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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒12‒13
118 papers chosen by |
| By: | Liu, Miaoru; Marsh, Thomas L. |
| Keywords: | agricultural households, food consumption, animal desease, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170385&r=agr |
| By: | Sun, Shanxia; Delgado, Michael S.; Sesmero, Juan |
| Abstract: | Policies that aim to mitigate water pollution from fertilizer use in agriculture include input-based and output-based policies. Both cost-effectiveness and the speed for policies to take effect are important for policy assessment. In this study, we found that fertilizer price policies cannot decrease fertilizer use significantly due to the insignificant effect of fertilizer price on fertilizer use. Contrarily, the fertilizer use is elastic to output price, and policies that impose tax on corn production or subsidize soybean production or both are able to mitigate water pollution form fertilizer use significantly. Policies that can increase labor supply in planting season may also have strong effect on mitigation of water pollution. The slow adjustment rate of land allocation suggests that policies that affect fertilizer use through motivating farmers’ land allocation adjustment from fertilizer-intensive crop to fertilizer-saving crop may be time costly. |
| Keywords: | water pollution, fertilizer use, policy assessment, land allocation adjustment, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170645&r=agr |
| By: | Kibonge Naik, Aziza |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172350&r=agr |
| By: | Musafiri, Ildephonse; Mirzabaev, Alisher |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the household level drivers of agricultural output in Nyabihu District, a densely populated area of rural Rwanda, over the past 26 years. We use a unique two-wave panel dataset spanning a 26-year period, linking the split-off households in 2012 to the original households in 1986. The findings identify the relative importance of labor, land, and capital for output growth in the study area. Over the studied period, the agricultural output has been characterized by decreasing elasticities of land and capital; whereas the elasticity of labor has grown three-fold. The findings also suggest a substantial impact of mobile phone technology adoption by farm households. Using propensity score matching, we find that agricultural output for mobile phone users is at least 38 percent higher than non-users. |
| Keywords: | long-term determinants, Cobb-Douglas function, agricultural output, ICT adoption, smallholder farmers, Rwanda, Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169867&r=agr |
| By: | Kyureghian, Gayaneh; Azzam, Azzeddine; Nayga, Rodolfo M., Jr. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:175192&r=agr |
| By: | Liang, Lu |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169825&r=agr |
| By: | Carroll, Christine |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170695&r=agr |
| By: | Hubbard, Carmen; Luca, Lucian; Luca, Mihaela; Alexandri, Cecilia |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169794&r=agr |
| By: | Collart, Alba J.; Palma, Marco |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170401&r=agr |
| By: | Marshall, Liz; Aillery, Marcel; Malcolm, Scott; Williams, Ryan |
| Abstract: | General circulation models predict significant and accelerating changes in local patterns of precipitation and temperature over the next century. The vulnerability of agriculture to climate change will depend on both the biophysical impacts of climate change on crop yields and on the agricultural system’s ability to adapt to changing production conditions. Shifts in the extent and distribution of irrigated and dryland production are a potentially important adaptation response. Farmer flexibility to adapt may be limited, however, by changing availability of irrigation water under future climate conditions. This study uses a suite of models to explore the biophysical and economic impacts of climate change on U.S. fieldcrop production under several potential future climate projections, and the potential limits and opportunities for adaptation arising from shifting regional water balances. Study findings suggest that the impacts of irrigation shortage on cropland use vary by region but that the net impacts on national production of surface-water irrigation shortages attributable to climate change are small relative to the direct biophysical impacts of climate change on yield. |
| Keywords: | climate change, adaptation, agriculture, irrigation shortage, water resources, Regional Environment and Agriculture Programming (REAP) model, regional crop production, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:177185&r=agr |
| By: | Skreli, Engjell; Imami, Drini; Gjeci, Grigor; Zvyagintsev, Dmitry |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169395&r=agr |
| By: | Zhang, Wendong |
| Abstract: | Using field-level data on cropping patterns and a survey of 7,500 farmers in western Lake Erie basin, we estimate farmers’ heterogeneous derived demand for phosphorus fertilizer that vary by both farmer and field characteristics. We combine these results with a spatially-explicit hydrological model to quantify the impacts of a fertilizer tax on fertilizer application rates, total and dissolved reactive phosphorus loadings. Finally, an efficiency frontier is constructed to quantify the trade-offs among predicted changes in agricultural profits, fertilizer application rates, and phosphorus loadings under a uniform fertilizer tax versus one that is targeted either spatially or based on farmer characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q12, Q28, Q57, Q51, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170594&r=agr |
| By: | Shrader, Rebekah R.; Chouinard, Hayley H.; LaFrance, Jeffrey T.; Wandschneider, Philip R. |
| Keywords: | linear programming, maximum entropy, nutrients, shadow prices, taste, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, C61, D11, H53, I38, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170078&r=agr |
| By: | Nazli, Hina; Smale, Melinda |
| Keywords: | Pakistan, wheat, duration model, adoption, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169982&r=agr |
| By: | Hungerford, Ashley |
| Abstract: | In 2011 and 2012 severe droughts caused extensive damage in crops throughout the Midwest. These conditions combined with concerns for climate change have led to a growing focus on risk management in agriculture. The increasing emphasis on risk management is reflected in the 2014 Farm Bill, which replaces direct payments with shallow loss programs. For this paper we turn our attention to winter wheat production in Kansas and explore the ratings of the crop insurance policies as well as predicted payouts from the new Agricultural Risk Coverage program established under the 2014 Farm Bill. Using spatial models we simulate yields of non-irrigated winter wheat and irrigated winter wheat to estimate crop insurance premium rates as well as payouts from the Agricultural Risk Coverage program. |
| Keywords: | Spatial, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, Q1, |
| Date: | 2014–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169376&r=agr |
| By: | Weaver, Amanda S.; Lusk, Jayson L. |
| Keywords: | SNAP, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable consumption, behavioral economics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170307&r=agr |
| By: | Muraoka, Rie; Jin, Songqing; Jayne, Thomas S. |
| Abstract: | Constrained access to land is increasingly recognized as a problem impeding rural household welfare in densely populated areas of Africa. This study utilizes household and plot level data from rural Kenya to explore the linkage between land access and food security. We find that a 10% increase in operated land size would increase total cereal consumption and home produced food consumption by 0.8% and 2.0%, respectively. We also find that land rental is the dominant mechanism that poor rural farmers use to access additional land for cultivation. However, the levels of long-term land investment (measured by applications of organic manure) and land productivity are significantly lower for rented plots than for own plots even after household fixed-effect and plot level observed characteristics are controlled for. Furthermore, land rental markets do not allow farmers to fully adjust their operated land size to their optimal level. These findings point to the existence of problems with land rental markets that impede their ability to fully contribute to national food security and poverty reduction goals. |
| Keywords: | Land access, Land rental, Food security, Kenya, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Land Economics/Use, O12, Q15, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170244&r=agr |
| By: | Trindade, Federico |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a resource-intensive activity. It currently uses a substantial portion of the Earth’s natural resources: crop production, pasture and livestock grazing systems occupy around 40% of total land area, nitrogen fertilizer applied to agricultural land comprises more than half of the global reactive nitrogen attributable to human activity and agricultural production consumes more fresh water than any other human activity since it accounts for 80% of all freshwater consumption (Cassman 2003). Water is one of the key determinants of agricultural land productivity, adequate water supply to crops is essential to achieve maximum yield and greater stability, enabling also greater scope for diversification. The success of irrigation in improving food security and fostering rural welfare during the last decades has been extremely important but an inappropriate management of it can contribute to a series of environmental problems. The achievement of the required sustained (and sustainable) growth in agricultural production over the next 40 years calls for understanding the current and future enhancers and constraints of agricultural productivity. As water becomes scarcer it is important to estimate the real contribution that water has for agricultural productivity given the whole set of variables that are present in the farming production process, including also the amount of fertilizer and chemicals used, the environment where the process is held (such as temperature, precipitation and soil organic matter) and the farmers profit maximizing behavior. The objective of this study is to measure the contribution that the amount of water irrigated has on agricultural productivity in addition to the effect of weather and the traditional inputs. The data set used in this study consists on data from a survey done to farmers in three different Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) in the state of Nebraska during the period 2004 to 2011. The chosen NRDs are spread over the 41st parallel along East, Center and West Nebraska accounting for important weather (temperatures and precipitation) and soil variability. The data set consists of more than 30,000 observations with information on actual yield, type of crop, inches of water employed, nitrogen applied and manure rates. Additionally we include estimations on temperature (measured in intervals of degree days), precipitation and soil organic matter. Using these variables, this research develops an econometric production function that assumes a semi transcendental logarithmic technology. Particular interest is given to the amount of water used and its interactions with the remaining variables. We do not know of any other similar study done at this level of aggregation and with this great amount of observations. The hypothesized production function follows the form: Where for each field Yi represents the log of the biomass produced at year t for all the crops, Xit is a vector of the log of the amount of water used, amount of fertilizer used, amount of manure used and the time trend at year t, Kit is soil organic matter for year t and rit is a vector of rainfall an 2 degree days intervals (dd30-35 and dd35-40) for year t. By estimating the production elasticities from this translog specification we are able to obtain the effect of water and the other inputs in our hypothesized biomass yield function at each data point. Initial results quantify the critical importance that the amount of irrigated water has on agricultural productivity. As expected the amount of water used has a positive effect on the expected yield, for every extra inch of water pumped the yield is expected to increase by 6.74 percent. Results also highlight the significant negative effect of higher temperatures, a full day of temperatures over 35ºC is expected to decrease the yield in 33.1 percent but this harmful negative effect can be decreased by the use of irrigation. Results also highlight and quantify the importance of the use of Nitrogen as fertilizer. As a next step in this analysis, we plan to use the already available information on nitrogen and electricity prices to improve our estimation; by incorporating share equations we will be able to account for the economic behavior of the producer (as well as the physical relations between the inputs) and additionally to study the effect that price changes due to market or policy modifications can have on factor allocation (in the short run) or in technical change (induced by price changes in the long run). |
| Keywords: | Agricultural productivity water irrigation weather climate, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170224&r=agr |
| By: | Vaiknoras, Kate; Norton, George; Alwang, Jeffrey; Taylor, Daniel |
| Abstract: | Conservation agriculture has many potential benefits for small farmers. This study seeks to estimate the value that farmers in eastern Uganda place on some these benefits. Data from a choice experiment study are analyzed with a mixed logit model to determine farmers’ willingness to pay for increases in maize yield, reductions in erosion, and reductions in land preparation labor requirements. It finds that farmers have a statistically significant willingness to pay for increases in yield and reductions in erosion, but not for reductions in land preparation labor. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170062&r=agr |
| By: | Mason, Nicole M.; Tembo, Solomon T. |
| Abstract: | Many of the ‘new’ agricultural input subsidy programs (ISPs) in sub-Saharan Africa list raising farm incomes and reducing rural poverty among their objectives, but are ISPs achieving these objectives? We use data from two nationally-representative surveys of smallholder farm households in Zambia to estimate the effects of an increase in ISP fertilizer on household incomes, poverty severity, and the probability of household income falling below the US$2 and US$1.25/capita/day poverty lines. Results suggest that although ISP fertilizer raises smallholder incomes, the increase is not large or widely distributed enough to substantively reduce the probability or severity of poverty. |
