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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2016‒05‒21
76 papers chosen by |
| By: | Xu, Wenchao; Li, Man |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes how irrigating farmers change their micro-level water allocation in response to water supply variations under institutional water constraints and project the irrigation percentage and farm income under future climate scenarios. We use a highly-detailed data sample of irrigation status, water rights, water supply and agricultural land use from Idaho’s Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer area. Results indicate that 1-unit increase in irrigation percentage leads to ~US$18/ha increase in crop revenue. Compared to crop revenue, micro-level irrigation percentage is more prone to changes under long-term water stress. Seasonal water supply variations only have limited impact on the productivity of the irrigated agricultural sector as a whole. We postulate that average irrigation percentage and farm income will, in effect, increase under Idaho’s institutional water governance in the long run, when junior farmers stop irrigated agriculture practices due to persistent water shortage. |
| Keywords: | Irrigated Land Allocation, Crop Revenue, Water Supply, Water Rights, Climate Change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, O13, Q12, Q15, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211892&r=agr |
| By: | Jayne, Thomas S.; Chamberlin, Jordan; Traub, Lulama; Sitko, N.; Muyanga, Milu; Yeboah, Felix; Nkonde, Chewe; Anseeuw, Ward; Chapoto, Anthony; 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. In most countries examined, the majority of medium-scale farms are owned by urban-based professionals or rural elites, many of whom are also public sector employees. About half of these farmers obtained their land later in life, financed by non-farm income. The rise of investor farmers is affecting the region in diverse ways that are difficult to generalize. Many investor farms are a source of dynamism, technical change and commercialization of African agriculture. In densely populated areas, however, the growth of investor farms may be displacing the potential for agricultural land expansion of small-scale farming communities. Investor farmers tend to dominate farm lobby groups and influence agricultural policies and the allocation of public expenditures to agriculture in their favor. Nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey data from six countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia) show a sharp rise in urban-based households engaged in agriculture, with about 10% of urban households owning 10% to 35% of total agricultural land. Urban households account for a disproportionately large share of national farm holdings over 20 hectares. This suggests a new and hitherto unrecognized channel by which investor farmers may be shifting the strength and location of agricultural growth multipliers between rural and urban areas. |
| Keywords: | International Development, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212028&r=agr |
| By: | Alexandre Gohin; Yu Zheng |
| Abstract: | The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) reform in 2003 decoupled the farm payments from production, the 2014-2020 reform decides a shift of direct payments from land to active farms. In order to study the impact of the CAP reforms on farmers' production, consumption and investment decisions, we develop a stochastic dynamic farm model with price risk and productivity risk. We structural-estimate the model's deep parameters, in particular, the risk preference parameter, using particle filter and MCMC method. The solution of the model shows that the representative farmer's decision rules on consumption and investment vary with different risk preferences. We expect a change of the farmer's risk aversion level before and after CAP reform. However, due to the quality of data and the in developing non-linear filtering technique, the crucial deep parameters are not statistically identified. |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fsc:fspubl:45&r=agr |
| By: | Moon, Wanki; Pino, Gabriel |
| Abstract: | Comparative advantage is perhaps one of the most celebrated concept/theory in the history of economics since its birth in the late 18th century. It has dominated the field of international trade not only in academics but also in economic/development policy circles. International trade in agriculture, however, has been a notable exception. Agricultural protectionism disallowed the theory of comparative advantage to be valid in explaining agricultural trade. This paper attempts to shed light on the role of the state in determining international competitiveness of agricultural commodities. Farmers are neither the ones who make decisions whether or not to enter international markets nor are the ones who invest in R&D and develop new technologies with the goal of enhancing international competitiveness. Liberalizing trade is likely to send signals first to trading corporations, grain handlers, and governments and transmitted to farmers indirectly. Freer trade would initiate the process of specialization of production across the world, generating benefits in terms of greater production and lower prices, but offering little additional incentive for individual farm producers to reduce costs or adopt new technologies for the purpose of enhancing export opportunities (hence, lacking the creative destruction processes like in the manufacturing sector in which firm level strategies would determine international competitiveness). However, states may compete with each other to expand their exports or to decrease their dependence on food imports with strategic investments in agricultural infrastructure. The point is that state level strategies are likely to determine the pattern of agricultural trade in the long run. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Trade, Comparative Advantage, Competitive Advantage, the Role of the State, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2016–01–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:230031&r=agr |
| By: | Kannika Ruangdej Chaosuansreecharoen (Sirindhorn College of Public Health, Trang); Patjamai Dumtip (Sirindhorn College of Public Health, Trang) |
| Abstract: | This experimental research design aimed to study residual levels of organophosphate and carbamate in 360 samples of a vegetable widely consumed in Trang Municipality, located in southern province of Thailand. Three kinds of vegetables were most eaten vegetables, organic vegetables and locally grown vegetables. 190 samples of the most eaten vegetables included cilantro, kale, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, cauliflower, chili, spring onion, celery, yard long bean, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, egg plant, Thai egg plant, Chinese morning glory, white radish, devil’s fig, asparagus, lemon. 50 samples of the organic vegetables included Chinese morning glory, Chinese cabbage, kale, cabbage and yard long bean. 120 samples of the locally grown vegetables included morning glory, curry leaf, Liang vegetable, star gooseberry, Thai basil, chili, Gotu kola, bird lettuce, bitter bean, fresh pod color (red yard long bean). The most eaten vegetables were collected from 3 wholesale markets and 200 grams for each vegetable was randomly collected from 3 areas (top, bottom and middle). The organic and locally grown vegetables were collected from 3 retail sale markets and 200 gram for each vegetable was randomly collected from 3 areas (top, bottom and middle). The residual level of organophosphate and carbamate was examined with GPO-M kit of Medical Science Department, Ministry of Public Health. The samples were collected during April – July 2015.The results revealed that unsafe level (cholinesterase inhibitor level of 50-70%) of organophosphate and carbamate were found in most eat eaten vegetables 79 samples (41.58%) from 190 samples. Kinds of vegetables found pesticide residuals included cilantro, kale, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, cauliflower, chili, celery, spring onion, yard long bean, cucumber, tomato, Thai egg plant, white radish and lemon. All organic and locally grown vegetables were found safe residual level of organophosphate and carbamate. Based on the results of this study, public health authorities should encourage consumer to eat organic or locally grown vegetables and should properly wash vegetable before cooking. In addition, gardeners should be aware of the dangers of chemical pesticides for good quality and food safety of Thai vegetables. Meanwhile, authorities should work proactively to advise the use of chemical pesticides correctly and monitored continuously among gardeners throughout the country. |
| Keywords: | Organophosphate and Carbamate residues, most eaten vegetables, organic vegetables, locally grown vegetables |
| JEL: | I19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:3606106&r=agr |
| By: | Reynolds, Travis W.; Anderson, C. Leigh; Slakie, Elysia; Gugerty, Mary Kay |
| Abstract: | Common estimates of agricultural productivity rely upon crude measures of crop yield, typically defined as the weight of a crop harvested divided by the area harvested. But this common yield measure poorly reflects performance among farm systems combining multiple crops in one area (e.g., intercropping), and also ignores the possibility that farmers might lose crop area between planting and harvest (e.g., partial crop failure). Drawing on detailed plot-level data from Tanzania’s National Panel Survey, this paper contrasts measures of smallholder productivity using production per hectare harvested and production per hectare planted. Yield by area planted differs significantly from yield by area harvested, particularly for smaller farms and female-headed households. OLS regression further reveals different demographic and management-related drivers of variability in yield gains – and thus different implications for policy and development interventions – depending on the yield measurement used. Findings suggest a need to better specify “yield” to more effectively guide agricultural development efforts. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212294&r=agr |
| By: | Samuel Marden (Department of Economics, University of Sussex) |
| Abstract: | A classic literature argues that improvements in agricultural productivity result in higher non-agricultural output, particularly at low levels of development. The proposed mechanisms for these ‘forward linkages’ centre on increases in the supply of factors—usually labour or capital—or demand externalities in product markets. Regardless of the mechanism, empirical evidence for substantial linkages from agriculture is limited. In this paper, I show that improvements in agricultural productivity were an important factor in the growth of the non-agricultural sector in early reform-era China. I obtain plausibly exogenous variation in agricultural productivity growth by exploiting the fact that reforms between 1978 and 1984 were more beneficial to farmers endowed with land suited to cash crops. Then, using a newly digitised panel of economic data for 561 counties, I trace the growth of agricultural and non-agricultural output over forty years. Over the 15 or 25 year periods following the reforms, I estimate elasticities of county level non-agricultural output with respect to agricultural output of 1.2 or 0.8. Several pieces of additional evidence indicate that the linkages identified were primarily due to higher agricultural surpluses increasing the supply of capital to local non-state firms. |
| JEL: | O11 O13 O43 P32 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:9116&r=agr |
| By: | Wineman, Ayala; Mason, Nicole M.; Ochieng, Justus; Kirimi, Lilian |
