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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2015‒11‒01
forty-nine papers chosen by |
| By: | Natalia Szubska-Wodarczyk |
| Abstract: | The analysis has demonstrated the theoretical energy-production potential of biomass in the areas of fallow and waste land. Moreover, at this stage, the economic potential of bringing the land into cultivation also seems justifiable. However, there is a need to estimate the cost of processing and energy production by power plants and co-generating power plants. It is necessary to analyse the inclusion of tools for supporting production of renewable energy, as well as to plan the location of decentralised units. Production of biomass for energy purposes requires, first of all, retaining balance between the use of agricultural area for food and energy production. Due to the specific nature of rural areas, it is necessary to develop an integrated approach to land management in order to support sustainable development. There is a need to move away from the model of intensive agriculture in the direction of sustainable agriculture. Development of energy-producing agriculture is conditioned by the modernisation and technological progress in order to displace the conventional model. Agriculture is a sector that has a significant impact on the environment and on quality of life of the population. Therefore, it is an area where it is necessary to initiate action for sustainable development. According to the 2009/28/EC Directive, Poland should achieve the level of 15% of energy being obtained from renewable resources in the total consumption in 2020. This goal will not be achieved without focusing activities on the development of dispersed energy production, including the activation of rural areas. The aim of the study is: • to estimate energy production potential of fallow soil and fallow land in the £ód¼ Province on the basis of selected energy crops, • to calculate the minimum price of energy crops. The following analysis verifies the main research hypothesis, i.e., that the £ód¼ Province has a theoretical and economical energy-production potential of biomass production in the areas of fallow soil and fallow land. This paper presents a model of uncultivated agricultural land under appropriately selected energy crops. The main goal of this work is to estimate energy production potential of fallow soil and fallow land in the £ód¼ Province on the basis of selected energy crops and to calculate the minimum price of energy crops. The Net Present Value (NPV) method was used to calculate the minimum price, and the literature studies to build the model using. The following analysis verifies the main research hypothesis, i.e., that the £ód¼ Province has a theoretical and economical energy-production potential of biomass in the areas of fallow soil and fallow land. The hypothesis was verified positively. The study shows that practicing energy willow achieved the lowest price for generation of 1 MWh . |
| Keywords: | biomass; energy crops; the minimum price; energy and climate policy |
| JEL: | Q1 Q4 Q5 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p1398&r=agr |
| By: | Jayne, T.S.; Chamberlin, Jordan; Traub, Lulama; Sitko, N.; Muyanga, Milu; Yeboah, Kwame; Nkonde, Chewe; Anseeuw, Ward; Chapoto, A.; Kachule, Richard |
| Abstract: | Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing major changes in farm land ownership and use, which are both cause and consequence of the economic transformations that the region is now experiencing. The rapid rise of emergent investor farms in the 5 to 100 hectare category represents a revolutionary change in Africa’s farm structure since 2000. The rise of investor farmers is affecting the region in diverse ways that are difficult to generalize. In some areas, investor farms are a source of dynamism, technical change and commercialization of African agriculture. In densely populated areas, however, investor farms may be displacing the potential for agricultural land expansion of small-scale farming communities. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midamp:208576&r=agr |
| By: | Ogunniyi Adebayo (Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria); Kehinde Olagunju (Szent Istvan University, Institute of Regional Economics and Rural Development, Gödöllő, Hungary) |
| Abstract: | Agricultural research programs that are driven by Agricultural Innovation System concepts usually target to change the way in which low income rural agrarian households in a nation like Nigeria communicate with the market and the decision making strategies pertaining to development of their agri-business and the scarce resources which are at their disposal. As a result there has been a shift in the research paradigm in many African countries like Nigeria; from top down research systems to nonlinear dynamic systems that aim to enhance end users capacity to obtain and utilize knowledge and research outputs. The aim of this paper was therefore to assess the extent to which the use of these innovative agricultural research interventions impact upon the livelihood and productivity outcomes of rural smallholder farmers in Nigeria using a case study from the South west region of Nigeria. Using propensity score matching as a means of establishing a valid counterfactual and single differencing to measure impact, the study establishes that rural incomes and output are significantly impacted upon by agricultural research interventions that are driven by agricultural innovation systems concepts. The study however further finds that although participating households had better livelihood and productivity outcomes and more diversified income portfolios during the implementation of the innovative research intervention as a result of greater linkages to markets and capacity building opportunities; phasing out of the research program reduced the diversity of income portfolios and lead to the erosion of livelihoods. The study therefore concluded that agricultural research interventions that are driven by agricultural innovation system concepts have the potential to positively impact upon the livelihood outcomes of rural smallholder farmers in Nigeria however there is need for greater capacity building of local extension agents and increased budgetary support to ensure understanding and application of agricultural innovation system concepts by local level public agricultural extension agents to sustain positive livelihood and productivity outcomes. In addition agricultural innovation system concepts should be mainstreamed in all public agricultural extension and research programs to ensure sustained rural innovation and robust livelihood and improved productivity outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Innovation Systems, Livelihoods, Productivity, Smallholder‟s farmers |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2015/07&r=agr |
| By: | Tigist Mekonnen Melesse (PhD fellow, UNU-MERIT, Maastricht) |
| Abstract: | Adoption of improved agricultural technologies is central to transformation of farm- ing system and a path out of poverty in developing countries. The aim of the current study is to provide empirical evidence on the impact of improved agricultural technolo- gies (HYVs and chemical fertilizer) on smallholders' output market participation. The analysis is based on Farmer Innovation Fund (FIF) impact evaluation survey data cov- ering around 2,675 households collected by the World Bank in 2010-2013 in Ethiopia. Endogenous treatment eect and sample selection models are employed to account for the self-selection bias in technology adoption and market participation. Regressions based on matching techniques are employed for robustness check. The main results shows that adoption of improved high-yielding varieties (HYVs) and chemical fertilizer is found to have a positive and robust eect on smallholders' marketed surplus. We found evidence that adoption of improved HYVs increases surplus crop production by 757 kg, whereas adoption of chemical fertilizer increases surplus by 285 kg. When the two technologies are adopted jointly, marketed surplus is found to increases by 635 kg, which establishes the complementarity of the two technologies. The result also shows that farmers' surplus crop production and market participation is deter- mined by access to modern inputs, cereal crop price, farm size, availability of labor, and infrastructure facility. Access to credit and training fosters technology adoption, however, we are unable to witness learning externality from neighbors on smallholders marketed surplus. Therefore, agriculture and rural development policy needs to focus on supporting agricultural technology adoption. |
| Keywords: | Smallholders, market participation, technologies, treatment eect model |
| JEL: | D04 O12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2015/06&r=agr |
| By: | Antonio Bliska Jr.; Flavia Maria de Mello Bliska; Ricardo Firetti; Patricia Helena Nogueira Turco; Fabio Ricardo Ferreira Correa; Felipe Augusto Batoni de Souza; Paulo Ademar Martins Leal |
