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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2015‒06‒13
38 papers chosen by |
| By: | pandey, Aviral |
| Abstract: | Condition of food security in India is gloomy and is similar to African countries. Both the supply side and demand side factors have their roles in the present condition of food security and undernourishment in India. This study supports that if agriculture production grows; increasing food prices has less bearing on low food security. Problem of food security in India is very much related to low demand. If demand of people can be improved, food security can be achieved. Disaggregated trend of food security shows that problem of food insecurity is high in poor states. Considering disaggregated level of food security, government has passed Food Security Bill in India. Our analysis points out that food security cannot be achieved in India without improving the level of overall agriculture production. Improving agricultural production is essential for ensuring long term food security and promoting poverty reduction. State level condition of storage capacity of food grains also points out that how a state like Bihar with low storage facility will manage to implement this Bill. Without identifying role of market, success of Food Security Bill and reduction of poverty is distant dream. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture production, Food Security, Food Security Index, Bihar, Poverty. |
| JEL: | Q1 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64237&r=agr |
| By: | Hilker, James H.; Whims, John; Schweikhardt, David; Knudson, William; Wittenberg, Eric; Wolf, Christopher; Borton, Larry; Jones, John |
| Keywords: | Outlook, Crops, Livestock, Dairy, Land, Policy, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:206033&r=agr |
| By: | Charles Gottlieb (University of Cambridge; Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM)); Jan Grobovšek (School of Economics University of Edinburgh) |
| Abstract: | Communal land tenure regimes are perceived as an obstacle to agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our general equilibrium selection model suggests that such land tenure arrangements can indeed lower nominal productivity in agriculture relative to non-agriculture, by some 25%. Real agricultural productivity, employment and GDP, however, are only marginally affected. Highly distortionary policies need not have substantial bite when individuals strategically respond and cross-sectoral terms of trade adjust strongly. Our model, calibrated to Ethiopia, predicts that at given prices 62% of farmers would leave farming if tenure were secured, yet only 9% actually switch sectors after factoring in price adjustments. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Productivity, Growth and Development, Misallocation, Land |
| JEL: | O10 O13 O40 O55 Q15 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfm:wpaper:1513&r=agr |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Economics and Research Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Economics and Research Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Cambodia has a potential advantage in agricultural production due to significant amounts of fertile land and high levels of agricultural employment, but rice production and commercialization remain well below this potential. This study uses a farm investment climate assessment to provide evidence on key areas where government investments and policy reforms can lead to higher levels of rice production and commercialization in small farms. Improving output markets through domestic milling and increasing the area irrigated are found to be related to increased production efficiency, commercialization, rice sold, and value of sales. In contrast, access to finance, agricultural skill development, improvements in the legal environment, and increased physical infrastructure have no observable relationship with production and commercialization. Nevertheless, these aspects do have importance in potentially improving allocative efficiency in land where land holdings shift from less skilled and less productive farms into the hands of more productive ones. Since increased farm size is one of the most important factors for raising the levels of farm production and commercialization, investment climate factors that induce reallocation of land may potentially have greater value over the long term than those that only affect short-term production. |
| Keywords: | Cambodia; Agriculture Production; Rice Sector; Asian Development Bank |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146708-2&r=agr |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; You,Liangzhi; Wood-Sichra,Ulrike; Humphrey,Richard Martin |
| Abstract: | Africa is estimated to have great potential for agricultural production, but there are a number of constraints inhibiting the development of that potential. Spatial data are increasingly important in the realization of potential as well as the associated constraints. With crop production data generated at 5-minute spatial resolution, the paper applies the spatial tobit regression model to estimate the possible impacts of improvements in transport accessibility in East Africa. It is found that rural accessibility and access to markets are important to increase agricultural production. In particular for export crops, such as coffee, tea, tobacco, and cotton, access to ports is crucial. The elasticities are estimated at 0.3?4.6. In addition, the estimation results show that spatial autocorrelation matters to the estimation results. While a random shock in a particular locality would likely affect its neighboring places, the spatial autoregressive term can be positive or negative, depending on how fragmented the current production areas are. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Climate Change and Agriculture,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Food&Beverage Industry |
| Date: | 2015–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7281&r=agr |
