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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒12‒29
thirty-one papers chosen by |
| By: | Katsushi S. Imai; Raghav Gaiha; Constanza Di Nucci |
| Abstract: | Abstract Drawing upon panel data estimations, we have analysed the relationships among agricultural productivity, employment, technology, openness of the economy, inequality in land distribution and poverty. First, we have identified a number of important factors affecting agricultural productivity, such as agricultural R&D expenditure, irrigation, fertilizer use, agricultural tractor/machinery use, reduction in inequality of land distributions, or reduction in gender inequality. Second, while agricultural wage rate is negatively associated with agricultural productivity and food price in levels, the growth in agricultural wage rate is positively correlated with the growth in agricultural land or labour productivity as well as with the growth in food price, particularly after 2000. Contrary to the ILO’s (2012) claim that the gap has widened recently, this suggests the narrowing gap between wage and labour productivity once we focus on the conditional relationship between the two. Third, agricultural employment per hectare tends to increase agricultural productivity after taking account of the endogeneity of the former, while the growth in agricultural employment per hectare tends to increase the growth in non-agricultural employment over time with adjustment for endogeneity of the former. In this context, we have reviewed the recent literature and emphasised the importance of enhancing agricultural productivity and employment. Fourth, both agricultural growth and non-agricultural growth tend to lead to reduction in overall inequality. Finally, increase in agricultural productivity which is treated as endogenous will reduce poverty significantly through the overall economic growth. Overall, policies to increase agricultural productivity and agricultural employment are likely to increase non-agricultural growth, overall growth and reduce poverty, where guaranteeing gender inequality is likely to be one of the key factors. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwp:bwppap:20914&r=agr |
| By: | Fadim Yavuz; Ayla Bozdað |
| Abstract: | Cihanbeyli, located in Salt Lake (SL) Basin, is the largest county of Turkey in terms of its area. In total 56.105 people live in the county and its rural population is 7.005. According to data of 2011 year, Cihanbeyli's social development level is at the tenth of 31 counties of the Konya province and the county is among the least developed counties' group. SL basin is an important wetland in Turkey in terms of biodiversity conservation and international criteria. The most important economic activities in the area are agriculture, livestock and industrial salt production. All the cultivated land is reserved for dry farming and vegetable and fruit production is at negligible quantity. Lack of forested areas, existence of barren lands, insufficient water resources for the agriculture with the impact of the SL, Being one of the Turkey's low rainfall areas, transforming the domestic and industrial waste of Konya city directly to the SL's are the negative factors affecting the agriculture in the region. Depending on the threat of drought, significant productivity and quality issues are being experienced in the region's rural area. In the region agricultural production is decreasing due to drought and intense population immigration from the county's rural areas. Desertification caused by SL, furthermore aridity caused by manufacturers' improper fertilizer uses exist in agricultural areas. Range of products is limited as a result of unconscious agricultural production. Wheat, barley and sugar beet are the products commonly grown. By identifying the obstacles against the Cihanbeyli region's economy this study aims to determine sustainable strategies activate/improve agriculture as a main source of income, thereby improve economy of the region. Results are useful in i) referring agricultural activities to the areas have good physical and environmental conditions and may achieve maximum efficiency in countryside, ii) improving non-agricultural uses in the areas are unsuitable for agriculture and low efficient, iii) avoiding the construction and environmental pressures on suitable farmland. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural land suitability; sustainable economic development; Cihanbeyli; Salt Lake Basin; |
| JEL: | Q01 Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa14p1268&r=agr |
| By: | Bruce A. Babcock (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Zabid Iqbal |
| Abstract: | Economics models used by California, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the EU Commission all predict significant emissions from conversion of land from forest and pasture to cropland in response to increased biofuel production. The models attrib-ute all supply response not captured by increased crop yields to land use conversion on the extensive margin. The dramatic increase in agricultural commodity prices since the mid-2000s seems ideally suited to test the reliability of these models by comparing actual land use changes that have occurred since the price increase to model predictions. Country-level data from FAOSTAT were used to measure land use changes. To smooth annual variations, changes in land use were measured as the change in average use across 2004 to 2006 compared to average use across 2010 to 2012. Separate measure-ments were made of changes in land use at the extensive margin, which involves bring-ing new land into agriculture, and changes in land use at the intensive margin, which includes increased double cropping, a reduction in unharvested land, a reduction in fallow land, and a reduction in temporary or mowed pasture. Changes in yield per harvested hectare were not considered in this study. |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:14-sr109&r=agr |