| Keywords: | fertilizer subsidies, smallholder farmers, income, poverty, Zambia, sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, H2, I38, D31, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170617&r=agr |
| By: | Tocco, Barbara; Davidova, Sophia; Bailey, Alastair |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169090&r=agr |
| By: | Saghaian, Sayed; Reed, Michael R. |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy, agricultural commodities, historical decomposition, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170010&r=agr |
| By: | Jitea, Ionel-Mugurel; Pocol, Christina Bianca |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:170799&r=agr |
| By: | Bergtold, Jason; Shanoyan, Aleksan; Altman, Ira; Fewell, Jason; Jeffery, Williams |
| Keywords: | Biofuels, Contracts, Corn Stover, Kansas, Supply, Willingness to Adopt, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170573&r=agr |
| By: | Cai, Ruohong; Zhang, Xin; Kanter, David |
| Abstract: | The use of N fertilizer in agriculture is a major source of Nitrous Oxide, an important greenhouse gases. Market-based instruments, such as incentives or taxes, may help reduce Nitrous Oxide emission by changing Nitrogen application rate. Using a dynamic programming approach, we found that changing corn price or fertilizer price have effects on both farm profit and Nitrogen application rate. However, farm profit and Nitrogen rate always change in the same direction when affected by either input or output prices. Furthermore, as the corn price is relatively higher than the fertilizer price, changing the corn price is more effective in influencing Nitrogen rate, and thus Nitrous Oxide emission. This analysis can provide policymakers with useful information when designing Market-based tools to help reduce Nitrous Oxide emissions and mitigate global warming. |
| Keywords: | Nitrous Oxide Emissions, Dynamic Programming, Agricultural Prices, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170691&r=agr |
| By: | Kuethe, Todd; Paulson, Nick |
| Keywords: | crop insurance, land values, rental agreements, risk balancing, Agricultural Finance, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170528&r=agr |
| By: | Roy, René; Thomassin, Paul J. |
| Abstract: | The objectives of this research were to design and estimate an agricultural wealth account for the province of Quebec and to demonstrate how this information can be used in the decision making process. A hedonic pricing model was used to calculate the value of the agricultural wealth account based on the implicit prices of the attributes of the physical account. The estimated account includes both an estimate of the physical characteristics of the agricultural land inventory and the valuation of that inventory. The information generated from the wealth account will be used to illustrate its use to estimate “green GDP” for the agriculture sector and to account for land use and land use changes. Implicitly pricing the attributes of agricultural land provides a more flexible means of estimating the potential impact of agricultural land policy on the value of the wealth account. This method can fulfill an important informational gap about the behaviour of the asset facing various exogenous shocks. |
| Keywords: | Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Non Market Valuation, Resource & Environmental Policy Analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170516&r=agr |
| By: | Rembisz, Włodzimierz; Sielska, Agata; Bezat-Jarzębowska, Agnieszka |
| Abstract: | Agricultural producers’ income, and political and economic rent. Substitution between economic and political rent. Empirical illustration of formation of the substitution of both rents. Political rent and investment of agricultural producers. Empirical illustration of the relationship between political rent and investment of agricultural producers. |
| Keywords: | producers’ income, political rent, economic rent, investment, agricultural producers, agricultural policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:182523&r=agr |
| By: | Dharmasena, Senarath; Okrent, Abigail; Capps, Oral, Jr. |
| Abstract: | Although per capita fluid milk consumption in the United States has been declining, production and consumption of manufactured dairy products are on the rise. Growth in the Greek-style yogurt market can be attributed to growth in production and consumption of manufactured dairy products. Rapid growth in Greek-style yogurts could create both opportunities and problems for dairy-product consumers, producers, and marketers. This paper investigates the growth of Greek-style yogurt market in the United States focusing on quantifying implications on consumer demand and dairy farmer welfare as it relates to economic efficiency and product availability. The objectives are to (a) estimate economic and demographic factors affecting U.S. demand for Greek-style yogurt, and (b) investigate the economic ramifications on U.S milk producers in the event that demand for Greek-style yogurt continues to grow as well as if over-capacity occurs, and leads to declines in the Greek-style yogurt price, the overall welfare of dairy farmers Cutting-edge methodologies in censored demand modeling and calculation of farm-level welfare effects are used. This work will help set appropriate policies at consumer, producer and marketer level pertaining to Greek-style yogurts in the United States, and thereby contributing to long-range improvement and sustainability of U.S. agricultural and food systems. |
| Keywords: | Greek-style yogurt, consumer demand, farmer welfare, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D11, D12, P46, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169799&r=agr |
| By: | Gospodarowicz, Marcin; Grochowska, Renata; Judzińska, Agnieszka; Łopaciuk, Wiesław; Mańko, Stanisław; Oliński, Marian; Wasilewski, Adam; Wigier, Marek |
| Abstract: | The importance of direct payments in Polish agriculture in the regional perspective. Effectiveness of regional and structural policy instruments affecting the development of entrepreneurship. Potential changes to the distribution of public funds in the field of pillar I of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013. Long-term objectives of the Polish agricultural policy. |
| Keywords: | direct payments, Polish agriculture, regional policy, structural policy, agricultural policy, Common Agricultural Policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:179500&r=agr |
| By: | Garnache, Cloe; Merel, Pierre; Lee, Juhwan; Six, Johan |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the role of greenhouse gas (GHG) offset payment design on abatement efficiency in agriculture. We develop a regionally disaggregated positive mathematical programming model of California agriculture calibrated to economic and agronomic information. Regional yield and GHG emission responses to production practices are derived from a biophysical process model. The economic optimization model allows for simultaneous and continuous changes in water, nitrogen fertilizer, and tillage intensities, and captures crop substitution effects. Empirical results show that second-best policies relying on regionally aggregated emission factors lead to small abatement efficiency losses relative to the first-best policy with finer-scale emission factors. Because the costs of such second-best policies are substantially lower, this finding suggests that they could be cost-effective in California. In contrast, second-best policies targeting a single GHG or a single input entail significant abatement efficiency losses, which nonetheless can be reduced by combining policy instruments. |
| Keywords: | Greenhouse gas emission, agricultural production, pollution abatement, policy design, mathematical programming, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, C6, Q1, Q5, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170718&r=agr |
| By: | Carpentier, Alain; Féménia, Fabienne; Koutchadé, Philippe |
| Abstract: | This poster presents a random parameter multicrop production choice models and its parameter estimates with a panel data set of 111 French crop producers from 2004 to 2007 |
| Keywords: | random parameter model, multicrop production choice model, panel data, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170614&r=agr |
| By: | Akram, Agha Ali |
| Abstract: | Irrigation systems are critical to agricultural systems in semi-arid parts of the developing world. Although there is ample evidence that canal systems fail to reach their design capacity, there have been surprisingly few studies of the allocation efficiency of water within canal systems. Partly this is due to poor data concerning water withdrawals per farm. In the first part of this study, we collected refined measures of water withdrawals and find evidence supporting the hypothesis that farmers near the head of a canal get more water than farmers near the tail. Accounting for the conveyance efficiency of the canal system ameliorates the efficiency loss somewhat. The analysis builds a strong evidence-based case that water is not allocated efficiently now within the canal. The results suggest that improvements in canal water management or an internal water market would yield efficiency gains for the canal. In the second part of this study, we analyse farmer adaptations to heterogeneous canal water availability. Farmers adapt to reduced flows by reducing their overall planted area. Next, they modify their crop mix by switching from a water intense crop (cotton) to a crop that is less sensitive to water (millet). Finally, we consider input choice and find, not surprisingly, that most inputs are complementary to surface water irrigation and reductions in surface water deliveries result in reductions in use of other inputs. We explore two cases more thoroughly. First, we find that own-labour tends to increase as canal water decreases and we test to find that this tends to be a function of scale. Finally, we consider an input of special interest, groundwater, which we expected to act as a substitute to surface water. Instead, we see evidence of complementarity to surface water. This suggests that groundwater quality plays a distinct role in its usage and we do find evidence of groundwater quality modulating the amount of groundwater usage in tandem with surface water use. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation systems, irrigation water, agriculture, Environmental Economics and Policy, D61, Q15, Q25, Q10, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170855&r=agr |
| By: | Jones, Eugene |
| Abstract: | It is well recognized that the production of many farm commodities, especially fruits and vegetables, has become geographically concentrated, with larger but fewer farmers involved in production. This concentration, according to critics, has resulted in the production of less flavorful commodities and added unnecessary costs to marketing. To address these shortcomings, several groups have advocated “local” production of farm commodities, especially fruits and vegetables. According to proponents of “locals”, such production is preferred by consumers because these commodities are fresher, more nutritious, better tasting, and grown with fewer pesticides. Further, local commodities provide income opportunities for small farmers and they serve to lower food miles and transportation costs. While acknowledging these described attributes and benefits, this paper uses a specific commodity, potatoes, to illustrate the true costs of “locals”. Results show efficiency gains from comparative advantage and other factors that far exceed the most optimistic returns to “locals”. In dollars, “local” production of potatoes would add, as a minimum, $3.8 billion of additional cost. Further, it would require an additional 961,000 acres of land. Local production costs for all commodities that make up consumers’ diets could possibly rival that of the $90 billion food stamp budget. |
| Keywords: | Inefficiency, Local, Potatoes, Production Efficiency, Technical Efficiency, Marketing Efficiency, Pricing Efficency, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170291&r=agr |
| By: | Olwande, John; Smale, Melinda |
| Abstract: | High poverty rate persists in rural Kenya, where farming households continue to depend on agriculture for food and income, despite economic growth. Maize is the most widely grown crop, with the maize-growing smallholder population quite heterogeneous and diversified.However, less than half the growers enter the market to sell at least a portion of their harvest.Our objective in this paper is to test the effects of maize market participation on household income, poverty status, and income diversification among Kenya’s smallholder maize growers. We employ a combination of propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression on household panel data covering a ten-year period. The propensity score matching results show that in the overall, participation in the maize market has a significant impact on household income and poverty, with the magnitude of impact estimates differing across segments of maize growers, while the impact on diversification of income sources is not significant in most cases. These results persist after controlling for hidden selection bias through endogenous switching regression, with the impact estimates larger. Heterogeneity effects attest to existence of underlying differences among the maize-producing households that make sellers better off than non-sellers regardless of participation in the maize market. Our findings reinforce the call for interventions to expand the capacity of smallholder maize farmers to produce for the market in efforts to raise incomes and contribute to a more widespread poverty reduction. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Marketing, maize market participation, smallholder farmers, income, poverty, diversification, propensity score matching, endogenous switching regression, Kenya, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170028&r=agr |
| By: | Baylis, Kathy; Fan, Linlin; Gundersen, Craig; Michele, Ver Ploeg; James, Ziliak |