| By: | Sebastian Sotelo (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | Trade costs are a major barrier to efficient farming in developing countries. I study land use patterns and input demand in Peru, a country where goods are traded at a high cost, both domestically and with the rest of the world. I then quantify the equilibrium effect of paving existing roads on productivity and real incomes. To do so, I develop a model of agricultural specialization and trade, and quantify it using a new dataset on Peruvian agriculture, which includes disaggregated information on crop prices, yields and land allocations. While typically raising productivity, paving roads on a large scale creates both winners and losers, depending on whether prices are set in domestic markets, or whether workers are net food buyers. In the simulations, an average farmer gains 14% in productivity and 5% in welfare. |
| Keywords: | assignment models, trade costs, equilibrium, agriculture, productivity |
| JEL: | F11 F14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mie:wpaper:641&r=agr |
| By: | Ali,Daniel Ayalew; Deininger,Klaus W.; Ronchi,Loraine |
| Abstract: | This paper disentangles different aspects of land fragmentation and its impact on the efficiency of resource use. The paper uses information on the incidence of crop shocks to assess whether fragmentation provides benefits in reducing risk and parcel coordinates and terrain-adjusted travel times between parcels to more precisely account for the associated costs in 2010/11 data from Rwanda. While fragmentation increases the time required to move between a household?s parcels, this does not appear to affect overall technical efficiency on the farm. Fragmentation rather reduces the incidence of crop shocks and increases yields and productive efficiency. In Rwanda?s setting, interventions to reduce fragmentation may, therefore, be ineffective or counterproductive. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Wetlands,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems |
| Date: | 2015–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7290&r=agr |
| By: | Palacios-Lopez,Amparo; Christiaensen,Luc; Kilic,Talip |
| Abstract: | The contribution of women to labor in African agriculture is regularly quoted in the range of 60 to 80 percent. Using individual-disaggregated, plot-level labor input data from nationally representative household surveys across six Sub-Saharan African countries, this study estimates the average female labor share in crop production at 40 percent. It is slightly above 50 percent in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, and substantially lower in Nigeria (37 percent), Ethiopia (29 percent), and Niger (24 percent). There are no systematic differences across crops and activities, but female labor shares tend to be higher in households where women own a larger share of the land and when they are more educated. Controlling for the gender and knowledge profile of the respondents does not meaningfully change the predicted female labor shares. The findings question prevailing assertions regarding substantial gains in aggregate crop output as a result of increasing female agricultural productivity. |
| Keywords: | Housing&Human Habitats,Labor Policies,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems |
| Date: | 2015–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7282&r=agr |
| By: | Ada Ignaciuk |
| Abstract: | Farmers will undertake many adaptation actions to meet changing climate conditions and will often do so without any government intervention. However, when such actions provide both private and public benefits, the public sector may play a role in how these are developed. This report aims to establish a framework to help identify specific actions that governments could take in this respect and that could avoid sending signals leading to non-adaptation or maladaptation. This report begins with a review of national adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector in OECD countries and highlights different approaches undertaken by governments. It then identifies the main criteria under which governments may take action to increase the resilience of the agricultural sector and its adaptive capacity to climate change. Finally, it discusses strategies to monitor and evaluate adaptation policies. |
| Keywords: | Public policies, adaptation to climate change, adaptation strategies, monitoring and evaluation of adaptation, adaptation of the agricultural sector |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:85-en&r=agr |
| By: | David Pannell; Anna Roberts |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Australia aims to improve the understanding of best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads by looking at the experience of Australia. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public goods and externalities: Agri-environmental policy measures in selected OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | Australia, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:80-en&r=agr |
| By: | Wisdom Akpalu; Aaron Christian; Samuel Codjoe |
| Abstract: | Understanding the relationship between food insecurity and subjective evaluation of well-being is critical in designing social welfare policies, especially in developing countries. Surprisingly, literature on the topic is scarce. This study adopted Van Praag’s theoretical framework and used household survey data from Ghana to investigate the monetary income which households facing severe food insecurity require to reach a given level of verbal qualification of well-being. We found that households that are food insecure require a higher monetary income to reach the same level of verbal qualification of well-being than their counterparts who are food secure. Furthermore, per capita household income levels positively correlate with monetary income requirements, indicating a weak correlation between food security and per capita household income. Households that receive support from others require a lower level of income than either those who give support or those who neither give nor receive support. |