| Abstract: | Households in rural Kenya are sensitive to weather shocks through their reliance on rain-fed agriculture and livestock. Yet the extent of vulnerability is poorly understood, particularly in reference to extreme weather. This paper uses temporally and spatially disaggregated weather data and three waves of household panel survey data to understand the impact of weather extremes –including periods of high and low rainfall, heat, and wind– on household welfare. Particular attention is paid to heterogeneous effects across agro-ecological regions. We find that all types of extreme weather affect household well-being, although effects sometimes differ for income and calorie estimates. Periods of drought are the most consistently negative weather shock across various regions. An examination of the channels through which weather affects welfare reveals that drought conditions reduce income from both on- and off-farm sources, though households compensate for diminished on-farm production with food purchases. The paper further explores the household and community characteristics that mitigate the adverse effects of drought. In particular, access to credit and a more diverse income base seem to render a household more resilient. |
| Keywords: | food security, household welfare, Kenya, resilience, weather shocks, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Production Economics, D60, I32, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:egtewp:233678&r=agr |
| By: | Asfaw, Solomon; Lipper, Leslie |
| Abstract: | We assess farmers' incentives and the conditioning factors for adoption of agricultural technologies under climate risk and evaluate its impact on food security in Niger. Results show that while the use of modern inputs and organic fertilizers improves productivity, results are unclear for crop residues. Results also show that factors driving modern input use are different than those of crop residues and organic fertilizer which can be characterized at low capital requirements, higher labour requirements and longer time for results versus modern inputs which can be characterized as higher capital requirements, less labour requirement and shorter time for returns. Results show that greater climate variability increases use of risk-reducing inputs, but reduce the use of modern inputs. Results presented have implications for understanding and overcoming barriers to adoption, distinguishing structural aspects such as exposure and sensitivity from potential interventions at the household or system levels linked to adaptive capacity. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, adaptation, food security, multivariate probit, instrumental variable, Niger, Africa, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Q01, Q12, Q16, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:225667&r=agr |
| By: | Jolejole-Foreman, Maria Christina; Olofin, Ibironke; Fawzi, Wafaie; Fink, Gunther |
| Abstract: | A growing body of literature suggests that in utero exposure to hunger negatively affects children’s survival and linear growth. In this paper, we retrospectively linked data on local agricultural output and household food reserves during the in utero period to children’s health and nutritional status in the first five years of their life. We hypothesized that seasonal variations in agricultural yields and food reserves affect the quantity and diversity of food intake during pregnancy, and that pregnancies during periods with limited food reserves are associated with poorer child health outcomes. We generated a food reserve scarcity index (FRSI) based on reported food stocks at the household level reported in post-harvest surveys from 2001-2007 and estimated associations with child survival, birth size and World Health Organization (WHO) growth Z scores using multivariable regression model. We found negative and statistically significant associations between children’s weight and height Z-scores (WAZ and HAZ) and food scarcity in all trimesters with largest associations for the first and third trimesters. While we found that food scarcity in the second trimester increases children’s mortality risk, food scarcity in early gestation had protective effects on mortality. The results suggest that policies aimed at reducing vulnerability to food scarcity require targeting the vulnerable populations and proper timing of policies. Policy implications encompass two pathways: One is through nutrition such as food aid and supplements; And with the recurrence of food scarcity problem, the second more sustainable solution is through agriculture and extension such as proper food storage. |
| Keywords: | Seasonal food reserves, seasonal food scarcity, Undernutrition in pregnant women, children survival and linear growth, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235111&r=agr |
| By: | Muraoka, Rie; Jin, Songqing; Jayne, Thomas S. |
| Abstract: | Constrained access to land is increasingly recognized as a problem impeding rural household welfare in densely populated areas of Africa. This study utilizes household and parcel level data from rural Kenya to explore the linkage between land access and food security. We find that a 10% increase in operated land size would increase household total food consumption per capita, cereal consumption per capita, non-cereal consumption, and home produced food consumption by 2.6%, 2.1%, 2.7% and 5.4%, respectively. We also find that land rental is the dominant mechanism that poor rural farmers use to access additional land for cultivation. However, the levels of long-term land investment and land productivity are significantly lower for rented parcels than for own parcels even after household fixed-effect and parcel level observed characteristics are controlled for. Furthermore, land rental markets do not allow farmers to fully adjust their operated land size to their desired level. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212513&r=agr |
| By: | Hoken, Hisatoshi |
| Abstract: | Chinese agricultural cooperatives, called Farmer's Professional Cooperatives (FPCs), are expected to become a major tool to facilitate agro-industrialization for small farmers through the diffusion of new technologies, the supply of high-quality agricultural inputs and the marketing of their products. This study compares FPC participants with vegetable-producing non-participants and grain farmers in vegetable-producing areas in rural China to investigate the treatment effect of participation in FPCs as well as implementation of vegetable cultivation. I adopt parametric and nonparametric approaches to precisely estimate the treatment effects. Estimated results indicate no significant difference between participants and non-participants of FPCs on agricultural net income in both parametric and non-parametric estimations. In contrast, the comparison between vegetable and grain farmers using propensity score matching (PSM) reveals that the treatment effect of vegetable cultivation is significantly positive for total and agricultural incomes, although vegetable cultivation involves more labor-intensive efforts. These results indicate that it is the implementation of vegetable cultivation rather than the participation in an FPC that enhances the economic welfare of farmers, due to the non-excludability of FPCs' services as well as the risks involved in vegetable cultivation. |
| Keywords: | Farmers, Agricultural cooperative, Agricultural economies, Agriculture, Small farmers, Propensity score matching, Treatment effect |
| JEL: | O13 Q12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper578&r=agr |
| By: | Carletto, Calogero; Gourlay, Sydney; Murray, Siobhan; Zezza, Alberto |
| Abstract: | In rural societies land is a major measure of wealth, a critical input in agricultural production, and a key variable for assessing agricultural performance and productivity. In the absence of cadastral information to refer to, measures of land plots have historically been taken with one of two approaches: traversing (very precise, but cumbersome), and farmers’ self-report (cheap, but marred by large, systematic measurement error). Recently, the advent of cheap handheld GPS devices has held promise of balancing cost and precision. There are, however, concerns about how GPS measures may perform on certain types of plots, or under given measurement conditions. Using purposely collected data from methodological validation studies conducted in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, this paper analyses the use of farmer self-reported area estimation against the primary objective measurement alternatives. Guided by analytical results, and with consideration for practical household survey implementation, the paper assesses the nature and magnitude of measurement error under different methods and proposes a set of recommendations for plot area measurement. Results largely point to the support of GPS measurement, with simultaneous collection of farmer self-reported areas. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211849&r=agr |
| By: | Voeun, Soma; Griffith, Garry |
| Abstract: | Poultry production (predominately broilers) is the most important livestock industry in Thailand. It is the major source of meat and generates substantial employment and income. There are a number of different production systems ranging from modern integrated commercial systems to smallholder production systems. However, the Thai poultry value chain, in general, suffers from several major issues or constraints affecting value chain coordination. These problems include reduced availability and rising prices of feedgrains, poor infrastructure, and food safety issues. For feedgrains, more research into more productive crops and alternative crops is likely to help. Regarding social and physical infrastructure, the government could usefully play a greater role in building more road networks, setting up power grids and securing water sources. Finally, food safety concerns can be resolved by upgrading the value chain to closed production systems, focussing on biosecurity measures and compartmentalization. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:auagpe:234413&r=agr |
| By: | Ribaudo, Marc; Marshall, Elizabeth; Aillery, Marcel; Malcolm, Scott |
| Abstract: | Reducing the size of the hypoxic zone (Dead Zone) in the northern Gulf of Mexico will require a significant reduction in nutrient loads from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). This research uses an agriculture sector model and data on conservation system effectiveness and costs to estimate costs to the agriculture sector of meeting nutrient load goals at the outlet to the Gulf and at outlets of sub-basins in the watershed. The analysis also estimates resulting changes in crop prices and the resulting impacts on agricultural production and nutrient and sediment loss outside the MARB. |
| Keywords: | hypoxia, nutrients, REAP model, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235197&r=agr |
| By: | Kihiu, Evelyne Nyathira; Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin |
| Abstract: | Productivity of rangelands in Kenya is affected by increasing crop farming especially in more fertile range areas. Among the key factors driving the encroachment of crops on rangelands are the changing opportunities brought about by markets. We hypothesize that the existing market inefficiencies characterizing livestock markets, especially the price disincentives that livestock producers face, are major risks rangelands face. To analyze the effect of livestock market conditions on rangeland management, we draw on household survey and economic modeling tools. We find that traders’ rent seeking behavior and high transport costs act as disincentives to livestock producers’ participation in livestock markets and influence their decisions in seeking alternative rangeland uses to sustain livelihoods. However, improved livestock market access enhances livestock producers’ livelihoods and the stewardship of the ecosystems thus reducing pastoralists’ vulnerability to ecological climate variability associated with rangelands. |