| Abstract: | In this paper we first study where food purchases are made by SNAP recipients in comparison to eligible and ineligible non-SNAP recipients. Particularly, we analyze whether SNAP recipients use retail food outlets which generally have lower prices and how far they travel to purchase food. We next compare the timing of shopping decisions between SNAP recipients and SNAP eligible non-recipients. We study whether SNAP recipients make a higher percentage of their food purchases at one time close to the receipt of SNAP benefits and how is local food geography related with the timing of purchases by SNAP recipients. |
| Keywords: | SNAP, food geography, food purchase, food access, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170200&r=agr |
| By: | Emmann, Carsten H.; Guenther-Lübbers, Welf; Theuvsen, Ludwig |
| Abstract: | tion from agricultural sources. However, many other EU member states are creating the necessary conditions for rapid growth in this area. The German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), which sets payments over a long time period for electricity supplied from renewa-ble sources, often serves as a benchmark. However, the continuing biogas boom has also led to criticism of the EEG in Germany. Opponents of biogas production point to the rising cost of leasing land, changes in the agricultural structure due to maize monoculture, increased competition with other agricultural branches (e.g., livestock husbandry) and the crowding out of classical food production. This paper examines the validity of these points of criticism. To this end, a written survey (n = 246) of farmers in six selected rural districts in the German state of Lower Saxony was carried out in 2010 and 2011. OLS regressions conducted on the data from these farmers showed that biogas production has led to a substantial increase in land lease prices for cropland. Furthermore, approximately 20% of the respondents report complete crowding out of established agricultural production forms, resulting in a decrease in the resource basis for downstream animal and plant processing industries. The results also indicate that, in extreme cases, such crowding out might even reduce the availability of em-ployment in rural areas. In closing, the paper highlights further research needs in order to provide comprehensive information (for every German state, the entire country of Germany and other EU member states) regarding the effects of biogas production on net employ-ment, infrastructure and added value. |
| Keywords: | biogas production, Lower Saxony, land lease prices, crowding-out effects, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164768&r=agr |
| By: | Bellemare, Marc F.; Novak, Lindsey |
| Abstract: | Contract farming has frequently been shown to increase the income of participating households. Whether contract farming increases other aspects of household welfare, however, remains unclear. Using a 1,200-household data set from Madagascar and the results of a contingent valuation experiment aimed at eliciting respondent's willingness to pay to participate in contract farming, we show that for the average household, participating in contract farming (i) reduces the duration of the hungry season experienced by the household by about 10 days and (ii) increases the likelihood that the household's hungry season will end by almost 20 percent in any given month. Further, we find that these effects are even more pronounced for households with a larger number of children and for households with a larger number of female children, who often bear a disproportionate share of the burden of food insecurity. |
| Keywords: | Contract Farming, Outgrower Schemes, Grower-Processor Contracts, Agricultural Value Chains, Food Security, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, L24, O13, O14, Q12, |
| Date: | 2014–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169817&r=agr |
| By: | McCann, Laura; Claassen, Roger |
| Abstract: | A deeper understanding of barriers to participation in conservation programs, including farmer transaction costs, may improve program design and implementation as well as producer outreach, and thus improve water quality. Data on perceived barriers and transaction costs from the 2012 USDA Agricultural Resources Management Survey of soybean farmers were analyzed. For people who have not applied for programs, the percentage of people agreeing that applying for programs and documenting compliance were barriers, indicates that perceived transaction costs are a barrier to participation. The measured magnitudes of transaction costs of farmers who actually applied to these programs do not seem particularly onerous and are lower than the transaction costs that have been measured for European AESs. Regression analysis indicates there are fixed costs to applying to the programs and there is some evidence that complexity of the program and the farming system increases transaction costs. |
| Keywords: | Adoption, Conservation programs, Transaction costs, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170390&r=agr |
| By: | Carraresi, Laura; Banterle, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the competitive performance of different European countries at sector level in the intra-EU market from 1995 to 2011, comparing food industry and agricultural sector. In particular, we aim to assess the effect of the EU enlargement (first period) and the economic crisis (second period) on the competitiveness of EU countries. The data come from the Eurostat database of international trade. The competitive performance of EU countries is measured through several trade indices, such as Export and Import Market Share, Revealed Comparative Advantage, Net Export Index, and Vollrath indices, analysing their values over the last fifteen years. Our analysis showed that, in the EU countries, agriculture and food industry do not reveal strong differences in competitive performance during the last fifteen years. Among big countries, France and Spain showed a continuous worsening competitive performance. A similar trend is found for Belgium. On the contrary, the Netherlands revealed the best performance, both in agriculture and in food industry, together with Italy. Nevertheless, the Netherlands has lightly lost specialisation because of a rise of total exports that have affected the value of RCA. Italy is characterised by a smaller increase, especially in the food sector. The only country showing a significant difference in competitive trends between agriculture and food industry is Germany. It became leader in the food industry of EU, with a growing performance over the period analysed, while it is not competitive nor specialised in agriculture. Among small countries, it is worth to highlight the performance of Austria. |
| Keywords: | competitive performance, agriculture, food industry, EU enlargement, global economic crisis, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q17, F1, L66, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164745&r=agr |
| By: | Woodard, Joshua D.; Verteramo Chiu, Leslie J.; Miller, Alyssa P. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170692&r=agr |
| By: | Qaim, Matin; Andersson, Camilla I.M.; Chege, Christine G.K.; Kimenju, Simon Chege; Klasen, Stephan; Rischke, Ramona |
| Abstract: | Food systems in developing countries are transforming, involving a rapid expansion of supermarkets. This supermarket revolution may affect dietary patterns and nutrition, but empirical evidence is scarce. The few existing studies have analyzed implications for food consumers and producers separately. We discuss a more integrated framework that helps to gain a broader understanding. Reviewing recent evidence from Kenya, we show that buying food in supermarkets instead of traditional outlets contributes to overnutrition among adults, while reducing undernutrition among children. For farm households, supplying supermarkets causes improvements in dietary quality. The results underline that supermarkets influence nutrition in multiple ways and directions. |
| Keywords: | supermarkets, obesity, malnutrition, nutrition impacts, developing countries, Kenya, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, D12, I15, O12, O15, Q12, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:177204&r=agr |
| By: | Moser, Christine; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ordonez, Romina |
| Abstract: | How can food safety be provided in the absence of regulatory enforcement? What can explain heterogeneous responses to unenforced regulation across firms when certain food safety characteristics are unobservable to the consumer? Using data from over 900 maize flour samples representing 23 distinct brands in eastern and central Kenya, this paper explores the relationship between price, brand and aflatoxin contamination. Aflatoxin is a toxin common in maize, groundnuts and other crops around the world and, while it is unobservable to the consumer, it may be correlated with other quality characteristics. We find a strong negative correlation between price and contamination rates, which is consistent with certain brands investing more in quality to avoid loss of reputational capital. |
| Keywords: | Food safety, aflatoxin, brand capital, maize markets, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, I180, Q180, O13, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170588&r=agr |
| By: | Sun, Shaoyan; An, Henry; Marcoul, Philippe |
| Keywords: | Food gifting, kinship networks, food security, risk-reducing, risk-coping, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170637&r=agr |
| By: | Spolador, Humberto F.S.; Smith, Rodney B.W. |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a multisector growth model to examine the potential effects of climate change and Brazilian agriculture. In keeping with the current literature, the model assumes climate (here temperature and rainfall) affects agricultural output via its impact on total factor productivity (TFP). We begin by estimating an aggregate agricultural technology for Brazil, with econometric results suggesting a strong relationship exists between rainfall, temperature and agricultural TFP. We then introduce the climate effects into a dynamic multisector growth model of Brazil. Model results suggest climate change could have a negative impact on agriculture, but benefit manufacturing, with long run agricultural output per unit of labor being less than half of agricultural output per worker in a no climate change world. |
| Keywords: | Climate Changes, agricultural growth, multisector growth model, Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis, O10, O11, Q1, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170294&r=agr |
| By: | Sutradhar, Rajib |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:176178&r=agr |
| By: | Koirala, Krishna H.; Mishra, Ashok K.; Mohanty, Samarendu |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the factors affecting rice production and technical efficiency of rice farmers in Philippines. Particular attention is given to the role of land ownership. We use the 2007-2012 Loop Survey from the Institute of Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and simulated maximum likelihood (SML) approach. Results show that land ownership plays an important role in rice production. In particular, compared to owner operators, farmers who lease land are less productive. Additionally, result shows that land area, irrigation and labor cost are significant factors affecting rice production. We found mean technical efficiency score of 0.82. Finally, educated females, farmers leasing land and dry season farming tend increase technical inefficiency. |
| Keywords: | Simulated maximum likelihood, land ownership, technical efficiency, Philippines, rice production, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170608&r=agr |
| By: | Peterson, Hikaru; Yamaura, Koichi |
| Keywords: | Food safety, Japan, ambiguity aversion, loss aversion, nuclear disaster, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, Q10, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170552&r=agr |
| By: | Arndt, Channing; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Program using an economywide approach. We find potentially substantial net benefits with indirect benefits accounting for about two-fifths of total benefits. Due to these indirect benefits, the cutoff at which lower fertilizer yield response rates lead to net program losses is much lower than the value suggested by existing partial equilibrium evaluations. Benefits decline with domestic financing and real fertilizer prices increases. Abstracting from extreme events, Malawi’s program potentially generates double-dividends through higher and more drought-resilient yields. Overall, our results buttress arguments for patience and a focus on program efficiency improvements. |
| Keywords: | Program evaluation, risk assessment, economywide model, farm subsidies, Malawi., Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, International Development, Public Economics, C68, O13, O22, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169903&r=agr |
| By: | Duangbootsee, Uchook; Myers, Robert J. |
| Keywords: | price support program, deficiency payment program, stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF), certainty equivalent, risk aversion, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170433&r=agr |
| By: | Forbes, Rod; van Halderen, Andre |
| Abstract: | The second paper in this three paper session models the impact of a number of foot and mouth disease (FMD) incursion scenarios on production and export revenues of dairy, meat and other products. The guiding principle was big picture, plausible and estimable Key to this was how processors might respond during FMD eradication and how importing countries might respond once New Zealand becomes FMD free again. Government expenditure for FMD eradication and related livestock compensation was estimated for each scenario. |
| Keywords: | Foot and mouth disease, eradication, production, exports, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2104 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187700&r=agr |
| By: | Zhang, Lisha; Moss, Charles B |
| Abstract: | Between 2008 and 2012, agriculture in the United States has experienced a period of prosperity similar to that identified as the Golden Age of Agriculture between 1910 and 1914. This period has seen high agricultural prices and significant appreciations in farmland prices. As a result, the Farm Financial Crisis of the mid 1980s has been largely blotted out of the corporate memory. However, it is important to remember that the Farm Financial Crisis of the 1980s followed a boom period for agriculture in the 1970s. During the 1970s, the increased profitability and farmland values provided incentives for farmers to increase their leverage in an attempt to expand production. Hence, the time may be ripe to reexamine our basic models of optimal debt. In the agricultural debt model, whether risks change over time affects the optimal level of agricultural debt, though this fact is usually ignored in the past risk balancing model. In this paper, we will estimate the optimal debt with the focus on risks. Specifically, there are two purposes for this research: test for heteroscedasticity (i.e., is there any evidence that this risk changes over time) and examine the effect of increases in risks on agricultural debt. |