| Abstract: | The farmers spend much of their time with technical issues and routine tasks related to the production process. The administrative aspects of rural activities are usually relegated to a second plane. Thus, planning, information and knowledge acquisition, and development of strategies for relations with customers, society and collaborators ? employees or family members ? are harmed, which can compromise the activity. Empower the rural entrepreneurs to assimilate and apply concepts of competitiveness, quality and management, replacing the simple profit idea, is a challenge. The concern for quality management has grown continuously among companies from different economic sectors since the 1950s. For agricultural organizations, to create internal management mechanisms is also very important, from the improvement of agricultural processes to the placement of the product on market. This study analyzes the relationship between the management level of Brazilian farms with land structure, with production system,number of workers on the farm, county, producing region and with certification or not of production. To assess the management level in agricultural organizations ? farms ? we used the Method of Identification of Management Degree, MIGG, for coffee segments, cut flowers and horticulture, including hydroponic production in Brazil. The MIGG can contribute, in an organized manner, for making decisions as to structural changes, and to obtain superior quality products. The results obtained from questionnaires applied from 2010 to 2014 support the view that, despite the technical expertise in cultivation, the agricultural business management is still primitive and intuitive in most cases. In organizations with lower management degree, it was observed that the decision-making are not based on methods that enable a systematic reproduction of processes. In organizations where we have identified high levels of management, it was noted that management practices were integrated into modern farming practices, regardless of company size. In the coffee sector, with larger sample, we observed that in the West region of Bahia state, and in Cerrado region of Minas Gerais state, the management degrees are high and the production processes ? based on intensive use of modern technology ? are quite homogeneous and accompanied by very high yield and quality, compared to other coffee regions. Such practices have contributed to the increase of competitiveness of these organizations and to the development of those regions. |
| Keywords: | management; rural entrepreneur; sustainability; quality; competitiveness |
| JEL: | Q1 Q12 Q16 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p236&r=agr |
| By: | Hannu Törmä; Leena Viitaharju; Susanna Kujala |
| Abstract: | Local food is seen as a counterforce and alternative to globalization of the food economy. It is seen to be a sustainable way of producing food ethically, economically and socially. The food sector is viewed in national guidelines as an expansive activity in the future. The general goal in Finland is to increase the production and value-added of local food, as well as to improve the balance of its demand and supply. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the use of local food in the manufacturing of foodstuffs and in public kitchens. Two comprehensive surways were done which gave information about the current and future use of local food. According to the results, the food manufacturing companies buy on average slightly more than 20 per cent of the raw materials from primary production from the region where they are based. The joint procurement groups and entities purchase about 15 per cent of food used in the public-sector kitchens from their own region. In both cases regional differences were large. There were also some expectations for the use of local food to grow in the future. The multi-sector and interregional CGE RegFin simulation model was used to evaluate the importance of agriculture and manufacturing of foodstuffs along the value chain of food economy. According to the results the impact of agriculture on the Finnish GDP is approximately 2.8 percentage points, and that of the food industry is about 7.1 percentage points. Our conclusion is that local food is an economic potential for Finnish regions. |
| Keywords: | local food; evaluation; general equilibrium modelling |
| JEL: | C68 J11 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p324&r=agr |
| By: | Maria Augusta Doetzer Rosot; Yeda Maria Malheiros De Oliveira; Maria Izabel Radomski; Marilice Cordeiro Garrastazu; Denise Jeton Cardoso; André Eduardo Biscaia De Lacerda; Nelson Carlos Rosot |
| Abstract: | Model Forests (MFs) are social and participatory processes aiming at the sustainable development of a territory where the forest plays an important role. Individuals and organizations share knowledge and combine expertise and resources to provide income-generating opportunities, balancing social, economic, and ecological values. The concept originated in the late 80s, in Canada, and was launched internationally in Rio-92 Conference under the name of 'Model Forests', which adopts network strategies ('International Model Forest Network - IMFN' and regional networks as the Latin America Caribbean Model Forests Network (LAC-Net)). In Brazil, the system is coordinated by the Brazilian Forest Service and to date consists of two MFs in the Southeast and one in the South. The latter is located in the region of Araucaria Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems of the Atlantic Forest. The high degree of landscape fragmentation and a very restrictive environmental legislation regarding the use of native forest are both major drivers of a well-known polarization between ?development? and ?conservation? viewpoints. Those conflicts of interests combined with low Human Development Indices, poor income distribution and environmental liabilities observed in the municipality of Caçador, in Santa Catarina State, motivated the creation of a MF in the region. The process is being conducted by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) since 2007. During the four subsequent years, public meetings and workshops were held in order to present and discuss the Model Forest approach with the local community. In 2012, individuals, organizations and local stakeholders joined the Caçador Model Forest Council. At the same year, the Council submitted a formal proposal for the creation of the MF and in 2013 the Model Forest area was visited by representatives of LAC-Net and IMFN. Finally, on June 17, 2013, Caçador Model Forest (BMCDR) was officially approved as a member of the Network, covering the entire territory of the municipality with 98,000 hectares. BMCDR mission is to provide better quality of life and environmental conservation through participatory management of the territory, strengthening family farming and the cultural identity and promoting the improvement, conservation and use of forest and water resources. The year 2014 was devoted to the process of discussing Caçador Model Forest governance model approaches and constructing its strategic plan, which comprises four major issues to be addressed during the next five years: promoting the local identity; use and conservation of the Araucaria Forest; use and conservation of water and the promotion and dissemination of BMCDR resources. |
| Keywords: | Model forest; sustainable forest management; rural development |
| JEL: | Q23 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p313&r=agr |
| By: | Sènakpon F.A. Dedehouanou (University of Abomey Calavi (UAC), Benin); Dugassa Aichatou Ousseini (Université Abdou Mounouni de Niamey, Niger); Abdoulaziz Laouali Harouna (Université Abdou Mounouni de Niamey, Niger); Jabir Maimounata (Université Abdou Mounouni de Niamey, Niger) |
| Abstract: | Agricultural households in Niger face constraint that may hinder agricultural production and threaten food security. Rural exodus also results from a lack of formal and decent wage employment. The way to enhance agricultural production and improve food security while at the same time increase employment is still an important policy question in rural Niger. This study assess the effect of off-farm self-Employment opportunities on expenditures for agricultural inputs and on food security using the potential outcome framework for treatment effects. The study finds that farm and nonfarm related factors determine off-farm self employment opportunities in rural Niger. Also, the participation in self-employment increases agricultural expenses on purchased input and hired labor but decreases the propensity to hire labor. Self-employment opportunities favour food accessibility without having any additional effect on food availability and food utilisation. The results confirm that the policy of promoting non-farm sector can be harmonious with the development of the agricultural sector. Thus there is a scope to increase or create favourable conditions for the development of the non farm sector in rural Niger. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural household, Off-farm self employment, Food insecurity, Niger |
| JEL: | D13 O15 Q12 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2015/03&r=agr |
| By: | Emiliano Magrini; Silvia Nenci; Pierluigi Montalbano; Luca Salvatici |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of agricultural (dis)incentives on food security for a wide sample of countries over the period 1990-2010 using the World Bank database on distortions to agricultural incentives. We adopt a continuous treatment approach applying a generalized propensity score matching to reduce potential biases stemming from difference in observed country characteristics. The results provide strong evidence of self-selection and heterogeneous food security impacts at different levels of policy intensity. Estimates of the dose-response functions show that both discrimination against agriculture and large support lead to poor performances in several dimensions of FS. |