| Keywords: | Food security, Quality of life, Welfare economics |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-030&r=agr |
| By: | Raymond Schrijver; Tetsuya Uetake |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in the Netherlands aims to improve our understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads, by looking at the experiences of the Netherlands. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public Goods, Externalities and Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Selected OECD Countries. |
| Keywords: | Netherlands, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:82-en&r=agr |
| By: | James Jones; Paul Silcock |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in the United Kingdom aims to improve our understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads, by looking at the experiences of the United Kingdom. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public Goods, Externalities and Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Selected OECD Countries. |
| Keywords: | United Kingdom, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| Date: | 2015–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:83-en&r=agr |
| By: | Tetsuya Uetake |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Japan aims to improve understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads by looking at the experiences of Japan. This report provides information to contribute to policy design that addresses the provision of agri-environmental public goods, including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of five country case studies (Australia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States) which provide input into the main OECD book, Public goods and externalities: Agri-environmental policy measures in selected OECD countries |
| Keywords: | Japan, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:81-en&r=agr |
| By: | James S. Shortle |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in the United States aims to improve our understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads, by looking at the experiences of the United States. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public Goods, Externalities and Agri-environmental Policy Measures. |
| Keywords: | United States, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:84-en&r=agr |
| By: | Luz Andrea Piñeros López; Andrés Mauricio Clavijo Abril |
| Keywords: | Subjective poverty, living conditions, multidimensional poverty index, food security and poverty measurements. |
| Date: | 2014–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000482:012989&r=agr |
| By: | Pandey, Aviral |
| Abstract: | In an economy like Bihar, dependence of population on livestock as an alternative source of income is significant. Acceleration in the availability of livestock to marginal and small farmers can offer significant opportunities for household income augmentation and employment generation in Bihar. In this context, an analysis of performance of livestock sector in Bihar has been carried out. The growth of livestock sector has been found slower in the Bihar than at the national level. The share of Bihar in India's livestock sector income has not changed significantly. Besides, low milk productivity, decline in the Bihar’s share in India's egg and meat sector income is a major factor responsible for insignificant changes in livestock sector of Bihar. Several demand and supply side factors have been identified for the above trends. Availability of health infrastructure, grazing land and immunisation are significantly affecting livestock across the districts of Bihar. The study has also shown policy initiatives for the improvement of livestock sector resources and outcomes of Bihar. |
| Keywords: | Bihar, grazing land, livestock, meat yield, milk production, policy |
| JEL: | Q19 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64238&r=agr |
| By: | Sudhanshu Handa; David Seidenfeld; Zambia Cash Transfer Evaluation Team; Kathleen Lawlor; UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether cash transfers enable households facing weather and other negative income shocks to avoid adverse coping strategies that can lead to poverty traps. While cash transfers are not routinely considered in the policy discourse concerning climate adaptation programming, because ex-ante transfers enable households to avoid negative coping strategies and even increase food consumption in the face of covariate weather shocks, cash transfers offer a sound approach for building climate-resilience amongst the world’s most vulnerable and facilitating their “autonomous adaptation” to a changing environment. Cash also enables households to productively cope with the many other idiosyncratic shocks the rural poor routinely face. |
| Keywords: | cash transfers; child nutrition; nutrition projects; poverty; poverty alleviation; poverty reduction; rural poverty; |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inwopa:inwopa777&r=agr |
| By: | Fortin, Bernard (Université Laval); Yazbeck, Myra (University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at opening the black box of peer effects in adolescent weight gain. Using Add Health data on secondary schools in the U.S., we investigate whether these partly flow through the eating habits channel. Adolescents are assumed to interact through a friendship social network. We propose a two-equation model. The first equation provides a social interaction model of fast food consumption. To estimate this equation we use a quasi maximum likelihood approach that allows us to control for common environment at the network level and to solve the simultaneity (reflection) problem. Our second equation is a panel dynamic weight production function relating an individual's Body Mass Index z-score (zBMI) to his fast food consumption and his lagged zBMI, and allowing for irregular intervals in the data. Results show that there are positive but small peer effects in fast food consumption among adolescents belonging to a same friendship school network. Based on our preferred specification, the estimated social multiplier is 1.15. Our results also suggest that, in the long run, an extra day of weekly fast food restaurant visits increases zBMI by 4.45% when ignoring peer effects and by 5.11%, when they are taken into account. |