| Keywords: | Heteroscedasticity, the risk-balancing model, agricultural debt, Agribusiness, Financial Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170618&r=agr |
| By: | Jano, Pilar; Hueth, Brent |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the presence of career incentives in arm's-length contracts between wine-grape farmers and wineries in Chile. We observe explicit incentives in pay-for-performance provisions that depend on measurable characteristics of grape quality, and we test for the presence of complementary implicit incentives that arise from competition in the market for contract farmers. In addition to the traditional use of long-term contracts as ex ante protection against potential future hold-up, we hypothesize that long-term contracts represent the final stage in the farmers' "careers" after a series of short-term contracts. We develop a model of career concerns that incorporates investment in training by wineries and find conditions under which long-term contracts are preferred to short-term contracts. We find that contracts in the Chilean wine-grape market are structured like a ladder and that career incentives are important in a setting which uses long-term contracts for high-quality provision. In general, farmers that have invested in high-quality production, and those that are more able, educated, and experienced can access long-term contracts. |
| Keywords: | careers, incentives, quality, contracts, wine-grapes, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization, International Development, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170613&r=agr |
| By: | Nigatu, Getachew; Hjort, Kim; Hansen, James; Somwaru, Agapi |
| Abstract: | This study assesses the role of energy prices in determining cross-commodity and cross- country projections of production costs, area harvested and production of four major commodities and ethanol and biofuels production. The analysis is conducted using a dynamic global partial equilibrium model of agricultural trade. By simulating changes in energy prices that might result as a consequence of changes in energy policy, we capture the link between the energy market and the agriculture-biofuels sector and present resulting changes in production in major production regions for corn, soybeans, wheat, and rice. Input costs will increase with higher energy prices, but decline slightly with lower energy prices. The projection indicates that higher energy prices will have significant impact on increasing ethanol production in Brazil while decreasing wheat production in the EU. Production in the US and India is relatively unaffected by change in energy prices. |
| Keywords: | energy price, cost of production, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169953&r=agr |
| By: | Heng, Yan; Peterson, Hikaru |
| Keywords: | Demand analysis, Differentiated products, Eggs, AIDS model, BLP model, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170457&r=agr |
| By: | Moss, Jonathan; Cacho, Oscar |
| Abstract: | Carbon mitigation through land-use change and forestry has received considerable attention as a low-cost method of addressing climate change. However, spatial and productive heterogeneity is often lost in broader scale analyses frequently used to inform climate mitigation policy. Most research to date does not integrate these analyses with transaction costs; often a significant barrier to implementation. This paper demonstrates a technique for assessing project feasibility while considering both transaction costs and spatial heterogeneity. Ignoring farm heterogeneity was found to significantly overestimate both the market price of carbon and quantity of carbon sequestration required before projects become feasible. |
| Keywords: | carbon markets, transaction costs, project feasibility, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187402&r=agr |
| By: | Romero-Aguilar, Randall S.; Miranda, Mario J. |
| Abstract: | During the Global Food Price Crisis of 2007-2011, millions of people suffered from hunger because food had become expensive. To cope with this problem, the governments of several countries decided to establish public food reserves in order to stabilize domestic prices. In this paper we develop a model to evaluate the optimal grain storage policy for a poor grain-importing country. Households are heterogeneous in their income endowment, and those who cannot afford enough food suffer from hunger. The international price of grain follows a Markov process with two states (tranquil periods and food crises), and households are unable to self-insure against changes in this price. The objective of the reserve operation is to reduce hunger rates. The model captures the trade-off in implementing the policy: raising a stock to prevent hunger tomorrow requires resources that could be used to reduce hunger today. Parameters are calibrated to reflect food supply and demand in Haiti. Our results suggest that rather than storing food, a better approach for a poor country is to focus on fighting poverty directly, since the modest social protection provided by a storage policy could be also be obtained through relatively small improvements in income per capita and income distribution. |
| Keywords: | food crisis, food security, hunger, grain reserve, Haiti, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Risk and Uncertainty, Q18, Q11, I38, Q17, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170184&r=agr |
| By: | Marasteanu, I. Julia; Liang, Chyi-Lyi (Kathleen); Goetz, Stephan |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the research presented in this poster is to investigate factors impacting farmers’ decisions to engage in multifunctional activities, which are hypothesized to enhance the sustainability and prosperity of farms and their communities. To achieve this research goal, we break it up into two specific objectives. The first objective is to identify statistically significant hot spots of farms participating in multifunctional activities (i.e., clusters of zipcodes with highly correlated, large numbers of farms participating in multifunctional activities). To complete this objective, we use the results of a short, postcard survey completed by small and medium sized farms in the northeastern United States. The survey contains four questions related to multifunctional practices (specifically, agritourism, direct sales, value added products and off-farm income) and also provides the zip codes of the respondents. Using the Geographic Information Systems software (GIS), we find statistically significant hot spots of farms participating in multifunctional activities based on the Local Moran’s I test statistic for spatial autocorrelation (Anselin, 1995). We perform these analyses for different types of multifunctional activities. Our second objective is to investigate the variables that are correlated with the distribution of farms participating in multifunctional activities, while controlling for the possibility of spatial autocorrelation. To complete this objective, we use Spatial Autoregressive Models (LeSage, 1998). Our independent variables consist of county/sub-county level variables related to demographics, economics, climate, and policy. Most of these variables can be obtained from publicly available sources such as the Census of Agriculture, the U.S. Census, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, to name a few. The results of this research may have implications for policies related to encouraging farm participation in multifunctional activities. |
| Keywords: | Multifunctional Activities, Diversified Farming, Spatial Econometrics, Hotspots, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Q12, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170314&r=agr |
| By: | JIN, SHAOSHENG; ZHANG, YU |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore how the acquisition of Smithfield, the world’s larger pork producer, by a Chinese firm Shuanghui, on Chinese consumers’ WTP to meat product using experimental auctions. We conducted two sets of experiments, one when the acquisition was still pending approval and the other after its approval. Our results indicate that the acquisition benefits Shuanghui in particular and other Chinese firms in general in terms of consumer’s willingness to pay. On the other firms, the general impacts on US firms might be negative, probably due to expected lower price or reduced perceived difference between domestic and imported meat products. |
| Keywords: | Cross-border Merger and Acquisition, Consumer Willingness to Pay, Auctions, Meat Product, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, D03, D8, F2, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169805&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Shuxian; Wu, Linhai; Zhu, Dian; Wang, Hongsha; Xu, Lingling |
| Abstract: | China is a large consumer and producer of pork. However, pork is a common food that frequently suffers from safety problems in China. Thus, the safety of pork is of important strategic significance to China's food safety. The food traceability system is considered a major tool for the fundamental prevention of food safety risks. In this study, four attributes, i.e., traceability information, quality certification, appearance, and price, were set for traceable pork on the basis of previous studies. Levels were set for the attribute traceability information based on the major processes of safety risk in the Chinese pork supply chain. For the level setting of quality certification, domestic and international third-party certification was included in addition to government certification. Levels of price were set by appropriately increasing the average price of pork in cities surveyed in September 2013 according to the premiums that consumers were willing to pay for particular attribute levels in a random nth price auction. Based on the above experimental design, a survey was conducted in 1,489 consumers in seven pilot cities designated by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for construction of a meat circulation traceability system. On this basis, consumer preferences and willingness to pay for traceable pork attributes, as well as influencing factors, were investigated using choice experiments. According to the results from both mixed logit and latent class models, quality certification was the most important characteristic, followed by appearance, and traceability information. In addition, “government certification”, “fresh-looking”, and “traceability information covering farming, slaughter, and processing, and circulation and marketing” were the most preferred levels of quality certification, appearance, and traceability information, respectively. Significant heterogeneity was observed in consumer preferences for the attributes of traceable pork. Consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for traceability information and quality certification were significantly influenced by age, monthly family income, and education level. It is hoped that the findings of this study will provide a useful reference for the Chinese government in improving traceable food consumption policies. |
| Keywords: | Traceable pork attributes, Consumer preferences, Willingness to pay, Choice experiment, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:165639&r=agr |
| By: | Ollinger, Michael; Benicio, Casiano |
| Abstract: | This paper uses probit regressions and data from the Food Safety Inspection Service to empirically examine the food safety performance of establishments supplying raw chicken to the National School Lunch Program. Results provide some support that plant supplying the National School Lunch Program perform better on Salmonella tests than other plants selling in commercial markets. Since there are no special regulatory requirements imposed on suppliers, it is argued that exposure to public scrutiny and the fear of a lost reputation for food safety motivates plants to perform better on Salmonella tests. |
| Keywords: | food safety, chicken, Salmonella, national school lunch program, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169380&r=agr |
| By: | Kozicka, Marta; Kalkuhl, Matthias; Saini, Shweta; Brockhaus, Jan H. |
| Abstract: | This paper serves to disentangle the complex system of Indian food policies, related to wheat and rice procurement, storage, distribution and trade. Using time series for national aggregate data, these policies are econometrically analyzed, next their implications for the markets are assessed and finally their fiscal costs are estimated. The study revealed strong impact of the policy measures on the production, procurement, stocks and trade. We detected several market distortions and mounting fiscal costs. Wheat and rice supply strongly and significantly responds to the minimum support price (MSP). Wholesale prices at planting or lagged harvest time prices are largely irrelevant for the production. The Food Cooperation of India’s (FCI) procurement volume is driven by the production level and the difference between the MSP and the market price. The signs of the estimated price elasticities of demand are consistent with the theory, however for rice they turned out to be insignificant. The negative income elasticity of rice consumption as well as the downward trend in rice consumption suggest changing habits and the inferior character of rice as a consumption good. The public stock analysis suggests higher storage losses for rice (10%) than for wheat (2%). Strong crowding out effects of the public stocks on private stocks and negative impact of export restrictions on private ending stocks was found. Total exports are highly distorted by the trade regulations, which whipped out the trade response to the price incentives. Starting from 2006/07, there is a clear upward trend in inflation adjusted costs of operating the public food procurement and distribution system, coming mostly from the rising procurement volume and the MSP. On the other hand, the revenues have declined in real terms, due to lower real central issue prices and only marginal revenues from the domestic sales and exports. As a result, the food subsidy has shown a permanent growth in real terms. The seasonal analysis of the intra-year data revealed strong seasonality of prices and procurement and stock levels, in particular for wheat (less for rice). |