| By: | Ouraich, Ismail; Tyner, Wallace E. |
| Abstract: | The paper provides estimates of economic impacts of climate change, compares these with historical impacts of drought spells, and estimates the extent to which the current Moroccan agricultural development and investment strategy, the Plan Maroc Vert, hel |
| Keywords: | CGE models, agricultural policy, adaptation, climate change, SRES scenarios, uncertainty |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-083&r=agr |
| By: | Barnes, Andrew P; Lucas, Amanda J; Maio, Gregory R |
| Abstract: | A number of high profile policy documents have emphasised the need to increase food production under projected land scarcity. Sustainable intensification is a proposed solution to this challenge, which is a technology-led pathway for development. Definitions of sustainable intensification have changed over time. However the implicit assumption that intensification, a productivist term, can be reconciled with sustainability has affected its acceptability for a number of audiences. The purpose of this paper is to examine responses to the terms sustainability and intensification in terms to their roles for attaining food security. A web-based experiment was conducted with members of the agri- food supply chain, the general public, scientists and policy makers in the UK. The experiment was structured to elicit values pertaining to sustainability and intensification and the level of favourability or ambivalence individuals feel towards these terms. A multi-level logistic regression was then used to estimate the relationship between values and an individual’s ambivalence towards sustainable intensification. Whilst the majority of respondents accept sustainability as essential to a solution for global food security, individuals are more conflicted towards intensification. This is related to opposing sets of values which these terms raise and also feelings of incongruence towards the juxtaposition of sustainability and intensification. Favoured messages tends to revolve around solutions based on behavioural change and restructuring of the food chain, rather than productivist based solutions, such as sustainable intensification itself. |
| Keywords: | Farmer viability, Diversification, Markov chain, Multinomial logistic regression, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saclwp:190939&r=agr |
| By: | Binswanger-Mkhize, Hans P.; Savastano, Sara |
| Abstract: | The Boserup-Ruthenberg framework has long been used to explain and understand the determinants of agricultural growth, the nature of the intensification of farming systems, investment, and technology adoption. The literature has produced an extensive body of evidence that summarizes or tests the hypothesis in Africa and often found it confirmed. However, in the past two decades, rapid population growth has put African farming systems under stress. At the same time, there has been a sharp increase in urbanization and economic growth that is providing new market opportunities for farmers. It is therefore necessary to investigate whether this has resulted in rapid intensification of farming systems, permitting rapid agricultural growth and maintenance or increase in the incomes of the farming population. This paper describes the status of intensification in six African countries using the first round of data from the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture. In addition, the paper (i) develops internationally comparable measures of overall agro-ecological crop potential and urban gravity in the farmers'location and (ii) estimates the causal impact of agro-ecological potential and urban gravity on population density, infrastructure, and market access and on a range of agricultural intensification variables. The paper shows that the new measures have relevant explanatory power. The descriptive analysis shows that the patterns of intensification observed across countries suggest several inconsistencies with Boserup-Ruthenberg. The paper also finds that urban gravity, except for its impact on crop intensities, has little impact on other intensification indicators. |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7116&r=agr |
| By: | Holden , Stein (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Bezu, Sosina (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates attitudes towards legalizing land sales and Willingness to Accept (WTA) sales prices and compensation prices for land among smallholder households in four different areas in the Oromia and SNNP Regions in the southern highlands of Ethiopia. Household panel data from 2007 and 2012 are used. The large majority of the sample prefers land sales to remain illegal, and the resistance to legalizing land sales increased from 2007 to 2012. In the same period, perceived median real land values increased sharply but also exhibit substantial local variation. Land loss aversion is associated with higher land values and less willingness to sell land if land sales were to become legal. The substantial increase in perceived land values, high economic growth and outmigration of youth have yet to persuade the rural population in southern Ethiopia to open the land sales market. |
