing eco-innovations is measured with a latent class econometric model. Our evidence shows that business characteristics and firms’ scientific search processes and their general innovative behaviour are key drivers of eco-innovation. Therefore, according to our results, firms’ commitment to eco-innovate does not differ substantially from other types of innovation activities. |
| Keywords: | Wine industry, eco-innovation, environmental innovation, green innovation, innovation drivers, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, L2, L6, O3, Q5, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164752&r=agr |
| By: | Katare, Bhagyashree |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to understand the effect of environment on obesity by studying the effect of acculturation on the health of a foreign population – who experience a relatively low prevalence of obesity – after they have been introduced to different environments, some are characterized by relatively low prevalence and others are characterized by relatively high rates of obesity. Acculturation for the purpose of this study is defined as a voluntary or involuntary adaptation of food habits and culture of the new country. The foreign population is defined to be the group of foreign students who come from various countries to the United States for short term or long-term habitation. |
| Keywords: | Obesity, Immigrants, Nutrition, Dietary Change, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, I12, J15, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170405&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Jingjing; Chen, Mei; Klein, Peter G. |
| Abstract: | Dairy United is one of China’s fastest-growing and most innovative milk producers. Dairy United’s unusual business model has propelled it from underdog to main player during the industry's reshuffle after the 2008 Chinese milk scandal. Instead of making farmers shareholders of the company, or members of a cooperative, Dairy United leases their cows, the main asset used in production. Contracting with small dairy farmers for use of their cows, the firm raises farmers' cows using modern facilities, technologies, and management practices. Farmers receive fixed biannual returns but give up control, cash-flow, and residual-claimant rights to Dairy United. The leasing model is not only an unique governance choice for an industry moving from dispersed, small-scale production to larger-scale, capital-intensive methods, but also raises interesting questions about how to apply agency and property rights theory to organizational structure. We explain Dairy United's governance choice by comparing costs and benefits of leasing contracts, cooperatives, and corporations. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174397&r=agr |
| By: | Cupak, Andrej; Pokrivcak, Jan; Rizov, Marian |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169082&r=agr |
| By: | Davis, Benjamin; Di Giuseppe, Stefania; Zezza, Alberto |
| Abstract: | Is Africa's rural economy transforming as its economies grow? This paper uses comparable income aggregates from 41 national household surveys from 22 countries to explore the extent of income diversification among rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to look at how income diversification in Sub-Saharan Africa compares with other regions, taking into account differences in levels of development. The paper also seeks to understand how geography drives income diversification, focusing on the role of agricultural potential and distance to urban areas. The countries in the African sample have higher shares of on-farm income (63 versus 33 percent) and lower shares on nonagricultural wage income (8 and 21 percent) compared with countries of other regions. Specialization in on-farm activities continues to be the norm in rural Africa (52 percent of households, 21 percent in other regions). In terms of welfare, specialization in nonagricultural income-generating activities stochastically dominates farm-based strategies in all of the countries in our African sample. Crop income is still important for welfare, however, and even at higher levels of household income, crop activities continue to play an important complementary role. Regardless of distance and integration in the urban context, when agro-climatic conditions are favorable, farming remains the occupation of choice for most households in the African countries for which the study has geographically explicit information. When urban integration is low and agricultural conditions more difficult, the picture is mixed, with households more likely to engage more fully in nonfarm activities in Niger and Malawi, but less likely to do so in Uganda and Tanzania. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Regional Economic Development,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7108&r=agr |
| By: | Anastassiadis, Friederike; Feil, Jan-Henning; Mußhoff, Oliver; Schilling, Philipp |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the influencing factors of farmers’ use of price hedging instruments (PHIs) based upon a discrete choice experiment with German grain farmers. A mixed logit model is used to determine whether farmers’ choices of PHIs against cash sales are influenced by their price expectation, their risk attitude and their available storage capacities. The results show that farmers with a price expectation below the actual price level have a higher preference for using PHIs against cash sales in general and that the individual degree of risk aversion can have a significant impact on farmers’ choices of a specific PHI. A generally lower preference of farmers with available storage capacities for using PHIs as assumed in many theoretical contributions in the literature, however, cannot be confirmed. |
| Keywords: | Price hedging instruments, grain marketing, discrete choice experiment, mixed logit, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi14:187361&r=agr |
| By: | Yang, Shang-Ho; Woods, Timothy |
| Abstract: | The “Locally grown” or “buy local” concept has brought tremendous impacts in many different market venues. This study focuses on finding whether there is any difference on the local definition between traditional shoppers (Kentucky food consumers) and food co-op shoppers. Particularly, the definition of “local” is discussed in three different concepts, i.e., geographical, practical, and supportive concepts. Our results reveal that shoppers between food co-op and traditional stores define local quite differently. An interesting outcome indicates that the food co-op shoppers don’t hold a consistent definition of local if we segment shoppers into three groups, like the core/mid-level/periphery based on the percentage of shopping at store. The primary contribution of this study is the identification of clear consumer differences across consumers’ viewpoints on the definition of local across stores between the traditional and food co-op shoppers with important merchandising and sourcing implications for corresponding grocers. |
| Keywords: | Local Definition, Locally grown, Buy Local, Food Co-op, Grocery, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170480&r=agr |
| By: | Kim, Hyeyoung; House, Lisa A.; Salois, Matthew |
| Abstract: | There is an extensive literature examining the role of media information and coverage on influencing consumer perception and behavior, particularly with respect to food choices. Consumer response to media information on food-drug interactions has yet to be examined. The goal of this research is to measure the effect of media exposure on grapefruit/grapefruit juice consumption, with particular attention on news relating to grapefruit-drug interaction. A survey is employed to understand respondent attitudes about health news on TV and the internet and to measure the effect of media coverage on consumption changes of grapefruit and grapefruit juice. A sample selection model modified to account for ordered responses is used to account consumers exposed versus not exposed to such information. Results show that consumer attitudes toward health news were significantly related to exposure to media information on grapefruit. Also, exposure to grapefruit drug-interaction does have a tendency to result in reduced consumption, in particular aged consumers, however, only a small proportion of consumers are both exposed to such media and are active consumers of grapefruit/grapefruit juice. |
| Keywords: | food-drug interaction, sample selection, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:168899&r=agr |
| By: | José Gustavo FERES; Jean-Louis COMBES (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International); Claudio ARAUJO (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at assessing the determinants of Amazon deforestation, with an emphasis on the role played by off-farm income. We first present a microeconomic model which relates off-farm income to deforestation patterns. We then test the empirical implications by using data on the 2006 Brazilian Agricultural Census. Our results suggest that an increase in off-farm income tends to reduce deforestation. This may be explained by the fact that greater off-farm opportunities tends to increase the opportunity cost of farm labor. Results also show that smallholders are less responsive to the increase in the returns of off-farm activities than large ones, which is in line with our hypothesis of labor market imperfections regarding off-farm activities. |
