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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2015‒10‒25
23 papers chosen by |
| By: | Doreen Burdack |
| Abstract: | The economic impact analysis contained in this book shows how irrigation farming is particularly susceptible when applying certain water management policies in the Australian Murray-Darling Basin, one of the world largest river basins and Australia’s most fertile region. By comparing different pricing and non-pricing water management policies with the help of the Water Integrated Market Model, it is found that the impact of water demand reducing policies is most severe on crops that need to be intensively irrigated and are at the same time less water productive. A combination of increasingly frequent and severe droughts and the application of policies that decrease agricultural water demand, in the same region, will create a situation in which the highly water dependent crops rice and cotton cannot be cultivated at all. |
| Keywords: | EU, Russia, energy, gas, cooperation, resources |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:pestud:04&r=all |
| By: | Rillo, Aladdin D. (Asian Development Bank Institute); Sombilla, Mercedita A. (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Responding positively to economic reforms, the economies of Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Viet Nam (CLMV) have shown tremendous growth since the mid-1980s, including in their respective agriculture sectors. Recent developments, however, have brought into question the CLMV countries’ ability to sustain further increases in agricultural productivity given the slow pace of reforms and emerging challenges. Going forward, the reform agenda must go beyond the traditional view of expanding yields and supply of agricultural products for development gains in the sector to contribute to inclusive growth, poverty alleviation, and food security. This will require changing the market structures and regulatory policies that govern the sector. |
| Keywords: | agricultural productivity; clmv; agriculture policy |
| JEL: | Q10 Q21 Q28 |
| Date: | 2015–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0542&r=all |
| By: | Swenja Surminski |
| Abstract: | Adapting to climate change requires the engagement of a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector. However, little is still known about if and how corporations, particularly those operating in the Global South, are involved in climate adaptation. This paper explores the existing evidence base, provides insights into multinational corporations’ adaptation framings in their external communication, and asks what we can learn from corporate adaptation disclosure. Our review suggests that if adaptation is used in corporate disclosure, it is commonly framed along one or more of the following categories: risk reduction, supply chain management, corporate social responsibility, and/or business opportunities. We investigate this in greater detail for global Food and Beverage (F&B) companies that operate in developing countries. By comparing adaptation case studies both in the UNFCCC’s Private Sector Initiative (PSI) database and in the companies’ own sustainability reporting, we find that F&B companies frame their engagement using risk and supply chain-based language, with a focus on short-term business opportunities, while the need for strategic planning for longer-term action in response to future risks is largely missing from the companies’ discourse. We argue that a better understanding of private sector’s terminology and disclosure on adaptation is important for establishing collaborative, multi-stakeholder processes of adaptation in developing countries. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp210&r=all |
| By: | Ramasubramanian, Janani Akhilandeswari |
| Abstract: | This thesis presents an analysis of the demand and impact of crop microinsurance in India. The study is based on extensive fieldwork and primary data collection from two field sites in India. The first empirical chapter examines the impact of crop microinsurance on output. Accounting for the endogeneity of insurance investment, this chapter uses a two-step instrumental variables approach to assess the impact of insurance on yield for two varieties of paddy. The assessment is based on secondary district level data and primary household survey data. The findings indicate that impact of insurance on yield is not homogeneous across crops. It is based on the flexibility of the crop’s input requirement structure.The second chapter explores the impact of crop insurance on the use of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and labour for paddy varieties. This chapter is a significant addition to the existing small pool of literature on the impacts of crop insurance on a range of inputs. Since both insurance and input decisions are ex-ante, a simultaneous equations model is employed to assess impacts. Results show that the impact of crop microinsurance varies based on the type of input, crop under consideration and its significance in the income portfolio of a farmer. The final chapter assesses the demand for crop microinsurance using a contingent valuation experiment on turmeric farmers. This is a first of its kind attempt to delineate the willingness to join (WTJ) from the amount of willingness to pay (WTP) for crop insurance policies. Results based on a Heckman selection model, indicate that while the WTJ is influenced by risk attitudes and product literacy, the amount of WTP is driven by a careful assessment of the other risk coping avenues available to a household. Only the ‘residual’ risk is passed on to insurance. |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susphd:0315&r=all |