| Keywords: | Food security, agricultural incentives, impact evaluation, GPS, cross-country analysis |
| JEL: | C21 F14 O50 Q17 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0200&r=agr |
| By: | Hoken, Hisatoshi; Su, Qun |
| Abstract: | Agricultural cooperatives in China, known as Farmers' Professional Cooperatives (FPCs), are becoming popular and have been intensely promoted by the Chinese government to improve the economic welfare of small farmers. However, very few studies on Chinese agricultural cooperatives have measured the benefits to farmers who participate in FPCs after controlling for time-invariant attributes of farmers. This paper investigates the treatment effect of participation in a rice-producing cooperative in suburban China using propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences (DID) method. Estimated results show that no significant difference is observed between participants and non-participants of the cooperative in terms of net income from rice production when controlling for the difference in farmers' rice incomes before the treatment. In addition, there is no significant heterogeneity of the treatment effects between large and small farmers, although the probability of participation in the cooperative is significantly higher when the size of cultivated rice farmland is greater. These results indicate that the benefits of the cooperative appear to be overestimated considering the vigorous policy supports for FPCs from the Chinese government. |
| Keywords: | China, Agricultural Cooperative, Agricultural Economies, Farm Household, Treatment Effect, PSM, DID |
| JEL: | O13 Q12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper539&r=agr |
| By: | Wouter Zant (Associated with VU University and a fellow of the Tinbergen Institute, both Amsterdam, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | We use both a panel of district data for a nearly 20 year period (1991-2008) and a panel of household survey data (2010 and 2013) of Malawi to investigate the contribution of water to productivity in rain-fed agriculture. Production function estimations suggest a larger contribution to production from rainfall than from chemical fertilizer. We supply evidence that (uncertainty of) supply of water is a key determinant of the crop choice of farmers, and more specifically, the choice between, on the one hand, low input staple foods / subsistence crops, and, on the other hand, high input and high value cash crops. We plan to claim additionally that chemical fertilizer use depends critically on crop choice, notably the choice for high value cash crops, and thereby on the availability of water. Finally, we provide evidence at household level that further supports these claims. Our work gives an alternative explanation of observed low uptake of chemical fertilizer by farmers and of the mechanism that drives fertilizer use in rain-fed SSA agriculture. |
| Keywords: | subsistence agriculture, input subsidies, productivity, growth, Malawi, Africa |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2015/09&r=agr |
| By: | Lakner, Sebastian; Kirchweger, Stefan; Hoop, Daniel; Brümmer, Bernhard; Kantelhardt, Jochen |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the impact of subsidies and of para-agriculture on the technical efficiency of organic farms in Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany. The data-set consists of bookkeeping data with 1,704 observations in the years 2003 to 2005. Technical efficiency is modelled using a stochastic distance-frontier model combined with a Metafrontier-model. The results show almost no efficiency differences among the farms in the three countries. Para-agriculture shows a strong impact on farm's efficiency and output in Austria and Switzerland, whereas in Germany the effect is rather small. The study confirms that agricultural subsidies have a direct impact on farm's efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Technical Efficiency,Organic Farming,Grassland Farming,Para-Agriculture |
| JEL: | Q12 Q18 D24 C54 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:daredp:1508&r=agr |
| By: | Snyder, Jason; Ijumba, Claire; Tschirley, David; Reardon, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Nearly 500 processed food products across five product categories (milled grains, packaged rice, dairy, fruit juices, and poultry) were identified in Dar es Salaam retail outlets; Contrary to common views, local and regional processing – not imports from outside the continent - dominate this market; Branding has expanded dramatically in the city in recent years. Branded maize meal now dominates in all retail outlet types; over 50 branded blended flour products can be found; even 20 brands of packaged rice can now be found, though currently limited to supermarket chains; |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2015–05–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:210881&r=agr |
| By: | Kurakin, Alexander (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russian presidental academy of national economy and public administration (RANEPA)); Nikulin, Alexander Michailovich (Independent); Trotsuk, Irina Vladimirovna (Russian presidental academy of national economy and public administration (RANEPA)) |
| Abstract: | In the first chapter are indicated the general logic and history of innovation in Russian agriculture, namely: agrotechnical ensure agricultural activity at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Soviet experience in implementing agroinnovatsy and objective conditions of innovative development of agrarian and industrial complex in the post-Soviet period. The second presents the results of empirical research conducted by the Center for Agricultural Research in the three districts of the Altai Territory. In conclusion summarizes the basic provisions and the findings of the work carried out. |
| Keywords: | innovations, agriculture |
| Date: | 2014–08–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:ppaper:om23&r=agr |
| By: | Kydd, Jonathon |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on an ex-post assessment of IFPRI’s research on High-Value Agriculture (HVA) over 1994–2010. HVA is defined to include perishable agricultural commodities produced for the market that yield high returns to land, labor, or both. IFPRI’s research on HVA has been housed mainly in GRP27 (Participation in high value agricultural markets). Questions for the study included whether IFPRI had the right research strategy for this topic; was focused on the right issues; was a leader in the field; used the most relevant approaches and methods; and was successful in sensitizing/influ-encing the policies of governments, agribusiness, academia, civil society, and the international donor community. Finally, what has been the impact of the HVA policies that IFPRI influenced? |
| Keywords: | agricultural products, impact assessment agricultural research, agricultural development, high value agriculture, high-value products |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:impass:39&r=agr |
| By: | Gema Aparicio; Vicente Pinilla |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse the dynamics of international trade in cereals in the first third of the twentieth century. To this end we will study its evolution over this period, comparing it also with the general trade of food and agricultural products. In addition, we will examine the structure of this trade. For wheat, maize and rice we will examine the operation of their respective markets, with special attention to the import and export flows between consumers and producers. To better understand the functioning of the market for these products, we will examine the changes in supply, demand and prices. |
| Keywords: | International agrifood trade, Grain trade, Great Depression |
| JEL: | F14 N50 N70 N76 Q17 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:seh:wpaper:1504&r=agr |
| By: | Kuyvenhoven, Arie |
| Abstract: | Strengthening national capacities for undertaking, communicating, and using evidence-based food policy analysis has long been one of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI’s) major objectives. To that end, IFPRI has engaged in different kinds of capacity strengthening that include formal training, (policy) networks, country strategic policy support, research collaboration with individuals and organizations, institutional development, support to university degree programs, visiting fellows, and training of postdoctoral fellows (PDFs). |
| Keywords: | Capacity building, evaluation, Agricultural research, impact assessment, Capacity strengthening, Impact assessment, training |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:impass:38&r=agr |
| By: | Sri Yogamalar (Monash University Malaysia); Abdul Haseeb Ansari (International Islamic University Malaysia) |
