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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2017‒01‒01
thirty-six papers chosen by |
| By: | Ursu, Ana |
| Abstract: | The volume contains the papers accepted and published in the proceedings of the 7th International symposium entitled: “Agrarian Economy and Rural Development - Realities and Perspectives for Romania”, organized by the Institute of Research for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Bucharest in cooperation with, The Institute for Agrarian Economy Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania, University of Agrarian Sciences and Veterinary Medicine – The Faculty Of Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development, Bucharest, Romania, Institute for Economy, Finance and Statistics, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, Institute of Agricultural Economics, Belgrade – Serbia, Academy of Economic Studies - The Faculty Of Agro-Food And Environment Economy, Bucharest, Romania, under the high scientific patronage of Academy of Agriculture and Forest Sciences "Gheorghe Ionescu Sisesti", held in Bucharest, Romania, November, 24, 2016. The proceedings are structured in accordance with the sessions of the conference and it includes papers and relevant contributions on plenary speakers, Economy, management and agricultural marketing and Rural development and agricultural policies. Publishing this volume represents a term of the interest expressed by the highest academic and research groups in Romania and EU with interests in the agricultural sector. In the symposium proceedings are shared knowledge, experience and the newest results of your research in the agrarian economy and rural development domain related to enhancing competitiveness of all types of agriculture and promoting innovative agricultural technologies; organizing the food chain, including processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management in agriculture; preserving and strengthening agricultural ecosystems; efficient use of resources and supporting the shift towards a low carbon economy and resilient to climate change in agriculture and food; social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas etc. The symposium proceedings is structured in 4 specialized sections, where the read my find interesting argues regarding this research field. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, rural development, rural economy, CAP |
| JEL: | A1 C1 D2 N50 O1 Q13 Q18 Q57 R11 Z0 |
| Date: | 2016–11–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75599&r=agr |
| By: | Chaoran Chen |
| Abstract: | The prevalence of untitled land in poor countries helps explain the international agricultural productivity differences. Since untitled land cannot be traded across farmers, it creates land misallocation and distorts individuals' occupational choice between farming and working outside agriculture. I build a two-sector general equilibrium model to quantify the impact of untitled land. I find that economies with higher percentages of untitled land would have lower agricultural productivity; land titling can increase agricultural productivity by up to 82.5%. About 42% of this gain is due to eliminating land misallocation, and the remaining due to eliminating distortions in individuals' occupational choice. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Productivity, Untitled Land, Misallocation, Occupational Choice. |
| JEL: | J24 O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2016–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-573&r=agr |
| By: | Ujjayant Chakravorty (Department of Economics, Tufts University (TSE, CESifo)); Marie-Hélène Hubert (CREM, Department of Economics, University of Rennes 1); Michel Moreaux (Toulouse School of Economics (IDEI, LERNA)); Linda Nostbakken (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | More than 40% of US corn is now used to produce biofuels, which are used as substitutes for gasoline in transportation. Biofuels have been blamed universally for past increases in world food prices, and many studies have shown that these energy mandates in the US and EU may have a large (30-60%) impact on food prices. In this paper, we use a partial equilibrium framework to show that demand-side effects – in the form of population growth and income-driven preferences for meat and dairy products rather than cereals – may play as much of a role in raising food prices as biofuel policy. By specifying a Ricardian model with differential land quality, we find that a significant amount of new land will be converted to farming, which is likely to cause a modest increase in food prices. However, biofuels may increase aggregate world carbon emissions, due to leakage from lower oil prices and conversion of pasture and forest land for farming. |
| Keywords: | Clean Energy, Food Demand, Land Quality, Renewable Fuel Standards, Transportation |
| JEL: | Q24 Q32 Q42 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2015.04&r=agr |
| By: | Ponce, Roberto; Parrado, Ramiro; Stehr, Alejandra; Bosello, Francesco |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the economic impacts of changes in water availability due to climate change. We develop a new modeling approach as an alternative to include water as a production factor within a global CGE model. We tailor the structure of the ICES model to characterize the key features of the world economy with a detailed representation of the agricultural sector. In order to reach this objective, a new database has been built to explicitly consider water endowments, precipitation changes, and unitary irrigation costs. Results suggest different economic consequences of climate change depending on the specific region. Impacts are related to change in crop production, endowment demands, and international trade. |