| Keywords: | deforestation, farm household, off-farm income, pseudo-panel |
| JEL: | C23 Q23 Q12 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdi:wpaper:1626&r=agr |
| By: | Verteramo Chiu, Leslie J.; Gómez, Miguel I.; Kaiser, Harry M.; Yan, Jubo |
| Abstract: | We study consumer preferences for socially-responsible certified coffee based on alternative ways to distribute the price premium of the product. We use Becker, DeGroot, and Marschak (BDM) auctions in an experimental setting to elicit consumer willingness to pay for two socially-responsible certified coffee systems: the existing Fair Trade and a hypothetical certification called Sustainable Trade. These certification schemes differ in the way the price premium is given to producers. In the Fair Trade certifications growers receive a cash transfer whereas in the Sustainable Trade certification a portion of the premium is allocated to a social project in the grower’s community. We segment consumers as donors and non-donors and show that individuals who donate have strong preferences for certification systems that support social projects relative no non-donors. We also find that consumer attitudes toward donating have a strong effect on their willingness to pay for certified coffee. This effect is higher for consumers that donate a higher part of their income to charities. |
| Keywords: | Social Certifications, Fair Trade, Altruism, Consumer Demand, Experimental Auctions., Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170551&r=agr |
| By: | Agüero, Jorge |
| Abstract: | This paper uses year-to-year variation in temperature to estimate the long-term effects of climate change on health outcomes in Mexico. Combining temperature data at the district level and three rounds of nationally representative household surveys,an individual’s health as an adult is matched with the history of heat waves from birth to adulthood. A flexible econometric model is used to the identification of critical health periods with respect to temperature. It is shown that exposure to higher temperatures early in life has negative consequences on adult height. Most importantly,the effects are concentrated at the times where children experience growth spurts: infancy and adolescence. The robustness of these findings is confirmed when using health outcomes derived from accidents,which are uncorrelated to early exposure to high temperatures. |
| Keywords: | Global warming, Climate change, Health, Mexico, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, I12, Q54, Q41, |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:165044&r=agr |
| By: | Miranda, Juan Jose; Corral, Leonardo; Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future); Asner, Gregory; Lima, Eirivelthon |
| Abstract: | Protected areas are a cornerstone of forest conservation in developing countries. Yet we know little about their effects on forest cover change or the socioeconomic status of local communities, and even less about the relationship between these effects. This paper assesses whether “win-win” scenarios are possible—that is, whether protected areas can both stem forest cover change and alleviate poverty. We examine protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon using high-resolution satellite images and household-level survey data for the early 2000s. To control for protected areas’ nonrandom siting, we rely on quasi-experimental (matching) methods. We find that the average protected area reduces forest cover change. We do not find a robust negative effect on local communities. Protected areas that allow sustainable extractive activities are more effective in reducing forest cover change but less effective in delivering win-win outcomes. |
| Keywords: | conservation, deforestation, protected areas, poverty, land use, land conservation |
| JEL: | Q56 Q23 Q24 R14 R52 |
| Date: | 2014–06–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-14&r=agr |
| By: | Ferro, Gabrielle; Kropp, Jaclyn; Gupta, Sonam; Grogan, Kelly A.; Mathews, Anne |
| Abstract: | Using data from an Alachua County, Florida elementary school, we analyze how intermittently offered à la carte items, such as ice cream and other desserts, affect the selection of more healthful National School Lunch Program (NSLP) lunch components (fruits and low-fat dairy). We find NSLP participants are more likely to select the fruit component on days à la carte items are offered; however, NSLP participants who purchase à la carte items, when available, are less likely to select a fruit. If students consume all of the foods that they select, this substitution effect reduces micronutrients consumed and increases caloric intake. Such a substitution over the long term could have implications for childhood obesity as well as overall health. Our results have implications for the on-going debate pertaining to competitive foods sold in school lunchrooms. |
| Keywords: | À la Carte, Nutrition, School Lunchroom, Childhood Obesity, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170622&r=agr |
| By: | Ma, Xingliang; Spielman, David J.; Nazli, Hina; Zambrano, Patricia; Zaidi, Fatima; Kouser, Shahzad |
| Abstract: | Efficient information exchanges between sellers and buyers are essential if prices are to act as a signal for resource allocation in an economy. In the case of seed and planting materials, information on quality traits are often difficult for consumers (farmers) to obtain prior to purchase, resulting in failures in the market for seed-based technologies. While regulations on seed certification, labeling and packaging seek to remedy this problem, such regulations are often difficult to enforce where markets are large and diverse, or where the government’s regulatory infrastructure is limited. The market for genetically modified insect-resistant Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) cotton seed in Pakistan appears to be one of these markets. In this paper, we test for the presence of asymmetric information in the seed market by comparing the quality of seed purchased across a representative sample of cotton farmers in Pakistan’s two main cotton-growing provinces. We also test for the extent to which seed prices reflect the efficacy of the insect-resistance traits—a quality trait that is generally unobservable by the farmer—as measured by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) readings of the Bt toxin expression levels. Drawing on initial results from these tests, we then explore the various regulatory mechanisms and market instruments that can be used to help farmers to better infer Bt seed quality. |
| Keywords: | Bt cotton, asymmetric information, Pakistan, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:175278&r=agr |
| By: | Guan, Zhengfei; Wu, Feng |
| Abstract: | Non-optimal behavior due to budget constraint or credit availability is commonly observed in agricultural production. Not accounting for non-optimal behavior would result in biased estimates of risk preferences. A generalized model is developed in this article for estimating agents’ risk attitude accommodating both optimal and non-optimal behaviors. Results from Monte Carlo simulations suggest that estimation based on the proposed model yields consistent and unbiased risk preference estimates, whereas estimation based on the conventional modeling procedure produces biased results. |
| Keywords: | Corner Solution, Non-optimal Behavior, Risk Preferences, Budget Constraint, Monte Carlo Simulation, GMM Estimation., Agricultural Finance, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, C13, C51, Q12, Q14, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170636&r=agr |
| By: | Dobbins, Craig; Cook, Kim |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inpuer:189094&r=agr |
| By: | Zack Dorner (Monash University); Dean Hyslop (Victoria University of Wellington) |
| Abstract: | Rural land use in New Zealand is an important driver of economic activity and has clear implications for the environment, including for biodiversity, climate change emissions and water quality. The spatial distribution and aggregate shares of rural land use is always changing, but change occurs slowly. To better understand the drivers of rural land use change, this paper addresses three questions using the popular multinomial logit modelling approach. First, do recent commodity prices have any predictive power on land use conversions? Second, is recently sold land more likely to change use? Third, does land which is marginal between uses have identifiable characteristics? The data used consists of the New Zealand Landcover Database version 3 (LCDB3), with observations in 1997, 2002 and 2008; 6 year average profitability data for dairy, sheep and beef and forestry; QVNZ land sales data; and I control for land quality and Maori tenure. In answering the first and third questions, I evaluate the predictive power of a spatially explicit land use share multinomial logit model, estimated from 2002 cross-sectional variation. To supplement the land use share multinomial logit for questions one and three, and to address question two, I use a land use transition multinomial logit, estimating the likelihood of transition from a single starting land use between 1997 and 2002, similar to Lubowski et al. (2008). Finally, I compare the two modelling approaches. |