| Abstract: | The right to a healthful environment gained global recognition with the growing trend in environmental consciousness and development of human awareness over the past decades. This human right is interlinked to our environment because an ecosystem which is otherwise will affect all living organisms to the very root of their existence. It is said that the right to a healthful environment is the flagship of all fundamental human rights. This stems from the indubitable fact that the survival of mankind is totally dependent on a clean, healthy and pollution-free environment. This paper delves into the constitutions of 23 nations in 6 different continents, with the right to a healthful environment as the central theme. It also explores the status, adequacy and enforcement of this basic human right as a constitutional right. To what extent Mother Nature is protected and how effective our environmental safeguards are, directly and indirectly, have reciprocal effects on the sustainable development of a country. In the midst of facing today’s global environmental challenges, it is the fervent hope of every citizen to live a decent life with reasonable living conditions for survival, and preservation of human dignity and sanity. This can only be achieved if the greed of the developed countries gradually erodes in the face of abating the sufferings of mankind by having a heart for humanity. Going back to basics, the right to a healthful environment actually relates to the sustainable survival of the humankind because it encompasses fresh air to breathe, safe and clean drinking water, sufficient nutritious food, proper homes for shelter and adequate sanitation facilities for the sustenance of all biota. Without securing and maintaining a healthful environment for present and future generations to come, mankind will drastically be deprived from enjoying the fundamental human rights that make life worth living. |
| Keywords: | Constitution, human rights, environment, fundamental liberties, anthropogenic, right to health, judicial activism, enforcement |
| JEL: | Q51 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:3105382&r=agr |
| By: | María Josefa Garcia Grande; José María López Morales |
| Abstract: | Abstract Agri-food Industry, as the sum of the Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing and Food Industry (Food, Beverages and Tobacco) is, except some service activities, the highlight industry of the Spanish economy, not only for their GVA (5.3% in 2013) and employment contribution (6.4% on the same date), but above all for its relevant presence in international markets. The importance of Agri-Food Industry in the Spanish economy is much higher than this sector has in the European Union (EU-28) or in the Euro Area (3.8% and 3.7% of GDP, respectively), and its contribution in the EU agri-food production (11.8% in 2012) reaches a similar level of the great European countries (Germany and Italy -11.8 and 12.6 per 100, respectively) and only below the contribution of France -16.2 per 100-. Internationally, Spain is one of the major exporting countries of the world. It is the second largest exporter of Fruits, the third exporter of Legumes and other edible vegetables, the fifth exporter of Animal, vegetable fats and oils, sixth exporter of Meat and seventh of Beverages. The aim of this paper it is to analyze the territorial specialization in the agri-food trade and to study the diversification both in respect of exported products as in regard to customers who purchase those products. The final purpose will be to determine the competitive advantages and weaknesses, both from a sectorial or spatial perspective, to determine which possibilities of expansion shows this trade and what policy measures should be taken to correct the weaknesses of the sector and enhance the strengths of some activities with significant international presence. To perform the analysis, we use information about global imports and exports (annual frequency) from Comtrade Database, United Nations, which uses the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC Rev.3). We work with a disaggregation level of 2 and 3 digits. For certain aspects, we will use information from DataComex, from Ministry of Economy and Finance of Spain; that it is consistent with that provided by Comtrade. |
| Keywords: | Agri-Food; Food Industry; Agri-Food imports and exports; Food; Beverages and Tob |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p450&r=agr |
| By: | Sirlei Glasenapp; Leonardo Xavier da Silva; Marcia Xavier Peiter |
| Abstract: | The health of both farmers and consumers of tobacco has attracted the attention of international organizations. The Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC), in its article 18, emphasizes the responsibility of countries with respect to protection of the environment and human health in the tobacco production process, since its cultivation brings serious risks to the environment and the health of farmers. Tobacco has established itself as one of the main agricultural products grown in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The production structure is made up mostly of small family farms with intensive use of labor of work and has in tobacco plants the main source of income. The purpose of the article is to identify the risks to which tobacco farming families are exposed and consequences on quality of life and health of workers in the rural areas. In research conducted by Lecours (2011), there is a series of impacts on tobacco farmer's health, the main risks associated with tobacco growing: the disease of green leaf, pesticide exposure, respiratory problems, and musculoskeletal injuries and skin diseases. The research is characterized as qualitative and descriptive and the data collection was carried out through field research, through semi-structured interviews and participant observation with producer families of tobacco, in the municipalities of Agudo and Paraíso do Sul. It can be seen that there are eminent risks highlighted in the literature on health of tobacco farmers, symptoms of green leaf disease were highlighted by most families, besides the exposure to pesticides. It is noticed that the FCTC controls are still weak and do not look to the risks of tobacco in the first link in the chain, which are the families that produce it. |
| Keywords: | Tobacco; health; families. |
| JEL: | I19 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p699&r=agr |
| By: | Carlos Bacha; Alysson Stege |
| Abstract: | Brazilian agriculture has grown enormously during the past three decades. An interesting aspect of this growth is the respective roles of family and non-family farming, and the seeming importance of this distinction to Brazilian agricultural policy, reflected in the existence of separate agencies in Federal Government with responsibility for each sector. The paper presents multivariate and spatial analyses examining the family and non-family farming sectors to try to quantify how different they actually are. It employs factor analysis to compare both sectors (family and non-family farming) by homogeneous micro-region in terms of productivity, degree of mechanization, intensity of labour use, and investment. The results show that both sectors are not structurally different to each other; both have been administrated according to the same broad agricultural policies, both are overwhelmingly market-oriented, and both tend to cleave to regional differences rather than being importantly different to each other. |
| Keywords: | Brazil; agriculture; agricultural policy; family and non-family farming |
| JEL: | Q10 Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p1673&r=agr |
| By: | Miller, Steven |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews agricultural tax policies, with particular emphasis on Michigan, that have potential implication to environmental outcomes. In this, non‐environmental tax policies are considered that may impact environmental outcomes through secondary channels. Such channels are discussed along with possible policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Fresh cucumbers, picking cucumbers, industry statistics, market conditions, Crop Production/Industries, Y10, |
| Date: | 2015–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:211085&r=agr |
| By: | Kareem, Fatima; Brümmer, Bernhard; Martinez-Zarzosoc, Inmaculada |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causes of rejections of African exports at the EU border as a barrier in accessing EU markets. Our results indicate that natural geographical hurdle, poor trade-related infrastructure, inefficient border procedure and a lack of technical personnel increase the incidences of rejection at the EU border and add to Africa’s challenges in accessing EU markets. In addition, in line with the growing literature, this study finds empirical support for the proposition that institutions, infrastructure and logistic quality matter for increased market penetration and continuous integration into the global trading system. Thus, the barrier created by EU rejection of Africa’s exports can be addressed through the strengthening of African’s institutions and trade facilitation measures particularly her custom and border management including transit regimes. |
| Keywords: | Non-Tariff Barrier, Export Rejections, Institution, Trade Procedures, Africa, European Union, Agricultural and Food Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, L15, O17, C33, |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gagfdp:211042&r=agr |
| By: | Walker, Tom; Silim, Said; Cunguara, Benedito; Donovan, Cynthia; Rao, P. Parthasarathy; Amane, Manuel |