| Keywords: | Extensive livestock production, market access, ecological-economic model, positive mathematical programming (PMP) model, Kenya, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Q13, Q15, Q24, |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:235107&r=agr |
| By: | Martinez, Pilar; Blanco, Maria; Van Doorslaer, Benjamin; Ramos, Fabien; Stanca, Lucian |
| Abstract: | Recent studies point to climate change being one of the long-term drivers of agricultural market uncertainty. To advance in the understanding of the influence of climate change on future agricultural market developments, we compare a reference scenario for 2030 with alternative simulation scenarios that differ regarding: (1) emission scenarios; (2) climate projections; and (3) the consideration of carbon fertilization effects. For each simulation scenario, the CAPRI model provides global and EU-wide impacts of climate change on agricultural markets. Results show that climate change would considerably affect agrifood markets up to 2030. Nevertheless, market-driven adaptation strategies (production intensification, trade adjustments) would soften the impact of yield shocks on supply and demand. As a result, regional changes in production would be lower than foreseen by other studies focused on supply effects. |
| Keywords: | Bio-economic modelling, Climate change, Agricultural market uncertainty, Food security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, C55, Q11, Q13, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212230&r=agr |
| By: | Eriksson, Mathilda (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | This thesis consists of an introductory part and four papers related to the optimal use of forest as a mitigation strategy. In Paper [I], I develop the FOR-DICE model to analyze optimal global forest carbon management. The FOR-DICE is a simple framework for assessing the role of the boreal, tropical, and temperate forests as both a source of renewable energy and a resource to sequester and store carbon. I find that forests play an important role in reducing global emissions, especially under ambitious climate targets. At the global level, efforts should focus on increasing the stock of forest biomass rather than increasing the use of the forest for bioenergy production. The results also highlight the important role of reducing tropical deforestation to reduce climate change. In Paper [II], I develop the FRICE to investigate the role of two key efforts to increase the stock of forest biomass, namely, afforestation and avoided deforestation. FRICE is a multi-regional integrated assessment model that captures the dynamics of forest carbon sequestration in a transparent way and allows me to investigate the allocation of these actions across space and time. I find that global climate policy can benefit considerably from afforestation and avoided deforestation in tropical regions, and in particular in Africa. Avoided deforestation is particularly effective in the short run while afforestation provides the largest emissions reductions in the medium run. This paper also highlights the importance of not solely relying on avoided deforestation as its capacity to reduce emissions is more limited than afforestation, especially under more stringent temperature targets. In Paper [III], we investigate how uncertainties linked to the forest affect the optimal climate policy. We incorporate parameter uncertainty on the intrinsic growth rate and climate effects on the forest by using the state-contingent approach. Our results show that forest uncertainty matters. We find that the importance of including forest in climate policy increases when the forest is subject to uncertainty. This occurs because optimal forest response allows us to reduce the costs associated with uncertainty. In Paper [IV], we explore the implications of asymmetries in climate policy arising from not recognizing forest carbon emissions and sequestration in the decision-making process. We show that not fully including carbon values associated with the forest will have large effects on different forest controls and lead to an increase in emissions, higher carbon prices, and lower welfare. We further find, by investigating the relative importance of forest emissions compared to sequestration, that recognizing forest emissions from bioenergy and deforestation is especially important for climate policy. |
| Keywords: | climate change; integrated assessment; forest carbon sequestration; forest bioenergy; avoided deforestation; afforestation; uncertainty; dynamic modeling; DICE; RICE |
| JEL: | C61 D81 H23 Q23 Q42 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2016–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0927&r=agr |
| By: | AKOYI, Kevin Teopista; MAERTENS, Miet |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate whether private sustainability standards in the coffee sector in Uganda live up to the promises they make to consumers to improve the welfare and productivity of smallholder farmers. We use cross-sectional household survey data from Eastern Uganda and instrumental variable methods to reveal how participation in two different coffee certification schemes affects smallholders. We find that smallholder participation in a double Fairtrade - Organic certification scheme neither increases producer income, nor reduces poverty. While certified producers do receive higher coffee prices, the certificate results in lower land and labour productivity and the price premium does not compensate for that. For participation in a triple Utz - Rainforest Alliance - 4C certification scheme, we find increases in coffee income, in land and labour productivity but no significant impact on poverty reduction. The results imply that almost a decade after their introduction, the certification schemes have failed to contribute to poverty reduction in a region that is faced with a high incidence of poverty. The results indicate that a price premium to producers is neither necessary, nor sufficient, for private sustainability standards to contribute to rural incomes, and that yields are more important than prices in increasing net returns to coffee farmers. In areas with degraded soils and low average yields, FT certification focusing on fair producer prices, might be better for smallholder coffee farmers when combined with standards that focus on good agricultural practices and productivity growth, such as Utz, than when combined with Organic standards. The results put doubt on the sincerity of private sustainability standards and the justification of the price premium consumers pay for certified products, as standards may not always live up to the expectations they create. |
| Keywords: | Coffee certification, Private sustainability standards, Global value chains, Poverty reduction, Smallholder farmers, Uganda, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Production Economics, F14, I32, L15, O12, O13, O17, O18, Q12, Q13, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:235004&r=agr |
| By: | Kirk, Angeli; Kilic, Talip; Carletto, Calogero |
| Abstract: | This study attempts to fill the knowledge gap between the cross-country analyses that explore the links between income and nutrition without insights on micro-level determinants, and the numerous microeconomic studies that suggest mechanisms of impact but are hindered by some combination of small sample size, incomplete data, and questionable approaches to impact estimation. The analysis uses the three annual waves of the Uganda National Panel Survey, and features panel regressions of child anthropometric outcomes controlling for time-invariant childlevel heterogeneity and other time-variant observables. The paper starts by looking at how the outcomes correlate with short-term changes in rural household income. The impact is subsequently differentiated by sector of income, first between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, and by type of agriculture. The analysis documents no impact of short-term changes in total gross income on weight-related measures but documents positive effects on height-related outcomes. Sector-differentiated analyses indicate that only the share of income originating from non-farm self-employment exerts positive and statistically significant effects on both height and weight measures. For height, the income shares pertaining to (i) consumption of own crop production and (ii) low-protein crop production appear to be underlining the negative effect of the share of income originating from crop production. The results suggest stickiness of crop production to own consumption, and while this may be nutrition-supporting in some contexts, income growth in the production of low-nutrient crops in Uganda may crowd out consumption of other goods and services that have the potential to serve as better nutritional investments. |
| Keywords: | Child Nutrition, Anthropometrics, Household Income, Agriculture, Nutrition- Sensitive Agricultural Production, Uganda, Sub-Saharan Africa, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, C23, I12, O12, O15, Q12, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212006&r=agr |
| By: | Gupta, Vivek; Gautam, Tej K.; Bhandari, Basu D. |
| Abstract: | Income generating activities play a vital role to improve the livelihood of rural people in developing countries. International donor agencies and national policy makers would like to see subsistence farming transformed into commercial agriculture to enhance the well beings of people in developing countries. In Nepal for the last two decades or so, farmers are incorporating income generating activities in subsistent farming systems. Most popular income generating activities include mushroom cultivation, sericulture, apiculture, and fish culture. Our objective in this paper is to use a multinomial logit model to determine the factors affecting the choice of income generating activities by Nepalese farmers. Some of the important explanatory variables used in this model are availability of water, inputs (such as seeds and disinfectants), technology, and market accessibility. We use 2012 census data available from the Agricultural Census of Nepal to conduct this analysis. Preliminary results indicated that availability of inputs and accessibility to markets are the major determinants in selecting income generation activities. The outcome of this study may help to promote ideal income generating activities for the benefit of rural farmers in Nepal or other developing countries. |
| Keywords: | agricultural credit, informal credit, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:230130&r=agr |
| By: | Anne M. Williams; Caroline J. Chantry; Sera L. Young; Beryl S. Achando; Lindsay H. Allen; Benjamin F. Arnold; John M. Colford; Jr.; Holly N. Dentz; Daniela Hampel; Marion C. Kiprotich; Audrie Lin; Clair A. Null; Geoffrey M. Nyambane; Setti Shahab-Ferdows; Christine P. Stewart |
| Abstract: | Most lactating Kenyan women consumed less than the estimated average requirement of vitamin B-12 and had low breast milk vitamin B-12 concentrations. |
| Keywords: | animal-source foods, breast milk, lactation, vitamin B-12, Kenya, Africa, hunger, food security |
| JEL: | F Z |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:4cfef0a22dd94936ba2df12514c01a6c&r=agr |
| By: | Adjognon, S; Liverpool-tasie, S. L.; Shupp, R. |
| Abstract: | A Dynamic incentive model is used to develop conditions that minimize strategic default in agricultural inputs on credit to rural smallholder farmers. Hypotheses from the model are tested using data collected through a framed field experiment that simulates a market for input on credit |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:234951&r=agr |