| Keywords: | land use; rural; conversion; multinomial logit; land sales; marginal land |
| JEL: | Q15 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:14_12&r=agr |
| By: | Hamrick, Karen; Okrent, Abigail |
| Abstract: | Meals, snacks, and beverages purchased at fast-food restaurants have become a large and growing portion of a typical American’s budget, and have been blamed for American’s expanding waistlines and poor diet quality. Previous studies have attributed this increase to many factors including budget and time constraints, demographic and health characteristics and market-level forces but no study has been able to rigorously address the effects of all of these variables on the demand for fast foods. This study uses the 2003-11 American Time Use Survey to identify associations between fast-food purchases and individual, household, and market characteristics. The primary findings of this study are: (1) Americans purchase fast food as a means of saving time in non-market activities—those that purchase fast food are associated with less time in sleep, housework, eating and drinking meals and television watching, and more time in traveling from place to place; (2) fast-food purchasers have different eating patterns than others, spending less time eating and drinking and are more likely to eat while working or driving; (3) the probability of fast-food purchase was postively associated with employment status but negatively associated with the number of hours worked by the individual in the day; and (4) the percent of the population purchasing fast food on a given day stayed fairly constant during and after the 2007-09 recession, seemingly unaffected by the economic downturn. |
| Keywords: | Food away from home, FAFH, fast food, time use, American Time Use Survey, Great Recession, time pressure, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170156&r=agr |
| By: | Baumgartner, Kendra; Travadon, Renaud; Cooper, Monica; Hillis, Vicken; Kaplan, Jonathan D.; Lubell, Mark |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170437&r=agr |
| By: | Pacheco de Carvalho, Bernardo |
| Abstract: | Food still is, and will continue to be, a basic issue at every day decision process in human behavior. Food consumption has been a problematic issue in human history and today is also recognized as a basic pilar for human health and welfare/quality of life. From a global problem up to the middle of the eighties, right now food security is mainly a local issue (however a macro-level approach continued to be necessary for long run perspective and food safety concerns in trade and commercialization). Food and nutritional concerns today still are unforgetable issues on a local base perspective in many regions: the most common problems are related to the access and consumption to achieve the minimum nutritional requirements, but also other dimension such as production, transformation, distribution and logistic aspects of the “food equation”, mainly in less developed countries, are crucial aspects to be taken into consideration. Economic effciency from a production perspective in the food sector, measured in terms of output per unit of input (technical and technologial innovation) achieved one of the best performances in terms of development in the last 30 years. The same can not be refered in regard to markets and institutional innovations. In fact, looking at institutions including markets and governments, it is necessary to explore and identify the several observed failures (institutional and governance failures: markets, governmental and others) were science can make a contribution. This is the main purpose of the current research, which is starting based on observed problems and applied solutions with good results in many situations, but also pointing out many other situations were solutions are needed based on the old instruments, but also based on innovative procedures. The methodoly followed explores the basic theorectical approach in production theory and in consumption micro-economic concepts, allowing the introduction of some new purposals in regard to efficiency measures. Adding to those aspects some new questions and models are discussed in regard to the “institutional/organizational economics” in the actual world, providing support for improvement measures ( and policy suggestions). The Brasilien case is explored in more detail ( the “Fome Zero Program”), but also some african examples are used to ilustrate that many solutions will have to rely on technological changes, but also on institutional innovations. |
| Keywords: | Food Security, Good Governance, Economic Efficiency, Institutional and Market Efficiency, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164743&r=agr |
| By: | Newburn, David; Ferris, Jeffrey |
| Keywords: | Land Use, Land Use Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170446&r=agr |
| By: | Rae, Allan N |
| Abstract: | Commentators have suggested over the years, and still do, that the NZ economy should restructure more rapidly towards sophisticated manufacturing and services so as to avoid remaining an agricultural economy. This paper reviews some relevant theory and empirical analyses, in a search for evidence that agricultural economies grow more slowly than others and for approaches that may be helpful for further research. The evidence is mixed, but appears not to strongly support the hypothesis that NZ would grow faster through a lesser focus on agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Financial Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187403&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Xianwen; Alfnes, Frode; Rickertsen, Kyrre |
| Abstract: | Consumers prefer ecolabeled products. However, little is known about the effects of ecolabels when consumers are simultaneously exposed to negative environmental information. We conducted a stated choice experiment in France with eight fish products that were either ecolabeled or unlabeled. Four types of negative information concerning the potential negative environmental consequences of catching wild fish or producing farmed fish were randomly administered to the participants. The data were analyzed by a mixed logit model. Several results emerged. First, there are positive ecolabeling effects on the willingness to pay (WTP) for fish. Second, ecolabeling cannot fully mitigate the negative effects on WTP of negative environmental information. Third, there is a positive effect on the WTP for substitute fish produced with the same production technology as the type of fish that receives negative environmental information. |
| Keywords: | environmental information, spillover effect, eco-label, fish, discrete choice, stated preferences, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q13, Q51, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:168094&r=agr |
| By: | Anfinson, Carl; Wahl, Thomas; Seale, James; Bai, Junfei |
| Keywords: | China, food consumption, BMI, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172615&r=agr |
| By: | Pokhrel, Bijay; Paudel, Krishna P. |
| Abstract: | We conducted biophysical simulations using MAPSHED to determine the effects of adopting best management practices to reduce nutrients and sediment in a watershed dominated by row crop agriculture and poultry production. Reduction of three water pollutants nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment from adopting different BMPs are used in the cost reducing optimization model. We considered three weather scenarios (dry, normal and wet) and various levels of BMP parameter efficiencies. The nutrient management plan and vegetative buffer are the dominant cost-effective BMPs in the normal and wet weather conditions. In the dry weather scenario, vegetative buffer and stream-bank stabilization are the most cost effective BMPs. The cost of per kilogram of phosphorus reduction ranges from $10 to $40 depending on levels of desired phosphorus level reduction and efficiency parameters used in the model. It is costly to reduce phosphorus in a dry weather scenario perhaps because runoff is minimal and total costs associated with BMPs do not get distributed much on a per unit effluent basis. |
| Keywords: | best management practices, cost minimization, nutrient and sediment reductions, optimization, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170699&r=agr |
| By: | Phuong, Nguyen Van; Cuong, Tran Huu; Mergenthaler, Marcus |