| Abstract: | We document the rapid emergence of pigeonpea as a smallholder export crop in Mozambique and discuss implications of pigeonpea’s expansion in this study. An analysis of seven years of nationally and provincially representative rural survey data from 2002 to 2012 and an assessment of pulse production and consumption in India gave the following major results: |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midamp:210861&r=agr |
| By: | Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Jayne, T.S. |
| Abstract: | Most studies of input subsidy programs confine their analysis to measuring contemporaneous program effects. This article estimates the potential longer run or enduring effects of fertilizer subsidy programs on commercial purchases of fertilizer and farmers’ maize production over time. We use four waves of panel data on 462 farm households in Malawi for whom fertilizer use can be tracked for eight consecutive seasons between 2003/04 and 2010/11. Panel estimation methods are used to control for potential endogeneity of subsidized fertilizer. Farmers acquiring subsidized fertilizer in three consecutive prior years are found to purchase slightly more commercial fertilizer in the next year. This suggests a small amount of crowding in of commercial fertilizer from the receipt of subsidized fertilizer in prior years. Acquiring subsidized fertilizer in one year has a modest positive impact on increasing maize output in the same year. However, acquiring subsidized fertilizer in prior years generates no statistically significant effect on maize output in the current year. The findings indicate that potential enduring effects of the Malawi fertilizer subsidy programs are limited. Additional interventions that increase soil fertility are needed to raise maize to fertilizer response rates. Doing so can make using inorganic fertilizer more profitable and sustainable for smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa, and increase the efficiency of input subsidy programs. |
| Keywords: | Malawi, input subsidies, enduring effects, International Development, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:211087&r=agr |
| By: | von Braun, Joachim; Mirzabaev, Alisher |
| Abstract: | Small farms are the largest employment and small business group among the poor. Their businesses use mostly labor and local resources and face local constraints, but at the same time, they are affected by increasingly complex national and global economic changes, which lead to shifts in optimality and viability of structures and of their business priorities. This paper identifies basic forces of change in the small farm economy, proposes policies that may support productive and socially acceptable transformations, and highlights research priorities. The paper concludes that policies should primarily focus on people’s income opportunities in the rural economy, where small farmers often hold multiple farm and non-farm jobs, rather than be narrowly concerned with viability of the small scale farm enterprise. |
| Keywords: | small farms, structural change, farm size, sustainability, poverty reduction, innovation, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, 013, O33, Q01, Q12, |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:210464&r=agr |
| By: | Gabriela Simonet; Julie Subervie; Driss Ezzine-de-Blas; Marina Cromberg; Amy Duchelle |
| Abstract: | We estimate the additional effects of a REDD+ pilot project offering Payments for Environmental Services to reduce deforestation by smallholders in the Brazilian Amazon. We collected original data from 181 individual farmers. We use DID-matching and find evidence that supports the parallel trend assumption. We estimate that an average of 4 ha of forest have been saved on each participating farm in 2014, at the expense of pastures versus croplands. This amounts to a decrease in the deforestation rate of about 50 percent. We find no evidence of leakage effects. Finally, we find that the project is cost-effective. |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:wpaper:15-14&r=agr |
| By: | Liesbeth Dries (Assistant Professor, Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy, Wageningen University); Domenico Dentoni (Assistant Professor, Management Studies, Wageningen University) |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2015/08&r=agr |
| By: | Ngigi, Marther W.; Müller, Ulrike; Birner, Regina |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of multiple shocks on assets by employing two waves of a panel data set of 360 rural households in three agro-ecological zones in Kenya. To control for unobserved heterogeneity, a ‘within’ household fixed effects model was employed. One major finding is that climatic shocks negatively affect households’ livestock holdings -apart from small ruminant and non-ruminant livestock due to their higher adaptive capacity. Consequently, households rely on two major coping strategies to smooth their consumption level: (1) adjusting their livestock portfolios, and (2) borrowing from group-based approaches. The latter strategy is particularly important for poor households in safeguarding their already low asset base. The findings suggest that livestock protection policies, such as diversification of livestock portfolios, promotion of fodder banks and index-based livestock insurance, are substantial. Scaling-up of group-based approaches would augment poor households’ recovery and resilience against multiple shocks in the face of accelerating climate change. |
| Keywords: | multiple shocks, livestock, group-based approaches, rural Kenya, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Health Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C33, D13, I18, O12, O13, Q54, |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:210703&r=agr |
| By: | Ijumba, Claire; Snyder, Jason; Tschirley, David; Reardon, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Nearly 950 processed food products across five product categories (maize and other flour products, packaged rice, dairy, fruit juices, and poultry) were identified in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Mwanza retail outlets. 2. Tanzanian firms dominate maize, blended, and other flour product availability in all three cities – there has been a rapid proliferation of micro‐firms competing on price, and the rise of small to medium size firms investing in quality differentiation and marketing. Tanzanian firms have a respectable presence in the market for dairy, juice, and packaged rice products, but are generally overshadowed by imports. However regional firms (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia) are competitive with international firms in the Tanzanian market. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2015–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:210883&r=agr |
| By: | Deininger,Klaus W.; Xia,Fang; Mate,Aurelio; Payongayong,Ellen |
| Abstract: | Almost a decade after large land-based investment for agriculture increased sharply, opinions on its impact continue to diverge, partly because (positive or negative) spillovers on neighboring smallholders have never been rigorously assessed. Applying methods from the urban literature on Mozambican data suggests that changes in the number and area of large farms within 25 or 50 kilometers of these investments raised use of improved practices, animal traction, and inputs by small farmers without increasing cultivated area or participation in output, credit, and nonfarm labor markets; or, once these factors are controlled for, yields. The limited scope and modest size of the estimated benefits point toward considerable unrealized potential. The paper discusses ways to systematically explore the size of such potential and the extent to which it is realized. |
| Keywords: | Regional Economic Development,Livestock and Animal Husbandry,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Agriculture and Farming Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems |
| Date: | 2015–10–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7466&r=agr |
| By: | Mulenga, Brian P.; Nkonde, Chewe; Ngoma, Hambulo |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:210858&r=agr |
| By: | Mahdi Ghodsi (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | Abstract The Specific Trade Concerns (STC) data on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) notifications of WTO members report 317 TBT notifications between 1995 and 2011. This contribution provides evidence concerning the impact of TBT STCs on the imports of products at 4-digit level of the Harmonised System to three major economies – the EU, the United States and China – over the period 1995-2011 using an augmented gravity model controlling for the endogenous characteristics of TBTs and tariffs. Robustness checks are provided using Fixed Effect (FE) Estimation, and Poisson FE. Further, since TBTs are generally imposed on non-food products, food and non-food products are analysed in separate specifications. Bootstrapped robust results suggest that these policy measures have negatively influenced trade flows to the EU and China, while they have enhanced the imports of products to the United States. The quality impact of these measures is assessed using unit values of imports. The results suggest that US notifications improve the quality and values of imports, while in the case of the EU notifications this effect is observed only for the high-income trade partners. Lower imports to China due to quality improvement of products, on the other hand, may refer to low preference of Chinese consumers for higher quality. |