| By: | Anne Fournier, |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study how the proximity to cities affects the decision of farmers to enter the direct-selling market in presence of spatial heterogeneity in agricultural yields. We develop a theoretical model which takes into account the externality of urban pollution and market access costs on direct-selling profits. We find that regions hosting an intermediate-size city are more likely to supply a wider range of direct-selling varieties. Additionally, we highlight that spatial heterogeneity in productivity creates distortions in competition between farmers, and can have concomitant undesired effects on both the quality and the range of available varieties. |
| Keywords: | direct-selling farming, spatial heterogeneity, urban pollution, city sized |
| JEL: | D43 Q13 Q53 R52 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201605&r=agr |
| By: | Deininger,Klaus W.; Nagarajan,Hari Krishnan; Singh,Sudhir K. |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a large national household panel from 1999/2000 and 2007/08 to analyze the short-term effects of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on wages, labor supply, agricultural labor use, and productivity. The scheme prompted a 10-point wage increase and higher labor supply to nonagricultural casual work and agricultural self-employment. Program-induced drops in hired labor demand were more than outweighed by more intensive use of family labor, machinery, fertilizer, and diversification to crops with higher risk-return profiles, especially by small farmers. Although the aggregate productivity effects were modest, total employment generated by the program (but not employment in irrigation-related activities) significantly increased productivity, suggesting alleviation of liquidity constraints and implicit insurance provision rather than quality of works undertaken as a main channel for program-induced productivity effects. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Labor Markets,Rural Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2016–05–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7665&r=agr |
| By: | BUI, LINH; HOANG, HUYEN; BUI, HANG |
| Abstract: | Vietnamese rice production has achieved remarkable success over last decades. By the land and market reforms, known as “Doi Moi”, in which there were noticeable changes in policies such as land and production system were transformed from collective to individual contract system in 1980s, the process of legally privatization of farm properties, huge investment in irrigation system, Vietnam made progress in rice production. The country not only ensured its domestic demand but also started exporting rice and gradually became the second largest exporter in the world. An estimate of the constant elasticity of substitution function (CES) for Vietnam’s rice production is essential for the government to design effective policy on agricultural production. This study makes the first attempt to estimate the nested CES model for Vietnam rice production in 2012. The paper finds that the elasticity of substitution of Vietnam's nested CES model lies between 0.44 to 0.46. The results indicate that the weak substitutability between land and the nest (labor, capital) in the nested CES model. The paper also provides empirical evidence that the nested CES structure in which capital with land are nested inputs and labor plays a role as the third input is rejected. This suggests that it is impossible to take labor as the substitutable factor for land and capital. The findings would partly contribute to design the Vietnam’s effective policies on rice production with the appropriate allocation of inputs factors in order to achieve the optimal output. |
| Keywords: | Constant Elasticity of substitution, Levenberg-Marquardt method, Vietnam, rice production. |
| JEL: | C1 C5 C8 O1 O13 Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:71224&r=agr |
| By: | Kunlayanee Pornpinatepong (Prince Songkhla University, Thailand) |
| Abstract: | The major objective of this study was to develop appropriate water quality control policies for a sustainable fishery in Southern Songkhla Lake (Southern Lake) so the impact of water pollution on fishery production in the lake was the first consideration. The three major components of this study were: (i) the identification of the situation and trends in fishery production associated with water quality in the lake, using secondary data and statistical analysis, (ii) the evaluation of technological options to improve water quality using secondary data and cost-effectiveness analysis, and (iii) the analysis of proposed policy alternatives for better water quality. In order to identify the current situation and trends in fishery production associated with water quality in Southern Lake, the natural shrimp catch was used as an indicator of water quality deterioration while the water quality composite index (WQCI) was used as the indicator of the relationship between water quality and pollution from various sources. |
| Keywords: | fishery production, water quality, Thailand |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160414&r=agr |
| By: | Mohammed H. Alemu (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Søren Bøye Olsen (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Suzanne E. Vedel (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); John Kinyuru (Department of Food Science and Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya); Kennedy O. Pambo (Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we present one of the first thorough assessments of potential consumer demand for an insect based food product. We assess the demand in terms of Kenyan consumer preferences and willingness to pay for buns containing varying amounts of cricket flour. The novel feature of the study is that it uses an incentivized discrete choice experiment method integrated with sensory experiments intended to reduce any hypothetical bias and to allow participants to acquire experience in terms of tasting the different buns before they make their choices in the choice tasks. We find significant and positive preferences for the buns which contain cricket flour. Interestingly, the bun products with medium amounts of cricket flour are preferred to no or high amount of cricket flour. Finally, we show in a simulated market that the cricket flour based buns are likely to obtain a greater market shares than that of standard buns today. |
| Keywords: | cricket flour, insect, incentivized discrete choice experiment, taste, willingness to pay |
| JEL: | C13 C25 C93 D12 Q01 Q11 Q13 Q18 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:foi:wpaper:2016_02&r=agr |
| By: | Patil, Vikram S.; Ghosh, Ranjan |
| Abstract: | In developing countries, the general principle followed in land acquisition for infrastructure projects is monetary compensation. The compensation is designed in a way that it enables farmers to buy comparable land assets. Despite this monetary compensation, a large proportion of farming population ends up not owning comparable assets, getting further marginalized in the process. We explain this using a transaction cost analysis of the dominant land acquisition framework in India (LAA, 1894). Based on the case of displaced farmers of Upper Krishna project in Karnataka, we show how specificities related to land characteristics, uncertainties in search for alternatives and information constrains impose high non-monetary transaction costs on farmers. We then assess whether or not the newly proposed land acquisition framework (RFCTLARR, 2015) promises to minimize transaction costs on farmers. |
| Keywords: | Land Acquisition, Transaction Cost Economics, Farmers Displacement, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q15, D2, O13, |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:229378&r=agr |
| By: | Richard Danvers Smart; Matthias Blum; Justus Wesseler |
| Abstract: | Genetically engineered (GE) crops are subject to regulatory oversight to ensure their safety for humans and the environment. Their approval in the European Union (EU) starts with an application in a given Member State followed by a scientific risk assessment, and ends with a political decision-making step (risk management). In the United States (US) approval begins with a scientific (field trial) step and ends with a 'bureaucratic' decision-making step. We investigate trends for the time taken for these steps and the overall time taken for approving GE crops in the US and the EU. Our results show that from 1996-2015 the overall time trend for approval in the EU decreased and then flattened off, with an overall mean completion-time of 1,763 days. In the US in 1998 there was a break in the trend of the overall approval time. Initially, from 1988 until 1997 the trend decreased with a mean approval time of 1,321 days; from 1998-2015, the trend almost stagnated with a mean approval time of 2,467 days. |
| Keywords: | GE; Genetically modified organism (GMO); Transgenic; US; EU; Regulatory oversight; Authorization |
| JEL: | O32 O38 O57 Q16 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qub:wpaper:1603&r=agr |
| By: | Neves, Mateus de Carvalho; Goncalves, Marcos; Gomes, Adriano; Braga, Marcelo J. |
| Abstract: | Against a background of concentrated production chains and profound changes in the agri-food system, Brazilian agricultural cooperatives are challenged to remain competitive to withstand large multinational companies. This paper proposed to investigate nuances in the behavior of these cooperative organizations due to the changes in their operating environment. It does so by analyzing alterations in efficiency and total factor productivity of a sample of Brazilian agricultural cooperatives, classified according to size, from 2006 to 2010. For this, non-parametric models of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Index were used. Through the DEA approach, it was seen that larger cooperatives faced decreasing efficiency, while smaller ones experienced the opposite. Moreover, as demonstrated by the Malmquist Indices, the cooperatives, on average, presented negative technological variations, and smaller cooperatives underwent positive changes in technical efficiency. The results suggest directions which public policies could take to strengthen Brazilian agricultural cooperatives in the face of new challenges. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212529&r=agr |
| By: | Leonor Freire Costa; Jaime Reis |
| Abstract: | Two historiographical currents have debated whether early modern Portugal was cursed by an excessive dependence on foreign food imports as a result of being unable to feed its population, or not. In this short paper, the first long-run systematic quantitative study of this question, we show that the former view is a myth and therefore could not be a curse. Throughout the entire period, a certain amount of grain was in fact imported but cereal purchases abroad never represented more than a diminutive percentage of total food consumption. More importantly, the country carried out a diversified trade in foodstuffs which was seldom seriously out of balance. Portuguese agriculture showed itself consistently capable of specializing in different foodstuffs for export. It was thus not hopelessly inefficient and succeeded reasonably well in meeting the basic nutritional needs of the population. |
| Keywords: | Food deficit; Agriculture; Foreign trade; Portugal JEL classification : N53; O49 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:gheswp:wp582016&r=agr |