| Keywords: | fast food, social interactions, peer effects, overweight, obesity, spatial models |
| JEL: | C31 I10 I12 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9087&r=agr |
| By: | Deininger,Klaus W.; Xia,Fang; Savastano,Sara |
| Abstract: | While scholars agree on the importance of land rental markets for structural transformation in rural areas, evidence on the extent and nature of their operation, including potential obstacles to their improved functioning, remains limited. This study uses household-level data from six countries to start filling this gap and derive substantive as well as methodological lessons. The paper finds that rental markets transfer land to land-poor, labor-rich, and more productive producers throughout. But vast cross-country variation in transfers and the fact that female managers could possibly improve their income by leasing out land point towards barriers to participation that policy might address. Methodological and substantive conclusions are derived. |
| Keywords: | Municipal Housing and Land,Economic Theory&Research,Land Use and Policies,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Rural Land Policies for Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2015–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7285&r=agr |
| By: | Nlemfu Mukoko, J.Blaise; Wabenga Yango, James |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the implications of agricultural growth on poverty reduction during the period 2013 - 2020. It also poses the problem of the level of investment required to support such growth effort. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model, applied to the case of the DRCongo. |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium, poverty,agriculture, productivity exogenous shock |
| JEL: | O11 O21 O55 |
| Date: | 2014–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:58193&r=agr |
| By: | Wabenga Yango, James; Nlemfu Mukoko, J.Blaise |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the implications of agricultural growth on poverty reduction during the period 2013 - 2020. It also poses the problem of the level of investment required to support such growth effort. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model, applied to the case of the DRCongo. |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium, poverty,agriculture, productivity exogenous shock |
| JEL: | O11 O21 O55 O56 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64828&r=agr |
| By: | Droste, Nils; Meya, Jasper N. |
| Abstract: | We study the incorporation of ecosystem services in German water infrastructure planning exemplified by a projected deepening of the Lower Weser river channel. Therefore, we recalculate the project's benefit-cost ratio by integrating the monetary value of changes in different ecosystem services: i) the restoration costs of a planned mitigation measure for a loss in fresh water supply for agricultural production in the estuary, ii) costs of loss in habitat services by transferring the willingness to pay between a contingent valuation study to the area assessed in the environmental impact assessment, and iii) the benefits of emission savings induced by more efficient shipping taking a marginal abatement cost approach. We find that the inclusion of monetary values for ecosystem service changes leads to a substantial drop in the benefit-cost ratio and consequently argue for a reform of the standard to facilitate more complete welfare assessments. |
| Keywords: | ecosystem services,cost-benefit analysis,infrastructure planning,river deepening,Germany |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ufzdps:82015&r=agr |
| By: | Silvia Faggian (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Ca’ Foscari, Italy); Giuseppe Freni (Department of Business and Economics, University of Naples “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy.) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a continuous-time “Ricardian” model of forestry, where, in response to an increase in timber demand, forest cultivation is progressively intensified on the most fertile lands and/or extended to less fertile qualities of lands. It is shown that, at a given level of the rate of interest, a set of “break-through timber prices” gives the order of fertility (i.e., the order in which the different qualities of land are taken into cultivation) and that, for each land, prices of standing trees are positive above a “threshold timber price”. Since, for each land, the break-through price is higher than the threshold price, Ricardo is shown to be right: a higher demand for timber could simply raise those components of the landlord compensation which are not rent. |
| Keywords: | Vintage Capital, Ricardian extensive rent theory, Harvesting problems, Forest Management |
| JEL: | C61 C62 E22 D90 Q23 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2015:12&r=agr |