| Keywords: | India, wheat, rice, policies, stocks, fiscal costs, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, G28, H53, I38, Q11, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169808&r=agr |
| By: | Ding, Jinxiu; McCarl, Bruce A. |
| Abstract: | Agricultural production and water resources are sensitive to climate variability and change. Decadal climate variability (DCV) phenomena are in the early stages of being explored. This paper investigates the economic value of DCV information in the Edwards Aquifer region of Texas as well as possible adaptation to that information. To do this we first do an econometric estimate of the impacts of DCV phase combinations on crop yields in the EA region, then we alter regional model to include DCV information. We find that the average economic value of perfect DCV information forecast is $40.76 million per year. And for a less perfect forecast in terms of knowing DCV information under transition probability, the average economic value is around $1.52 million per year. |
| Keywords: | Decadal Climate Variability, PDO, TAG, WPWP, Perfect Information, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170216&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 encourage more farmers to participate. Why has farmers’ participation in the program been so low? Have the relaxed criteria of the ARRA been effective in encouraging farmers’ participation? Based on a simple decision-making model and a uniquely constructed panel data set, we find that farmers’ incentive to make up for 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 Adjustment Assistance, TAA, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, Incentives, Participation, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, D81, F13, F68, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:176205&r=agr |
| By: | Ji, Yongjie; Rabotyagov, Sergey; Kling, Catherine L. |
| Abstract: | In this research, we propose a framework to connect SWAT model with a dynamic discrete choice based land use model. With the recent years of cropland data layers published by NASS, USDA and data complied from other sources, we apply this framework to land use change in Upper-Mississippi River Basin in different scenarios and evaluate water quality consequences associated with induced land use change. |
| Keywords: | dynamic land use model, SWAT, water quality, climate change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q15, Q22, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170640&r=agr |
| By: | Suzuki, Aya |
| Abstract: | While the role of risks in technology adoption is a classical topic, its effects beyond adoption have not been examined well enough despite that dis-adoption of a technology is also common. This paper examines the role of risk preferences and an exogenous shock on the survival of farmers for a case of export pineapple industry in Ghana. Employing hazard analyses, we find that risk preferences indeed matter for survival and the hazard of exit increased significantly in the period after the occurrence of the exogenous shock. We also find that education has an effect of increasing the resilience of farmers against risks. |
| Keywords: | risk preference, horticulture, export market, hazard analyses, Sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170665&r=agr |
| By: | Rosch, Stephanie; Ortega, David |
| Abstract: | We introduce a fast and inexpensive method to rule out potential barriers to adopting a technology. We use this method to asses the role of exogeneous contract enforcement as a barrier to market for Kenya's French Bean export market. We survey 240 farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya who were specifically recruited as matching pairs of geographically-nearest neighbors. We use a choice experiment as our instrument to estimate the effect of imperfect contract enforcement on their intensive and extensive supply margins. Then we use the differences in choice experiment results between matched pairs to rule out forces which are not serving as barriers to entry in this market. We find that imperfect contract enforcement impacts the extensive supply margin by deterring entry and sparking exit from the market, and reduces the amount of land allocated to French bean production on the intensive margin. We also find that underlying heterogeneity in farmers' costs to provide high quality French beans does not impact the overall decision to supply export markets. It does, however, determine whether the contracting farmer self-selects between supplying the fresh and processed export markets. These findings can help explain why previous development interventions to connect small-scale producers to these markets were not successful in the long-term, and suggest options for alternative policies better targeted to the issue of contract enforcement. |
| Keywords: | empirical contract theory, international development, choice experiment, contract enforcement, matching methods, Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, L14, D86, O13, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170553&r=agr |
| By: | Grabowski, Philip P.; Kerr, John M.; Haggblade, Steven; Kabwe, Stephen |
| Abstract: | Conservation agriculture (CA) is heralded as a means to increase yields and reverse land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Low adoption levels have led to a polarized debate about the merits of conservation agriculture with critics questioning the suitability of the technology and proponents calling for increased and better promotion. Combining quantitative and qualitative analysis, this study examines the determinants of adoption of hand-hoe and oxen-draw minimum tillage in Eastern Zambia and the motivations for farmers’ decisions to implement or reject the technologies. |
| Keywords: | Zambia, cotton, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:188567&r=agr |
| By: | Ji, Yongjie; Rabotyagov, Sergey; Kling, Catherine L. |
| Abstract: | A dynamic land use model, more specifically a dynamic discrete choice model, is developed in this paper to model Iowa farmers' crop choice decisions in recent years based on the newly released field-scale cropland data layers by National Agricultural Statistics Service. We explicitly consider the dynamic effects naturally arising in the corn/soybean crop system and estimate the model using the conditional choice probability method. Compared to static models, dynamic land use models perform relatively better. The dynamic models produce significantly different arc elasticity than the static model in a policy scenario when the corn price increases by 10 percent. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic Discrete Choice Model, Land Use Change, Rotation Effects, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q15, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170366&r=agr |
| By: | Uzea, Florentina; Poon, Kenneth; Sparling, David; Weersink, Alfons |
| Abstract: | Business risk management (BRM) continues to be the central objective of agricultural policy in many countries, including Canada and the US. The unprecedented volatility that has characterized the farming sector in recent years is only expected to rise. Thus, governments continue to implement comprehensive suites of BRM programs to assist farmers in coping with these gyrations. This paper aims to examine 1) the relationships between the main Canadian BRM programs (AgriInsurance, AgriStability, and AgriInvest), and 2) if and how those relationships differ across different farms. Understanding the interlinkages between government BRM programs is central for policy makers in order to achieve the desired objectives. The analysis uses data from the Ontario Farm Income Database (OFID), which is a longitudinal farm-level dataset compiled from Ontario farm tax-file records from 2003 to 2011. The dataset contains detailed financial, production and program payment (except for Production Insurance/AgriInsurance payments) data for all Ontario tax-filling farm operations. Additional operator-level Production Insurance/AgriInsurance payment data is linked to farm-level OFID records to complement the program payment data. The paper uses a two-stage approach to examine the relationships between AgriInsurance, AgriStability, and AgriInvest. First, a multinomial probit model is estimated in which the dependent variables are dummies for all eight possible combinations of participation in the three programs and the independent variables include program participation in previous year, operating profit margin, operating expense ratio, leverage, diversification index, size, and sector. In the second stage, the predicted probabilities of the eight participation states from the first stage multinomial function is used as regressors against percentage falls in gross margin (operating revenue minus operating expense), controlled for size and sector. We find that participation in the previous year has a strong and positive effect on participation in the current year, and the three programs are generally treated as compliments. We also find that in general, farms that participate in some combination programs have smaller drops in gross margin compared to those that participate in no programs. Despite this effect, operators continue to drop out of BRM programs. |
| Keywords: | Program Participation, BRM, risk management., Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174942&r=agr |
| By: | Baker, Derek; Mtimet, Nadhem; Pica-Ciamarra, Ugo; Jagwe, John |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the results of a rapid consumer survey undertaken in Uganda. The survey aimed at identifying preferred quality and safety attributes, retail forms and retail outlets for major livestock products and by type of consumers. Results of the survey, combined with nationally representative household datasets, allows description of both the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of the developing market for animal-source foods, which is anticipated to provide major business opportunities for small-scale livestock producers in the short and medium terms. |
| Keywords: | Demand, Quality, Livestock products, Livestock Revolution., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164736&r=agr |
| By: | Fitzsimmons, Jill Ann; Colantuoni, Francesca; Cicia, Gianni; Del Giudice, Teresa |
| Abstract: | We explore the relationship between observable socio-demographic consumer characteristics, consumers’ unobservable human values as measured by Schwartz’ Portrait Values Questionnaire, and consumers’ preferences for extrinsic credence attributes on their purchases of new potatoes in two countries, Italy and Germany. Parallel marketing studies were conducted in each of the two markets, with the intention of comparing the impact of human values on purchases of new potatoes with several attributes (price, country of origin, carbon footprint certification, ethical certification, method of production, and packaging). Motivation for the study comes from the declining market share of the domestic early potato due to international competition. Applied methods include Principal Component Analysis and Latent Class Analysis. |
| Keywords: | Choice Model, Schwartz Values, Credence Attributes, New Potatoes, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170672&r=agr |
| By: | Love, Abby; Magnan, Nicholas; Colson, Gregory J. |
| Abstract: | Risk is pervasive in developing country agriculture, and risk preferences are though to impact seed and technology choice. Empirical research on risk preferences and technology adoption typically only consider the risk preferences of a single household member. In this paper experimental techniques based on prospect theory (PT) to elicit risk aversion, loss aversion, and nonlinear probability weighting parameters from husbands and wives in Kenyan agricultural households. We also use survey data about their maize seed choice from these same respondents. We find that all three PT parameters are significant in different model specifications, and that risk preferences affect adoption differently for men and women in the same households, and also differently in the eastern and western regions of the country. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170241&r=agr |
| By: | Iizuka M.; Thutupalli A. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | The agricultural sector has played an important role in the provision of food, foreign exchange and sustainable energy to many developing countries. This sector, however, has not been considered as a driving force of innovation as compared to other productive sectors. However, recent economics and international business literature suggests that the agricultural sector 1 has become knowledge intensive with the rise of biotechnology Bt; and 2 is a sector where firms in developing countries can play an important role in production and innovation due to their latent advantage in the context-specific or in-situ knowledge base. In this paper, we first present a conceptual framework that characterizes the knowledge required for successful agricultural innovation against the backdrop of globalization and rise of biotechnology. We then examine the case of diffusion of Bt cotton hybrids Bacillus thuringiensis, an insect resistant seed technology in India to illustrate the dynamics of knowledge creation and catching up by the local seed firms based on their interactions with global as well as other local firms. Our analysis reveals that the local firms with absorptive capacity, that is, the ability to effectively integrate location-specific in-situ knowledge and generic scientific knowledge global knowledge can catch up with global frontier technologies to gain significant domestic market shares. |
| Keywords: | Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products; Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives; Management of Technological Innovation and R&D; Agricultural R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services; |
| JEL: | O13 O31 O32 Q16 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014054&r=agr |
| By: | Meas, Thong; Hu, Wuyang; Grebitus, Carola; Colson, Gregory J. |
| Abstract: | This article surveys British consumers’ preference for domestic and imported beef identified by country of origin labels (COOLs). Like previous studies related to COOL, we found a strong preference for domestic beef. Furthermore, the factors influencing such preference were examined. Using consumer patriotism and country of origin image perception, we found that stronger preference against imports was linked to higher perceived level of patriotism of the respondents toward their country, while better country of origin image improved the likelihood of the foreign country’s beef being selected. |
