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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2018‒01‒08
forty-one papers chosen by |
| By: | Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Chandra, Raj |
| Abstract: | What will it take for India, with a burgeoning population of well over a billion, to meet its food needs in the coming years? If the country is to speed progress in reducing hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity, it must first revisit its food policy framework and level the playing field for nongrain crops. In Pulses for Nutrition in India: Changing Patterns from Farm to Fork, leading researchers consider the role that pulses can play in improving food security and nutrition as well as the changes necessary in production practices to accomplish these goals. |
| Keywords: | India; South Asia; Asia; nutrition; grain legumes; famine; malnutrition; diet; food preferences; protein intake; farming systems; climate change; agricultural policies; food security; agricultural development; low income groups; poverty; agricultural productivity; dietary patterns |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:synops:9780896292574&r=agr |
| By: | Catherine Benjamin (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France); Ewen Gallic (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France) |
| Abstract: | The effects of climate change on European agriculture under different alternative scenarios are empirically studied. Empirical results exhibit the effects of seasonal weather variables on both mean yields and the variance of wheat and corn yields. Prices show a positive and significant impact on wheat yields for northern Europe, only after the CAP reform. Prior to this reform, the effect of prices on yields were not statistically different from zero. The empirical models are then used to assess the effect of climate change on yields. Four climate projection scenarios reflecting greenhouse gas concentration trajectories are tested. Mitigate spatio-temporal effects are found. Wheat yields would increase at the European scale under most scenarios, but the gains would decrease with time for regions in the north in the long-run. Results are less optimistic for corn yields. In the short-run, some northern regions would experience gains in yields, but these gains would transform into losses in the long-run. Those losses would even be higher in the south of Europe. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Climate change, Crop Yields, Prices, Variance of Yields |
| JEL: | C23 Q15 Q54 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:2017-16&r=agr |
| By: | Pantoja, Blanquita R.; Alvarez, Joanne V.; Sanchez, Flordeliza A. |
| Abstract: | After completion of their land reform program, countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan implemented land consolidation to effect economies of scale specifically in the adoption of modern technologies. Land consolidation plans included the physical reallocation of parcels, joint farming through land exchanges and sale, temporary quasi-land acquisition, and land renovation. In the Philippines, land consolidation to improve farm productivity and income was pursued through Agribusiness Venture Arrangements (AVAs) and the Sugarcane Block Farming (SBF). The objective of this study is to assess the performance of AVAs and SBF in increasing farm productivity and income in the agrarian sector. The case study approach was used focusing on three export crops, namely, banana, pineapple, and sugarcane which were selected based on their significant contribution to the Philippines' export earnings as well as to gross value added of agriculture. The study notes several issues on production and capital investments, marketing and pricing, institutional support, and contract terms that affect the implementation of AVAs and SBF. It recommends that AVAs, SBF arrangements should be encouraged, but government has to provide a policy environment for Philippine exports crops to be competitive. Agrarian reform beneficiaries and their associations should also be supported through capacity-building activities and access to legal advice. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, agrarian reform, banana, sugarcane, pineapple, Agribusiness Venture Arrangements, AVAs, Sugarcane Block Farming, SBF, commercial crops |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2017-35&r=agr |
| By: | Reyes, Celia M.; Mina, Christian D.; Agbon, Adrian D.; Arboneda, Arkin |
| Abstract: | Risk is a daily reality especially among agricultural producers in developing countries, thus agricultural insurance is of interest to farmers, policymakers, insurance companies, and development finance institutions. From a survey data of 2,512 farmers, this paper sheds light on the possible factors affecting insurance availment among the farmers in five selected regions in the Philippines. The farmers' reasons for availing of crop include: encouraged by neighbors, friends, relatives and because of the agricultural technicians in the local government unit. Farmers also shared that insurance is a requirement for getting a loan. Among the possible factors for insurance uptake, level of education, farming experience, and membership in farmer organization are significant factors in the availment of crop insurance from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation. Increasing coverage rate of crop insurance among farmers remains to be a challenge in a highly subsidized crop insurance program of the Philippines. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, poverty, crop insurance, PCIC, risks and shocks in agriculture, Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2017-39&r=agr |