| Keywords: | CGE Models, Climate Change, Agriculture, Irrigation, Water Resources, Environmental Economics and Policy, C68, Q54, Q15, Q25, |
| Date: | 2016–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:251813&r=agr |
| By: | Cárcamo, Jorge; Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan von |
| Abstract: | Most researchers who analyze producers' preferences under uncertainty report that producers are averse towards risk and ambiguity scenarios. This aversion has an influence on producers' decision-making processes; hence the relevance of determining and analyzing these preferences as a key factor to design agricultural policies that help producers to cope with production uncertainty. In this study we elicit small-scale raspberry producers' preferences through field experiments in rural Maule (Chile). In addition, we identify producers' socioeconomic and farm characteristics that influence these preferences. Finally, we compare the two standard methods in the current literature to estimate producers' risk preferences from field experiments, and analyze if the estimation method influences these preferences. Our results show an asymmetry in producers' risk preferences; producers are twice as sensitive to losses as to gains. Additionally, we find that producers get smaller lottery utilities in scenarios where ambiguity is present, which implies ambiguity aversion. We also show that the method used to estimate risk preferences can influence the results, with obvious implications for policy design. |
| Keywords: | Risk Preferences,Ambiguity Preferences,Small-scale Producers,Raspberry Producers,Producers' Preferences Elicitation |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:daredp:1610&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Qiu; Mirzabaev, Alisher |
| Abstract: | As crop straw and firewood are generated as by-products of food production systems, they are perceived to be sustainable energy sources that do not threaten food security by Chinese government for a long time. However, the time spent on collecting straw and firewood may create a burden on rural household, as it could reduce the available labor inputs for agricultural production, which in turn, possibly brings negative impact on food security. Building on an integrated agriculture-energy production system, a Symmetric Normalized Quadratic (SNQ) multi-output profit function (which includes labor allocations as quasi-fixed factors) is estimated to investigate the impacts of traditional biomass energy use on agricultural production in this paper. The negative signs of the calculated cross-price elasticities of supply (agricultural products and biomass energy) confirm that the relationship between biomass collection and agricultural production is competition. Moreover, the cross-price elasticities of biomass collection with respect to inputs are positive, implying that indirect link between biomass collection and agricultural production perhaps lies in household consumption decisions. The important implication of this study is that potential policy interventions for developing biomass energy in rural China could aim at enhancing food security by improving household motivation of engaging in agricultural production and slowing down the competition between biomass collection and agricultural production. It is suggested that government should attach more importance to simultaneously promote the prices of agricultural products and control the prices of intermediate inputs. |
| Keywords: | biomass collection, agricultural production, labor allocation, China, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, O13, Q01, Q12, Q41, |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:250213&r=agr |
| By: | Caterina Conigliani; Nadia Cuffaro; Giovanna D'Agostino |
| Abstract: | Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in land-based investments for food, feed, fuel and fiber, driven by volatility in commodity prices, economic growth of emerging economies, policy drivers of biofuel demand and investor strategies in the wake of the global economic crisis. This has led to a surge of foreign and local investments in developing countries, where land can be obtained at lower cost, and has led to fears of land grabbing. In this paper we consider the problem of identifying the determinants of large scale land acquisitions in Africa, and employ unilateral beta regression to explore the link between investments and a number of indicators related both to land supply and to institutional features. The results on the resource seeking nature of investments and on the impact of the land governance indicators are mostly in line with the findings of other studies; on the contrary, the results on forest land being a driver for large scale land acquisitions in Africa differ from previous findings, and indicate commercial pressure on African forests that may lead to accelerating degradation and deforestation. |
| Keywords: | beta regression, foreign direct investments, land grabbing, large scale land acquisitions |
| JEL: | F21 O13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0213&r=agr |