| Abstract: | In this study, Vietnamese households’ expenditure on dairy products for home consumption is analyzed using the latest Vietnamese Household Living Standard Survey datasets in 2010 (VHLSS 2010). Vietnam is the 20th most important importer of dairy products in the world and it is foreseeable that the demand continues rising. This makes Vietnam a highly potential market for dairy exporting countries and for investors in the dairy industry. The aim of the paper is to analyze the effects of socio-economic and demographic variables on Vietnamese households’ decision to purchase dairy products and how much to spend per capita on these items. A double-hurdle model is estimated to accommodate non-normal and heteroskedastic errors for milk and milk products. The parameter estimates for the demand decision variables are presented in the paper. The results suggest that socio-economic and demographic variables effect household expenditure on dairy products. This may help policy makers to implement policies related to dairy industry, nutrition and food security. The results also are useful for dairy products marketers in planning and developing strategies. |
| Keywords: | Dairy products, double-hurdle model, household expenditure, VHLSS, Vietnam, Consumer/Household Economics, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi14:187303&r=agr |
| By: | Chang, Kuo-Liang; Elliott, Lisa M.; Sand, Shannon; Dailey, Rocky; Blachford, Sierra |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169648&r=agr |
| By: | Baldi, Lucia; Peri, Massimo; Vandone, Daniela |
| Abstract: | In the last few years Rare Earth Materials (REMs) prices have experienced a strong increase, due to geopolitical policies and sustainability issues. Provided that these materials at risk of supply disruptions are largely employed in the development of new technologies - such as clean energy industries - financial markets may already have included these concerns into clean energy companies evaluation. We use a multifactor market model for the period January 2006-September 2012 to analyse the impact of REMs price changes – specifically Dysprosium and Neodymium - to six clean energy indexes (NYSE-BNEF) tracking the world’s most active quoted companies in the clean energy sector. Results show that during period of price increase there is a negative relation between REMs price changes and the stock market performance of clean energy indexes, specifically wind. The European clean energy index is also negatively affected and this may be relevant to policy makers considering that Europe is putting in place some relevant policy actions to support the development of the clean energy sector. |
| Keywords: | Clean energy, rare earth materials, stock prices, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Financial Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, Q56, Q33, G11, C58, E39, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164750&r=agr |
| By: | Wigier, Marek; Wieliczko, Barbara; Fogarasi, Jozsef |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:172973&r=agr |
| By: | Gregg, Daniel; Rolfe, John |
| Abstract: | The valuation of environmental assets is a key current issue in the analysis of environmental assets from an economic viewpoint. Economic assessment often involves the assessment of community values for environmental protection (public benefits) and any complementary or offsetting changes to production (net private benefits). Whilst the majority of studies focus on final demand aspects of environmental values (e.g. recreational use, existence and amenity values from better environmental protection) there is a need to consider any associated impacts on production of economic commodities. The shadow prices and elasticity of production with respect to environmental inputs is of interest in determining efficient public procurement mechanisms for environmental improvements. In particular, distributional aspects of the use of environmental assets by agricultural enterprises may have implications for the efficiency of different approaches to environmental benefit procurement. We use production data from rangelands beef enterprises in Australia and nonparametric conditional quantiles to show that the efficiency of enterprises may be associated with the efficiency of utilisation of environmental inputs and thus may indicate that environmental procurement mechanisms may be benefiting relatively inefficient producers. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187499&r=agr |
| By: | Syampaku, E.M; Mafimisebi, T.E. |
| Abstract: | The study analyzed the responsiveness of maize grain and maize meal spatial price volatilities to increased government participation in maize grain marketing in Zambia using descriptive statistics and vector auto-regression (VAR). This was achieved by comparing spatial price volatility means and spatial price means for the period under increased government participation with respective means for periods under limited government participation. Also, spatial price volatilities were regressed against own spatial price and cross price means, cross price spatial volatilities, seasonality and arbitrage level. Lastly, the extent of spatial volatility discovery in the two vertical markets (maize grain and maize meal) was discovered from VAR equations. Real monthly price data for January 2003 to May 2011 from 8 major markets were used in the study. Empirical results indicated increased government participation reduced spatial price volatilities for both commodities. The VAR model identified own spatial price mean reduction as the major determinant of spatial price volatility reduction for both commodities compared to other variables. Maize meal spatial price volatility was also determined by one month lagged maize grain spatial price mean. Spatial price volatility for each commodity was higher in months with low prices and lower in months with high prices. Reduced arbitrage exerted more reducing effect on price volatility of maize grain than on maize meal price volatility. Most volatility discovery occured in maize meal market although government intervened in maize grain marketing. The study concluded that increased government participation significantly reduced price volatilities for both commodities. Moderated government intervention to a level that still guarantees arbitrage by many players, especially in the maize meal market, was recommended. |
| Keywords: | Spatial, price volatility, private sector, government participation, maize grain, maize meal, vertical markets, Zambia, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174858&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Hongxing; Gopalakrishnan, Sathya; Browning, Drew; Herak, Patrick; Sivandran, Gajan |
| Abstract: | Non-point source pollution and its impact on water quality are of great importance to policy makers, residence and farmers. This paper uses a hedonic property value model to investigate the marginal implicit values of water quality change in Hoover Reservoir in the Upper Big Walnut Creek (UBWC) watershed, Ohio. The estimates are fed into a simple dynamic optimization model which maximizes social welfare while taking into account the damage from production as well as the production profits. This paper uses the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate the quality and quantity of the surface and ground water and uses ArcGIS to link housing transactions in Franklin County and Delaware County with disaggregated flow of nutrient runoff in the watershed. The econometric results indicate that the marginal damage for a one mg/L increase in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loadings are $7,713.41 and $27,624.05 respectively, and the increase of property value of a one meter increase of secchi depth water clarity is $95,132.07. This paper investigates the effects of multiple water quality parameters on both waterfront and non-waterfront properties, using the yearly maximum loading, sediment, and dissolved oxygen, as well as yearly average secchi disk depth as measurement. A simple dynamic optimization model is included to show the tradeoff between production profits and water quality. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic property model, water quality, dynamic optimization model., Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170611&r=agr |
| By: | Li, Anzhi; Dorfman, Jeffrey H. |
| Abstract: | Managers of businesses that involve agricultural commodities need price forecasts in order to manage the risk in either the sale or purchase of agricultural commodities. Sometimes the most important forecasting component is simply whether the price will move up or down. Such binary forecasts are commonly referred to as qualitative forecasts. This paper examines whether qualitative forecasting of commodity prices can be improved by the inclusion within the model specification of price forecasts for other commodities. We use hog prices as a test case and find strong support for the inclusion of other commodity price forecasts in the best forecasting models. Unfortunately, the out-of-sample performance of these models is mixed at best. Still, the results suggest qualitative forecasts can be improved through the inclusion of other commodity price forecasts in our models. |