| Keywords: | land sale; land values; compensation values; household perceptions; Southern Ethiopia |
| JEL: | P26 Q15 Q24 |
| Date: | 2014–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2014_012&r=agr |
| By: | Jason Pearcy (Montana State University); Vincent Smith (Montana State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of changes in major elements of the U.S. federal crop insurance program on the structure of the agricultural insurance industry. We model the interactions between farmers, insurance agents and insurance companies. Two symmetric equilibria are determined: one with competitive insurance companies and one where insurance companies form a collusive monopsony. We evaluate how marginal changes in government policy (changes in the premium subsidy rate, A&O subsidy rate, and loading factor) affect the insurance premium rate, agent compensation rates, agent effort levels, and market demand for crop insurance. Conditional on no prior government policy, farmers prefer a marginal increase in the premium subsidy rate. This change has the lowest associated net social cost, but is the policy least preferred by insurance companies. The insurance companies’ most preferred policy is a marginal increase in the A&O subsidy rate, which has the highest associated net social cost, the highest cost to the government, and does not benefit farmers. We also evaluate the consequences of changes in crop prices. If the market for insurance agent services is competitive, then a change in crop prices does not change agent compensation rates, but otherwise the agent compensation rate will change. This result suggests an empirical test regarding insurance company market performance. |
| Keywords: | Crop Insurance, Agriculture Subsidy, Vertical Restraints |
| JEL: | Q18 H53 L10 |
| Date: | 2014–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnu:wpaper:1001&r=agr |
| By: | Rickard, Bradley J.; Gergaud, Olivier; Ho, Shuay-Tsyr; Hu, Wenjing |
| Abstract: | The United States and the European Union (EU) have embarked on ambitious negotiations to create a comprehensive free trade agreement known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Agricultural markets receive relatively high levels of support and protection in both regions, and therefore are sensitive to the discussions surrounding the TTIP. Wine is the highest valued agricultural product traded between the United States and the EU, and any reduction in trade barriers resulting from the TTIP has the capacity to generate additional trade in this sector. We carefully develop parameters to characterize the effects of tariffs and domestic regulations that affect production and consumption of wine in these two regions. Results show that reductions in tariffs would have relatively small effects in these wine markets, whereas reductions in EU domestic policies that affect wine grape production would have much larger trade and welfare implications. |
| Keywords: | Domestic regulations, EU-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Non-tariff barriers, Simulation model, Trade policy, Wine, Agribusiness, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Q13, Q17, |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:190670&r=agr |
| By: | Tirtha Chatterjee (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); A. Ganesh Kumar (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | In this study we trace how number and members of income clusters have changed in Indian agriculture over the last four and a half decades. Two features which stand out in our results are that not all geographical neighbors belong to the same cluster and clusters include both geographical neighbors and non-neighbors. To identify the factors driving a pair of states to common cluster we then use a logit model and find that smaller is the relative difference between them in terms of mechanization, infrastructural support, deviations from normal rainfall and price differences, higher are the chances that they will be in the same income cluster. Between contiguous and non-contiguous state pairs we find that apart from the common factors, smaller relative differences in irrigation support, rainfall and price differences additionally brings non-contiguous states together. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, rural development, club convergence, income cluster determinants, geography |
| JEL: | O13 O18 O47 Q18 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2014-044&r=agr |
| By: | Bandara, Amarakoon; Dehejia, Rajeev; Rouse, Lavie |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of income and non-income shocks on child labour using a model in which the household maximizes utility from consumption as well as human capital development of the child. Two types of shocks are considered: agricultural |
| Keywords: | child labour, buffer stocks, agricultural shocks, consumption smoothing |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-118&r=agr |