| By: | Tukae Mbegalo (Georg-August University Göttingen); Xiaohua Yu (Georg-August University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | The effects from the change in food prices on household welfare is a topical issue among policy makers and scholars in Tanzania. However, relatively little is known about the quantitative effects of rising food prices on household welfare and poverty. This paper intends to quantitatively assess the welfare implications of rising food prices in rural Tanzania, by using household budget data from 2008/2009 and 2010/2011. We analyse the food Engel curves using a semi-parametric approach. This has revealed that a quadratic parametric fit can approximate the non-parametric food Engel curves. We then estimate the complete demand system using the QUAIDS model, and calculate welfare and poverty indices. Our results indicate that net sellers tend to show an improvement in welfare and net buyers tend to show a loss in welfare due to a food price increase. The effect of rising food prices varies across household characteristics and by region. For example, poor households are more affected than middle-income and rich households. The food prices have a major impact on overall poverty and across households. In particular, the poverty effect is much stronger for poor households than for middle-income and rich households. However, in the long-run, the poverty headcount ratio declines across all households due to the substitution effect. Thus, reformulation of food policy to counterbalance intermediate and long-term food price shocks is crucial in achieving a reduction in poverty and food security. Polices, such as improving domestic agricultural markets and lifting tariffs on imported food, are instrumental in addressing these issues. |
| Keywords: | Food Engel Curves; Food Price; Net Benefit Ratio; Poverty; QUAIDS; Semi Parametric and Welfare |
| Date: | 2016–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:216&r=agr |
| By: | Handberg, Øyvind Nystad (School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Sense of ownership is often advocated as an argument for local participation within the epistemic development and nature conservation communities. Stakeholder participation in initiating, designing or implementing institutions is claimed to establish a sense of ownership among the stakeholders and subsequently improve the intended outcomes of the given institution. Theoretical and empirical justications of the hypothesis remain scarce. A better understanding of the eects of local participation can motivate more extensive and stronger participation of local stakeholders and improve institutional performance. This paper applies theories from psychology and behavioral economics to better understand sense of ownership. The empirical investigation is a framed eld experiment, in the context of tropical forest conservation and payments for environmental services in Tanzania. The results lend little support to the hypothesis in this context. The participation treatment in the experiment is weak, and a possible explanation is that sense of ownership is sensitive to the form of participation. |
| Keywords: | articipation; sense of ownership; forestry; Tanzania; framed eld experiment |
| JEL: | C93 Q23 |
| Date: | 2016–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsseb:2016_005&r=agr |
| By: | Corsi, Alessandro; Novelli, Silvia (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Solidarity purchasing groups (SPGs) are common Alternative Food Networks in many towns in Italy. They are set up by groups of citizens who cooperate in order to buy food and other commonly used goods collectively and directly from producers, at a price that is fair to both parties. Within the group, the choice of the products and the farmers usually follow some guidelines related to the respect for the environment and the solidarity between the members of the group and the producers. Though still a small niche, SPGs are quite numerous and represent an interesting alternative to traditional setting of the food chain. The main motivation of members for participating in SPGs is arguably not a monetary one, i.e., it is not lower prices. Ethical motivations and environmental concerns are typically proposed among the goals of the groups. Nevertheless, the budget constraint is always operating, and it is of interest to measure how much the ethical and environmental motivations are able to overcome the budget constraint. This is tantamount to measure the value members attach to their participation to the SPG. Hence, the aim of this study was to estimate the value that group members attach to their participation. A stated preferences methodology was employed on a first sample of members of SPGs in Torino (Italy) and other neighbouring towns to estimate the value consumers buying in such groups attach to this particular channel, relative to the conventional supermarkets. Preliminary results show that SPG members do state a preference for buying with their organization rather than at a supermarket’s even when the prospected prices are substantially higher when purchasing through the SPG. |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201618&r=agr |
| By: | Tukae Mbegalo (Georg-August University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | Land policy reforms across Africa are expected to address several of the underlying critical issues of food security and economic development, because they can help stabilize food prices by improving future expectations on trade and supply. However, there is an absence of solid empirical research that considers the relationship between food price and land policy reform. This paper simultaneously estimates the impact of food prices and the Land Act of 1999 on rural household welfare. We use panel data from 2008/2009 and 2010/2011. The data contains information on land ownership and the different forms of land titling. This allows us to construct a treatment variable for landownership before and after the Land Act. Then, we use a matching method to estimate the counterfactual effect of both net consumer and producer welfare. The results indicate that rural food producers have not benefited by the post independence land reforms. Furthermore, we found that education and land titling have a major influence on improving household welfare as well as in offsetting food price shocks and reducing rural food poverty. We argue that education attainment can facilitate literacy on land and credit market issues, enabling the rural population to take full advantage of land titling, which can be used as collateral. Finally, we found that although land titling is an important tool in reducing rural food poverty, few poor rural households have land use certification. This is a crucial issue because titling and access to land for the rural poor are essential for food security and rural economic development. |