| Keywords: | qualitative forecasting, model specification, Bayesian econometrics, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169790&r=agr |
| By: | Polyakov, Maksym; Pannell, David J. |
| Abstract: | Opportunity cost constitutes a substantial component of the costs of ecological restoration projects undertaken in agricultural landscapes. Private benefits generated by restored environmental assets are also important in determining the success of restoration projects. In this study, we compare the implications of using different assumptions about private benefits and opportunity cost for the optimal spatial pattern of ecological restoration of a cleared agricultural landscape in north-central Victoria, Australia. We employ a spatially explicit bio-economic model that optimizes ecological restoration through revegetation of a cleared landscape. We compare implications of using different assumptions about opportunity cost: (a) fixed marginal opportunity costs based on property value, and (b) variable marginal opportunity costs that take into account land value and private benefits generated by environmental assets on the property. Using variable marginal opportunity costs that account for private benefits captured by the landowners gives a better biodiversity outcome than using fixed marginal opportunity cost subject to the same budget constraints. Spatial patterns of ecological restoration of these scenarios differ substantially, with ecological restoration pattern shifting towards smaller properties (lifestyle landowners) in the variable-marginal-value scenario. Our results show that in order to avoid providing misleading recommendations to environmental managers about priorities for ecological restoration on private lands, it is important to take into account amenity values to land owners of native vegetation and variable opportunity costs. |
| Keywords: | ecological restoration, biodiversity, private benefits, opportunity cost, spatial optimization, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q15, Q57, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169823&r=agr |
| By: | Foote, Kyleisha; Joy, Mike |
| Abstract: | Over the past two decades, major increases in production have occurred in the New Zealand dairy industry. This has required the use of externally sourced inputs, particularly fertiliser, feed supplements, and irrigation. Contemporary New Zealand dairy farming practice incurs environmental externalities: impacts that are not paid for by the dairy farmer. Hence, the public is left to deal with these externalities, both regarding the economic responsibility and environmental degradation. This study estimated that the economic cost of environmental externalities is higher than the 2012 dairy export revenue of $11.6 billion. |
| Keywords: | New Zealand dairy farming, intensification, externalities, environmental impacts, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187496&r=agr |
| By: | Leopoldo Fergusson; Dario Romero; Juan F. Vargas |
| Abstract: | Despite a growing body of literature on how environmental degradation can fuel civil war, the reverse effect, namely that of conflict on environmental outcomes, is relatively understudied. From a theoretical point of view this effect is ambiguous, with some forces pointing to pressures for environmental degradation and some pointing in the opposite direction. Hence, the overall effect of conflict on the environment is an empirical question. We study this relationship in the case of Colombia. We combine a detailed satellite-based longitudinal dataset on forest cover across municipalities over the period 1990-2010 with a comprehensive panel of conflict-related violent actions by paramilitary militias. We first provide evidence that paramilitary activity significantly reduces the share of forest cover in a panel specification that includes municipal and time fixed effects. Then we confirm these findings by taking advantage of a quasi-experiment that provides us with an exogenous source of variation for the expansion of the paramilitary. Using the distance to the region of Urabá, the epicenter of such expansion, we instrument paramilitary activity in each cross-section for which data on forest cover is available. As a falsification exercise, we show that the instrument ceases to be relevant after the paramilitaries largely demobilized following peace negotiations with the government. Further, after the demobilization the deforestation effect of the paramilitaries disappears. We explore a number of potential mechanisms that may explain the conflict-driven deforestation, and show evidence suggesting that paramilitary violence generates large outflows of people in order to secure areas for growing illegal crops, exploit mineral resources, and engage in extensive agriculture. In turn, these activities are associated with deforestation. |
| Keywords: | Deforestation, Conflict, Instrumental Variables, Colombia |
| JEL: | D74 Q2 |
| Date: | 2014–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:012225&r=agr |
| By: | Chalak, Morteza; Pannell, David |
| Keywords: | Climate change, threshold, carbon tax, global warming, dynamics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169844&r=agr |
| By: | Szabo, G. Gabor; Baranyai, Zsolt; Barta, Istvan |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:170295&r=agr |
| By: | Qushim, Berdikul; Gillespie, Jeffrey; McMillin, Kenneth |
| Abstract: | This study determines efficiency drivers, scale and technical efficiencies, and other economic performance measures for Southeastern U.S. meat goat farms. We estimate an input distance function (IDF) using stochastic production frontier (SPF) techniques. Empirical Monte Carlo (MC) simulation techniques are employed to show the consistency of small-sample properties for the IDF. |
| Keywords: | Meat goat, technical efficiency, scale efficiency, performance measures, simulation, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170352&r=agr |
| By: | Okrent, Abigail; Kumcu, Aylin |
| Abstract: | Demand for convenience foods has grown in the United States, which has implications for dietary quality and health, but little is known about the drivers behind the growth in purchases of such foods. We construct a novel data set that contains price indexes, budget shares, advertising expenditures, and demographic and time variables for four Census regions between 1999 and 2010 for six types of convenience foods, including 4 food-at-home categories—basic ingredients, complex ingredients, ready to cook and ready to eat—and 2 food-away-from-home categories—fast food and sit down. We use these data to model demand for convenience foods using the almost ideal demand system, and then use the estimates to decompose growth in demand for convenience foods into price, advertising, demographic and time factors. |
| Keywords: | food away from home (FAFH), convenience foods, demand analysis, advertising, Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170541&r=agr |
| By: | Tröger, Ralf; Reiche, Robert; Schiefer, Gerhard |
| Abstract: | readily available, and of the quality and diversity consumers expect. However, prevalent information systems (IS) of companies in the food industry are not ready to support further significant improve-ments. They especially lack the capability to exchange relevant information in an efficient manner. Since recently, two major developments can be observed from IS perspective: the spreading of ser-vice-oriented architectures (SOA) as well as an increase in mass serialization (due to public and pri-vate traceability requirements, e.g.). So far, though most important due to food safety, a growing need to become more efficient as well as an increasing information demand of consumers, the food sector has attracted little attention in literature concerning an analysis about the potential of both service-orientation and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network. This is why this paper will inves-tigate to which extent these two developments can contribute to facilitate food companies’ IS help-ing them to maintain their competiveness. As a starting point, the research paper will depict the state of the art including SOA and the EPC Net-work. After describing the research approach, it will proceed with a characterisation of the food sec-tor including an examination why there is need for action. Based on current research findings as well as experience gathered in recent projects, the paper will investigate the application of the EPC Net-work with its three major components, i. e. EPCIS (EPC Information Services), ONS (Object Name Service) and the EPC Discovery Services, as part of future IS architectures in this sector. The paper will close with a discussion whether the envisioned IS architecture is appropriate to accomplish the previously identified challenges and requirements in the food sector in a more agile, efficient and effective way. What is more, it will highlight the most pressing challenges and provide an outlook as to the following steps of the research. |