| By: | Stewart, Hayden; Hyman, Jeffrey; Dong, Diansheng |
| Abstract: | Restaurant foods are typically higher in calories than meals consumed at home. Menu labeling regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration aim to inform consumers about the calorie content of menu items. However, some consumers may already be making at least partially informed decisions. For example, as a rule of thumb, a consumer may be aware that deep-fried foods are higher in calories. He or she may also know to avoid side dishes like French fries and onion rings. Indeed, it has been argued that some consumers can already identify which foods best satisfy their needs and wants and gain little new information from menu labeling. In this study, following research in marketing science and behavioral economics, we assume that a representative consumer employs rules-of-thumb nutrition knowledge to judge the calorie content of restaurant foods when explicit information is unavailable. We then investigate whether rules of thumb accurately predict the calorie content of 361 meals sold by 2 major fast-food restaurants and 5,752 meals sold by 5 major full-service restaurants. Results show that some simple rules of thumb are fairly reliable predictors of actual calorie content. They and other information available at the point of sale also explain about half of the total variation in calories in restaurant foods. Nonetheless, we find that menu labeling still imparts substantial new information. In particular, it is likely that many Americans are already able to make crude choices between high- and low-calorie foods, based on their pre-existing understandings of nutrition. Menu labeling allows them to make finer adjustments in their food choices and behavior, if they wish to. |
| Keywords: | Menu labeling, restaurant menu, calorie, food choices, obesity, nutrition information, menu board, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:191035&r=agr |
| By: | Adelina Gschwandtner |
| Abstract: | The present paper attempts to bring further evidence on the behavioural gap for organic food in Britain. The stated preferences are analysed by contingent valuation, while the revealed preferences are estimated by hedonic pricing. A small but significant gap in the premium for organic food between stated and revealed preferences has been found. This gap may suggest a need for price premium intervention. The estimated price elasticity for organic products is on average above one in absolute value suggesting that a pricing policy could be very effective. |
| Keywords: | Contingent Valuation; Hedonic Pricing Method; Convergent Validity; Behavioral Gap; Organic Food; Price Premium |
| JEL: | H29 Q18 Q21 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:1411&r=agr |
| By: | Gebretsadik, Yohannes; Strzepek, Kenneth; Schlosser, C. Adam |
| Abstract: | Traditional .delta-change. approach of scenario generation for climate change impact assessment to water resources strongly depends on the selected base-case observed historical climate conditions that the climate shocks are to be super-imposed. This meth |
| Keywords: | climate change, hybrid uncertainty, Zambezi, Congo |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-112&r=agr |
| By: | Vladimir Akishin |
| Abstract: | Forest planning is the most important condition for sustainable, continuous, economically efficient and ecological forest use. In North-West Russia, in the Komi Republic in particular, the increasing role of forest planning is based on the obvious need to transfer from the extensive way of forest management and use of primary natural forests to intensive way of secondary reforestated forests management and use. Forest planning in these conditions should provide the required demand in timber under conditions of forest ecological and social importance protection, taking into account the existed spatial structure of the forest fund. Landscape, ecological and economical forest evaluation as a basis for forest planning allows to define secondary forest areas where efficient forestry and economically profitable activities are possible (taking in consideration the pattern structure and spatial heterogeneity of secondary forests, where most of the territory is covered with low-value stands). Forest planning in intensive forestry should be long-term, minimum for one felling rotation period. This requires to work out regional research programmes for forest activities, but allows giving the economical estimation at each stage of forest management, not only by the felling time. Forest planning allows to estimate the costs of forestry activities and to relate to the expected results that are really important for the financial and economical planning at the enterprise. Long-term forest planning guarantees not only economical efficiency, but makes the grounds for forest social and ecological values protection. Forest planning process is dealing with the necessity of various data collection and joint use. Besides forest inventory data, forest planning includes remote sensing data that can guarantee acute and updated information about a certain forest area, allows to specify spatial, age and tree species structure of a forest stand, define a landscape and ecological peculiarities of the planning object, mark high value forests and key biotopes. Modern information technologies based on GIS provide the tools for the complex analysis of information about forests and give opportunities to modeling of expected results and give an opportunity for forest planning to select the optimal way of forest management for a certain place. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable forest management; forest planning; intensive forestry; forest management and use; remote sensing and GIS; modeling of expected results. |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa14p569&r=agr |