| Keywords: | Food Price; Education; Household Welfare; Land Ownership; Land Act; Land Titling and Matching Methods |
| Date: | 2016–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:217&r=agr |
| By: | García-Germán, Sol; Romeo, Alessandro; Magrini, Emiliano; Balié, Jean |
| Abstract: | Undernourishment is still widespread in Tanzania, while obesity is becoming an issue of magnitude similar to undernutrition in the country. In this paper we examined the impact of an increase in maize prices on the nutritional status of Tanzania's adult population. We found that undernutrition increases as a result of increased prices, while the overweight and obese decrease their energy intake. The study presents evidences of the so called early stage of the nutritional transition that characterize developing countries. All in all, these findings are suggestive of the fact that food price shocks should be taken into consideration when designing policy and programmes aiming at addressing malnutrition in low income countries. |
| Keywords: | food price shocks,food demand models,malnutrition,Tanzania |
| JEL: | C31 D12 D13 I31 Q18 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:daredp:1611&r=agr |
| By: | Lars Ravensbeck; Ayoe Hoff (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Hans Frost (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | The application of ecosystem based management of the marine resources and focus on ecosystem services will influence the methodologies used for assessing the resources as well as the proposed regulation of the fisheries and other marine resources. The paper makes a review of ecosystem services and ecosystem based fishery management with the purpose of integrating these elements in a bioeconomic model. As a part of the model development, a logistic predator-prey model is examined thoroughly. On this basis, a numerical model is created. The model can include several species at different trophic layers, hence simulation a small food web. The key purpose of the numerical analysis is to develop a practical tool that can assess the management policies when a broader range of ecosystem services, species interactions and externalities are taken into account. The model can include several species at different trophic layers and, hence, simulate a small food web, while at the same time assess the economic effects of fishing on this food web. In general, the analyses indicate that species modelled with interaction may sustain less fishing pressure than if they are modelled without species interaction. Besides interaction, the numerical model assesses how the economic result is affected by the inclusion of ecosystem services. This is done through the damage cost functions, which depends on effort and reduces the net value, and a set of non-market values, which are functions that depend on the stock of the species. The inclusion of these tends to favour reduction in effort levels, in some cases quite significantly. Management policies based on conventional MEY targets may in many cases rather well accommodate the broader range of ecosystem-based policy goals, due to the lower effort levels. The paper shows the shortcomings of conventional qualitative analytical approaches because of the complexities of marine ecosystems. Numerical models also show shortcomings, in particular because specific functional forms are used and data are short in many areas. However, it is shown that much insight can be gained from using such relatively simple models. |
| Keywords: | bioeconomics, ecosystem modelling, ecosystem based fisheries management |
| JEL: | Q22 Q57 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:foi:wpaper:2016_12&r=agr |
| By: | Belmondo V. Tanankem (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Uchenna R. Efobi (Covenant University, Ogun State, Nigeria); Ngozi S. Atata (Ogun State, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | This study used a nationally representative survey from the 2012-2013 World Bank’s General Household Survey for Nigeria, to examine the relationship between empowerment, measured using a modification of the Alkire et al. (2013) empowerment index, and household dietary diversity, based on the FAO groupings of food intake within the household. Accounting for potential endogeneity of empowerment, as well as using both the non-parametric regression and the traditional least square regression, we find that increases in empowerment are positively associated with household dietary diversity. Overall, household that are female biased in terms of share of female within the household, and those that favour female leadership tend to have higher significant improvement in their dietary intake with empowerment. On the contrary, empowerment generates a small proportion of male dietary diversity. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture; Food Diversity; Food Security; Gender; Household; Nigeria; Rural Development |
| JEL: | Q01 Q18 R14 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:16/050&r=agr |
| By: | Cristina Joanaz (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, IHC); Lígia Costa Pinto (Universidade do Minho, NIMA); Paulo Ramísio (Universidade do Minho, CTAC); Estelita Vaz (Universidade do Minho, Departamento de Matemática) |