| By: | Budy P. Resosudarmo (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | The excessive use of pesticides in Indonesia during the 1970s and 1980s caused serious environmental problems, such as acute and chronic human pesticide poisoning, animal poisoning, the contamination of agricultural products, the destruction of both beneficial natural parasites and pest predators, and pesticide resistance in pests. To overcome these environmental problems, the Indonesian government implemented an integrated pest management (IPM) program from 1991 to 1999. During that time, the program was able to help farmers reduce the use of pesticides by approximately 56% and increase yields by approximately 10%. However, economic literature that analyzes the impact of the IPM program on household incomes and national economic performance is very limited. The general objective of this research is to analyze the impact of the IPM program in food crops on the Indonesian economy and household incomes for different socioeconomic groups. |
| Keywords: | Integrated Pest Management, Indonesia |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr2016059&r=agr |
| By: | Midingoyi, Soul-kifouly; Hippolyte, Affognon; Georges, Ong'amo; Bruno, LeRu |
| Abstract: | This study adopted the economic surplus model to evaluate the impact of the biological control program (BC), implemented by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), on cereal crops production in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia. The BC was implemented in East and Southern Africa between 1993 and 2008, with the aim of helping small scale farmers to reduce cereal yield losses due to stem-borers and improve their well-being. Findings show that BC-intervention substantially contributes to consumer and producer welfare in the three countries. The net present value of $US 271.76 million, the attractive Internal Rate of Return of 67%, as well as the estimated Benefit Cost Ration of 33.47, imply the efficiency of investment in BC-program. Moreover, 0.35%, 0.25% and 0.20% of poor are yearly lifted out of poverty respectively in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia. These findings underscore the need for increased investment in BC in the sub-region. |
| Keywords: | Biological Control, Stemborers, Economic Surplus Model, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212461&r=agr |
| By: | Moturi, Walter; Obare, Gideon; Kahi, Alexander |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from a survey of one hundred and eighty four dairy households in two divisional administrative zones in the Kenya highlands to empirically analyze the factors that influence the choice of a milk marketing channel. Multinomial logit econometric estimation results show that distance to milk collection centre, education level, membership of the household head to farmers' group/organization, the number of cows ownedn by the household, and the coefficiency of variation in prices significantly influenced the choice of a marketing channel. Private channel players are yet to focus on tapping the production potential of farmers with small herd sizes and encouraging group formation to exploit the social capital. The study demonstrates the need for the private sector to enhance milk collection at the unexplored areas to exploit the milk supply potentials. The implications for policy are provide. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212477&r=agr |
| By: | Thiemo Fetzer; Samuel Marden |
| Abstract: | Weak property rights are strongly associated with underdevelopment, low state capacity and civil conflict. In economic models of conflict, outbreaks of violence require two things: the prize must be both valuable and contestable. This paper exploits spatial and temporal variation in contestability of land title to explore the relation between (in)secure property rights and conflict in the Brazilian Amazon. Our estimates suggest that, at the local level, assignment of secure property rights eliminates substantively all land related conflict, even without changes in enforcement. Changes in land use are also consistent with reductions in land related conflict. |
| Keywords: | property rights; land titling; conflict; deforestation |
| JEL: | J1 N0 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:66534&r=agr |
| By: | Chavas, Jean-Paul; Li, Jian |
| Abstract: | This paper develops an economic analysis of commodity price dynamics and price volatility. The approach applies under general supply-demand conditions, including the role played by private and public inventory holders. Quantile autogression is used to estimate the evolving distribution of price. The usefulness of the method is illustrated in an application to two markets in China: a food market (rice) and a feed market (corn). Based on monthly data over the period 2000-2014, the econometric analysis shows how the price distributions (including skewness and kurtosis) vary across commodity markets. Using a Markov chain representation, the paper evaluates the dynamics of price volatility. It finds slow adjustments in the price distribution between short run and long run situations. The investigation also assesses the short run and long run effects of alternative economic policies on the price distributions. It finds that the Chinese price support programs have helped stabilize the domestic food market but not the feed market. |
| Keywords: | price dynamics, price volatility, quantile, agricultural markets, China, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty, C1, E3, Q1, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235070&r=agr |
| By: | Jan, Pierrick; Calabrese, Chiara; Lips, Markus |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of nitrogen surplus and of its two components-nitrogen intensity and nitrogen-inefficiency- at farm level in Swiss agriculture. Our analysis is based on a cross-section of 210 farms from the eyar 2010. The nitrogen balance of each farm is estimated according to the OECD soil-surface approach. The determinants are analysed by means of a three-equartion regression model estimated using a robust SUR approach. Farm size, part-time farming, organic farming, arable cropping and farmer's age are found to negatively affect nitrogen surplus, whilst dairy, pig and poultry farming are associated with a higher nitrogen surplus. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211795&r=agr |
| By: | Covre, Julyana; Clemente, Felippe; Lirio, Viviani S. |
| Abstract: | Brazil is a continental country, with more than 8 million square kilometers and many biomes, which have permanent preservation areas and legal reserves protected by the Forest Code. On the other hand, Brazil is an agricultural country, that increasingly needs of agricultural land. In 2012 after much controversy approved the new Brazilian Forest Code. The article, then, is to evaluate the changes brought by the new Forest Code and the future impact of the same on small and medium farms and the environment. We conclude that the new forest code can have serious consequences for the environment and human life. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212768&r=agr |
| By: | Daniel Rais |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the issues of dual pricing and export restrictions in the energy sector, stressing the comparability of their economic and climate change impacts. It assesses whether WTO disciplines relevant and applicable to such practices are well-equipped to ensure fair access to energy resources. It finds that relevant GATT disciplines are overall deficient in the case of dual pricing and export taxes, while the landscape of WTO-plus obligations generally consisting of a network of narrowly tailored commitments. It discusses possible avenues to address such practices under the ASCM to the extent that they distort domestic energy prices and subsidize consumption of cheap fossil fuels |
| Date: | 2015–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wti:papers:848&r=agr |
| By: | Dawson, P.J.; Gorton, Matthew; Hubbard, Lionel; Hubbard, Carmen |
| Abstract: | The EU is a major player in the global wheat market. This paper examines the pricing behavior of EU wheat exporters using a pricing-to-market (PTM) analysis. Wheat is an exemplary product for testing PTM theories as it is widely and frequently traded, and it is largely unbranded. We estimate the relationship between export unit values and exchange rates using quarterly panel data for 11 export destinations for 2000- 2013. Results show that there is a meaningful long-run relationship between export unit values and exchange rates, but there is little evidence of differential mark-ups between export markets. Belarus and Iceland are exceptions where the EU exercises local currency price stabilization. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212044&r=agr |
| By: | Anil Markandya (BC3); Enrica De Cian (CMCC and FEEM); Laurent Drouet (CMCC and FEEM); Josué M. Polanco-Martìnez (BC3); Francesco Bosello (CMCC and FEEM) |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes an operationally simple and easily generalizable methodology to incorporate climate change damage uncertainty into Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). Uncertainty is transformed into a risk-premium, damage-correction, region-specific factor by extracting damage distribution means and variances from an ensemble of socio economic and climate change scenarios. This risk premium quantifies what society would be willing to pay to insure against the uncertainty of the damages, and it can be considered an add-up to the standard “average damage”. Our computations show the addition to be significant, but highly sensitive to the coefficient of relative risk aversion. Once the climate change damage function incorporates the risk premium into the model, results show a substantial increase in both mitigation and adaptation, reflecting a more conservative attitude by the social planner. Interestingly, adaptation is stimulated more than mitigation in the first half of the century, while the situation reverses afterwards. Over the century, the risk premium correction fosters more mitigation, which doubles, than adaptation, which rises by about 80%. |
| Keywords: | Risk, Uncertainty, Climate, Adaptation, Mitigation |
| JEL: | Q2 Q3 D8 D9 D62 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.21&r=agr |
| By: | Kamanda, Josey; Birner, Regina; Bantilan, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | The role of international agricultural research centers (IARCs) has long been a subject of discussion, often with emphasis that they should conduct research that produces international public goods (IPGs). However, centers still face a dilemma on how to balance between IPGs and location-specific work. This paper contributes to the development of principles by which they should position themselves. Transaction cost economics was applied to develop a framework, which is then illustrated with an empirical case study of legume research at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. A participatory mapping technique (Net-Map) was combined with key informant interviews in India, Malawi and Ethiopia. We find that IARCS play an important role in germplasm improvement, the field in which they have a comparative advantage. However, due to insufficient capacity of national systems, they also engage in downstream activities. This reduces incentives for governments and donors to overcome governance challenges. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural innovation, comparative advantage, research spillovers, transaction costs, CGIAR, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q16, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211826&r=agr |
| By: | Emanuel Ornelas |