| By: | Camilus Ben (Agricultural Education Unit, Department of Vocational Education, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | This study investigated the utilization of information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and lecturers’ job performance in tertiary institutions in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Three research questions and three research hypotheses focusing on instruction delivery, acquisition of instructional materials and conservation as well as the preservation of instructional material resources guided the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study. One hundred Agricultural Education lecturers working in both private and public tertiary institutions in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria constituted the population of the study. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was the statistical tool used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that there was significant relationship between ICT usage and lecturers’ job performance in tertiary institutions in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It was recommended among others that agricultural Education lecturers working in tertiary institutions in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria should be trained on the utilization of ICT in order to optimize their basic job of instruction delivery, acquisition of instructional materials and conservation as well as the preservation of instructional material resources. |
| Keywords: | Information and Communication Technology, Instruction Delivery, Instructional Material, Conservation, Preservation, Job Performance, Agricultural Education |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2403695&r=agr |
| By: | Paul J. Burke (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia); Hua Liao (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China) |
| Abstract: | ChinaÕs dependence on coal is a major contributor to local and global environmental problems. In this paper we estimate the price elasticity of demand for coal in China using a panel of province-level data for the period 1998Ð2012. We find evidence that provincial coal demand has become increasingly price elastic. As of 2012 we estimate that this elasticity was in the range Ð0.3 to Ð0.7 when responses over two years are considered. The results imply that ChinaÕs coal market is becoming more suited to price-based approaches to reducing emissions. Our estimates suggest that the elimination of coal consumption subsidies could reduce national coal use and related emissions by around 2%. |
| Keywords: | coal; price elasticity; demand; China; provincial |
| JEL: | O13 Q41 P28 Q48 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1506&r=agr |
| By: | Mbaye,Ahmadou Aly; Golub ,Stephen S.; English,E. Philip |
| Abstract: | Like many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Senegal has struggled to develop its industrial sector in the face of import competition. For basic food products, there is an implicit trade-off between the objectives of maintaining employment and lowering the cost of living, both of which figure prominently in current government policy. Conflicting pressures have led to a rather inconsistent policy mix of high levels of protection with price ceilings. The products of the three industries examined here?sugar, vegetable oil, and flour?account for roughly 14 percent of the consumption basket of the poor, so distortions in their prices can have a significant effect on poverty reduction. This paper compares domestic prices in Senegal with world prices since 2000, and then explains the difference by examining the protection enjoyed by these industries, along with their market structure. The analysis finds that high protection and market power have resulted in domestic prices which were often two or three times the equivalent world price. Tightening of price ceilings and some liberalization have taken place recently, but consumers have continued to pay above world prices for sugar and edible oil in 2014. The paper estimates that if this differential were eliminated, the purchasing power of households around the poverty line would increase by 3 percent, 227,000 people would move above the poverty line, and the national poverty rate would drop by 1.9 percentage points. The cost to consumers far exceeds the total wage bill paid by these industries. Further liberalization of these industries is recommended, along with phasing out price controls and shifting government policy from protecting traditional enterprises to the promotion of new export-oriented ones. |
| Keywords: | Emerging Markets,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets,Climate Change Economics,Food&Beverage Industry |
| Date: | 2015–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7286&r=agr |
| By: | Gervasio Antonelli (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Gian Italo Bischi (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Fabio Tramontana (Department of Economics and Management,University of Pavia); Elena Viganò (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo") |
| Abstract: | The concept of postmodern consumer plays a central role within the debate started in the early 80s concerning the economic, social and cultural transformation in developed countries in the years following the end of the Second World War; a change that was interpreted as evolving from a modern towards a postmodern society. According to this literature, postmodern conditions have a significant impact on the consumer, especially at the level of his/her psychological characteristics. Within this new framework the consumer is viewed as a subject who is more interested in the symbolic or cultural value of products and services rather than the value of their function and utility. At the same time, consumers are represented as active players within the market, where they exercise their freedom to move in search of signs symbols and experiences through which they can communicate their identity. The figure of the postmodern consumer is difficult to interpret within the framework of standard neoclassical theories on consumers. At the same time, it highlights the shortcomings of this theoretical approach in studying the behaviour of postmodern consumers. These shortcomings are likely to be more relevant when considering the consumers of food products, given the strong nexus between consumption and the well being of consumers, along with the symbolic and cultural value that food products encompass. The main goal of this paper consists in providing an interdisciplinary overview of postmodern consumers of food products, through the analysis of scientific contributions, mainly in the areas of behavioural economics, sociology and psychology. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urb:wpaper:14_10&r=agr |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Asia and the Pacific region is expected to be hit hard by the impacts of climate change. Developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are among the most vulnerable, with seven of the top ten vulnerable countries being in the region. Scaling-up of mitigation and adaptation efforts are among ADB’s mid-term priorities for 2020. ADB is reaffirming its commitment to invest $2 billion annually in clean energy. ADB also aims for $30 billion more for sustainable transport by 2021. Enhancing focus on adaptation, the linkage between disaster risk management and adaptation, and climate financing are also priority action areas for ADB’s assistance to DMCs. This publication seeks to address these concerns by showcasing a number of useful technologies that can be used to address the impact of climate change across six sectors: agriculture, coastal resources, human health, transportation, water resources, and disaster risk management. The solutions presented may serve to demystify the technologies surrounding adaptation options. |
| Keywords: | climate change; adaptation; climate technology; vulnerability |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146982-3&r=agr |
| By: | Datta,Saugato; Miranda,Juan José; Zoratto,Laura De Castro; Calvo-Gonzalez,Oscar; Darlingm,Matthew; Lorenzana,Karina Josephine Orduna |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the design a set of three simple and replicable behavioral interventions, which use stickers that can be added to water bills at low cost, and test their impact on water consumption in Belen, Costa Rica, using a randomized control trial. Two of the three interventions were found to decrease water consumption significantly in the months following the intervention. A descriptive social norm intervention using neighborhood comparisons reduces consumption by between 3.7 and 5.6 percent relative to a control group, while a plan-making intervention reduces consumption by between 3.4 and 5.5 percent. While the two interventions have similar results, they are effective on different subpopulations, with the plan-making intervention being most effective for low-consumption households, while the neighborhood comparison intervention is most effective for high-consumption households. The results demonstrate that behavioral interventions, which have hitherto utilized sophisticated software to deliver customized messages, can be effectively implemented by local governments in developing countries, where technology and resource constraints render the sorts of customized messaging that has typically been used to deliver them in developed countries unfeasible. The results further confirm that raising awareness about how much water an individual consumes, and comparing this consumption level with peers, can go a long way in helping change individuals? behavior regarding the use of a finite resource such as water. |
| Date: | 2015–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7283&r=agr |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Space technology and geographic information systems (GIS) have now become valuable tools in helping development organizations achieve their missions. They can be applied to various development sectors including agriculture, rural development, and food security; education; energy; environment; climate change; health; pubic management and governance (especially disaster risk management); transport; urban development; and water management. This report provides an overview of the space technology and GIS applications in ADB to date by introducing some of the past and ongoing ADB projects that have applied space technology and/or GIS. It includes information about how the technologies were applied, the service providers, and the cost for the application, so that practitioners including staff of development organizations and government staff in DMCs can easily apply similar technologies to their projects and/or daily operations. |
| Keywords: | Space Technology, GIS, Geographic Information Systems, Applications, Asian Development Bank |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146930-3&r=agr |
| By: | Elissa Cousin (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS); Emmanuelle Taugourdeau (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we focus on the issue of water loss caused by leakage from obsolete water mains. We develop in this theoretical paper, a cost minimization problem of a water utility that faces leakage from water mains. Our framework enables us to determine the optimal water main quality index according to different parameters such as the cost of water production, the quantity demanded and the cost of installing good quality water mains. |
| Abstract: | Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons à la question des pertes en eau causées par les fuites dans les infrastructures d'acheminement des eaux devenues majoritairement obsolètes dans de nombreux pays occidentaux. Nous développons un modèle théorique de minimisation des coûts d'une régie d'eau qui fait face à des fuites dans les conduits qu'elle gère. Ce cadre théorique nous permet de déterminer l'indice optimal de qualité des infrastructures en eau qui dépend de plusieurs paramètres tels que le coût de production de l'eau, la quantité demandée et le coût d'installation de conduites de bonne qualité. Des simulations sur données françaises et américaines nous permettent de comparer les résultats du modèle théorique aux chiffres observés dans la réalité. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01159753&r=agr |
| By: | Kelsey Farson Gray; Karen Cunnyngham |
| Abstract: | SNAP serves a broad demographic spectrum. This brief’s descriptions of SNAP participants and their benefits are based on a sample of households that participated in SNAP in fiscal year 2013. |