| By: | Berges, Miriam; Casellas, Karina; Rodríguez, Ricardo; Errea, Damián |
| Abstract: | In recent decades, the demand for food worldwide has undergone significant changes that have highlighted the issue of the quality and safety food crisis associated with consumption of fresh meat, consumer concerns about the quality and safety of these products has been safety of fresh meat consumption are not The aim of this work is to investigate the consumers' perceptions of safety and identify factors that help explain the willingness to pay safety of the product, including, a hypothetical hygiene certification in handling and retailing. The results indicate a positive and statistically significant for the following attributes of fresh meat WTP: personalized attention in a butcher counter, the presence of a "safety certification" in the place of purchase and the bright red color on the product. |
| Keywords: | Preferencias del Consumidor; Disposición a Pagar; Carne; Atributos de Calidad; |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:2317&r=all |
| By: | Stefania Lovo; Marcella Veronesi |
| Abstract: | Malnutrition is recognized as a major issue among low-income households in developing countries with long-term implications for economic development. Recently, crop diversification has been recognized as a strategy to improve nutrition and health, and as a risk coping strategy used by farmers in the face of climate change. However, there is no systematic empirical evidence on the role played by crop diversification in improving human health. We use the Tanzania National Panel Survey to investigate the effects of crop diversification on child health. We use fixed effects panel estimation to control for unobserved heterogeneity, and perform several robustness checks including placebo tests to test the validity of our findings. We find a positive and significant effect of crop diversification on long-term child nutritional status, in particular for very young children and children living in households with limited market access. |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp211&r=all |
| By: | Méndez Parra, Maximiliano |
| Abstract: | Commodity markets display substantial volatility both in prices and in the quantities traded. This has led to the development of different instruments designed to address this volatility. Processors and traders, who are actively involved in the international market, participate in these commodity markets using cross-hedging strategies by their export and domestic supply decisions. Spot and future prices, as well as the cross-hedging strategies, affect export and the domestic supply decisions. Understanding this complex interaction calls for further and newer insights and this research contributes to this. The primary objective of Chapter 1 of this thesis is to develop a model which explains the export and domestic supply decisions when traders, producers and speculators participate in a futures market for a primary commodity, which can be stored and for which future markets operate. As a result, exports and domestic supply are affected by the prices of the primary product, and jointly by the prices in the external and domestic market. Chapter 2 provides the historical, political and economic context of the Argentine economy and the agricultural sector, specifically on the three agricultural commodities used in the empirical part of this research. In Chapter 3, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the seasonal unit roots of monthly series of exports and domestic supply, using time series that include zero values. In the past, this technique has mostly been applied to quarterly data but never to monthly series that display periods of inactivity. The results indicate that, in general, the seasonality observed in the series analysed can be sufficiently explained by a deterministic approach. The estimation and further analysis of the supply equations derived in Chapter 1 are undertaken in Chapter 4. A comprehensive analysis of seasonal cointegration using monthly data was conducted but, in light of the results obtained in Chapter 3, only the Engle-Granger cointegration is applied. The results indicate weak cointegration relationships. This may indicate the need for improved data and/or alternative econometric techniques. |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susphd:0115&r=all |
| By: | Kaila Heidi |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a descriptive analysis on the ownership of different types of technology.both agricultural machinery and information technology.within households in rural areas of Vietnam. We find that there has been little development in the owne |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Households, Information technology, Internet, Microeconomics, Technology |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-091&r=all |
| By: | McKay Andrew; Cazzufi Chiara; Perge Emelie |
| Abstract: | The vast majority of households in rural Viet Nam undertake agricultural activities and for many this is their main livelihood. Moreover, this agriculture has become increasingly commercialized over time. This paper uses the five wave VARHS balanced panel |
| Keywords: | Agricultural credit, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Commerce, Households, Microeconomics, Natural resources, Panel analysis, Regression analysis |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-096&r=all |
| By: | Singhal Saurabh; Pan Yao |
| Abstract: | We exploit a spatial discontinuity in the coverage of an agricultural extension program in Uganda to causally identify its effects on malaria. We find that eligibility for the program reduced the incidence of malaria by 8.8 percentage points, with childre |