| Abstract: | The waterscape defined by the Afife creek (Portugal) is a hotspot of time and cultural cross-references. In the 1200s, the presence of Benedictine monks, in the Convent of S. João de Cabanas, suggest the existence of a Catholic agrarian landscape. Benedictine monks ought to provide shelter, food, wool for blankets, and products for religious sacred services to pilgrims. Therefore, wheat, hay or barley, vineyards and olive trees would be cultivated. As such, the landscape should reveal the cultivation of cereals, olive trees, vineyards, and grazing lands, and mills to mow the cereals, produce olive oil, and saw the wood. The design of the former landscape on cereals, wine, olive trees, sheep, goats and sawing industry in the area, under the Benedictine convent of S. João de Cabanas, together with its architectural structure, is strongly related to the XVIth century. In particular, the cross of S. Tiago de Compostela (Spain), indicating a route of pilgrimage, and the concentration of seven water mills in a 100 meters upstream distance to the convent, reveal a great presence of permanent water power. The present irregular distribution of the remaining pine-trees, oaks, eucalyptus and acacias indicate changes in the agrarian exploitation throughout the XIXh and XXth centuries. The Ecalyptus, original from Australia and New-Zeeland, was introduced in Portugal in the 1800s, while the Acacia was introduced in the 1900s, to sustain moving sands. Their expansion in the slopes of the Afife creek suggests very recent farming abandonment (after 1940s). This paper proposes to discuss agro-forest sustainable adjustments to changing culturaleconomic drivers in the long run, through a case study. The case study is the Afife waterscape transformation, located in the village of Afife in the North of Portugal. The analyses will adopt an interdisciplinary approach crossing diverse sources of information and methodologies. |
| Keywords: | Cultural landscpes, Agro-forest sustainable adjustments, Watersacape, Environmental Impacts |
| JEL: | Q2 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nim:nimawp:66/2016&r=agr |
| By: | Vilas J. Gobin; Paulo Santos; Russell Toth |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of the Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP), a poverty graduation program that combines multiple interventions with the aim of promoting en- trepreneurship among ultra-poor women. The program emphasizes cash transfers (rather than asset transfers) to ultra-poor women, in addition to business skills training, business mentoring and savings. Participation in each of three rounds of the program was randomly determined through a public lottery. In the short-to-medium-run we find that the program has a positive and significant impact on income, savings, asset accumulation, and food security that are similar to more traditional poverty graduation programs that rely on asset transfers. |
| Keywords: | Poverty graduation, Cash transfers, Entrepreneurship, Ultra-poor, Field ex- periment, Africa |
| JEL: | C93 D13 J24 O12 O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2016-23&r=agr |
| By: | Villas-Boas, Sofia B; Taylor, Rebecca; Krovetz, Hannah |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2016–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt9vh3x180&r=agr |
| By: | Richard Dunn; Brent Hueth |
| Abstract: | We measure one component of off-farm food and agricultural industries using establishment level microdata in the federal statistical system. We focus on services for crop production, and compare measures of firm and employment dynamics in this sector during the period 1992-2012 with county-level publicly available data for the same measures. Based on differences across data sources, we establish new facts regarding the evolution of food and agricultural industries, and demonstrate the value of working with confidential microdata. In addition to the data and results we present, we highlight possibilities for collaboration across universities and federal agencies to improve reporting in other segments of food and agricultural industries. |
| Keywords: | Data, Statistics, Industries and Markets |
| JEL: | A1 B2 C3 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:16-58&r=agr |
| By: | Paul, Saumik |
| Abstract: | Since the advent of British rule in 1765, the colony of Bengal, once hailed as the most fertile and prosperous region of India, witnessed numerous incidents of food shortages. Apart from the supply and demand side factors are typically associated with a food shortage at an escalated or disastrous level (famine), the role of persistent and long-term factors is also critical. This paper, both qualitatively and quantitatively, provides a deeper understanding of the process of agrarian transformation in Bengal. It argues that the 1943 Bengal famine could have been less likely had there been a buoyant agricultural credit market and a better patronage system with less exploitative farming practices. Quantitatively, I find that frequency of distress sale of occupancy holdings in the 1930s is positively associated with the famine intensity throughout many districts, and this relationship increases in the presence of sharecroppers' struggles. |
| Keywords: | Famine, Land transfer, Bengal |
| JEL: | N O |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2016-11&r=agr |