| Keywords: | trade policy, technical barriers to trade, specific trade concerns |
| JEL: | F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:116&r=agr |
| By: | Alberto Franco Solís; Francisco Javier De Miguel Vélez |
| Abstract: | Though most direct water use is generally associated with agriculture, and therefore with the production of food, there is a clear consensus that considering indirect water uses is a relevant factor to be considered in any environmental analysis. In this regard, the subsystems input-output approach makes it possible to isolate the water relations of a limited number of activities as part of the entire production sphere and thus obtain specific production information of them. However, not directly related with production, the demand of goods and services closely linked to available income, also play a significant role in water consumption. Hence, in this paper we propose an extension of the input?output subsystem model to account for all transactions within a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) and capture the entire flow by which water depletion is caused and transmitted throughout the economic system. Our approach, which divides the water consumption into different components, illustrates how the individual patterns of water depletion differ among economic agents. The starting point of the subsystems representation consists of the decomposition of the N accounts of a SAM system into two categories of institutions: m endogenous and s exogenous. By taking into account this separation of the accounts, in this paper, we analyze separately all the endogenous economic agents, and for each one, we apply a subsystem division of its water consumption. The empirical application is for the Spanish regional economy of Extremadura, and the economic and environmental data are for the year 2005. Our results show that large asymmetries exist not only in the quantitative contribution of the different economic agents to water consumption, but also in the decomposed effects of this contribution. In particular, this decomposition allows illustration of the pull effects of the SAM economic agents on the others, and this shows the effective consumption caused by one agent, no matter which is the agent that causes the end water consumption. Models such as the one presented here also have limitations, like the shortage of data or parameter specification. However, they are of great interest to define the direction that environmental or economic policies should take if we are to reduce water consumption or increase water use efficiency levels. |
| Keywords: | water; subsystem input-output approach; social accounting matrix. |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p1220&r=agr |
| By: | Nelson, Suzanne; Frakenberger, Tim; Brown, Vicky; Presnall, Carrie; Downen, Jeanne |
| Abstract: | This report assesses the impact of IFPRI’s social-protection research program (GRP28) from 2000 to 2012 (including its predecessor, MP18). The assessment includes an extensive review of public goods produced by the program, stakeholder perceptions of the program’s public goods and research activities, case studies (Bangladesh, London, Mexico, Rome, and Washington, DC), and policy or programming changes that resulted from IFPRI-sponsored research, capacity strengthening, and research-policy linkages between 2000 and 2012. Over 40 interviews were conducted with national stakeholders, donors, IFPRI staff, government officials, and individuals who participated in or had knowledge of IFPRI’s activities regarding social protection during this timeframe. IFPRI’s social-protection research activities conducted under the GRP28 are ongoing and extend beyond the 2012 endline of this assessment. GRP28 research activities initiated during the latter part of the 12-year timeframe (that is, in 2010, 2011, or 2012) are limited or absent from this assessment if results had not been published at the time the study was initiated early in the summer of 2014. |
| Keywords: | poverty, economic development, impact assessment, social protection, social safety nets conditional cash transfers |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:impass:40&r=agr |
| By: | Lúcia Pato |
| Abstract: | Although rural entrepreneurship is an emergent field of study and has emerged as one of the most noticeable ways to promote rural development, the few studies concerning the theme are still incipient. Moreover, a lot of studies focus on farmers and rural entrepreneurs as a whole and little research emphasises women?s entrepreneurship, particularly in Portugal. Thus, this study explores entrepreneurial initiatives conducted by women in one of the most peripheral areas of Portugal - Montemuro (municipality of Castro Daire), where subsistence agriculture continues to be the main economic activity. These women have been stimulated to develop entrepreneurial activity in the countryside, taking advantage of local and endogenous materials (flax and wool) and traditional knowledge that through for generations mothers passed orally to daughters. Indeed, these women who have continually been working this type of materials in their homes, putting into practise what they have learnt from their grandmothers and mothers, began to create innovative and fashionable products. The aim of this study, therefore, is to explore women´s entrepreneurship in rural communities of Montemuro region, raise awareness of the role that these women play in rural development and identify some strategic considerations towards the development of their work. Concerning methodological procedures, in addition to the collection of data and news from newspapers and visits on internet pages about these women?s work, this paper is based on exploratory visits in the study communities of the Montemuro region and in the technique of observation. Apart from this, an interview was conducted in one of the organizations of women. The results of the study point out that the women of Montemuro try to not only create their own work, but also keep the culture and local traditions alive, therefore contributing to rural development. However several difficulties in the development of these entrepreneurial initiatives persist and further progress must be made. According to this, rural and local resources should be seen as valuable and entrepreneurial actions must be continually supported in order to contribute towards a process of rural development. Governmental and other institutional support should be directed to these women entrepreneurs in areas which they have lack of knowledge and expertise and conduct to the creation of a culture of entrepreneurship in the local context. Moreover, the success of entrepreneurship actions depends on the cooperation and creation of networks among the different actors that live in the rural communities. In terms of limitations we emphasize the exploratory nature of the study. Thus in order to understand behaviours and attitudes of these women entrepreneurs, limitations and opportunities of their entrepreneurial actions, an in-depth study will be interesting, maybe in the form of a study case. |
| Keywords: | Rural entrepreneurship; Innovation; Woman; Rural development |
| JEL: | L26 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p1367&r=agr |
| By: | Mary Kay Crepinsek; Nora Paxton |
| Abstract: | There are few methodologically robust studies to inform the current debate on school nutrition standards. To help fill this gap, Mathematica conducted new analyses of data from USDA’s fourth School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study. |
| Keywords: | SNDA, NSLP, National School Lunch Program, SBP, School Breakfast Program |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| Date: | 2015–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:45dd70ecb2c54e5092542bdcd47a9d6a&r=agr |
| By: | Cornelia Staritz (Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE)); Susan Newman (University of the West of England & University of Johannesburg); Bernhard Tröster (Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE)); Leonhard Plank (Vienna University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The functioning of commodity markets has changed related to processes of financialization that involve two major developments – the rise of financial interest on commodity derivative markets through the increasing presence of financial investors and the changing business models of international commodity trading houses and the increasing importance of these markets in price setting and risk management since the liberalization of national commodity sectors. A critical question is how these global financialization processes affect commodity producers in low income countries via the operational dynamics of global commodity chains and distinct national market structures. This paper investigates how global financialization processes influence how prices are set and transmitted and how risks are distributed and managed in the cotton sectors in Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Tanzania. It concludes that uneven exposure to price instability and access to price risk management have important distributional implications. Whilst international traders have the capacity to deal with price risks through hedging in addition to expanding their profit possibilities through financial activities on commodity derivative markets, local actors in producer countries face the challenge of price instability and increased short-termism – albeit to different extents deepening on local market structures – with limited access to risk management. |