| Keywords: | Administrative law, Agriculture, Economic development, Health, Income, Microeconomics, Regression analysis |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-092&r=all |
| By: | Alton Theresa; Arndt Channing; Gebretsadik Yohannes; Hartley Faaiqa; Makrelov Konstantin; Strzepek Kenneth; Thurlow James; Schlosser C. Adam; Gabriel Sherwin; Cullis James; Cartwright Anton; Chang Alice; de Jager Gerald; Robertson Gordon |
| Abstract: | This study represents the first attempt at an integrated approach to assessing the potential impacts of climate change on the national economy of South Africa via a number of (but not necessarily all) impact channels. The study focuses on outcomes by abou |
| Keywords: | Climatic changes, Economic development, Economic growth, Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-045&r=all |
| By: | Akpalu Wisdom; Muchapondwa Edwin; Adidoye Babatunde; Simbanegavi Witness |
| Abstract: | A linear public good experiment has been employed to investigate strategic behaviour in pollution abatement among African climate decision-makers. The experiment consisted of three groups of which Group 1 did not receive any treatments, and Groups 2 and 3 |
| Keywords: | Group decision making, Hazardous wastes, Natural disasters, Pollution |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-060&r=all |
| By: | Federico, Giovanni; Martinelli, Pablo |
| Abstract: | Gender roles in the past may affect current perceptions of the 'rightful' place of women in the society, with potential major consequences on economic development. This paper explores the historical roots of gender roles by focusing on female work in agriculture, which accounted for most employment in traditional societies. We rely on a newly compiled data-set of female occupation and crop mix for Italy in the 1930s. We show that crop mix did determine the level of female gainful employment in a complex way. Some products could be classified either ‘male-intensive’ (like wheat and cow milk) or ‘female-intensive’ (like corn and beef), but quite a few were largely ‘gender-neutral’ (like wine and oil). |
| Keywords: | agriculture; gender roles; Italy |
| JEL: | J16 N30 N50 O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10881&r=all |
| By: | E. Lance Howe (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage); James J. Murphy (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage; Institute of State Economy, Nankai University; Economic Science Institute, Chapman University); Drew Gerkey (Department of Anthropology, Oregon State University); Colin T. West (Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina) |
| Abstract: | Integrating information from existing research, qualitative ethnographic interviews, and participant observation, we designed a field experiment that introduces idiosyncratic environmental risk and a voluntary sharing decision into a standard public goods game. Conducted with subsistence resource users in rural villages in remote Kamchatka Russia, we find evidence consistent with a model of indirect reciprocity and local social norms of helping the needy. When experiments allow participants to develop reputations, as is the case in most small-scale societies, we find that sharing is increasingly directed toward individuals experiencing hardship, good reputations increase aid, and risk-pooling becomes more effective. Our results highlight the importance of investigating social and ecological factors, beyond strategic risk, that affect the balance between independence and interdependence when developing and testing theories of cooperation. |
| Keywords: | experimental economics, field experiment, public goods, risk-pooling, resource sharing, team production |
| JEL: | D70 H41 D81 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ala:wpaper:2015-04&r=all |
| By: | Arndt Channing; Demery Lionel; McKay Andrew; Tarp Finn |
| Abstract: | After many years of relatively slow growth, Tanzania´s national accounts data report accelerated aggregate growth since around 2000. Our analysis shows that there has been somewhat slower growth in private consumption and in sectors such as agriculture i |
| Keywords: | Economic development, Economic growth, Equality and inequality, Poverty, Measurement (Poverty) |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-051&r=all |
| By: | Abrar ul haq, Muhammd |
| Abstract: | The main concern of this study is to analyze the impact of agricultural exports on macroeconomic performance of Pakistan. This study estimated the relationship between Gross domestic product (GDP) and agricultural and non-agricultural exports for Pakistan employing Johansen co-integration technique by using secondary data for the period 1972-2008.The main findings of the study depict that agricultural exports have a negative relationship with economic growth of Pakistan while non-agricultural exports have positive relation with economic growth. On the basis of empirical results this study suggested that Pakistan have to do structural changes in agricultural exports by converting its agricultural exports into value added products. |
| Keywords: | Pakistan, Agricultural exports, non-agricultural exports, economic growth, Capital |
| JEL: | E00 Q00 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:67249&r=all |
| By: | Beck Ulrik |
| Abstract: | This study documents the local transformation of rural Vietnamese communes in 12 different provinces from 2006 to 2014. Three key areas are considered, namely occupational and agricultural choice; provision of public goods and infrastructure as well as la |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Economic development, Land reform |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-065&r=all |