| By: | Migheli, Matteo (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Access to credit and its cost is a major challenge for farmers in developing countries. Formal moneylenders often ration these economic agents, as they lack assets to give as collateral for the loans. The phenomenon is particularly diffused in the countryside, where the formal moneylenders are less present. Consequently, farmers resort to informal credit. Several studies show that land serves as collateral for accessing formal credit, but they often do not find any significant effect of land size on access to informal credit. Here I study the effects of land ownership on both the demand and the cost of informal credit in the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is an interesting country for studying this issue, as informal credit is widespread in the countryside, despite the government’s effort to eradicate it, also subsidising the formal lenders. The analysis is based on 603 households farming relatively small parcels. The results show that as land ownership increases, both the demand and the cost of informal loans decrease. This result is relevant in developing countries, where land reforms are still ongoing, as it shows that land redistribution may contribute to the development of formal credit markets. In particular, from a policy point of view, design and implementation of appropriate land redistributions appears to be a fundamental way to fight the informal credit market. |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201619&r=agr |
| By: | Daniel A. Brent; Lata Gangadharan; Allison Lassiter; Anke Leroux; Paul A. Raschky |
| Abstract: | Decentralized stormwater management systems deliver a number of environmental services that go beyond the reduction of flood risk, which has been the focus of con-ventional stormwater systems. Not all of these services may be equally valued by the public, however. This paper estimates households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for im-provements in water security, stream health, amenity values, as well as the reduction in flood risk and urban heat island effect. We use data from nearly 1,000 personal interviews with residential homeowners in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Our re-sults suggest that the WTP for the highest levels of all environmental services is A$409 per household per year. WTP is mainly driven by the residents’ positive valuation for exemptions in water restrictions, improvements in local stream health, and decreased peak urban temperatures. We further conduct a benefit transfer analysis and find that the WTP is not significantly different between the study areas. Our findings provide additional support that decentralized stormwater management systems have large non-market benefits and that, under certain conditions, benefit values can be transferred to different locations. |
| Keywords: | quasi-public goods, non-market goods, stated preference |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2016-35&r=agr |
| By: | Kurosaki, Takashi; Parinduri, Rasyad; Paul, Saumik |
| Abstract: | This paper reevaluates the effect of a tenancy reform, popularly known as Operation Barga, on agricultural productivity in West Bengal, India. We employ a transparent empirical strategy based on synthetic control. We focus on the varying intensity of Operation Barga across West Bengal districts by comparing the districts' agricultural productivity with that of counterfactual districts using the synthetic control approach. Concerns over agro-climatic diversity and the recorded history of land reforms were also addressed while creating counterfactual districts. We find robust empirical evidence of a negligible effect on agricultural productivity growth. Next, we consider a theoretical framework to estimate the potential gains from Operation Barga in light of several types of sharecroppers. Consistent with the empirical findings, we conclude that the capacity of Operation Barga to enhance agricultural productivity is heavily constrained by the heterogeneity of sharecroppers in terms of wealth and livelihood structure. |
| Keywords: | land reform, agricultural productivity, synthetic control, India |
| JEL: | D60 O4 Q1 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2016-10&r=agr |
| By: | Feubi Pamen, Eric Patrick; Tchitchoua, Jean; Soh Syrie, Galex |
| Keywords: | Gender, inequality, poverty, agriculture, Cameroon, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:250200&r=agr |
| By: | Stephan Klasen (Georg-August University Göttingen); Tukae Mbegalo (Georg-August University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | Livestock has been hypothesized to be one of the major buffer stocks for consumption smoothing in rural areas of developing countries. It is therefore hard for poor farmers in the developing world to finance large investments. We test the latter by estimating a latent variable model of solar home systems. We use off-grid household data from four districts of mainland rural Tanzania. Results indicate that solar adoption is higher for livestock owners than non-livestock owners and that these differences increase as household expenditure increases, but there is no statistical difference at lower- and some middle-expenditure levels. We argue that poor families tend to keep small livestock, which may not generate enough income for investment. They may also decide to accumulate livestock due to a lack of incentives to invest in solar. Furthermore, solar prevalence plays a role in the observed differences of solar adoption. Thus, solar investment financed through livestock will also depend on whether households have enough information on solar technology. In principle, if solar is to spread within a community, households will have to have information on the upfront costs and maintenance costs and the social and economic benefits of solar technology. |
| Date: | 2016–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:218&r=agr |
| By: | Christophe Perrot; Vincent Chatellier; Daniel-Mercier Gouin; Mélanie Richard; Gérard You |