| Keywords: | commodity markets, financialization, global commodity chains, commodity prices, price risks, price risk management, cotton sector, Africa |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2015/04&r=agr |
| By: | Xiaoxia Lin; Jinghua Sha; Jingjing Yan |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is one of the most developed areas in China with a most rapid rate of economic growth. It is also a well-known region suffering great water scarcity. The water resources per capita is 118.60m³, 99.46 m³, 240.57 m³ respectively in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei in 2013, all below 500 m³ that is defined as absolute scarcity by the United Nations. Water resources scarcity restricts the economic growth of the region at large and may account to the economic gaps between the three cities/ provinces. Economic growth in return aggravates its water shortage. The coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has been emphasized in recent years by the central government and means of solving regional problems and promoting its coordinated development need to be put forward. This study investigates the impacts of water resources factors on the regional economic growth to explore the direct influential factors of water resources, using panel data collected from 2004 to 2013. The main results show that: (1) the share of water for agricultural use and annual domestic water use per capita are statistically significant to the regional GDP per capita, with coefficients of 0.86 and 0.32 and (2) thus the impact of water resources on regional economic development is attributable to regional water use structure and domestic water use efficiency. Integrated regional governance of water resources, especially regional policies towards efficient water use and enhanced economic structure optimizing would be effective options for governments to propel the sustainable development of the region. |
| Keywords: | water resources;regional economic development;Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region |
| JEL: | R11 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p723&r=agr |
| By: | Pedro Nogueira |
| Abstract: | The relationship between land use and biodiversity is important to understand the decision support systems in order to attain sustainability. Nowadays, land use and biodiversity management is focused on protected areas, discarding other habitats, tending to favor exclusive property rights over the territory, thus creating unfeasible solutions for society. Azores has 420 endemic species and subspecies, being these protected by the Directives of Habitats and Birds. A better understanding of endemic species value is a remarkable tool to preserve biodiversity, thus affecting social welfare. The aim of this paper is to understand the relationship between land use and endemic species richness. For this, spatial endemic richness for different taxa (Bryophytes, Vascular Plants, Mollusks, Arthropods and Vertebrate) was identified at the spatial scale. After that was use SPSS and Geoda to explain endemic species richness with the mosaic of land uses and underlying environmental conditions, to allow soil use management and conservation measures to be determined through the integrated organization of landscape and not only by the definition of protected areas. First, we selected particular places where land use decisions were taken, reflecting trade-offs and through the opportunity cost of different land uses and the implicit values of different degrees of endemic species. After that, we determined estimated models considering neighborhood effects between geographical units, using GeoDa. Results are consistent and explain in a much adjusted way the relationship between land use and endemic species richness, allowing to determine the existent trade-offs between land use and species richness. |
| Keywords: | Biodiversity conservation; land use; spatial interaction; integrated management; opportunity cost. |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p1728&r=agr |
| By: | Stavros Sakellariou; Stergios Tampekis; Fani Samara; Olga Christopoulou |
| Abstract: | Forest fires constitute one of the greatest hazards for the viability and sustainable development of forests with consequences both on natural and cultural environment, undermining the economy and the quality of life of local and regional populations. The outbreaks of forest fires could stem from either natural or anthropogenic causes. The latter usually compose the greatest percentage of ignition of forest fires especially at the Mediterranean regions. The best strategic to grapple with forest fires while taking under consideration both functional and economic efficiency is considered of primary importance. To this effect, great share have the usage and adoption of decision support systems (DSS) which contain tools of G.I.S. and satellite technology and function as information systems which support the managers responsible for eliminating the forest fires. DSS make up a valuable tool for prevention and fighting against forest fires and lately they are adopted at growing rate at global level. The basic models-subsystems which comprise the structural elements for confronting forest fires and most DSS use are the following: 1) Retrieval, analysis, update, edit and prediction models of geospatial (geomorphology - topography, socioeconomic and environmental data), meteorological and satellite data, 2) Risk indexes and thematic maps (past fire incidents - records, moisture data etc.) of indigenous vegetation and forest fuel, 3) Fire propagation and behavior models and 4) Utilizing of interactive programs for the preparation, plans establishing, coordination and prompt dispatch of specific forces of the fire department (human force, land or aerial firefighting forces or even a combination). Definitely, the sub-systems of the most DSS can be used independently depending on the main purpose, such as for prevention or suppression procedures; for the financial estimation of the planned mission; for the smoke detection and the prediction of its repercussions on the human health etc. Hence, the paper aims to a comparative assessment of the most contemporary DSS which are in use in different geographic scales -such as national and federal level- as well as to a thorough exploration of the effectiveness and contribution of such systems to the confronting of forest fires. |
| Keywords: | forest fires; decision support systems; g.i.s.; remote sensing |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p1246&r=agr |
| By: | Mitsuhiro Inamura; Jonathan Rushton; Jesús Antón |
| Abstract: | Livestock diseases can severely harm animal and human health, and have adverse economic impacts on producer incomes, markets, trade, and consumers. This paper develops a common framework to improve information on public actions and policies to manage outbreaks of livestock diseases across countries. The main aim is to facilitate the assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of different policy responses to disease outbreaks. A pilot database covering four livestock diseases (avian influenza, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, classical swine fever, and foot and mouth disease) in nine countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) was constructed. It combines three layers of data: epidemiological factors; government control and compensation measures; and economic impacts of disease outbreaks. Policy responses to outbreaks were reviewed based on the information generated from the data analysis. The results show that government expenditures to destroy pathogens via slaughter and compensation policy measures were very expensive, especially in the case of large or prolonged outbreaks, and that measures compensating financial losses at the farm level generated the highest share of government expenditures in the short run. |
| Keywords: | agricultural policy, risk management, animal health |
| JEL: | Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–10–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:91-en&r=agr |
| By: | Daniel Zaga (The Graduate Institute, Geneva) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an impact evaluation of three nutritional programs implemented in Puebla, Mexico, run by SEDIF, a social assistance institution. The present study uses both a propensity score matching and weighting in order to balance the treatment and the control groups in terms of observable characteristics, and to estimate, later on, the causal effect of the programs on different areas: food support, food orientation, education, and health. This investigation adds strong empirical evidence about the beneficial effects of nutritional programs on growth indicators (i.e. on anthropometric variables). In addition, it provides some evidence about the favorable impact of this kind of programs on food orientation outcomes, such as eating habit changes or diet diversity, variety, and quality. However, this study unveils only marginal effects on food security and detrimental effects on educational outcomes (specifically on student's marks). Finally, it does not provide conclusive effects on health. |