| By: | Kailash Chandra Pradhan (National Institute of Labour Economic Research and Development (NILERD), Sector A-7, Narela Institutional Area, Narela, Delhi-40); shrabani Mukherjee (Assistant Professor, Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The study aims to estimate the technical efficiency of agricultural production in India using production frontier model for both cross section and panel data for the years 1999 and 2007. Given the persistent problem of under utilization of capacity in Indian farm sector still there is a serious need to identify the determining factors for technical efficiency for agricultural production in order to accelerate sustainable productivity and technological improvement. Farmers' age and education level, household size, household?s management in production, proportion of irrigated area covered by canals, availability of wells, yielding variety of lands, services provided by the government, agricultural expenditure by local government are the factors which significantly contribute to efficiency in resource utilisation. Traditional method of farming or learning by doing is preferred to adoption of new technologies which creates technological lock-in. |
| Keywords: | Production function, agricultural farmers, technical efficiency India |
| JEL: | C33 D20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2017-161&r=agr |
| By: | Emma Aisbett; Giulia Barbanente |
| Abstract: | The impact of large-scale foreign land acquisitions (“landgrabs”) on rural households in developing countries has proven a highly contentious question in public discourse. Similarly, in the academic literature, "evolutionary" theories of property rights and "enclosure" models make diametrically opposed predictions about the impacts on holders of informal property rights of increased demand for land. The current paper uses a multi-method approach to provide much-needed empirical evidence on the impacts of large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia. We use basic economic theory to structure evidence from disparate sources, including: a survey of existing qualitative evidence; original legal analysis of specific foreign land-acquisition contracts; and original econometric analysis of new World Bank household survey data. The evidence from all three methods suggests large-scale foreign land acquisitions are associated with losses of land and resource rights for rural households. While there is some compensating evidence of increased household expenditure, it is difficult to say whether this increase is caused by growth in incomes or in implicit prices. |
| Keywords: | Ethiopia, large-scale land acquisitions, LSMS-ISA, smallholder farmers, coarsened exact matching |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:crwfrp:1602&r=agr |
| By: | Scott A. Carson |
| Abstract: | When traditional measures for health and economic welfare are scarce or unreliable, height and the body mass index (BMI) are now well-accepted measures that reflect net nutrition during economic development. To date, there is no study that compares 19th century BMIs of immigrants and US natives. Individuals in the New South and West had high BMIs, while those in the upper South and Northeast had lower BMIs. Immigrants from Europe had the highest BMIs, while immigrants from Asia were the lowest. African-Americans and mixed-race individuals had greater BMIs than fairer complexioned whites. After accounting for occupational selection, workers in agricultural occupations had greater BMIs. Close proximity to rural agriculture decreased the relative price of food, increased net nutrition, and was associated with higher BMIs. |
| Keywords: | nineteenth century US health, immigrant health, BMI, malnourishment, obesity |
| JEL: | I12 I31 J70 N31 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6771&r=agr |
| By: | Ballesteros, Marife M.; Ramos, Tatum P.; Ancheta, Jenica |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the performance of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in the last 30 years using the program's theory of change. A results chain framework was constructed and the program processes examined drawing from several studies that assessed the implementation and impact of CARP. The study notes that the accomplishments of CARP in terms of land-reformed area and number of beneficiaries for the past 30 years have been substantial. However, there is evidence that the program has been poorly targeted in terms of areas covered and beneficiaries. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) experienced difficulty in constructing the land inventory and master list of beneficiaries due to the absence of parcel-based information on land use and ownership and the poor land record system in the country. There is also no inventory of farmers or tenants in the country. Targeting thus has been largely influenced by landowners, local officials, including DAR officials at the local level so as to expedite the process of land tenure improvement. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, CARP, agrarian reform, agrarian reform beneficiaries, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, land reform |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2017-34&r=agr |
| By: | Tom Kompas; Hoa-Thi-Minh Nguyen; Pham Van Ha |
| Abstract: | A key challenge for global livestock production is the prevalence of infectious animal diseases. These diseases result in low productivity in meat and dairy production, culled animals, and significant barriers to trade and lost income from meat and meat products. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) affects both developing countries, where it is often endemic and very costly, and developed countries where incursions result in considerable economic losses in the order of billions of dollars per year. In some cases, production levels of pork meat in developed countries have still not recovered to levels prior to past disease incursions, more than a decade ago. In developing countries, the export of animal products has exhibited sluggish growth for decades, constrained by ongoing animal disease problems.We make three contributions. First, we provide an overview of worldwide meat production, consumption and trade in the context of FMD. Second, we provide insights into the economics of biosecurity measures and how these activities should be optimally designed to enhance livestock production. Third, we analyse a case study of an FMDendemic country, Vietnam, which has been trying to achieve FMD-free status for some time. Lessons learnt from this case study shed light on the challenges in achieving FMD-free status in developing countries, which is useful for a global FMD control strategy and the promotion of world food security. |