| Abstract: | With the end of milk quotas, the increasing openness of economies and the increased volatility of international prices, the question of the competitiveness of the French dairy sector is at the heart of many debates. Competitiveness is generally defined as the ability of a company or a country to conquer and/or maintain market shares in the face of competition both on the domestic and export markets. The French dairy sector is not only an important player in European and international trade in dairy products, but it has some good opportunities in the domestic market, including for high-value products. The decline in domestic consumption (in milk equivalent), the gradual saturation of the European demand and competition from several other European countries are now an incentive to develop our exports to more distant markets showing a growth in demand. Compared to other European or international competing countries (New Zealand, United States), the cost of producing milk in France, especially in the West (main French dairy region), is favored by low inputs, particularly because of abundant forage production (autonomy for feeding dairy cows). The way of achieving such a high level of autonomy, however, weights today on the average level of labor productivity and on the structure of expenses (high cost of mechanization) due to the importance of forages now mostly grown, harvested and distributed mechanically |
| Keywords: | dairy sector, quota, competitiveness, price, production costs |
| JEL: | Q12 Q17 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201609&r=agr |
| By: | Jean Joseph Minviel; Kristof De Witte |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of public subsidies on farm technical efficiency using recent advances in nonparametric efficiency analysis. To this end, we use robust conditional frontier techniques as well as insights from recent developments in nonparametric econometrics. The paper contributes to the ongoing methodological discussion on how to model the effect of public subsidies on farmers’ production decisions. The analysis is conducted using an unbalanced panel data of 1,604 observations from 313 French farms located in the French region Meuse over the period 2006-2011. The estimates indicate that public subsidies influence negatively the conditional technical efficiency of farms. This suggests that public subsidies affect the range of attainable values for the inputs and outputs, and hence the shape of the boundary of the attainable set, as well as the distribution of inefficiencies inside the attainable set. |
| Keywords: | data envelopment analysis, conditional efficiency, nonparametric econometrics, public subsidies, farms |
| JEL: | Q12 Q18 C54 D24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201610&r=agr |
| By: | Robert A. Moffitt; David C. Ribar |
| Abstract: | A long literature in economics concerns itself with differential allocations of resources to different children within the family unit. In a study of approximately 1,500 very disadvantaged families with children in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio from 1999 to 2005, significant differences in levels of food allocation, as measured by an indicator of food “insecurity,” are found across children of different ages and genders. Using answers to unique survey questions for a specific child in the family, food insecurity levels are found to be much higher among older boys and girls than among younger ones, and to be sometimes higher among older boys than among older girls. Differential allocations are strongly correlated with the dietary and nutritional needs of the child. However, the differences in allocation appear only in the poorest families with the lowest levels of money income and family resources in general, and most differences disappear in significance or are greatly reduced in magnitude when resources rise to only modest levels. Differences in food insecurity across different types of children therefore appear to be a problem primarily only among the worst-off families. |
| JEL: | I1 I3 J1 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22988&r=agr |
| By: | Yoosoon Chang (Department of Economics, Indiana University); Robert K. Kaufmann (Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University); Chang Sik Kim (Department of Economics, Sungkyunkwan University); J. Isaac Miller (Department of Economics, University of Missouri); Joon Y. Park (Department of Economics, Indiana University and Sungkyunkwan University); Sungkeun Park (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade) |
| Abstract: | We analyze a time series of global temperature anomaly distributions to identify and estimate persistent features in climate change. Temperature densities from globally distributed data between 1850 and 2012 are treated as a time series of functional observations that change over time. We employ a formal test for the existence of functional unit roots in the time series of these densities. Further, we develop a new test to distinguish functional unit roots from functional deterministic trends or explosive behavior. Results suggest that temperature anomalies contain stochastic trends (as opposed to deterministic trends or explosive roots), two trends are present in the Northern Hemisphere while one stochastic trend is present in the Southern Hemisphere, and the probabilities of observing moderately positive anomalies have increased, but the probabilities of extremely positive anomalies has decreased. These results are consistent with the anthropogenic theory of climate change, in which a natural experiment causes human emissions of greenhouse gases and sulfur to be greater in the Northern Hemisphere and radiative forcing to be greater in the Southern Hemisphere. This Version: |
| Keywords: | attribution of climate change, temperature distribution, global temperature trends, functional unit roots |
| JEL: | C14 C23 C33 Q54 |
| Date: | 2015–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1622&r=agr |
| By: | Daniel A. Brent; Lana Friesen; Lata Gangadharan; Andreas Leibbrandt |