| Abstract: | Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries (SDT) constitutes a central feature of the GATT/WTO system. Its formal goal is to foster export-led growth in developing countries. Its theoretical foundations and empirical support are, however, weak at best. In particular, SDT conflicts with the GATT's two key principles of reciprocity and non-discrimination, compromising the efficiency of the multilateral trading system. Still, if SDT provisions help those who most need help, sacrificing economic efficiency may be justifiable. However, there are numerous criticisms, on theoretical and empirical grounds, to the premises and the achievements of SDT-based disciplines, casting serious doubt on its effectiveness in helping developing countries trade and grow. For researchers, the good news is that there is plenty of room for progress, with several important areas where our understanding remains unsatisfactory but progress is feasible---that is, where the expected return to research effort seems unusually high. |
| Keywords: | Generalized System of Preferences; preferential tariffs; trade policy; World Trade Organization; terms of trade; firm delocation; export-led growth |
| JEL: | G18 H63 L15 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:66432&r=agr |
| By: | Wolf, David; Klaiber, H. Allen |
| Abstract: | Over the past decade harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become a nationwide environmental concern. HABs are likely to increase in frequency and intensity due to rising summer temperatures caused by climate change and higher nutrient enrichment from increased urbanization. Policymakers need information on the economic costs of HABs to design optimal management policies in the face of limited budgets. Using a detailed, multi-lake hedonic analysis across 6 Ohio counties between 2009 and 2015 we show capitalization losses associated with near lake homes between 12% and 17% rising to over 30% for lake adjacent homes. In the case of Grand Lake Saint Marys, we find capitalization losses exceeding $48 million for near lake homes which dwarfs the State of Ohio’s cleanup expenditure of $26 million. |
| Keywords: | harmful algal bloom, hedonic, blue green algae, cyanobacteria, capitalization, inland lake, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q25, Q51, Q53, Q57, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235159&r=agr |
| By: | Sherrick, Bruce; Schnitkey, Gary |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:scc016:233764&r=agr |
| By: | Cuicui Chen; Richard J. Zeckhauser |
| Abstract: | A central authority, possessing tax and expenditure responsibilities, can readily provide an efficient level of a public good. Climate change mitigation lacks a central authority. Thus, voluntary arrangements must replace coercive arrangements; significant under-provision must be expected. Potential contributors have strong incentives to free ride or ride cheaply. The players – the many nations of the world – are quite disparate. They thus frame negotiations from their own standpoints, making stalemate likely. Moreover, the focal-point solution where contributions are proportional to benefits clashes with the disproportionate cheap-riding incentives of little players. Our proposed solution, the Cheap-Riding Efficient Equilibrium (CREE), defines the relative contributions of players of differing size (or preference intensity) to reflect cheap riding incentives, yet still achieves Pareto optimality. CREE establishes the Alliance/Nash Equilibrium as a base point. From that point it proceeds to the Pareto frontier by applying the principles of the Lindahl Equilibrium (a focal point) or the Nash Bargaining Solution (a standard approach). We test the Alliance Equilibrium model using nations' Intended Nationally Determined Contributions at the Paris Climate Change Conference. As hypothesized, larger nations made much larger pledges in proportion to their Gross National Incomes. We apply our theory to examine the Nordhaus Climate Club proposal. |
| JEL: | C72 F53 H87 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22240&r=agr |
| By: | Block, Steven; Masters, William; Mulmi, Prajula; Shively, Gerald |
| Abstract: | Environmental conditions in early life are known to have causal impacts on later health outcomes, but mechanisms and potential remedies have been difficult to discern. This paper uses the Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 2006 and 2011, combined with earlier NASA satellite observations of variation in vegetation density (NDVI) at each child’s location and time of birth, to identify the trimesters of gestation and infancy during which climate variation can be linked to heights attained between 12 and 59 months of age. We find significant differences by sex of the fetus: males are most affected by conditions in their second trimester of gestation, and females in their first trimester after birth. Each 100 point difference in NDVI at those times is associated with a difference in height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) of 0.088 for boys and 0.054 for girls, an effect size that is similar to moving within the distribution of household wealth by one quintile for boys, and one decile for girls. The entire seasonal change in NDVI from peak to trough is on the order of 200-300 points, implying a seasonal effect on HAZ similar to 1-3 quintiles of household wealth. This effect is observed only in households without toilets; with toilets there is no seasonal fluctuation, implying protection against climatic changes in disease transmission. We also use data from the Nepal Living Standards Surveys on district-level agricultural production and marketing, and find a vegetation effect on child growth only in districts where households’ food consumption comes primarily from own production. Robustness tests find no evidence of selection effects, and placebo regressions reveal no significant artefactual correlations. Our findings regarding timing and sex-specificity are consistent with previous results, and the protective effect of sanitation and markets is a novel indication of the mechanisms by which households can gain resilience against adverse climatic conditions. |
| Keywords: | Seasonality, health, climate, agriculture, resilience, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, I15, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:234406&r=agr |
| By: | Mazzocchi, Mario; Irz, Xavier; Modugno, Lucia; Traill, W. Bruce |
| Abstract: | The continuous aging of the EU population challenges the sustainability of welfare states. Part of the solution is to ensure that people not only live longer but also better (i.e., that they can function independently while remaining free of disease/disability), which may be achieved through better nutrition and adoption of healthier lifestyles. We test that proposition with a behavioural model of diet quality choice and health determination. The simultaneous equations model, which accounts for the endogeneity of lifestyle choices and is applied to a sample of older Italians, allows for bi-directional causality between diet and health. The health production function confirms that good quality diets and other healthy lifestyles (e.g., physical activity, smoking and drinking) improve self-assessed health. In turn, the elderly respond to illness by improving their diets and exercising more. Supporting healthy aging may be achieved through targeted policies aimed at promoting healthy eating and other healthy lifestyles. |
| Keywords: | Health, elderly, behavioural, nutrition, healthy eating, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, I1, I12, I18, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:229070&r=agr |
| By: | Arriya Mungsunti (Charles Stuart University) |
| Keywords: | traditional irrigation, rural development, Thailand |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160449&r=agr |
| By: | Jikun Huang (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences); Fangbin (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences); Linxiu Zhang (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences); Scott Rozelle (University of California) |
| Keywords: | Pesticide, rice production, human health |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr2016051&r=agr |
| By: | Wailes, Eric; Chavez, Eddie |
| Abstract: | This outlook contains updated baseline rice projections from the Arkansas Global Rice Economics Program (AGREP) for U.S. and international rice economies as of January 2016. The purpose of this document is to present the current state and the expected directions of the rice economies in the world by assessing their potential supply and demand paths over the next decade. This set of projections serves as a baseline for evaluating and comparing alternative macroeconomic, policy, weather, and technological scenarios. The estimates are intended for use by government agencies and officials, farmers, consumers, agribusinesses and other stakeholders who conduct medium-and long-term planning. |
| Keywords: | Rice, baseline, supply and demand projections policy, deterministic, stochastic, Arkansas Global Rice Model, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, CO2, FO1, F14, F17, Q17, Q18, R11, |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uarksp:235158&r=agr |
| By: | Collart, Alba J.; Interis, Matthew G. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:229797&r=agr |
| By: | Lunduka, Rodney; Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Shively, Gerald; Jayne, Thom |
| Abstract: | The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the existing body of research is that the FISP has helped increase smallholder fertilizer use. It has also had a positive but modest direct impact on maize yields and overall smallholder maize production in Malawi. There is conflicting evidence as to whether rural poverty rates have risen or declined in recent years, and it is unclear how FISP has directly impacted household poverty. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcpb:234945&r=agr |
| By: | Ali, Mubarik; Ahmed, Faryal; Channa, Hira; Davies, Stephen |
| Abstract: | The fertilizer industry in Pakistan, with US$3.74 billion per year in sales, now stands at a crossroads where, after an initial substantial contribution in boosting crop productivity, its future potential is being challenged. Fertilizer-responsive crop varieties, supplementary irrigation water, and a favorable policy environment in Pakistan have induced fast growth in fertilizer demand. On the supply side, the availability of gas at low prices along with a favorable investment environment resulted in the buildup of excessive manufacturing capacity. But recently, a shortage of gas and monopolistic behavior has led to underutilization and greater imports. Restrictive laws put fertilizer processing and marketing in a few hands, which has also affected its efficiency. Moreover, the yield response of fertilizer has tapered off and per hectare use is fast reaching its optimal level. The existing policy environment leads to higher costs, inefficient use, and a heavy burden on the government as it charges one-fourth of the market price for feedstock gas used in fertilizer manufacturing. In addition, the government imports urea and absorbs the difference in international and domestic prices. |
| Keywords: | fertilizers, farm inputs, prices, subsidies, urea, phosphate fertilizers, equilibrium displacement model (EDM), diammonium phosphate (DAP), |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1516&r=agr |
| By: | Rafael Portillo; Luis-Felipe Zanna; Stephen A. O'Connell; Richard Peck |
| Abstract: | We introduce subsistence requirements in food consumption into a simple new-Keynesian model with flexible food and sticky non-food prices. We study how the endogenous structural transformation that results from subsistence affects the dynamics of the economy, the design of monetary policy, and the properties of inflation at different levels of development. A calibrated version of the model encompasses both rich and poor countries and broadly replicates the properties of inflation across the development spectrum, including the dominant role played by changes in the relative price of food in poor countries. We derive a welfare-based loss function for the monetary authority and show that optimal policy calls for complete (in some cases nearcomplete) stabilization of sticky-price non-food inflation, despite the presence of a foodsubsistence threshold. Subsistence amplifies the welfare losses of policy mistakes, however, raising the stakes for monetary policy at earlier stages of development. |