| Keywords: | Livestock production, Trade, Biosecurity, Foot-and-mouth disease, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:crwfrp:1709&r=agr |
| By: | Catherine Benjamin (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France); Ewen Gallic (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France) |
| Abstract: | The effects of climate change on Indian agriculture under different alternative climate scenarios are empirically studied. This article uses the Ricardian approach that links net revenues per acre as a function of climate, farm and households’characteristics. We estimate the net revenues per acre function using cross-sectional data and quantile regression. Empirical results show that farms with higher net revenues per acre look to be more affected by climate variables in magnitude. Farms with lower net revenues per acre tend to benefit more from crops mixing than farms with high income per acre. In a second step, we implement two climate scenarios which differ according to the assumptions on changes on average temperature and total rainfall. Farms with low net revenues per acre experience losses less important in magnitude but larger in percent change than farms with high net revenues per acre. At the district level, results show more heterogeneity. Under both scenarios, districts in the North of India tend to experience a decrease in net revenues per acre while an opposed effect is found for districts in the South of the country. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Adaptation, Ricardian model, Developing countries, Quantile regression, Farmer’s behavior |
| JEL: | Q12 Q15 Q54 C21 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:2017-15&r=agr |
| By: | Isabelle Cadoret (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France); Marie-Hélène Hubert (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France); Véronique Thelen (Université de Rennes 1, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France) |
| Abstract: | Facors of production may be destroyed in countries that experience a civil conflict, which most likely limits agricultural production and drives up domestic food prices. Thus, a country can enter into a diabolical spiral between food prices and civil conflicts. Our study estimates this diabolical spiral by employing three-stage least squares. We use a panel data set of 82 countries spanning from 1995 to 2009. Our results reveal that a one per cent rise in domestic food prices increases the likelihood of civil conflicts by two percentage points the following year, and this magnitude is significantly higher in Southeast Asia. During an episode of civil conflict, domestic food prices are around 65 per cent higher. Finally, we use our results to calculate the impact of the 2007-2009 food crisis on the probability of conflicts. This probability increased by 3.9 percentage points during the 2007-2009 food crisis, with the highest relative increase occurring in the Middle East and North Africa. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:2017-17&r=agr |
| By: | Pierre Courtois (CEEM – INRA); Charles Figuières (AMSE – Aix-Marseille University); Chloé Mulier (Innovation); Joakim Weill (Dept of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis) |
| Abstract: | Biological invasions entail massive biodiversity losses and tremendous economic impacts that justify significant management efforts. Because the funds available to control biological invasions are limited, there is a need to identify priority species. This paper first reviews current invasive species prioritization methods and explicitly highlights their pitfalls. We then construct a cost-benefit optimization framework that incorporates species utility, ecological value, distinctiveness, and species interactions. This framework offers the theoretical foundations of a simple method for the management of multiple invasive species under a limited budget. We provide an algorithm to operationalize this framework and render explicit the assumptions required to satisfy the management objective. |
| Keywords: | Biological invasion, Prioritization, cost-benefit, optimization, Diversity |
| JEL: | Q28 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2017.29&r=agr |
| By: | Raju Mandal (Assam University, Silchar, Cachar, Assam 788011 (India)); Hiranya Nath (Department of Economics and International Business, Sam Houston State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the extant literature on the impacts of climate change on agriculture. We first discuss various methodologies used to study climatic impacts on crop yield. We then present a brief survey of studies from across the globe followed by a discussion on India-specific research. The empirical evidence on the effects of climate change on agriculture has been mixed: while some studies find evidence of adverse impacts others report evidence of positive effects. Applying nonparametric median regression technique to state-level time series data on average yield of rice and wheat, and on temperature and rainfall from 1968 to 2001, we further investigate the impacts of changes in these climate variables on rice and wheat yields in India. The results indicate that rising temperature has a significant negative impact and rising rainfall variability has a significant positive impact on the average rice yield. Furthermore, an increase in temperature variability over the crop year appears to have a significant positive impact on wheat yield. |