| Keywords: | Electronic Product Code, EPC Network, EPCIS, Food Industry, SOA, Object Name Service, Discovery Services, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164774&r=agr |
| By: | Yue, Ian T.; Swallow, Stephen K. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:173302&r=agr |
| By: | Mark, Tyler; D'Antoni, Jeremy; Griffin, Terry |
| Abstract: | Weather can play a significant role in a producer’s decision making process. However, the literature is void of research estimating the impact of weather patterns on days suitable for field work. The probability of having enough days available to do field work drives the machinery investment decisions, timing of field operations, and optimal risk management strategies. This study shows that when either an El Nino or La Nina cycle are present then the days available decrease. The number of days that decrease is dependent upon the location of the state and the specific cycle present. This model also shows that Arctic Oscillation cycles, specifically a negative cycle, do not impact days available. |
| Keywords: | Days Suitable for Fieldwork, Weather, El Nino, Random Effects, Panel Data, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170272&r=agr |
| By: | Alexandri, Cecilia; Chmieliński, Paweł; Drlík, Jan; Dudek, Michał; Karwat-Woźniak, Bożena; Koteva, Nina; Krupin, Witalij; Maksymenko, Anna; Spesna, Daniela; Tudor, Monica Mihaela; Wrzochalska, Agnieszka |
| Abstract: | Socio-demographic characteristics of farm managers in the European Union. Women – farm managers in the European Union. Socio-economic characteristics of farm managers in the Czech Republic. Managing the agricultural production of Ukraine: social and economic characteristics of the management staff. Analysis of the socio-demographic profile of the farm managers in Bulgaria. Socio-economic characteristics of farm managers in Romania and their implications upon farm performance. Transformation of socio-demographic characteristics of Polish managers of private farms in the conditions of growing competition in the light of field studies. Economic activity of managers of individual farms in Poland. |
| Keywords: | socio-demographic characteristics, farm managers, European Union, economic activity, individual farms, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:179224&r=agr |
| By: | Ikeda, Shinya; Hitoshi, Yonekura |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170246&r=agr |
| By: | Barath, Lajos; Ferto, Imre |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:168923&r=agr |
| By: | Ma, Meilin; Zhu, Heng |
| Abstract: | Farmer cooperatives are playing an increasingly crucial role in the current reform of the agricultural sector in China. Two features of these organizations have stood out amidst the undergoing, rapid development. One is the highly concentrated decision-making structure, while the other being the high level of member heterogeneity in terms of production capacity and ownership portion. Current literature has few quantitative models for analyzing the effects of governance centralization and member heterogeneity on cooperative economic efficiency. This article focuses on evaluating the efficiency of decisions made under different voting structures when members are highly heterogeneous. We use a net income model for a two-stage investment decision. We find that members with a larger ownership in a Chinese cooperative tend to have better aligned interest with the organization and can make more efficient decisions relative to those with less ownership. When heterogeneity among members is high, a more centralized decision making structure can lead to higher economic efficiency. Additionally, because the optimal level of centralization is determined by the redistribution policy of cooperative profits and properties of member heterogeneity, different cooperatives would accordingly have different optimal degrees of centralization. |
| Keywords: | Chinese Farmer Professional Cooperatives, Economic efficiency, Centralized decision power, Member heterogeneity, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Industrial Organization, Q13, D71, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:168366&r=agr |
| By: | Nilsson, Magnus; Sia-Ljungström, Clarissa |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the role of innovation intermediaries in sector-specific regional innovation systems. Innovation is viewed as a non-linear, iterative process and open process involving multiple actors from different parts of the innovation system. The paper studies in particular innovation intermediaries that provide support to firms in the regional innovation system through the fulfillment of key innovation system functions. The implication of the fulfillment of innovation system functions by innovation intermediaries in the Scandinavian food sector context is examined through in-depth interviews and analysis of secondary documents. It concludes with a discussion on the potential of enabling innovation intermediaries to play a more strategic role in regional innovation system. |
| Keywords: | Innovation intermediaries, innovation systems, innovation system functions, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164741&r=agr |
| By: | Qiu, Feng; Zhao, Jieyuan |
| Abstract: | Rich empirical literature has investigated the price transmission among spatially separated and vertically linked markets. In this study, we fill a gap in the price transmission literature by investigating extreme dependence that allows varying general dependence structure between extreme and non-extreme market conditions (through mixed copula functions), and changing degree of co-movements (through time-varying dependence parameters for any given copula functions). Our work is a combination and generalization of time-varying attributes with the mixture model idea. The data used for the analysis are weekly prices for US crude oil, ethanol, and corn from Jan 2000 through December 2013. Our results demonstrate that time-varying attributes in extreme price co-movements can result from many reasons such as government interventions, financial contagion, disease outbreaks, and altering consumer tastes. It is thus a useful extension and generalization of existing approaches for modeling price transmission that has appeared in the literature. |
| Keywords: | price transmission, mixed copula, food price, energy price, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170119&r=agr |
| By: | Giles, John; Mu, Ren |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of land tenure insecurity on the migration decisions of China's rural residents. A simple model first frames the relationship among these variables and the probability that a reallocation of land will occur in the following year. After first demonstrating that a village leader's support for administrative land reallocation carries with it the risk of losing a future election, the paper exploits election-timing and village heterogeneity in lineage group composition and demographic change to identify the effect of land security. In response to an expected land reallocation in the following year, the probability that a rural resident migrates out of the county declines by 2.8 percentage points, which accounts for 17.5 percent of the annual share of village residents, aged 16 to 50, who worked as migrants during the period. This finding underscores the potential importance of secure property rights for facilitating labor market integration and the movement of labor out of agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Common Property Resource Development,Population Policies,Urban Housing,Political Economy,Municipal Housing and Land |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7080&r=agr |
| By: | Cavaliere, Alessia; De Marchi, Elisa; Banterle, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | Consumer inability to make healthy food choices and to maintain a balanced diet is one of the main determinants that can explain the growth of overweight and obesity. Many studies have focused on the different factors affecting food behaviour, but only few of these have considered the role of time preference. The term time preference refers to the rate at which a person is willing to trade a current utility with a delayed utility. Generally, a high time preference is associated with a low will to renounce to the present gratification in order to obtain a benefit in the future. On the contrary, consumers with low time preference are more willing to undertake short-term costs to get future improvements. Indeed, people who highly discount the future are expected to suffer overweight and obesity more than others. In this paper we aim at investigating if consumer time preference could be related to overweight or obesity problems, also considering other factors which are predicted to affect BMI. In order to carry out an empirical analysis we conducted a consumer survey using face to face interviews. The sample was composed by 240 consumers living in North Italy. A specific questionnaire was designed and for the empirical estimation was used an Ordinal Regression Model, where the dependent variable is expressed in terms of consumer BMI. The results revealed that the searching frequency for nutrition claims is negatively correlated with BMI. This suggests that this kind of information is not very effective in catching overweight and obese consumer attention. Moreover, the results show that time preference is negatively related to BMI, meaning that to give more importance to taste than to healthy aspects of foods may lead consumers to increase their probability to put on weight. |