| By: | Lei Chen (School of Business, Jianghan University, Wuhan, China, 430056); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Zinnia Mukherjee (Department of Economics, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, E-203J, Boston, MA 02115, USA); Peter Wanke (COPPEAD Graduate Business School, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Paschoal Lemme, 355. 21949-900 Rio de Janeiro) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we address the question whether the technical efficiency of a fishing industry is affected by the determinants of ambient water quality of the aquatic ecosystem. Using zone specific data from 1998 – 2007 for the Connecticut Long Island Sound lobster fishery and an approach combining a bootstrapping technique with data envelopment analysis, we obtained the DEA estimates of technical efficiency for each fishing zone. We then used the bootstrapped-DEA results and Censored Quantile Regression to assess the impact of the environmental variables on different efficiency percentiles. A key result indicates when environmental conditionals are favorable (high dissolved oxygen levels) efficiency is low and when environmental conditionals are less favorable (high levels of nitrogen), efficiency is high. The results show that the intensity of significant impacts given the contextual variables may vary among high and low efficiency periods. |
| Keywords: | Technical efficiency, data envelopment analysis, censored quantile regression, lobster, harvest, Long Island Sound |
| JEL: | Q22 Q57 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201578&r=all |
| By: | Eriksson,Lina Maria Jorun |
| Abstract: | Social norms affect almost every aspect of people?s lives, and can be an obstacle to or support economic development. This paper outlines what social norms are and how they work, providing examples from everyday life and from development case studies. Sometimes not much can be done about changing undesirable social norms. In those cases, development economists need to be aware of how the existence of those norms can impact the effects of the policies they advocate. But of particular importance to development economists is the ways in which social norms can be changed, at least under some circumstances. Understanding of social norm change is still patchy at best, but the paper outlines the theoretical underpinnings of change, with empirical evidence from various policies aimed at changing social norms. However, some of those policies raise ethical concerns that would require attention. |
| Keywords: | Gender and Social Development,Access to Finance,Population Policies,Ethics&Belief Systems,Anthropology |
| Date: | 2015–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7450&r=all |
| By: | Markussen Thomas |
| Abstract: | This paper uses five waves of the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) to analyse land issues in Viet Nam from a number of different angles. The VARHS provides panel data at plot as well as household level and I use this rich data set to p |
| Keywords: | Household surveys, Households, Land tenure, Microeconomics, Right of property |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-088&r=all |
| By: | Nissanke Machiko |
| Abstract: | The paper explores the paths towards building institutional foundations for inclusive development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Viewing institutional configurations as a system of multiple equilibria, the concepts of endogenous institutions and institutional cha |
| Keywords: | Economic development, Institutional economics |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-049&r=all |
| By: | Elena MELIÁ MARTÍ (Centre for Research in Business Management, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain); Ma Pía CARNICER ANDRÉS (Centre for Research in Business Management, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, through the analysis of the organizational structure of the 20 largest cooperative groups in the European Union in four sectors (dairy, meat, horticulture and supplies; 80 in all), five organizational models were established, and their economic and financial characterization is provided. In these five organizational models, two groups of entities were analyzed differently: entities which, during their development have created a business corporation (with more or less participation of the cooperative or its members) and entities which have continued with a more traditional model (federated or not); to test whether the creation of business corporations has caused an increase in their size or financial stability, and if it has allowed them to improve their cost efficiency and profitability. |
| Keywords: | cooperative, growth, conversion, transformation |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crc:wpaper:1506&r=all |
| By: | Vajk Lukacs de Pereny Martens; Ronnie Ramlogan |
| Abstract: | This paper examines governance dynamics stemming from standardization in the Peruvian alpaca fibre chain. An empirically informed bi-dimensional framework resembling the chain’s fragmented supply-concentrated demand structure is applied to scrutinize vertical and horizontal interactions among domestic actors and institutions. Findings for the 1997-2013 period show that far from generic buyer-driven or quasi-hierarchical governance typologies, segmented governance modes co-exist but do not co- evolve within the fibre chain as standardization unfolds. Comparative case studies applying the proposed framework are encouraged in similarly structured commodity chains in the developing world for a more comprehensive understanding of governance dynamics. |
| Keywords: | Global Value Chains, governance, standardization, alpaca fibre, development, Peru |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:glowps:2015-10&r=all |