| By: | Noussair, C.N. (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); van Soest, D.P. (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: We summarize and review the literature on two types of economic experiments. First we discuss the use of experimental laboratories to testbed market solutions to issues in environmental policy. We concentrate on experiments with one and two-sided markets, and applications in the domain of water allocation, food safety, and tradable permit systems. Second, we explore the consequences for environmental policies of the vast body of literature refuting the assumption that humans are only concerned with their own private welfare. We review the literature addressing whether government intervention is always necessary to protect the environment, and also whether it is always effective in doing so. |
| Keywords: | Survey; experiment; environment; social dilemma |
| JEL: | C92 Q20 Q30 Q50 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:5ccc4032-fc1e-453c-9a96-a85978ccab4a&r=agr |
| By: | Harounan Kazianga (Oklahoma State University) |
| Abstract: | I use variation in cotton production in Burkina Faso to measure changes in local economic conditions between 1994 and 2003, which proxy for the value of children's time. I test how this variation affects schooling and child labor using three rounds of nationally representative household surveys. Cotton adoption increases household’s income, leading to increased demand for schooling and reduced child labor. On the other hand, because children are productive on cotton farms, cotton adoption increases the opportunity cost of child time and the demand for child labor. I find that cotton adoption increased schooling for girls, while boys were not significantly affected. I provide suggestive evidence showing that boys are more productive than girls on cotton farms. Therefore, the income effect from cotton adoption was larger than the wage effect for girls, hence the positive effect on enrollment. For boys the income and wage effects offset each other. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Technology, School Participation and Child Labor in Developing Countries: Cotton Expansion in Burkina Faso |
| JEL: | O12 I25 Q12 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:okl:wpaper:1501&r=agr |
| By: | Griffith, Rachel; O'Connell, Martin; Smith, Kate |
| Abstract: | Over the Great Recession real wages stagnated and unemployment increased. Concurrently, food prices rose sharply, outstripping growth in food expenditure, and leading to a reduction in calories purchased. This has led to concern about rising food poverty. We study British households to assess how they adjusted to changes in the economic environment. We show they switched to cheaper calories; implying food consumption was smoother than expenditure. We use longitudinal data to quantify the way households lowered their per calorie spending, and show they done this in part by increasing shopping effort, and without lowering the nutritional quality of their groceries. |
| Keywords: | nutrition; opportunity cost of time; shopping behaviour |
| JEL: | D12 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10096&r=agr |
| By: | Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Gbeada Josiane Seu Epse Kean (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Mpho Asnath Tsebe (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Nthabiseng Tsoanamatsie (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); João Ricardo Sato (Center of Mathematics, Computation and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC,Brazil.) |
| Abstract: | The recent commodity price boom has spurred interest to understand determinants of commodity price movements. This paper investigates the causal relationship between oil prices and the prices of 25 other commodities, which include both metals and agricultural products, in the presence of instability and nonlinearity. For this purpose, we make use of a long annual time series dataset spanning from 1900 to 2011, and analyze time-varying Granger causality test, since the inference drawn based on linear Granger causality tests could be invalid due to structural breaks and nonlinearity – which we show are present in the relationship between the variables of interest. We find that, under the case of time-varying causality there are fewer rejections of the null, than under the standard linear Granger causality test, thus highlighting the importance of accounting for instability and nonlinearity. Relying on the time-varying causality test, we observe stronger evidence of other commodity prices in predicting (in-sample) oil prices (15 cases) than the other way around (7 cases). |
| Keywords: | Oil prices, commodity prices, stability, causality, linear, time-varying |
| JEL: | C32 Q11 Q47 F2 G00 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201469&r=agr |
| By: | Yamauchi, Futoshi |