| Keywords: | India, Rice yield, Wheat yield, Climate change, Median regression |
| JEL: | Q11 Q54 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shs:wpaper:1705&r=agr |
| By: | Zareena Begum Irfan (Associate Professor, Madras School of Economics); Venkatachalam. L (Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai); Jayakumar S (Associate Professor, Department of Ecology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry); Satarupa Rakshit (Research Associate, Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Land use/cover change is a major factor for global change because of its interactions with climate, cosystem processes, biodiversity, and, even more important, human activities, research on land use/cover change has become an important aspect of global change. The present research paper aims to investigate the land use changes over the time period, 2005 to 2014, in the Ousteri wetland. The information collected through the ecological, hydrological and geological analysis was used to carry out the quantitative research on Ousteri wetland land use/cover change. The temporal changes of land use characteristics were quantitatively analyzed and then the driving forces of land use changes were examined based on natural and artificial factors. As the result of natural factors and human disturbances, the area of wetland shrunk, bringing the conversion from wetland to terrestrial land use type. The annual conversion rates indicated the land use changes in Ousteri wetland. |
| Keywords: | Land use cover, Ousteri wetland, Dynamic Degree model, Ecosystem modification |
| JEL: | O13 Q15 Q56 N55 R11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2017-156&r=agr |
| By: | Lutz Kilian; Xiaoqing Zhou |
| Abstract: | It is widely understood that the real price of globally traded commodities is determined by the forces of demand and supply. One of the main determinants of the real price of commodities is shifts in the demand for commodities associated with unexpected fluctuations in global real economic activity. There have been numerous proposals for quantifying global real economic activity. We discuss which criteria a measure of global real activity must satisfy to be useful for modeling industrial commodity prices, we examine which of the many alternative measures in the literature are most suitable for applied work, and we explain why some popular measures are inappropriate for modeling commodity prices. Given these insights, we reexamine in detail the question of whether global real economic activity has declined since 2011 and by how much. Drawing on a range of new evidence, we show that the global commodity price boom of the 2000s appears to have been largely transitory. Our analysis has important implications for the design of structural models of commodity markets, for the analysis of the transmission of commodity price shocks to commodity-importing and exporting economies, and for commodity price forecasting. |
| Keywords: | commodity market, demand, real economic activity, global economy, oil price, international business, cycle, leading indicators |
| JEL: | F44 Q11 Q31 Q41 Q43 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6749&r=agr |
| By: | Diewert, Erwin; Shimizu, Chihiro |
| Abstract: | The SNA (System of National Accounts) requires separate estimates for the land and structure components of a commercial property. Using transactions data for the sales of office buildings in Tokyo, a hedonic regression model (the Builder’s Model) was estimated and this model generated an overall property price index as well as subindexes for the land and structure components of the office buildings. The Builder’s Model was also estimated using appraisal data on office building REITs for Tokyo. These hedonic regression models also generate estimates for net depreciation rates which can be compared. Finally, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism constructs annual official land prices for commercial properties based on appraised values. The paper compares these official land prices with the land prices generated by the hedonic regression models based on transactions data and on REIT data. The results show that the Builder’s Model using transactions data can be used to estimate Tokyo office market indexes with a reasonable level of precision. The results also revealed that commercial property indexes based on appraisal and assessment prices lag behind the indexes based on transaction prices. |
| Keywords: | Commercial property price indexes, System of National Accounts, the builder’s model, transaction-based indexes, appraisal prices, assessment prices, land and structure price indexes, hedonic regressions, depreciation rates |
| JEL: | C2 C23 C43 D12 E31 R21 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:remfce:75&r=agr |
| By: | Zhang, Peng (Hong Kong Polytechnic University); Deschenes, Olivier (University of California, Santa Barbara); Meng, Kyle C. (University of California, Santa Barbara); Zhang, Junjie (Duke Kunshan University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses detailed production data from a half million Chinese manufacturing plants over 1998-2007 to estimate the effects of temperature on firm-level total factor productivity (TFP), factor inputs, and output. We detect an inverted U- shaped relationship between temperature and TFP and show that it primarily drives the temperature-output effect. Both labor- and capital- intensive firms exhibit sensitivity to high temperatures. By mid 21st century, if no additional adaptation were to occur, we project that climate change will reduce Chinese manufacturing output annually by 12%, equivalent to a loss of $39.5 billion in 2007 dollars. This implies substantial local and global economic consequences as the Chinese manufacturing sector produces 32% of national GDP and supplies 12% of global exports. |
| Keywords: | manufacturing, productivity, climate change, China |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 L60 O14 O44 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11132&r=agr |