| Keywords: | Country of Origin Label, Country of Origin Image, Consumer Patriotism, Choice experiment, Willingness-to-Pay for Beef, Mixed Logit model, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade, Q13, |
| Date: | 2014–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170628&r=agr |
| By: | Fedoseeva, Svetlana |
| Abstract: | Using aggregated EMU exports to the US as an example, VERHEYEN (2013) showed, that in the long run exports react to exchange rate changes in a nonlinear way. In this paper we test whether this holds true for agri-food exports as well. To address this question we apply a partial sum decomposition approach and the NARDL framework of SHIN et al. (2013) to the aggregated agricultural exports of eleven European countries to the US, which is currently the major trade partner of the EU in agricultural trade. Our outcomes suggest, that the exchange rate nonlinearities are even more pronounced in agricultural than in total exports. European exporters seem to benefit more from Euro depreciation, than its appreciation harm them, which we interpret as a sign of possible pricing strategies application (e.g., pricing-to-market) to European agri-food exports. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural exports, asymmetry, exchange rate nonlinearity, export demand equation, NARDL., International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi14:187428&r=agr |
| By: | Pieralli, Simone; Hüttel, Silke; Odening, Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of technical efficiency on the optimal exit timing of farms in a stochastic dynamic framework. Starting from a standard real options approach, we incorporate technical efficiency via a production function and derive an optimal price trigger at which farms irreversibly exit production. Assuming separability of efficiency on the primal technology, we show that higher efficiency and higher returns to scale make the farm more reluctant to irreversibly exit production. We extend this model to a non-separable case, test it with West German farm-level data (2000 to 2008), and find evidence that efficiency is non–separable. We find that higher volatility of milk prices and higher efficiency delay farms' exit from the market. Volatility, however, interacts with time-varying efficiency: the propensity of inefficient farms to exit the milk market attenuates under more volatile market conditions. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, exit, real options, dairy, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty, D20, D21, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170236&r=agr |
| By: | Shen, Meng; Gao, Zhifeng; Schroeder, Ted |
| Abstract: | It is increasingly recognized that respondents use simple heuristics such as attribute non-attendance to make decisions in the discrete choice experiments. This paper use the latent class model to investigate different choice strategies and explore robust welfare estimates under varying attribute information load. We find that respondents are more likely to rely on simple heuristics to make choices when information load increases. Reinforcing previous findings, we also observe that willingness-to-pay estimates decrease, with and without accounting for attribute non-attendance. |
| Keywords: | Discrete Choice experiments, Attribute Non-Attendance, Latent Class Model, Simple Heuristics, Willingness-to-pay, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170302&r=agr |
| By: | Temesgen, Chalachew; Dupraz, Pierre |
| Abstract: | We introduce the local farmland market concepts in order to understand the operation of French farmland sale market. We perform an empirical analysis of farmland prices based on farmland sale market in the Bretagne Region of France. The descriptive statistics show that the price of farmer to farmer transactions is significantly higher than the non-farmer to non-farmer transactions by almost €830/ha. The log-linear estimations indicate that farmer sellers have higher bargaining power than non-farmer sellers. Because of the competition between farmers, when the sold area share of farmers increases by 50% at the municipality level, the price increases by €488/ha. Symmetric significant effect is measured on the demand side. For example, if the traded area share of farmers increases by 50% in the municipality, the price decreases by €172 /ha. The result on the supply side of traded land also reflects the higher willingness to accept (WTA) of farmers and the result on the demand side reflects a pure market power effect, since the farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) is usually higher than non-farmers’ WTP. |
| Keywords: | local market, bargaining power, market power, farmland prices, Demand and Price Analysis, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Q12, Q15, Q150, D43, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170610&r=agr |
| By: | Kurkalova, Lyubov |
| Abstract: | This article presents analysis and synthesis of findings concerning the problem of cost-effective placement of best management practices (BMPs) emerging from NIFA CEAP and the USDA NRCS jointly-funded competitive grant projects, and future research needs. The synthesis focuses on two fundamental aspects of the cost-effectiveness problem: (1) how to assess the location- and farmer-specific costs of BMP implementation, and (2) how to decide on which BMPs need to be implemented and where within a given watershed so that a given water quality goal is achieved with the lowest possible policy outlay or a given conservation policy budget results in the best possible water quality improvement. We find that data availability remains a significant limiting factor for capturing within-watershed variability in the costs. Evolutionary algorithms have shown to provide workable ways to identify cost-effective BMP placement even for large, diverse watersheds and large numbers of potential BMPs. Future research needs include furthering the investigation, both conceptually and empirically, of the impact of the uncertainty in the BMP costs and water quality improvement benefits within the cost-effectiveness problem, and the development of the models that could consistently integrate the estimates of BMP cost components developed using alternative modeling approaches and/or attained under alternative economic conditions and for alternative geographic regions. |
| Keywords: | BMPs, Watershed management, Water quality economics, Optimization, Cost-effective BMP placement, Costs of BMPs, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q25, Q52, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169768&r=agr |
| By: | Amare, Mulubrhan; Waibel, Herman |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of climate variability and shocks on non-farm employment in rural areas of Northeast Thailand. The paper utilizes a large panel data set that includes detailed and retrospective information about shock experience and a corresponding twenty-year historical village-level monthly rainfall data set from rural Northeast Thailand. The paper finds that the labor market is heterogeneous in terms of adapting to climate variability and coping with shocks. Households use non-agricultural wage and self-employment as a means of adapting to rainfall variability while they use agricultural wage to cope with agricultural and demographic shocks. We also show that there is a concave relationship between rainfall variability and both non-agricultural wage and non-farm self-employment. Economic slowdown and idiosyncratic shocks, such as demographic shocks, lead to substantial non-agricultural wage employment reduction. Overall, our findings show that the labor market can be less effective as a means for adapting to severe rainfall variability, economic and demographic shocks. It is also observed that poorer households are less able to exploit the high returns of the labor market to cope with shocks because of a lack of start-up assets. |
| Keywords: | Key Words: Climate Variability, Shocks, Non-farm Employment, Asset, Rural Thailand, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi14:187571&r=agr |
| By: | Yue, Chengyan; Zhao, Shuoli; Kuzma, Jennifer |
| Abstract: | This study investigates heterogeneous consumer preferences for nano-food and genetic-modified (GM) food and the associated benefits using the results of choice experiments with 1117 U.S. consumers. We employ a mixed logit model and a latent class logit model to capture the heterogeneity in consumer preferences by identifying consumer segments. Our results show that nano-food evokes less negative reactions compared with GM food. We identify four consumer groups: “Price Oriented/Technology Adopters,” “Technology Averse,” “Benefit Oriented/Technology Accepters,” and “New Technology Rejecters.” Each consumer group has distinctive demographic backgrounds, which generates deeper insights in the diversified public acceptance for nano-food and GM food. Our results have important policy implications in the adoption of new food technologies. |
| Keywords: | Nanotechnology, Genetic-modification, Choice Experiment, Mixed Logit Model, Latent Class Models, Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, Q13, D12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169826&r=agr |
| By: | Mattos, Fabio; Fryza, Stefanie |
| Keywords: | commodity marketing, wheat, Canadian Wheat Board, Agribusiness, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169956&r=agr |
| By: | Ortiz-Bobea, Ariel; Kim, Do-Hyung; Chen, Yanyou |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates the countervailing climatic factors driving the timing of US corn planting decisions. We combine very diverse sources of data, including daily fine-scale satellite-derived information, to infer the timing of planting decisions over the past 30 years at the county-level. We match this information with daily data on temperature and soil moisture conditions to assess their contributions to the planting decision. Using a panel logit model we find that warmer spring temperatures increase the probability of planting, while extremely low or high levels of moisture reduce it. We find that the levels of moisture necessary to fully offset the season-expanding effect of a temperature rise of 3ºC would need to be very extreme, suggesting that the growing season for corn is likely to expand with climate change. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, climate change, adaptation, planting dates, corn, temperature, soil moisture, panel logit, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q54, Q19, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170674&r=agr |
| By: | Tullaya, Boonsaeng; Carlos, Carpio |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170543&r=agr |
| By: | Latvala, Terhi; Mandolesi, Serena; Nicholas, Phillipa; Zanoli, Raffaele |
| Abstract: | In this paper, expectations along the Finnish dairy supply chain for innovation to achieve more sustainable farming systems are identified. Four focus group discussions and three interviews for low input and organic dairy supply chain members were performed. The Q Methodology was used to highlight common ground and divergence in the expectations that organic and low input dairying can deliver. The common view is that innovation in housing aimed at improving animal welfare should be fostered. Animal welfare innovations were highlighted especially by the consumer group. Other supply chain members encouraged in accordance with consumer group animal welfare, but also innovations linking with the efficiency of production and feed quality. Common understanding between actors is that innovations linking to genetic modification are not acceptable. Many respondents also considered unnaturally those innovations that were linking with acceleration of genetic selection, speeding up calf development, and supporting in 100 % indoor dairy systems. |
| Keywords: | organic, low input, milk, dairy, Q method, innovation, sustainability, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164734&r=agr |
| By: | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| Abstract: | Good nutrition is the bedrock upon which to build healthy lives, strong and resilient livelihoods, and thriving economies. In its absence, their construction takes place on quicksand. Stunted children fail to grow and develop properly, with impairment to brains and immune systems being particular problems. Malnourished women of childbearing age do not have enough iron in their blood to feed their muscles. Many adults carry so much excess weight they put their heart and lungs under extreme stress and may suffer from diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Malnutrition leads to 11 percent of gross national product being squandered as a result of lives lost, less learning in school, less earning in the workplace, and days lost to illness. And malnourished mothers are more likely to give birth to malnourished newborns, perpetuating the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Malnutrition corrodes the body, the economy, and the future. Ambitions for sustainable development are likely to be thwarted by its presence. |
| 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:9780896298613&r=agr |
| By: | Herrmann, Roland; Bleich, Simon |
| Abstract: | Quality assurance and labeling play an important and increasing role in firms’ marketing strategies. In almost all cases, a price incentive has been stressed as the major incentive for firms to participate in such schemes. We argue here that important non-price incentives for participation in quality labeling may exist, too. In German retailing, it can be observed that discount retailers are listing more and more foods with quality labels. Processors may then participate in voluntary quality labeling in order to enter the large and growing market of discount retailers. The price-premium versus the market-entry hypothesis are analyzed theo-retically. We investigate then in an empirical hedonic pricing model for the German fruit juice market and for participation in the quality label of the Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG) which of the two hypotheses is consistent with the data. There is strong support for the market-entry hypothesis. |
| Keywords: | Labeling, price premium, market entry, fruit juice market, DLG award, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Industrial Organization, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, L660, M380, Q130, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164756&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Nanying; Houston, Jack; Colson, Gregory J.; Liu, Zimin |