| Abstract: | This paper uses household panel data from rural Indonesia to examine the impact of road quality on labor supply and wages. First, road projects are found to increase transportation speed. Second, the empirical results from intra-village variations of household endowments and labor market behavior show that an increase in transportation speed raised wages in nonagricultural and agricultural employment, and was associated with a decline in working time in agricultural employment, for households whose members are relatively educated. The findings support potential complementarity between road quality and education. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Roads&Highways,Housing&Human Habitats,Labor Policies,Road Safety |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7139&r=agr |
| By: | Bezu, Sosina (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Barrett, Christopher B. (Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, USA); Holden, Stein (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the nonfarm employment choice of individuals using panel data from Ethiopia that covers the period 1994-2004. Non-farm activities that require more resources in the form of skill or capital yield higher returns but employ proportionately fewer people. Women have lower participation rate than men, and those women who participate are often engaged in low-return activities. The econometric results suggest that the factors that influence individuals’ decision to participate in non-farm employment differ for the different types of activities. Determinants of participation in high-return activities are dominated by capacity variables. Determinants of participation in low-return activities are dominated by push factors. Education is the only factor that has the same (positive) impact on the likelihood of participation in all types on non-farm employment. Education was also found to have more impact on participation of women. |
| Keywords: | Non-farm; off-farm; non-agriculture; income diversification; Ethiopia |
| JEL: | C23 D13 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2014–11–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2014_011&r=agr |
| By: | Dudu, Hasan; Cakmak, Erol H. |
| Abstract: | The effects of climate change in Turkey are expected to be significant. The aim of this paper is to quantify the effects of climate change on the overall economy by using an integrated framework incorporating a computable general equilibrium model and a c |
| Keywords: | agriculture, climate change, computable general equilibrium, integrated assessment, Turkey |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-106&r=agr |
| By: | Arndt, Channing; Jones, Sam; Salvucci, Vincenzo |
| Abstract: | Changes in the relative prices of commodities consumed in different shares across income groups are known to influence real measures of inequality. Using household budget survey and price data in Mozambique from 2002/03 and 2008/09, we show that accountin |
| Keywords: | relative price changes, price index, income inequality, Mozambique |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-129&r=agr |
| By: | Obisesan, Adekemi |
| Abstract: | This study examined gender differences in cassava production technology adoption and the impact on poverty status of farming households in southwest, Nigeria. The data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire through a multistage sampling technique. The data were analyzed using Propensity Score Matching, descriptive statistics and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke weighted poverty index. Out of the 482 households, 387 with similar characteristics were used in the analysis. Adoption level was 26% higher among male adopters than their female counterparts. Adoption was significantly influenced by gender, participation in off-farm activities, distance to market, land area cultivated, years of farming experience, access to credit, cassava yield and level of education. The impact of the improved technology on the headcount index of the male (12.57%) was higher than female adopters (5.62%). This suggests that cassava improved production technology is poverty reducing, however, gender sensitivity should be incorporated into technology adoption and enabling environment should be provided to enhance participation of women. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Technology adoption, Poverty, Cassava, Nigeria |
| JEL: | I3 O32 Q16 |
| Date: | 2014–08–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:58920&r=agr |
| By: | Vieider, Ferdinand M.; Beyene, Abebe; Bluffstone, Randall; Dissanayake, Sahan; Gebreegziabher, Zenebe; Martinsson, Peter; Mekonnen, Alemu |
| Abstract: | Risk-aversion has generally been found to decrease in income. This may lead one to expect that poor countries will be more risk-averse than rich countries. Recent comparative findings with students, however, suggest the opposite, giving rise to a risk-income paradox. This paper tests this paradox by measuring the risk preferences of more than 500 household heads spread over the highlands of Ethiopia and finds high degrees of risk tolerance. The paper also finds risk tolerance to increase in income proxies, thus completing the paradox. Using exogenous proxies, the paper concludes that part of the causality must run from income to risk tolerance. The findings suggest that risk preferences cannot be blamed for the failure to adopt new technologies. Alternative explanations are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Statistical&Mathematical Sciences,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Hazard Risk Management |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7137&r=agr |