| By: | Joshua Leftin; Thomas Godfrey; James Mabli; Nancy Wemmerus; Stephen Tordella |
| Abstract: | This study examines how the policies that determine benefit levels for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reflect current low-income household spending patterns, using 2013 and 2014 national expenditure and SNAP participation data. |
| Keywords: | FNS, SNAP, deductions, expenditures, benefits , consumer expenditure survey |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:35f58ee562134fb58c216c978dafecd8&r=agr |
| By: | Nigar Hashimzade; Gareth Donald Myles |
| Abstract: | Corporations make significant direct contributions to environmental improvement and also indirect contributions, through expenditure on process and product innovation. We explore alternative motivations for these expenditures that look beyond the assertion that they are a consequence of business ethics. Two motives are explored: environmental improvement leading to reduced production costs, and publicized environmental expenditures boosting brand image. We analyze the equilibrium with environmental contributions and social welfare implications. These motives are then combined to determine whether environmental expenditures can justify public interest defence for the operation of a cartel. Using a variant of the Dixit-Stiglitz model we identify when reduced competition caused by a decrease in the number of active firms leads to greater environmental expenditures and higher welfare. However, allowing the operational firms to form a cartel and raise prices above Nash equilibrium levels always reduces environmental expenditures. Welfare falls, as a consequence, and the public interest defence fails. |
| Keywords: | environment, public interest, cartel |
| JEL: | L49 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6755&r=agr |
| By: | Maria Laura Alzua; Noemi Katzkowicz; Maria Adelaida Lopera |
| Abstract: | Eliciting information from household surveys is important in order to better target social policies. In the presence of heterogeneity in answers between couples regarding issues related to household members’ welfare, policies intended to benefit some members, for example, gender targeted policies, may end up being ineffective. Our survey experiment varies the respondent (husband, wife or couple) randomly to an extensive household survey conducted in rural India. We found stark differences between respondents with respect to several household decisions, with women’s answers being significantly different to men’s and couple’s answers, which were similar. |
| Keywords: | Survey experiment, India, health economics |
| JEL: | J16 C8 C90 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:piercr:2017-20&r=agr |
| By: | Joshua Leftin; Thomas Godfrey; James Mabli; Nancy Wemmerus; Stephen Tordella |
| Abstract: | This study examines how the policies that determine benefit levels for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reflect current low-income household spending patterns, using 2013 and 2014 national expenditure and SNAP participation data. |
| Keywords: | FNS, SNAP, Deductions, Expenditures, Benefits, Consumer Expenditure Survey |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:c5b04778714b4a7bb709a8ced10521ba&r=agr |
| By: | Sébastien Houde; Joseph E. Aldy |
| Abstract: | The behavioral responses to taxes and subsidies are often subject to various behavioral biases and transaction costs—what we define as “microfrictions.” We develop a theoretical framework to show how these microfrictions—and their heterogeneity across the population and policy instruments—affect the design of Pigouvian policies. Standard Pigouvian pricing still holds with transaction costs, but requires adjustment with behavioral biases. We use transaction-level data from the US appliance market to estimate the heterogeneous behavioral responses to an array of energy fiscal policies and to quantify microfrictions. We then assess optimal fiscal policies and find that it is rarely optimal to couple a Pigouvian tax on energy with an investment subsidy in this context. We also find that energy labels—intended to increase the salience of energy information—can interact in perverse ways with both taxes and subsidies. |
| JEL: | H31 Q4 Q48 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24103&r=agr |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the reform of Switzerland’s agricultural policy framework, which reoriented subsidies to better target policy objectives, including for biodiversity. The paper outline the process involved in designing and implementing the reform as well as its environmental and socio-economic impacts. It also highlights the challenges encountered and concludes by discussing the wider lessons for other governments seeking to tackle similar challenges. The country study draws on the 2017 OECD report The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform. |
| Date: | 2017–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaac:8-en&r=agr |
| By: | Paul Thorsnes (Department of Economics, University of Otago, New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | This paper reports analysis of the results of two stated-choice surveys to elicit the preferences of New Zealand homeowners for attributes of improvements in space and water heating systems. We implement the survey using web-based software especially well-suited to exploration of heterogeneity in preferences across participants; independently for each participant it provides estimates of the relative strength of preference for each attribute. Cluster analysis reveals five groups of participants with similar patterns of preferences. Interestingly, the cluster comprising people who prefer to avoid a large upfront expenditure – those targeted by current subsidy policy – is the smallest of the five clusters. The attributes of most concern to each of the other four groups suggest alternative policy interventions. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:otg:wpaper:1713&r=agr |