| Keywords: | SNAP, Food Assistance, Hunger |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| Date: | 2015–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:335abe27b2224d6c977d92253a962e91&r=agr |
| By: | Robert H. Chenhall; Matthew Hall; David Smith |
| Abstract: | How nonprofit organizations manage multiple and conflicting identities is not well understood. In a case study of a nonprofit welfare organization, we use Pratt and Foreman’s (2000) framework of identity management responses to illuminate different ways that nonprofit organizations can seek to manage and potentially resolve identity conflicts. We focus on the actual practices nonprofit organizations use to manage multiple identities and, in particular, reveal the important role of organizational routines and artefacts in facilitating or constraining particular identity management responses. |
| Keywords: | identity; conflict; routines; artefacts; case study |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2015–06–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:62300&r=agr |
| By: | Narodoslawsky, Michael |
| Abstract: | Although it is still not warranted to speak about the end of the fossil age, we certainly witness a trend towards renewable sources for energy and material. Properties of bio-resources however differ vastly from fossil as well as other renewable resources. They are storable, mainly de-central in their provision, have usually weak logistic properties and face severe competition from various sectors, in particular from the vital food sector. A stronger reliance on bio-resources to support the European energy system as well as to provide raw materials for conversion to material products therefore raises technical, societal and environmental issues that have to be resolved if a bio-economy is to become a viable development pathway. |
| Keywords: | bio-economy, bio-resource-utilisation, strong-sustainability |
| Date: | 2014–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ita:itaman:14_02&r=agr |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Office of the General Counsel, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Office of the General Counsel, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | This Review and Compendium of Environmental Policies and Laws in Bhutan aims to facilitate access to information for all stakeholders engaged in the environment sector, in particular for the Judiciary and administrative officials responsible for overseeing the protection of the country’s natural resources. Moreover, it seeks to empower citizens to take action in support of environmental protection. It provides background information on Bhutan, as well as an introduction and overview of key environment, natural resources, and climate change, laws, rules, policies, and regulations of the country. This publication is one of the key proposals of the Royal Court of Bhutan as a follow-up action to the Second South Asia Judicial Roundtable on Environmental Justice held in Thimphu, Bhutan on 30-31 August 2013. |
| Keywords: | Bhutan; environment; environmental laws; environmental regulations; environmental law enforcement; environmental policies; Royal Court of Justice of Bhutan; judiciary; Asian Judges Network on Environment (AJNE); Second South Asia Judicial Roundtable on Environmental Justice; National Environment Commission; National Environmental Protection Act; climate change; biodiversity |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146843-3&r=agr |
| By: | Elina Tuominen |
| Abstract: | This paper uses recently published top 1% income share series in studying the inequality. development association. The top income shares data are of high quality and cover about a century for some countries and thus provide an interesting opportunity to study slow development processes. The empirical inequality.development studies have started to call into question the use of parametric (quadratic) specifications. To address the issue of functional form, this study exploits penalized spline methods. The association between top 1% share and development is found to experience a reversal at later stages of development and, thus, a positive link is observed in many advanced economies. Although this study is not taking a strong stand on causality, additional analysis in this paper advocates that more than sectoral shifts are needed to explain distributional changes. |
| Keywords: | Economic development, Equality and inequality, Income distribution |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-036&r=agr |
| By: | Matthew S. Clancy; GianCarlo Moschini (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)) |
| Abstract: | Mandates are policy tools that are becoming increasingly popular to promote renewable energy use. In addition to mitigating the pollution externality of conventional energy, mandates have the potential to promote R&D investments in renewable energy technology. But how well do mandates perform as innovation incentives? To address this question, we develop a partial equilibrium model with endogenous innovation to examine the R&D incentives induced by a mandate, and compare this policy to two benchmark situations: laissez-faire and a carbon tax. Innovation is stochastic and the model permits an endogenous number of multiple innovators. We find that mandates can improve upon laissez faire, and that the prospect of innovation is essential for their desirability. However, mandates suffer from several limitations. A mandate creates relatively strong incentives for investment in R&D in low-quality innovations, but relatively weak incentives to invest in high-quality innovations, so that the dispersion of realized innovation quality is comparatively low. Moreover, a mandate achieves lower welfare than a carbon tax, and its optimal level is more sensitive to the structure of the innovation process. Key Words: Carbon tax, Incentive, Innovation, Mandates, Renewable energy, R&D, Welfare. JEL codes: H23, O31, Q42, Q55, Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:15-wp557&r=agr |