| By: | Josephine Clemens (Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg); Karl Inderfurth (Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg) |
| Abstract: | Supply chain coordination is enabled by adequately designed contracts so that decision making by multiple actors avoids efficiency losses in the supply chain. From literature it is known that in newsvendor type settings with random demand and deterministic supply the activities in supply chains can be coordinated by sophisticated contracts while the simple wholesale price contract fails to achieve coordination due to the double marginalization effect. Advanced contracts are typically characterized by risk sharing mechanisms between the actors, which have the potential to coordinate the supply chain. Regarding the opposite setting with random supply and deterministic demand, literature offers a considerably smaller spectrum of solution schemes. While contract types for the well-known stochastically proportional yield have been analyzed under different settings, other yield distributions have not received much attention in literature so far. However, practice shows that yield distributions strongly depend on the industry and the production process that is considered. This paper analyzes a buyer-supplier supply chain in a random yield, deterministic demand setting. It is shown how under binomially distributed yields risk sharing contracts can be used to coordinate buyer’s ordering and supplier’s production decision. Both parties are exposed to risks of overproduction and under-delivery. In contrast to settings with stochastically proportional yield, however, the impact of yield uncertainty can be quite different in the binomial yield case. Under binomial yield, the output uncertainty decreases with larger production quantities while it is independent from lot sizes under stochastically proportional yield. Consequently, the results from previous contract analyses on other yield types may not hold any longer. The current study reveals that, like under stochastically proportional yield, coordination is impeded by double marginalization if a simple wholesale price contract is applied. However, more sophisticated contracts which penalize or reward the supplier can change the risk distribution so that supply chain coordination is possible under binomial yield. Thus, even though risk diminishes with larger lot sizes, the supply chain benefits from advanced risk sharing contracts because they trigger coordinated behavior. |
| Keywords: | Supply chain coordination, contracts, binomial yield, risk sharing |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mag:wpaper:140011&r=agr |
| By: | Catherine Hérault-Fournier (Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs, INRA; Université Nantes Angers Le Mans); Aurélie Merle (Grenoble Ecole de Management); Anne-Hélène Prigent-Simonin (COACTIS, Université Jean Monnet (Saint-Etienne)) |
| Abstract: | Dans le prolongement de l’éditorial de Décisions Marketing : « La proximité est-elle une nouvelle mode du marketing ? », cet article interroge la pertinence managériale du concept de proximité en vente directe de produits alimentaires. Via des études empiriques menées dans trois circuits - l’AMAP, le Point de Vente Collectif et le marché – nous montrons qu’il est pertinent de diagnostiquer la proximité perçue par les consommateurs car elle influence positivement la confiance à l’égard des circuits étudiés et permet de les discriminer. Une fois l’intérêt du concept démontré, des recommandations sont formulées autour de deux interrogations : quels types de proximité encourager et comment développer la proximité perçue en vente directe. |
| Abstract: | In line with the Editorial of Décisions Marketing “Is proximity a new marketing trend?â€, the aim of this article is to question the managerial relevance of the concept of proximity within the context of direct selling of food products. Through empirical studies in three supply chains - French CSA (AMAP), farm shops and direct selling on markets- we show the interest of assessing perceived proximity since it has a positive influence on consumers trust towards the studied supply chains and allows to discriminate them. The relevance of the concept of proximity being supported, recommendations are then emphasized on two points: which kinds of proximity to encourage and how to enhance proximity in food direct selling. |
| Keywords: | lien producteur-consommateur, proximitévente directe, distribution alimentaire, agroalimentairecircuit court, marketing |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inr:wpaper:226366&r=agr |
| By: | Jehan Sauvage |