| Keywords: | Nutritional programs, impact evaluation, anthropometrics, Mexico, Puebla |
| JEL: | I12 O12 I20 D04 C31 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:cfdwpa:cfdwp09-2015&r=agr |
| By: | Emla Fitzsimons (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute of Education, University of London); Bansi Malde (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies); Marcos Vera-Hernandez (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to understand and test empirically the relationship between group size and informal risk sharing. Models of informal risk sharing with limited commitment and grim-trigger punishments upon deviation imply that larger groups provide better informal insurance. However, when subgroups of households can credibly deviate, so that sustainable informal arrangements ought to be coalition-proof, the relationship between group size and the amount of insurance is unclear. Building on the framework of Genicot and Ray (2003), we show that this relationship is theoretically ambiguous. We then investigate it empirically using data on the size of the sibships of the household head and spouse in rural Malawi. To identify the relevant potential group within which risk is shared, we exploit a social norm among the main ethnic group in our sample which is such that the brothers of the wife should play a key role in ensuring her household’s wellbeing. We ?nd that households in which the wife has many brothers are not well-insured against crop loss events. Importantly, we fail to uncover a similar relationship for the sisters of the wife, ruling out that our ?ndings are driven by wives with many siblings (e.g. brothers) having poorer extended family networks. Calibrating our theoretical framework using values similar to those in our sample produces a relationship between household risk sharing and group size that is similar to that uncovered in the data, indicating that the threat of coalitional deviations can explain our empirical ?ndings. |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:15/31&r=agr |
| By: | Rachel Griffith (Institute for Fiscal Studies and IFS and Manchester); Martin O'Connell (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies); Kate Smith (Institute for Fiscal Studies) |
| Abstract: | Over the Great Recession UK households reduced real food expenditure. We show that they were able to maintain the number of calories that they purchased, and the nutritional quality of these calories, by adjusting their shopping behaviour. We document the mechanisms that households used. We motivate our analysis with a model of shopping behaviour in which households adjust shopping effort and the characteristics of their shopping basket in response to economic shocks. We use detailed longitudinal data and focus on within household changes in basket characteristics and proxies for shopping effort. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:15/29&r=agr |
| By: | Anni Huhtala; Artell; Janne |
| Abstract: | The Water Framework Directive (WFD) seeks to achieve good ecological status of surface waters across the European Union by 2027. The WFD guidelines explicitly recognize the economics of water management by providing exceptions to water areas with disproportionately high restoration costs. This calls indirectly for estimations of benefits lost due to non-attainment. We employ a hedonic property pricing approach on waterfront recreational properties to estimate the welfare impacts of attaining the good ecological status described by the WFD. The empirical challenge is that the quality measure proposed by the WFD specifically denotes ecological quality, whereas economically measurable water quality values are heavily dependent on recreation impacts. Intuitively, the choice of water quality measure should have an effect on estimating the value of water quality. Our data provide a unique chance to compare three alternative indicators of water quality: 1) a usability-based index, 2) subjectively reported measure and 3) the ecological status determined by the WFD. We find that an improvement in water quality is associated with a statistically significant, non-linear change in recreational property values. We show how the ecological status compares with the other two indicators, and discuss the justifiability of using revealed preference methods when the valued good is defined purely on the basis of ecological criteria. |
| Keywords: | hedonic price method; water quality; environmental amenities; valuation; waterfront properties |
| JEL: | Q53 Q26 Q51 |
| Date: | 2015–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fer:wpaper:66&r=agr |
| By: | Dubois, Pierre; Perrone, Helena |
| Abstract: | Traditional demand models assume that consumers are perfectly informed about product characteristics, including price. However, this assumption may be too strong. Unannounced sales are a common supermarket practice. As we show, retailers frequently change position in the price rankings, thus making it unlikely that consumers are aware of all deals offered in each period. Further empirical evidence on consumer behavior is also consistent with a model with price information frictions. We develop such a model for horizontally differentiated products and structurally estimate the search cost distribution. The results show that in equilibrium, consumers observe a very limited number of prices before making a purchase decision, which implies that imperfect information is indeed important and that local market power is potentially high. We also show that a full information demand model yields severely biased price elasticities. |
| Keywords: | consumer behavior; demand estimation; imperfect information; price dispersion; price elasticities; product differentiation; sales; search costs |
| JEL: | D4 D83 L11 L66 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10906&r=agr |
| By: | Deokho Cho |
| Abstract: | The basic concept of a reverse mortgage is loan available to homeowners who are 65 years or older that enables them to convert part of the equity in their home into cash. The loan is called a reverse mortgage because the traditional mortgage payback stream is reversed. Instead of making monthly payments to a lender, as with a traditional mortgage, the lender makes payments to the borrower. You are not required to pay back the loan until the home is sold or otherwise vacated. As long as you live in the home, you are not required to make any monthly payments towards the loan balance, but you must remain current on your property taxes and homeowners insurance. The Korean government adopt the farmland reverse mortgage for the first time in the world, which is called as the Farmland Pension. She has utilized the publicly assessed land value in order to liquidate the farmland equity until now. However, this method is very arguable recently because this assessed value by government is relatively lower than appraisal or transaction values. It means that the monthly payment amount is relatively lower than that by any other farmland value such as the transaction and the monthly appraisal estimation value. This paper uses the monthly dryfield and ricefield data because the pension payment is implemented by the monthly base and to get the more robust estimate values instead of using the quarter or year base data even though the most previous researches used the quarter and year data. It also uses Three Year National Bond as the proxy variable of real interest instead of Company Bond because the transaction of farmland does not occur in real world. The goal of this study tries to figure out the appropriate land value in order to provide the more amount of the monthly payment for the rural elderly who join in the farmland pension system. |
| Keywords: | Farmland Pension |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa15p12&r=agr |
| By: | Claire W. Armstrong (University of Tromsø; The Arctic University of Norway); Viktoria Kahui (University of Otago); Godwin K. Vondolia (University of Tromsø; The Arctic University of Norway); Margrethe Aanesen (University of Tromsø; The Arctic University of Norway); Mikołaj Czajkowski (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | In addition to indirect support to fisheries, marine habitats also provide non-use benefits that are overlooked in most existing bioeconomic models. Our paper expands a dynamic bioeconomic fisheries model in which the presence of natural habitats not only reduces the cost of fishing, via aggregation effects, but also supplies non-use benefits. The theoretical model is illustrated with the analysis of cold water corals in Norway where two fishing methods are considered – destructive bottom trawl and non-destructive coastal gear. Non-use values of cold water corals in Norway are estimated using a discrete choice experiment. Both the theoretical model and its empirical applications show how non-use values impact upon the optimal fishing practices. |
| Keywords: | renewable, non-renewable, habitat, fishery, bioeconomic, use and non-use value |
| JEL: | Q22 Q32 Q51 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2015-37&r=agr |