| Keywords: | time preference, BMI, consumer, Ordinal Regression Model., Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q18, D12, I18, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164754&r=agr |
| By: | Khanna, Madhu; Louviere, Jordan; Yang, Xi |
| Keywords: | Energy Crops, Contracts, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q42, Q51, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169970&r=agr |
| By: | Caputo, Vincenzina; Loo, Ellen J. Van; Scarpa, Riccardo; Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr; Verbeke, Wim |
| Abstract: | A number of choice experiments (CEs) studies have shown that survey respondents employ heuristics such as attribute non-attendance (ANA) while evaluating food. This paper addresses a set of methodological questions. First, it explores if ANA is an issue to take into account in food valuation studies. Second, it assesses if there is any difference in terms of welfare estimates between the two common ways of collecting self-reported stated ANA (serial and choice task). Next, it validates the statements of ANA behavior provided by the respondents across serial and choice task self-reported ANA. Lastly, it explores the issue of concordance between the stated ANA and inferred ANA methods. We estimated a set of choice models including inferred or observed ANA information. Our results show a clear winner between the two stated approaches, choice task, which also better matches the inferred ANA data. |
| Keywords: | serial stated attribute non-attendance, choice task attribute non-attendance, </dc:subject><dc:subject>inferred attribute non-attendance, food choice experiments, </dc:subject><dc:subject>food labeling, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:177173&r=agr |
| By: | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| Abstract: | Une alimentation équilibrée est le socle sur lequel reposent des vies saines, des moyens de subsistance solides et durables et des économies prospères. En l’absence de ce socle, leur construction s’appuie sur des sables mouvants. Les enfants souffrant d’un retard de croissance ne peuvent grandir et se développer normalement et présentent des troubles cérébraux et un affaiblissement de leur système immunitaire. Les femmes sous-alimentées et en âge de procréer n’ingèrent pas suffisamment de fer pour alimenter leurs muscles. Beaucoup d’adultes présentent une surcharge pondérale si importante qu’ils sollicitent exagérément leur coeur et leurs poumons et sont susceptibles de déclencher un diabète, une hypertension et des maladies cardiovasculaires. La malnutrition entraîne une perte de 11 % du PIB résultant des pertes humaines, de mauvais apprentissages à l’école, d’une diminution des revenus au travail et d’absentéisme pour cause de maladie. Les mères sous-alimentées sont plus susceptibles de donner naissance à des bébés sous-alimentés, perpétuant ainsi une transmission intergénérationnelle de la pauvreté. La malnutrition affecte l’organisme, l’économie et menace l’avenir. Sa prévalence menace de nuire aux ambitions en matière de développement durable. |
| Keywords: | Nutrition; food security; Nutrition security; malnutrition; Anemia; Birth weight; Breast feeding; Children; Diet; Hunger; Gender; Women; Sustainable development; Economic development; trade; Indicators; Agricultural policies; Nutrition policies; intervention; Governance; data; measurement; Mortality; Indicators; social protection; social safety nets; childhood wasting; stunting; sustainable development goals; nutrition outcomes; double burden |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:issbrf:9780896298637&r=agr |
| By: | Yoo, Do-il |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of risk and learning in biotechnology adoption, with an empirical focus on the adoption of Genetically Modified (GM) corn in the U.S. Corn Belt. Relying on the Kalman filter algorithm, a conceptual structural dynamic programming (DP) model is developed to capture the relative roles of individual and social learning with farm risk preferences. Farm heterogeneity is explored by comparing parameter estimates for the early-, the intermediate-, and the late- adopters by adoption timing. Results show relative risk aversion coefficient is higher for the late adopter and lower for the early adopter. This reflects that farmers’ adoption timing is related to their degree of risk aversion: the more risk-averse farmers are, the later they adopt GM technology. Also, the social learning parameter, representing the strength of information externalities, is higher for the late adopter and lower for the early adopter, indicating that early adopters rely less on information externalities, while late adopters rely more on information from their neighbors. |
| Keywords: | biotechnology adoption, dynamic programming, Kalman filter algorithm, individual vs. social learning, information externalities, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, C61, D83, Q16, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170656&r=agr |
| By: | Zhou, Rong; Segerson, Kathleen |
| Abstract: | This paper considers four alternative policies for controlling harvest within a fishery: (1) individual limits without a permit market, (2) individual limits with a permit market, (3) a collective limit with individual decisions, and (4) a collective limit with collective decisions. We focus on three issues: risk pooling, moral hazard, and the role of permit trading. We find that, as long as the penalty rates are set appropriately, all four policies can yield the first best. Thus, with a welfare-maximizing regulator who sets policy parameters optimally, there is no efficiency basis for preferring one over the other. In particular, allowing permit trading and risk pooling does not increase efficiency. However, the four policies differ in terms of their impact on the expected profit of harvesters. Thus, there is a distributional basis for distinguishing among the four policies. We find that in the absence of permit trading and moral hazard, the collective limit with collective decisions yields higher expected profits than the individual limits. However, the moral hazard problem that arises under the collective limit with individual decisions makes harvesters worse off in terms of distributional impact. Finally, although the permit market provides an opportunity for risk spreading for harvesters, the potential moral hazard problem leads to a detrimental distributional impact on harvesters under permit trading. Thus, contrary to standard results, here allowing permits to be traded has no efficiency impact and makes harvesters worse off. |
| Keywords: | collective limits, risk pooling, moral hazard, permit trading, distributional impact, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170601&r=agr |
| By: | Song, Minrong; Escalante, Cesar L. |
| Abstract: | This paper applies the stochastic Translog input distance function and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method to evaluate the operational efficiency of lending units within the Farm Credit System (FCS). This study’s model is applied as a comparative analytical frame work to analyze operating strategies and efficiencies of FCS banks versus credit associations (ACA) as well as among various size categories of FCS lending units. This study also adopts an intertemporal perspective by looking at comparative FCS efficiency before and after the most recent financial crisis. The study’s analyses of changes in both technical efficiency (TE) and allocative efficiency (AE) will help FCS make operating adjustments to maximize total factor productivity. |
| Keywords: | stochastic frontier analysis, Farm Credit System, technical efficiency, allocative efficiency, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170080&r=agr |
| By: | Amadu, Festus O.; McNamara, Paul E.; Baylis, Kathy |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:171874&r=agr |
| By: | Ishida, Kazuyoshi; Malaga, Jaime |
| Abstract: | The US held the largest share in the Japanese sorghum market for 20 years. However, in recent years Australia’s share of the same market has been constantly growing to claim the top position despite the fact that the US sorghum price is cheaper in that country. The ratio of US vs Australian sorghum prices in Japan during the last 20 years does not show too much variability, which seems to imply that the US sorghum has not lost price competitiveness in the Japanese market. Factors other than the price may be affecting the market share of the US sorghum in Japan. Therefore, our research objective is to confirm, using historical data and sound methodology, that grain quality differential might be the variable explaining the loss of US market share that country. This analysis will be helpful in terms of allowing the US sorghum producers to regain market share on the important Japanese market. |