| Abstract: | This report assesses conceptually and empirically the extent to which the stringency of environmental regulations drives international trade in environmental goods. Many of the measures governments adopt to address issues such as local air and water pollution or GHG emissions take the form of regulations that aim to change the behaviour of firms or households. Compliance by private actors with those regulations in turn generates a growing market for environmental goods and services that is increasingly international in scope as more countries tighten their environmental regulations. Regulatory stringency thus spurs the development of a market for a whole range of equipment specifically meant for preventing and abating pollution, with important implications for international trade in such equipment. The different indicators of regulatory stringency considered in the present analysis generally support the notion that the stringency of environmental regulations positively affects countries’ specialisation in environmental products, even when considering specific sectors such as solid-waste management or wastewater treatment. While increased trade in environmental products is not an end in itself, the environmental benefits this entails can contribute to global improvements in environmental quality. By increasing demand for environmental products and technologies, environmental policy can complement trade policy in supporting pollution-reduction efforts not just domestically, but also abroad. |
| Keywords: | environment, trade, environmental goods, comparative advantage, environmental regulations, wastewater treatment, solid waste management |
| JEL: | F14 F18 Q53 Q56 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaaa:2014/3-en&r=agr |
| By: | Hubert Stahn (Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), CNRS, & EHESS); Agnès Tomini (Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), CNRS, & EHESS) |
| Abstract: | Rainwater harvesting, consisting in collecting runoff from precipitation, has been widely developed to stop groundwater declines and even raise water tables. However this expected environmental effect is not self-evident. We show in a simple setting that the success of this conjunctive use depends on whether the runoff rate is above a threshold value. Moreover, the bigger the storage capacity, the higher the runoff rate must be to obtain an environmentally efficient system. We also extend the model to include other hydrological parameters and ecological damages, which respectively increase and decrease the environmental efficiency of rainwater harvesting. |
| Keywords: | groundwater management, rainwater harvesting, optimal control, conjunctive use |
| JEL: | Q15 Q25 C61 D61 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1452&r=agr |
| By: | Shikha Dahiya; Brinda Viswanathan (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This study has used India Human Development Survey, 2005 to study the factors influencing the Body Mass Index (BMI) of women between 20 to 40 years of age in India. BMI captures both undernutrition and over nutrition and a quantile regression model has been used to capture the differential impact of the explanatory variables across the wide range of its values. Variables like per capita income, per capita consumption expenditure and wealth are all important in explaining the variations in BMI but the impact varies across the quantiles. Impact of per capita consumption expenditure is higher than that of the per capita income indicating the effectiveness with which the resources are converted to consumption. Higher levels of wealth status impact BMI more across all the quantiles. Women’s autonomy index shows a positive impact only for higher levels of the index value but the magnitude is very small. In comparison to this, poor dietary diversity, women with younger children, and those working in agriculture related economic activities are worse off with significantly higher impact. Similarly access to clean and safe drinking water, good sanitation facility and use of clean cooking fuel like LPG have a favourable impact on women’s BMI. |
| Keywords: | BMI, Women, Quantile Regression, Income, Dietary Diversity |
| JEL: | C40 I12 J10 O18 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2014-093&r=agr |
| By: | Ben White (University of Western Australia); Nick Hanley (School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews) |
| Abstract: | Payments for ecosystem service outputs have become a popular policy prescription for a range of agri-environmental schemes. The focus of this paper is on the choice of sets of instruments in an ecosystem service principal-agent model that addresses adverse selection and moral-hazard. Results show that input-based and output-based contracts are equivalent where there is full information. With missing information, input-based contracts are more efficient at reducing the informational rent related to adverse selection than output-based contracts. There is an efficiency gain related to using mixed contracts especially where one input is not observable. These contracts allow the regulator to target variables that are costly-to-fake as opposed to those prone to moral hazard such as labour inputs. We then consider the implications of moral hazard and dynamic contracting. An overall finding is that in designing agri-environmental schemes, it is critical that the regulator has an understanding of the link between actions and ecosystem service outputs and, ideally, an estimate of their economic value. Without these in place, payment for ecosystem service schemes will be inefficient and poorly targeted. |
| Keywords: | payments for ecosystem services, principal-agent models, moral hazard, adverse selection, mechanism design |
| JEL: | D82 Q24 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sss:wpaper:2014-08&r=agr |