| Keywords: | Consumption;Low-income developing countries;Food prices;Sticky prices;Inflation;Stabilization measures;Welfare;Econometric models;Structural Transformation, Monetary Policy, Inflation, Subsistence. |
| Date: | 2016–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:16/70&r=agr |
| By: | Bui Dung The (College of Economics, Hue University); Bui Duc Tinh (College of Economics, Hue University) |
| Keywords: | Vietnam, flood, adaptation, climate change, cost-benefit |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160433&r=agr |
| By: | Jeff Manuel; Jeanne Nel; Kristal Maze; Mandy Driver; Anthea Stephens; Emily Botts; Azisa Parker; Mahlodi Tau; John Dini; Stephen Holness |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an in-depth review of experiences and insights from mainstreaming biodiversity and development in South Africa. More specifically, it describes how biodiversity considerations have been mainstreamed in five key sectors/areas, namely: land use planning, mining, water, infrastructure, and the agricultural sector. It discusses the types of barriers and challenges that have been encountered, the key ingredients and lessons learned to help ensure more effective biodiversity mainstreaming, and the role of development co-operation in supporting in mainstreaming in South Africa. Examples of the key elements of success include good science, the ability to harness windows of opportunity, and ensuring genuine links to development objectives. Ce document présente un tour d'horizon détaillé des expériences et des éclairages apportés par l'intégration transversale de la biodiversité et du développement en Afrique du Sud. Plus précisément, il décrit la façon dont les considérations de biodiversité ont été systématiquement prises en compte dans cinq secteurs ou domaines clés, à savoir : l'aménagement de l'espace, l'exploitation minière, l'eau, les infrastructures et le secteur agricole. Il examine les types d'obstacles rencontrés et de défis relevés, les principaux ingrédients et enseignements susceptibles de favoriser une transversalisation plus efficace de la biodiversité, ainsi que l'appui pouvant être apporté par la coopération pour le développement à l'intégration transversale en Afrique du Sud. Parmi les principaux facteurs de réussite cités en exemple figurent une bonne base scientifique, l'aptitude à tirer parti des occasions propices et l'instauration de liens véritables avec les objectifs de développement. |
| Keywords: | sustainable development, international finance, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, ecological economics, Finances infranationales, économie de l’écologie, services écosystémiques, conservation de la biodiversité, développement durable |
| JEL: | F3 Q1 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2016–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:107-en&r=agr |
| By: | Stefan Pauliuk; Karsten Neuhoff; Anne Owen; Richard Wood |
| Abstract: | After the Paris Climate Agreement, it is anticipated that carbon prices will differ across regions for some time. If countries use free allowance allocation as carbon leakage protection, only a fraction of carbon prices are passed through to consumers particularly by carbon intensive materials producers. Adding a consumption charge based on benchmarks applied to the material content can reinstate the carbon price signal. The paper investigates the implications of such a consumption charge for industry and consumers based on material flow analysis and material flow cost accounting. The material‐related carbon liabilities for production, import, export, and consumption are estimated for 4000 commodity groups that contain one or more of the five bulk materials steel, aluminium, plastics, paper, and cement. Assuming an underlying carbon price of 30 Euros per ton of CO2, the total charge to European final consumers is estimated to be about 17 billion EUR. The total charges levied on imports and those waived for exports are each of similar size and roughly amount to half of the total charge to European final consumers. To reduce administrative efforts, the charge is not levied on imported products for which the value of the consumption charge compared to product price falls below a threshold. Thus administrative efforts for 77 to 83% of imports could be avoided while still 85% to 90% of import‐related carbon liabilities are included. |
| Keywords: | Material flow analysis, material flow cost accounting, carbon pricing, inclusion of consumption |
| JEL: | F18 H23 Q56 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1570&r=agr |
| By: | Domonko, Eammanuel; McFadden, Brandon |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:230049&r=agr |
| By: | Ichiroh Daitoh (Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University); Nori Tarui (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates when poverty reduction and environmental resource preservation can be compatible in developing economies with two prominent institutional failures: wage rigidity in urban labor markets and open access to rural natural resources. We develop a small open dualistic economy model with these institutional features, and investigate the effects of an export tax on the resource good on urban unemployment and overexploitation of the rural resource. At the steady state, the first-best policy calls for an urban wage subsidy while rural labor should be subsidized at a lower rate, or be taxed. A rural tax constitutes the first-best policy when the domestic price of urban manufactured good is sufficiently high. Thus the well-known first-best policy prescription by Bhagwati and Srinivasan (1974) does not apply to developing countries when the world price of the resource good is low under free trade and/or an import tariff on the manufactured good is high. Unlike what the literature indicates, an increase in the export tax rate generally reduces the rate of urban unemployment, thereby improving welfare. However, the level of urban unemployment is more likely to increase if the initial rate of export tax is lower. A small export tax always improves welfare by mitigating the two institutional failures. |
| Keywords: | open access, renewable resource, urban unemployment, export tax on the resource good, Harris-Todaro model |
| JEL: | O13 Q27 F18 |
| Date: | 2016–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2016-009&r=agr |
| By: | Götz, Linde; Djuric, Ivan; Nivievskyi, Oleg |
| Abstract: | This paper further builds on the price transmission model framework of existing studies to identify domestic wheat price effects of wheat export controls. We explicitly take the fact into account that a harvest failure causes domestic price effects as well. Moreover, the analysis at the regional level provides further evidence of the functioning of export controls in a large country. Results suggest a pronounced regional heterogeneity in the strength of domestic price effects of the 2010/11 export ban in Russia. The wheat price dampening effects amount to up to 67 % and are strongest in the major wheat exporting region with direct access to the world market. This effect is transmitted to other regions by increased and reversed interregional trade flows. Contrasting, regional variation of export controls´ domestic price effects in Ukraine is rather small. |
| Abstract: | Dieser Artikel entwickelt den Preistransmissionsansatz aus der Literatur weiter, um inländische Weizenpreiseffekte von Weizenexportkontrollen zu identifizieren. In unserem Ansatz findet speziell Berücksichtigung, dass auch Mißernten selbst Preiseffekte auslösen. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse auf regionaler Ebene weisen auf eine starke regionale Heterogenität bezüglich der Stärke der Preiseffekte während des Exportverbots 2010/11 in Russland hin. Der den Weizenpreis dämpfende Effekt ist in der Region mit direktem Zugang zum Weltmarkt am Stärksten und beläuft sich auf 67 %. Dieser Effekt wurde durch stark ansteigenden interregionalen Weizenhandel, zum Teil auch im Rahmen von Handelsumkehrung, in die übrigen Regionen übertragen. Im Unterschied zu Russland ist die Variation des inländischen Preiseffekts von Exportkontrollen in der Ukraine deutlich schwächer. |
| Keywords: | export controls,international trade,agricultural trade policy,Russia,Ukraine,grain markets,food security,extreme weather events,climate change,Exportkontrollen,internationaler Handel,Agrarhandel,Agrarhandelspolitik,Russland,Ukraine,Getreidemärkte,Ernährungssicherung,extreme Wetterereignisse,Klimawandel |
| JEL: | C22 E30 Q11 Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:154&r=agr |
| By: | Aburto-Oropeza,Octavio; Leslie,Heather M.; Mack-Crane,Austen; Nagavarapu,Sriniketh Suryasesha; Reddy,Sheila M.W.; Sievanen,Leila |
| Abstract: | Devolving property rights to local institutions has emerged as a compelling management strategy for natural resource management in developing countries. The use of property rights among fishing cooperatives operating in Mexico's Gulf of California provides a compelling setting for theoretical and empirical analysis. A dynamic theoretical model demonstrates how fishing cooperatives'management choices are shaped by the presence of property rights, the mobility of resources, and predictable environmental fluctuations. More aggressive management comes in the form of the cooperative leadership paying lower prices to cooperative members for their catch, as lower prices disincentivize fishing effort. The model's implications are empirically tested using three years of daily logbook data on prices and catches for three cooperatives from the Gulf of California. One cooperative enjoys property rights while the other two do not. There is empirical evidence in support of the model: compared to the other cooperatives, the cooperative with strong property rights pays members a lower price, pays especially lower prices for less mobile species, and decreases prices when environmental fluctuations cause population growth rates to fall. The results from this case study demonstrate the viability of cooperative management of resources but also point toward quantitatively important limitations created by the mismatch between the scale of a property right and the scale of a resource. |
| Keywords: | Corporate Law,E-Business,Fisheries and Aquaculture,Microfinance,Markets and Market Access |
| Date: | 2016–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7662&r=agr |
| By: | Gawel, Erik; Lehmann, Paul; Strunz, Sebastian; Heuson, Clemens |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we propose a comprehensive Public Choice framework to identify and categorize barriers to efficient public climate adaptation. Specifically, we distinguish three dimensions of public adaptation: extent, structure (form and timing) and organisation (vertical and horizontal). Within each of these dimensions, we investigate how the self-interest of voters, pressure groups, bureaucrats and politicians may bias adaptation decisions. Thus, we indicate specific barriers to efficient public adaptation. Based on this framework, we illustrate how Germany's response to major flood disasters reflects the incentive structure of concerned stakeholders and their political interaction. The ad-hoc character of some public adaptation measures implies a clear bias from the efficient benchmark. In conclusion, we argue that the propositions of Public Choice theory shed some light on how empirical public adaptation processes unfold. |
| Keywords: | adaptation,barriers,climate change,climate policy,efficiency,public choice |
| JEL: | D78 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ufzdps:32016&r=agr |