| Abstract: | Our study provides result using mixed logit model from analyzing of choice experiment survey data to examine college students' attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) breakfast product from U.S. and China. Here we expand on previous research by exploring certain socio-demographic, attitudinal and behavioural variables and concerns from college students from China and US and focus on the specific functional GM staple products. This would be useful in developing and characterizing market segments for food products based on consumers’ information. GM food producers and exporters can use this information to design effective marketing strategies. Results showed that college students in these two countries are willing to pay premium for the Non-GM staple breakfast products. |
| Keywords: | consumer attitude, Genetic Modification, WTP, college students, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170109&r=agr |
| By: | Simons, Andrew M. |
| Abstract: | Numerous national transfer programs around the world are designed with uniform benefit schedules imposed by central governments, but implemented by local governments. The Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) in Ethiopia, the second largest safety net in Sub Saharan Africa, is one such program. First, using variance decomposition techniques, we document local government’s noncompliance to the federally mandated uniform benefit schedule. Second, we find that local governments account for household economies of scale on the intensive margin (actual payouts to households) rather than the extensive margin (which households are selected into the PSNP). Younger children receive lower payments than older children or adults. Lastly, we examine whether noncompliance with federal mandates is more or less poverty reducing than the program would have been under the federally mandated uniform benefit schedule. |
| Keywords: | decentralization, national transfer programs, equivalence scales, targeting, safety nets, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Political Economy, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169743&r=agr |
| By: | Didier, Y. Alia; Reed, Michael R. |
| Abstract: | This paper presents some evidence of a positive effect of Agriculture R&D investment on economic growth in general dynamic setting using annual data for 57 developing countries for the period 1981-2010. The potential endogeneity of Research and Development Investment is also addressed to identify causal effect using GMM Style internal instrument that successfully pass various validity tests. Our analysis separates the growth effect and the level effect of R&D investment. The result appears to be robust to various proxies for Agriculture R&D investment. The finding suggests the intensification of investment in research and development in developing countries to boost agricultural productivity and economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development, Agriculture, Economic Growth, International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170494&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Tong; Hennessy, David |
| Abstract: | Upon outbreak of a contagious animal disease, a primary motive for restoring disease-free status is often to regain access to international product markets. Efforts applied toward continuing or regaining such access is a public good; all growers benefit regardless of extent of private efforts taken while exclusion is impractical. Private incentives to take preventive and stamp-out efforts interact in complex ways. There are intra-farm temporal interactions and also inter-farm contemporaneous interactions. Public effort also takes place and interacts with private efforts. This paper provides a succinct multi-agent model to explore these interactions in social optimum and in Nash equilibrium, and also to explore how socially optimal and Nash behavior differ. Comparative statics under social optimality are more straightforward than under Nash equilibrium. Whether in social optimum or Nash equilibrium, public prevention efforts complement both private prevention and private stamp-out efforts. However, public stamp-out efforts substitute for both private stamp-out and private prevention efforts. Reasonable conditions are identified under which Nash levels of private prevention and stamp-out efforts are both below socially optimal levels. Concerning policy prescriptions, efforts to secure property rights and reduce property transfer costs should promote prevention and eradication efforts. Other things equal, public prevention effort should be more effective in promoting welfare than comparable public stamp-out effort. Subsidies on private efforts should favor prevention efforts because subsidies on eradication effort may discourage prevention effort. Even if produce from diseased animals is safe to consume and acceptable to consumers, it may be optimal to destroy such produce. |
| Keywords: | animal health management, biosecurity, disease prevention, SIS, strategic interactions, trade ban, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Livestock Production/Industries, Q17, D62, I10, H40, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170209&r=agr |
| By: | Useche, Pilar; Blare, Trent |
| Abstract: | Our research examines how the changing cultural norms and legal status in Ecuador have impacted women’s empowerment in the agricultural sector and in rural communities. Cacao provides a particularly relevant case because of its economic and ecological importance to Ecuador and the region. The traditional cacao agroforests also provide many ecological services such as habitat for many endangered plants and animals. However, they are not as profitability as the monoculture systems. 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, many of whom also have goals of empowering Ecuadorian women (Suarez 2013). Thus, women’s involvement in cacao production would be an important indicator of women’s status in rural Ecuador. To determine the value that men on women place on these nonmarket benefits and ability of women to influence household production decisions, we conducted 350 household interviews throughout coastal Ecuador from February through July, 2013. 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 the participant would need to receive in order to prefer the monoculture system over the agroforestry system. By employing a Random Effects Logit regression, we were able calculate men and women’s average willingness to pay for the attributes of the cacao agroforests (Birol et al. 2006). We found that both genders place a higher value on the agroforests than monoculture corps; however, women place a higher value on these benefits than men do. |
| Keywords: | gender, cacao, Ecuador, willingness to pay, choice experiment, agroforestry, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174285&r=agr |
| By: | Ramsey, Ford |
| Abstract: | The recent priority given to Federal Crop Insurance as an agricultural policy instrument has increased the importance of rate making procedures. Actuarial soundness requires rates that are actuarially fair: the premium is set equal to expected loss. Formation of this expectation depends, in the case of group or area yield insurance, on precise estimation of the probability density of the crop yield in question. This paper applies kernel density estimation via diffusion to the estimation of crop yield probability densities and determines ensuing premium rates. The diffusion estimator improves on existing methods by providing a cogent answer to some of the issues that plague both parametric and nonparametric techniques. Application shows that premium rates can vary significantly depending on underlying distributional assumptions; from a practical point of view there is value to be had in proper specification. |
| Keywords: | crop insurance, yield distributions, density estimation via diffusion, nonparametric density estimation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, C520, Q180, C140, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170173&r=agr |
| By: | Gouzaye, Amadou; Epplin, Francis; Saha, Malay; Serba, Desalegn |
| Abstract: | The optimal switchgrass genotype from among 250 alternatives for producing biomass for use in an enzymatic hydrolysis conversion process to produce ethanol was determined. The consequences of the selected genotype, relative to the most common commercially available variety, on ethanol production costs and on land requirements are determined. |
| Keywords: | genotype, lignin, biomass, ethanol, cost, feedstock, enzymatic hydrolysis, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169596&r=agr |
| By: | Sauer, Johannes; Finger, Robert |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172679&r=agr |
| By: | Alejandro Guevara (Department of Economics, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City. Mexico); Juan Manuel Torres |
| Abstract: | The study identifies the existence of a bequest motive, or intergenerational value, closely related with the conservation of forests in poor rural communities with communal forests under logging. A survey with the contingent-valuation question type was applied to the households of two populations living in two contrasting forest communities. Results show that 83 and 71% of head of households declared a willingness to make an altruistic sacrifice for the subsequent enjoyment of their children of this forest resource, measured in different ways. Variables such as age, gender, income, education, and forest type are closely related with the bequest motive, as other literature has found to be the case regarding private forest owners. Differences among communities show that the larger the benefits they obtain from the forest resources they own, the larger the bequest motive. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uic:wpaper:0614&r=agr |
| By: | Ubilava, David |
| Abstract: | Climate anomalies, such as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), affect agricultural production in different parts of the world, and can impact price behavior of the internationally traded commodities. This study examines the effect of ENSO on wheat price dynamics of five major exporting regions -- USA, Canada, Australia, EU, and Argentina. While the prices are linked due to the law of one price and the arbitrage conditions, nonlinear price adjustments are expected, due to the transaction costs, the market power, derived asymmetries from supply shocks. This study addresses asymmetries in wheat price transmission in response to ENSO-related supply shocks, using univariate and multivariate smooth transition modelling frameworks. Results of this study confirm regime-dependent nonlinearities in ENSO cycles as well as the system of considered wheat prices, where regimes are conditioned on the state of nature of the ENSO anomaly. In general, positive ENSO shocks, i.e. El Nino-s, result in wheat price reduction, while negative ENSO shock, i.e. La Nina-s, results in increased wheat prices. Moreover, the asymmetric nature of the responses to ENSO shocks implies that the rates of price increases are, on average, larger as compared to the rates of price decreases. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Asymmetric Cycles, El Nino Southern Oscillation, Smooth Transition Modelling, Wheat Price Dynamics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170223&r=agr |
| By: | Arita, Shawn; Dyck, John |
| Keywords: | International Development, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:188428&r=agr |
| By: | Azzarri, Carlo; Cross, Elizabeth; Haile, Beliyou; Zezza, Alberto |
| Abstract: | In many developing countries, consumption of animal source foods among the poor is still at a level where increasing its share in total caloric intake may have many positive nutritional benefits. This paper explores whether ownership of various livestock species increases consumption of animal source foods and helps improve child nutritional status. The paper finds some evidence that food consumption patterns and nutritional outcomes may be affected by livestock ownership in rural Uganda. The results are suggestive that promoting (small) livestock ownership has the potential to affect human nutrition in rural Uganda, but further research is needed to estimate more precisely the direction and size of these effects. |
| Keywords: | Livestock and Animal Husbandry,Regional Economic Development,Rural Poverty Reduction,Wildlife Resources,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7111&r=agr |
| By: | Lefebvre, Virginie M.; Molnàr, Adrienn; Kühne, Bianka; Gellynck, Xavier |
| Abstract: | In today business world where knowledge and resources are increasingly spread among organizations, enterprises often develop a wide variety of relationships with other organizations in order to access new technologies, know-how and resources. Increasingly, the use of external resources for innovation – also referred as inbound open innovation in literature – is seen as a key factor to remain innovative and hence competitive. While the impact of open innovation on the firm’s innovativeness and performance has received quite some attention by scholars, the mechanisms that push firm to open up their innovation process remain under investigated. The aim of this paper is to contribute to fill in this gap by developing and testing empirically a research framework on the firm specific factors impacting the firm’s degree of openness. In order to reach the research objective, an extensive literature review was performed based on which several research hypotheses were developed. A web-questionnaire was then designed and distributed to the CEOs of food SMEs in Europe. A major result of this study is that network competence – defined as the firm’s ability to establish and use relationships with other organization – drives the firm’s openness in terms of ambidexterity (i.e. new versus existing relationships) and breadth (number of external sources or search channels that the firm relies upon in its innovative activities). |
| Keywords: | Open innovation, network competence, low-tech sector, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164739&r=agr |
| By: | Barns, Sandra |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187722&r=agr |
| By: | Ferris, Jeffrey |
| Keywords: | Land Use, Wildfire Hazard, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170342&r=agr |
| By: | Zehetmeier, Monika; Hoffmann, Helmut; Sauer, Johannes; O'Brien, Donal |
| Keywords: | GHG emissions, land use, beef, milk, dairy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170325&r=agr |
| By: | Ouedraogo, Frederic B.; Brorsen, B. Wade; Kazianga, Harounan |