| Keywords: | International Trade, Agriculture, Elasticity, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169802&r=agr |
| By: | Traill, Bruce W |
| Abstract: | disease and stroke which, as well as individual pain and suffering and shortened life, create a burden for the state in the form of health care costs and lost economic production; diseases linked to overweight and obesity account for around 5% of total health care costs in Europe, and at least as much again in lost economic production. In this context it is no surprise that healthy eating has become a major public health concern, prompting many European Member States to take measures to improve their citizens’ diets. Neither is it a surprise that governments are at least paying lip-service to a desire that their interventions should be evidence-based, meaning there should be evidence that they are effective and cost effective. Probably, though less explicitly stated, politicians would like evidence that interventions will be acceptable to the public. These wishes are more complex than appears at first sight. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164753&r=agr |
| By: | Hoehn, John |
| Abstract: | A meta-analysis of reported water demand elasticities shows that publication selection bias results in water demand estimates that overstate price elasticities. The analysis uses panel data estimators to measure and adjust for publication bias. A random effects estimator is used to derive water demand elasticity estimates that are efficient and unbiased by selection effects. The sample mean elasticity for reported elasticities is -.37%. Once publication bias is removed, the mean elasticity estimate drops to -.08%. Indoor water demand is almost perfectly inelastic. Water demands and their elasticities are heterogeneous in specific uses and locations. Water demand elasticities vary by location, water use type, econometric approach and publication bias. Water use elasticities range up -1.48% for domestic irrigation demand in the southwestern US. Estimated elasticities are also higher when derived with discrete choice data and estimators. |
| Keywords: | water, demand, elasticity, metaanalysis, Meta-analysis, meta analysis, panel data, random effects, fixed effects, Demand and Price Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, D12, Q25, |
| Date: | 2014–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169291&r=agr |
| By: | Kolodinsky, Jane; Castle, Jeffrey |
| Abstract: | Background: Academic research examining relationships between time spent in food related activities and obesity using nationally representative data is emerging in the literature and suggests that spending more time in food related activities, including food preparation and primary eating are associated with lower probabilities of obesity or decreased BMI. The addition of race and ethnicity to the investigation of the relationship between food behaviors and obesity adds complexity to an already complicated problem. For example, Black and Hispanic women have a greater prevalence of both overweight and obesity compared to White women in the U.S. In 2009-2010, 58.6 percent of black and 40.7 percent of Hispanic women were obese (BMI>=30) compared to 33.4 percent of White women and a prevalence of 33.4 percent overall (Flegal et al., 2012). In addition, the rate of increase in obesity for Black women is higher than for White women, including severe obesity (BMI>=35) (Ljungvall and Zimmerman, 2012). There is a dearth of literature that examines food related time use in subpopulations defined by race and ethnicity. Objective: to examine time spent eating in twelve different groups of women residing in two adult households with children under the age of 18. Groups are defined by race/ethnicity and body weight, including White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic, and healthy weight, overweight, and obese classifications. Data: Data are drawn from the 2008 American Time Use Survey and the accompanying Eating and Health Module (ATUS). The ATUS provides nationally representative estimates of how, where, and with whom Americans spend their time, and is the only federal survey providing data on the full range of nonmarket activities. In the ATUS (http://www.bls.gov/tus), respondents sequentially report activities completed between 4 a.m. on the day before the interview until 4 a.m. on the day of the interview. The final sample contains 1754 households. Measures: We focus on time spent in primary eating and drinking, secondary eating, and secondary drinking, both in total for the female respondent in the household and with children. Three weight categories were created from body mass data: Healthy weight, Overweight and Obese. Respondents self-identified race and further classified themselves as being of Hispanic ethnicity. Data were coded first on race and then on ethnicity (omitting “other”). The literature highlights several variables that should be controlled for in a study relating time use with obesity. These include whether a respondent is the primary cook, immigration status, education, income/poverty, employment and wages, age, age of children and household type. |
| Keywords: | Obesity, time use, primary eating, secondary eating, secondary drinking, ethnicity, mother, child, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169803&r=agr |
| By: | Schultz, Madeline; Anderson, Mandi |
| Abstract: | Farm and ranch women are generating a cultural tide in American Agriculture that is moving management, assets and opportunities to a new wave of beginning farmers and ranchers across the country. Managing for Today and Tomorrow is a course focusing on the management processes and decisions needed to make these transitions successful. The course was developed by a team of Annie’s Project educators to meet women’s growing needs for understanding transition planning topics. The curricula centers around four key areas of planning that lead to successful transitions: business, estate, retirement, and succession. There were 18 courses taught in nine states during 2013. This poster reviews the changes in knowledge and actions demonstrated by participants. Feedback was collected through pre-course and post-course survey tools. Farm and ranch women were empowered to begin the transition planning discussions with their families and business partners. Women took action to determine business goals, complete estate plan questionnaires, develop a retirement timeline and choose a farm or ranch business successor or alternatively; plan for the sale or transfer of business assets. In addition to the poster, videos of past participants telling their stories of farm transition are available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O9MEApx6xa8, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w4um12obDwI. The Managing for Today and Tomorrow curricula incorporates financial, human resource and legal risks and was designed to meet the learning preferences of women. Partners include USDA NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant # 2011-49400-30584 and the Farm Credit System. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, farm transition, business, estate, retirement, succession, planning, Farm Management, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169397&r=agr |
| By: | Blankespoor, Brian; Dasgupta, Susmita; Wheeler, David |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effectiveness of protected areas in slowing tropical forest clearing in 64 countries in Asia/Pacific, Africa, and Latin America for the period 2001-2012. The investigation compares deforestation rates inside and within 10 kilometers outside the boundary of protected areas. Annual time series of these deforestation rates were constructed from recently published high-resolution data on forest clearing. For 4,028 parks, panel estimation based on a variety of park characteristics was conducted to test if deforestation is lower in protected areas because of their protected status, or if other factors explain the difference. For a sample of 726 parks established since 2002, a test also was conducted to investigate the effect of park establishment on protection. The findings suggest park size, national park status, and management by indigenous people all have significant association with effective protection across regions. For the Asia/Pacific region, the test offers compelling evidence that park establishment has a near-immediate and powerful effect. |
| Keywords: | Wildlife Resources,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Climate Change and Environment,Ecosystems and Natural Habitats,Forestry |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7091&r=agr |