| Abstract: | Many environmental decisions are based on intrinsic motivations in addition to traditional economic incentives. Field experiments allow researchers to isolate a specific causal mechanism which can help advance our understanding of consumer and firm behavior in environmental markets. This article summarizes the literature on the use of field experiments in environmental economics, focusing on framed and artefactual field experiments as well as natural experiments targeting municipal energy and water demand. We set out a theoretical framework to improve the interpretation of results from field experiments in environmental economics. In addition to providing an overview of experimental methods and findings we also lay out a set of challenges for researchers interested in running a field experiment in environmental economics. |
| Keywords: | field experiments; environmental economics, intrinsic incentives, extrinsic incentives, behavioral economics |
| JEL: | C93 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2016-34&r=agr |
| By: | Adelina Gschwandtner; Stefan Hirsch |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes persistence and the drivers of profitability in US and EU food processing using GMM estimations. Due to different firm size structures first comparable samples of US and EU food processors are derived using Propensity Score Matching. The GMM results indicate that profit persistence in food processing is lower than in other manufacturing sectors. Firm-specific drivers of profitability are size, growth and financial risk. Regarding industry characteristics the growth rate significantly influences profitability. The findings provide insights for the management of food processing firms as well as for policy decisions aiming to counter power imbalances in the food sector. |
| Keywords: | Firm profit; persistence; food industry; GMM panel estimation; propensity score matching |
| JEL: | L12 L66 M21 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:1612&r=agr |
| By: | Kenneth Fortson; Joanne Lee; Madeline Young |
| Keywords: | Irrigation Infrastructure Activity, Armenia |
| JEL: | F Z |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:f792daac2bee4b68845201fffc25225e&r=agr |
| By: | Luc Laviolette; Sudararajan Gopalan; Leslie Elder; Olivier Wouters |
| Abstract: | Malnutrition is a driver of poverty. Reducing malnutrition is essential to achieving the World Bank’s goals of eliminating extreme poverty and enhancing shared prosperity. This compendium offers practical information on how to plan, implement, and monitor incentivized operations for improving nutrition results for World Bank client countries. For more detailed background information, see the World Bank report Incentivizing Nutrition: Incentive Mechanisms to Accelerate Improved Nutrition Outcomes. |
| JEL: | F3 G3 |
| Date: | 2016–11–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:68711&r=agr |
| By: | Declan Conway; Antoine Dechezlepretre; Ivan Haščič; Nick Johnstone |
| Abstract: | This paper identifies over 50 000 patents filed worldwide in various water-related technologies between 1990 and 2010, distinguishing between those related to availability (supply) and conservation (demand) technologies. Patenting activity is analysed – including inventive activity by country and technology, international diffusion of such water-related technologies, and international collaboration in technology development. Three results stand out from our analysis. First, although inventive activity in water-related technologies has been increasing over the last two decades, this growth has been disproportionately concentrated on supply-side technologies. Second, whilst 80% of water-related invention worldwide occurs in countries with low or moderate water scarcity, several countries with absolute or chronic water scarcity are relatively specialized in water efficiency technologies. Finally, although we observe a positive correlation between water scarcity and local filings of water patents, some countries with high water availability, in particular Switzerland or Norway, nevertheless appear as significant markets for water-efficiency technologies. This suggests that drivers other than local demand, like regulation and social and cultural factors, play a role in explaining the global flows of technologies. And finally, the extent to which innovation is "internationalised" shows some distinct patterns relative to those observed for innovation in technologies in general. |
| Keywords: | water security; resource scarcity; invention; international technology diffusion |
| JEL: | Q25 Q31 Q55 |
| Date: | 2015–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:62607&r=agr |
| By: | Claudio Loser (Centennial Group International and the Emerging Markets Forum); Ieva Vilkelyte (Centennial Group International & Emerging Markets Forum) |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emf:glpapr:2016africatot&r=agr |
| By: | Misund, Bard (UiS) |
| Abstract: | Salmon farming companies are increasingly gaining attention from investors and portfolio managers. The last decade has seen a substantial growth in the securitization of salmon farming assets and prices. A growing literature demonstrates that industry-specific fundamental, as well as market-wide risk factors help explain stock returns. However, very little is known about the pricing of salmon stocks and especially the contribution of industry-specific fundamental risk factors. Using a multifactor model, we find that stock returns for salmon farming firms are significantly associated with both common market-wide risks and industry-specific risk factors. |
| Keywords: | Atlantic salmon production; salmon company valuation; stock returns; risk factors; salmon price. |
| JEL: | G12 G31 Q02 Q14 |
| Date: | 2016–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:stavef:2016_017&r=agr |
| By: | Alejandro Toledo (Stanford University) |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emf:glpapr:2016povertyineq&r=agr |