| By: | Ventura, Vera; Frisio, Dario G.; Ferrazzi, Giovanni |
| Abstract: | Several studies evidence the role of media in influencing public perception towards genetically modified organisms, while visual communication has been scarcely investigated. This paper aims at evaluating the exposure of Italian population to scary GMO-related images. A set of 517 images collected through Google are classified considering fearful attributes and an index that accounts for the scary impact (SI) of these images is built. Then through an ordered logistic regression we estimate the relationship between the SIIndex and a set of variables that describes the context in which images appear. Results reveal that the first (and most viewed) Google result images contain the most frightful contents. In addition, agri-food sector in Italy is strongly oriented in offering a negative representation of genetically modified organisms. Exposure to scary images could be a factor that affects the negative perception of GMOs in Italy. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211921&r=agr |
| By: | Doruk Iris (School of Economics, Sogang University, Mapo-gu, Seoul); Alessandro Tavoni (Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics, London) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of loss-aversion and the threat of catastrophic damages, which we jointly call threshold concerns, on international environmental agreements. We aim to understand whether a threshold for dangerous climate change is as an effective coordination device for countries to overcome the global free-riding problem and abate sufficiently to avoid disaster. We focus on loss-averse countries negotiating either under the threat of either high environmental damages (loss domain), or low damages (gain domain). Under symmetry, that is when countries display identical degrees of threshold concern, we show that such beliefs have a positive effect on reducing the emission levels of both signatories to the treaty and non-signatories, leading to higher global welfare and weakly larger coalitions of signatories. We then introduce asymmetry, by allowing countries to differ in the degree of concern about the threat of disaster. We show that stable coalitions are mostly formed by the countries with higher threshold concern. When enough countries having no threshold concern could cause the coalition size to diminish, regardless of the other countries have strong or mild threshold concerns. |
| Keywords: | Catastrophic Climate Change, Threshold, Loss-Aversion, International Environmental Agreements, Coalition Formation Game |
| JEL: | D0 D03 Q5 Q50 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.25&r=agr |
| By: | Rini Yayuk Priyati (Business School, University of Western Australia); Rod Tyers (Business School, University of Western Australia and Research School of Economics, ANU) |
| Abstract: | The markets for vegetable oils have expanded significantly in recent decades in association with the diversification in their use across final consumption as food, industrial inputs and fuels. International markets for such products remain critically important for several developing countries yet they have become more integrated globally and volatility has increased as financial determinants of demand have become more prominent. This paper reviews these developments in vegetable oil and energy markets and tests for changes in their level of integration over time. It further examines the dependence of prices in these markets on financial volatility and overall economic performance, offering scenarios for vegetable oil market behaviour in response to low energy prices, tighter monetary policy and strong demand in importing regions. The results are particularly strong in response to changes in interest rates, supporting the perspective that financial determinants of demand have strengthened. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:16-11&r=agr |
| By: | Kunlayanee Pornpinatepong (Department of Economics, Prince of Songkla University); Pathomwat Chantarasap (Prince of Songkla University); Jumtip Seneerattaprayul (Prince of Songkla University); Wittawat Hemtanon (Prince of Songkla University); Papitchaya Saelim (Prince of Songkla University) |
| Keywords: | Shrim Fishing, Sustainable, Thailand |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160441&r=agr |
| By: | Sheng, Di; Lambert, Dayton M.; Hellwinckel, Chad |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2016–01–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:230006&r=agr |
| By: | Paul, Saumik |
| Abstract: | In 1955, in an influential study Kuznets (1955) predicted an inverted-U relationship between development and inequality, mainly through structural transformation. Since then a large body of research has empirically tested the Kuznets hypothesis, but consensus is far less evident. In this paper, I argue that a heterogeneous process of structural transformation across the income distribution may explain such empirical irregularities. I specifically link the heterogeneity in growth incidence resulting from a shrinking agriculture sector across income quantiles to inequality measures. Empirical evidence drawn from the Cote d’Ivoire household survey data supports this theoretical prediction. However, the decomposition results indicate a relatively small contribution of structural transformation to total changes in inequality. |
| Keywords: | Structural Change, Inequality |
| JEL: | J3 J5 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2016-1&r=agr |
| By: | Baharudin Othman (Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah); Sharifudin Md. Shaarani (Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Universiti Malaysia Sabah); Arsiah Bahron (Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah) |
| Abstract: | Halal management has grown rapidly including the production process and halal verification. Therefore, the aim of this study focused on the effects of halal practices on the organizational performance in Malaysian halal food industry. In this study, the halal requirement elements consisted of halal and thoyyib, internal process, halal assurance, and staff as the predictor of organizational performance. This study used a self-administered questionnaire with closed-ended questions. The questionnaire was distributed to multinational companies and small and medium enterprises (SME) in which 620 were applicable for analysis. The respondents were among the halal committee members in the respective companies. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 21. The results showed that halal requirement practices have a positive relation to the dependent variables. Moreover, only halal and thoyyib aspects (β = 0.319, p |
| Keywords: | halal, halal requirement practices, organizational performance. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:3605504&r=agr |
| By: | Shaufique Sidique (Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia); Kusairi Mohd Noh (Universiti Putra Malaysia); Gazi Md Nurul Islam (Universiti Putra Malaysia); Aswani Farhana Mohd Noh (Universiti Putra Malaysia) |
| Keywords: | Artificial Reefs,Peninsular Malaysia |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr20160334&r=agr |
| By: | Rheinberger, Christoph; Treich, Nicolas |
| Abstract: | In light of climate change and other global threats, policy commentators sometimes urge that society should be more concerned about catastrophes. This paper reflects on what society’s attitude toward low-probability, high-impact events is, or should be. We first argue that catastrophe risk can be conceived of as a spread in the distribution of losses. Based on this conception, we review studies from decision sciences, psychology, and behavioral economics that elicit people’s attitudes toward various social risks. We find more evidence against than in favor of catastrophe aversion—the preference for a mean-preserving contraction of the loss distribution—and discuss a number of possible behavioral explanations. Next, we turn to social choice theory and examine how various social welfare functions handle catastrophe risk. We explain why catastrophe aversion may be in conflict with equity concerns and other-regarding preferences. Finally, we discuss current approaches to evaluate and regulate catastrophe risk. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:30373&r=agr |
| By: | Mitchell, James; Peel, Derrell S. |
| Abstract: | Bred cows are an input into beef production. Often producers are directly marketing bred cows as beef replacement animals. Alternatively, some producers are capitalizing on alternative marketing opportunities and are selling cull cows as bred. However, in auctions across the state of Oklahoma, quality and value variation in the bred cows is apparent. Product differentiation and price variability is frequently modeled using the hedonic approach. Hedonic models have previously been applied to various classes of cattle including cull cows and cow-calf pairs. However, no previous research has determined the value of bred cow characteristics. The objective of this paper is to determine the market value of various bred cow traits, including age, weight, months bred, cow quality, and hide color. The model accounts for seasonal and cyclical influences on bred cow value. Fifteen years of USDA AMS data for seven Oklahoma auctions is used to estimate the bred cow hedonic model. We expect significant premiums for young, productive, black-hided, late gestation cows. Results will help producers improve replacement cow procurement and cow marketing strategies. Producers will be able to identify traits buyers find desirable allowing them to market a more valuable product. |
| Keywords: | Bred cows, hedonic, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:230077&r=agr |
| By: | Daniel Rais |
| Abstract: | Constructing an original panel on Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) in pesticides for 50 countries over 2006-2012, this paper studies the effect of heterogeneity in MRL regulation on bilateral trade. We find evidence of regulatory heterogeneity diminishing trade at the extensive margin when the exporter faces more stringent regulation abroad, suggesting compliance costs in entering the destination market. Significantly, however, we also find strong evidence of regulatory heterogeneity increasing trade at the intensive margin for exports coming from countries that set the strictest standards, alluding to the positive informative effect of such regulation. |
| Date: | 2014–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wti:papers:836&r=agr |
| By: | Asgari, Ali; Woods, Timothy A.; Saghaian, Sayed H. |
| Abstract: | The price of wine reflects the various features that differentiate each bottle. This study is aimed at analyzing the determinants of Riesling wine prices, one of the most popular varieties in the white wine category. A hedonic price model is estimated using data collected between 2000 and 2015 from the Wine Spectator, with a total of 3078 individual wines, focusing on age, vintage, production, critical points, and variables related to the country of origin. The impact of geographic production of origin from Canada, Germany, France, Italy, New Zealand and South Africa is analyzed. An important aspect of this analysis is to investigate whether the country of origin of production is important, and if any price premium from a key import region like Germany is changing, holding quality and quantity constant. The main findings suggest Riesling prices are determined by time related variables such as age and vintage. The levels of production and expert points given by the Wine Spectator also have a significant impact on prices. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic price model, Riesling, Wine prices, U.S. wine market, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea16:229703&r=agr |