| Abstract: | Large families in rural areas causes pressure on natural resources, an upsurge of inter-community conflicts. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one reason for large families is the value of children as a source of labor.This research determines the marginal change in household productivity with respect to traction animals and the number of young people in the household. |
| Keywords: | Traction animals, household production, family size, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169979&r=agr |
| By: | Jinzheng, Ren Jr; Longling, Li Jr; H. Holly, Wang Jr |
| Abstract: | In Recent years, flood damage in rural China dramatically increased as a result of more frequent and severe floods. Although the policy-oriented agriculture insurance for natural disasters has been available in China, its coverage only applies to crops and livestock, not residents’ real estate and household property. In this paper, we investigate whether residents in rural China are willing to insure their property against flood damage and what kind of factors influence their willingness to seek insurance protection. Based on the national survey we conducted over 15 provinces in the summer of 2012, with 1322 valid observations, socio-economic, flood risks, insurance experience and region variable are analyzed using different models. The results show that there exists a strong need for flood insurance in rural China, and factors including flood experience in past 30 years, the elapsed time since the latest serious flood, income, and insurance experience influence rural residents’ willingness to participate in flood insurance. Policy suggestions for flood insurance are provided to the insurance industry and Chinese government at the end. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Risk and Uncertainty, Flood insurance, Willingness to pay, rural property, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170676&r=agr |
| By: | Qineti, Artan; Rajcaniova, Miroslava; Braha, Kushtrim; Ciaian, Pavel; Demaj, Jona |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169088&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Huiqiang; Sproul, Thomas W.; Lang, Corey |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the public health effects of mandatory and voluntary milk pasteurization adoptions in the United States. With generalized synthetic control methods (GSCM), we estimate the casual health impact of city pasteurization ordinances in 16 treated cities. Our results show the average treatment effect of city with pasteurization ordinances was obvious. Children diarrhea mortality rates on average in the treated group is 7.62 lower than their synthetic versions. And the number was only 1.04 in the control group. The treatment effect measured by GSCM is also different from the results measured by classical linear based Differences-in-Differences model. Next, we implement a FE analysis to examine the effect of voluntary pasteurization adoptions. We choose robust FE estimators to minimize the influence of observations of extreme values. Also, our robust panel estimations indicate the spread of pasteurization was significantly responsible for the improved health profile in US cities. In sum, we find pasteurization had its unique and significant contribution to public health in history. |
| Keywords: | Public Health, Pasteurization, Generalized Synthetic Control, Robust Estimators, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169775&r=agr |
| By: | Ali, Hoda Abd El Hamid |
| Abstract: | This study explores the Impact of Food Prices Crisis on budget deficits in the Arab region. Panel data is used for the period of 2000 to 2012 in sixteen countries in the region. We run multi regression models which are used to estimate the Impact of food crisis on government debt in high, middle and low income countries before and after the food crisis period in 2006. The analysis reveals that the changes in food prices have a negative and significant impact only on the low and middle income countries' government debt before the crisis. We also found that the slow growth in GDP after the global economic and food crisis period, political instability, lagged deficits, real interest rates, and unemployment were also important determinants of government debt in most of the models estimated. |
| Keywords: | Food Crisis, Government Debts, Arab region, Social and Economic development, Poverty. |
| JEL: | E6 H6 H63 O1 O11 Q1 Q11 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:59923&r=agr |
| By: | Nemes, Gusztav; Varga, Agnes; High, Chris |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169086&r=agr |
| By: | Yang, Xi; Miao, Ruiqing; Khanna, Madhu |
| Keywords: | Contract, Insurance, Bioenergy Crop, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q42, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170188&r=agr |
| By: | Savage, Jeffrey; Claassen, Roger; Breneman, Vince; Loesch, Chuck; Williams, Ryan |
| Abstract: | Conversion of native sod (grassland) to cropland in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is threatening important breeding habitats for migratory birds. About 50 percent of North American ducks are produced in the grasslands of the PPR, even though this habitat accounts for only ten percent of duck breeding territory. Once lost, native grassland habitats are difficult to reconstruct. To protect these habitats, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) holds permanent easements prohibiting grassland-to-cropland conversion or wetland drainage on more than 3.5 million acres. The USDA also holds easements against grassland conversion.We estimated the additionality of grassland easements purchased in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota from 1997—2010. Higher additionality implies that a larger proportion of eased grasslands would have been converted to another use in the absence of the easement. Using propensity score models, our estimate of additionality for all easements is 3.4 percent for the years 1997-2010. For relatively high quality land, which is more likely to be converted, our estimate of additionality is 6.4 percent. When measured over longer periods, additionality will higher because more of the eased land would have been converted to another use. |
| Keywords: | Prairie Pothole Region, additionality, conservation easements, grassland conversion, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170422&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Xuan |
| Abstract: | Our study focuses on modeling Colorado potato beetle (CPB) outbreaks and damage caused in Maine. The approach is to evaluate CPB outbreak frequency in a spatio-temporal framework. A block bootstrapping method with has been used to evaluate the CPB damage on a experimental field of potatoes. With this approach, impacts of environmental factors on CPB outbreaks and implications of crop rotations are assessed. Some explanatory variables, including temperature, crop rotations and soil minerals have been detected to have significant impacts. Consequently, our method offers a way to design spatial layout to minimize the risks of CPB outbreaks, given the current environmental information of a field. |
| Keywords: | Colorado Potato Beetle, Potato, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170679&r=agr |
| By: | Viola, Katalin; Gábor, István; Sebők, András |
| Abstract: | Within the SmartAgriFood project 135 in depth interviews in 6 countries, and 8 focus group discussions in 5 countries were carried out for identification and evaluation of the potential applications of the Future Internet (FI) in the agri-food area. Several innovative ideas were described by the participants and there were also some demands, expectations and limitations which were universally mentioned by them. One of the main expectations is that FI should be accessible for anybody, anywhere and anytime. In addition the followings should be ensured: higher privacy; compatibility; integration of systems; longer range in communication; lower implementation costs; and user-friendly interfaces. The most important prerequisite is making aware and training of the users, as most of them do not have appropriate experience about using the Internet. For enhancing the application of the ICT solutions in the agri-food sector the above mentioned needs of the users should be considered and met by the ICT community. |
| Keywords: | Future Internet, innovative applications, agri-food sector, needs of users, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164770&r=agr |
| By: | Du, Xiaodong; Hennessy, David; Feng, Hongli |
| Abstract: | Rate setting methods for crop yield and revenue contracts employ methods that presume that correlations are state invariant. Whether this is true matters. If yield-yield correlations strengthen when crops are subject to widespread stress then diversification opportunities for private insurers weaken when most needed. For the government’s book of business, such tail dependence will increase the transactions and political costs of inter-agency reallocation of funds. In this paper we propose a simple model of yields according to interactions between the weather outcome and land limitations as in the United States Soil Conservation Service’s land capability classification. Our model shows that yield-yield tail dependence is to be expected and, furthermore, should take a particular form. Yield correlations should be stronger in the left and right tails than in the center, i.e., U shaped state-conditional correlation is hypothesized. Using Risk Management Agency unit level data and a variety of statistics, we find strong evidence in favor of the U shaped tail dependence hypothesis. But the goodness-of-fit test fails to reject the standard Gaussian Copula model, which can be due to power of the tests, sampling error, and/or relatively weak tail dependence over the sample years. We conclude that existing RMA rate-setting methods are deficient. |
| Keywords: | actuarial fairness, crop insurance, Gaussian copula, reinsurance, systemic risk, Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, G12, H2, Q18., |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174315&r=agr |
| By: | Aziz Galvão, da Silva Júnior; Bruna, do Valle Rodriguez Neves; Marina, Macedo Rocha; Artur Henrique, Leite Falcette; Abdias Garcia, Machado |
| Abstract: | Brazilian economy, which is currently the sixth largest in the world. The sector is responsible for 27% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Moreover, it also accounts for nearly 40% of the values generated in the export and employs around 26% of the economically active population of the country. The objective of this paper is to present and discuss updated information regarding the importance of the main products of the agribusiness sector to the Brazilian economy. Special attention was given to the beef and soybean chain. The perspective and challenges of the sector are briefly presented. |
| Keywords: | agribusiness, agricultural products, Brazil, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164763&r=agr |
| By: | Zheng, Hualu; Huang, Lu |
| Abstract: | Using a random coefficient discrete choice model, this paper distinguishes between sales and excise taxes and compares their effectiveness on reducing carbonated soft drink (CSD) consumption. Estimation results show that the magnitude of tax elasticity of demand is much smaller than own price elasticity. Therefore by generalizing the tax nature of sales and excise tax policies and employing price elasticity of demand to assess tax effects, previous studies overestimate the ability of such policies to reduce CSD consumption. Moreover, sales taxes are less effective than excise taxes for controlling soft drink consumption because they are not salient to consumers. Implications of this paper help policy makers focus their efforts to adopt the most appropriate policy instrument and to address obesity issues. |
| Keywords: | Carbonated Soft Drinks, Sales Tax, Excise Tax, Pass Through, Obesity, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization, Marketing, Public Economics, D12, H25, L66, Q18, I18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170201&r=agr |
| By: | Glauben, Thomas; Renner, Swetlana; Hockmann, Heinrich |
| Abstract: | Enterprise flexibility, against the background of ever-faster changing environs, is deemed to be as a critical prerequisite for staying successful in business. Flexibility may be termed in an economic sense as the capability to adjust production schemes to a new situation without significant additional costs. Newlydeveloped methods for flexibility measurement and a comprehensive dataset were used to determine the scope and determinants of flexibility in Polish farm operations. It appears that flexibility of production technology is interrelated to farm specialization: Mixed enterprises are using more flexible technologies than dairy and granivore farms, which in turn are able to react more flexibly than crop production farms. Findings also indicate that small-scale farms have more flexible production systems than large-scale enterprises. This is true to say of all farm types. Small farms are apparently capable of changing their production schemes at lower additional costs and better adjusting themselves to changed market conditions. This may serve to explain the persistence of small-scale or dual agricultural structures in several transition countries, such as Poland. |
| Abstract: | Flexibilität von Unternehmen wird vor dem Hintergrund einer sich immer schneller wandelnden Umwelt als eine wichtige Voraussetzung für ein erfolgreiches Bestehen am Markt betrachtet. Flexibilität kann im ökonomischen Sinne als Fähigkeit Produktionspläne ohne erhebliche Zusatzkosten an eine neue Situation anzupassen bezeichnet werden. Anhand neu entwickelter Methoden der Flexibilitätsmessung und eines umfangreichen Datensatzes wurden Ausmaß und Bestimmungsfaktoren der Flexibilität von polnischen Landwirtschaftsbetrieben ermittelt. Es zeigt sich, dass die Flexibilität der Produktionstechnologie mit der Betriebsausrichtung zusammenhängt: Gemischtbetriebe nutzen flexiblere Technologien als Milchvieh- und Veredlungsbetriebe, die wiederum flexibler reagieren können als Pflanzenbaubetriebe. Ferner zeigt sich, dass kleine Betriebe über flexiblere Produktionssysteme verfügen als große Betriebe. Dies gilt für alle Betriebstypen. Kleine Betriebe können offensichtlich ihre Produktionspläne zu geringeren Zusatzkosten umstellen und sich besser an veränderte Marktbedingungen anpassen. Dies mag zur Erklärung der Persistenz kleinbetrieblicher oder auch dualer Agrarstrukturen in einigen Transformationsländern, wie auch in Polen, beitragen. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamopb:19e&r=agr |