| By: | Santosh Kumar Sahu (Assistant Professor, Madras School of Economics); Arjun Shatrunjay (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper attempts to understand the significance of the Green Solow Model, in the context of a developing country such as India. It gives particular importance to the role of population density, in understanding the drawbacks of the Green Solow Model. It further extends the argument to analyse the impacts of the emission regulations on a developing country, by proving relationship between price level on one hand, and abatement costs and emissions on the other. Lastly, interactions between countries, given different price scenarios are studied |
| Keywords: | Green Solow Model, abatement costs, technology, emission regulations, India |
| JEL: | C70 O44 Q52 Q56 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2017-160&r=agr |
| By: | Anubhab Pattanayak (Lecturer, Madras School of Economics); K. S. Kavi Kumar (Professor, Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | With the objective of assessing climatic impacts at the regional (i.e., subnational) level, past studies employing statistical models have largely followed the approach of uniformly applying the climate response function estimated at the aggregate (national) level to extrapolate/interpolate the impacts for the region(s) of interest. Although impact estimates based on this approach could loosely indicate the magnitude of regional impacts (or at the least the direction of such impacts), they may exhibit significant overestimation or underestimation of the true regional impacts. Thus, following this approach could be misleading and will be inappropriate if the objective is effective adaptation planning and policy implementation at the regional level to withstand future climate change impacts. The present study is an extension of this literature and examines the above issue through an assessment of regional weather sensitivity of rice crop in the Indian context. Using disaggregated (district) level weather and non-weather data during 1969-2007 and region-specific rice growing season information, the crop-yield response functions for two dominant rice growing regions (East and South) are estimated. The study finds significant adverse effects of higher daytime temperature during all phases of crop growth on rice yield for both regions. However, the effects of higher nighttime temperature and rainfall across growth phases tend to differ across regions. The paper then examines whether an aggregate (all-India) response function represents well the regional impacts on rice yield due to a hypothetical scenario of pre-1960 climatic conditions prevailing during the period of study. Accordingly, comparison is made between regional impacts simulated using the all-India yield response function and impacts simulated using the region-specific yield response functions. The analysis suggests that regional impacts are overestimated when simulated using an all-India yield response function instead of using the region-specific yield response function. Regional impacts simulation results indicate that the average yield loss for the Southern and the Eastern regions due to past changes in climate has been to the tune of ?8 per cent and ?5 per cent respectively. Regional distribution of impacts shows that majority of districts in each region, especially in the East, suffered yield losses due to climate change in the past. The study highlights the need to conduct regional crop-weather sensitivity assessment using region-specific characteristics to understand regional vulnerability to climatic and non-climatic stressors and for region-level adaptation planning to tackle climate change. |
| Keywords: | Rice; India; Climate Change; Regional Impacts; Poverty |
| JEL: | Q10 Q54 R50 I30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2017-162&r=agr |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the reform undertaken by Iceland to avert a looming crisis and restore fish stocks to sustainable levels. The paper outlines the process involved in designing and implementing this reform. It also reflects on the challenges encountered and the environmental, economic and social impacts of the reform. It concludes by discussing some wider lessons learned for other governments seeking to tackle similar environmental problems. This country study draws on the 2017 OECD report The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform. |
| Date: | 2017–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaac:9-en&r=agr |
| By: | Riccardo Crescenzi; Guido de Blasio; Mara Giua |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates a program of subsidies for Collaborative Industrial Research (co-)funded by the EU Cohesion Policy in Italy mobilizing over 1 billion euros. This program anticipated in the 2007-2013 funding cycle some of the key features of Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) programmes, offering evidence-based insights on potential challenges to the practical application of the S3 approach. The programme was not successful in boosting investments, value added or employment of beneficiary firms. The collaborative dimension of the projects added limited value and a more generous level funding would have not improved effectiveness. However, positive impacts emerged in low tech sectors. |
| Keywords: | Cohesion Policy, Smart Specialisation, Policy Evaluation, Innovation, European Union |
| JEL: | O18 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:769&r=agr |
| By: | IOVINO, Giorgia (CELPE - Centre of Labour Economics and Economic Policy, University of Salerno - Italy) |
| Abstract: | Il contributo indaga patterns spaziali, drivers ed impatti del fenomeno consumo di suolo con un focus sul territorio europeo. Particolare attenzione è dedicata agli effetti del land take, che tendono a interessare tanto la scala locale (ad esempio, qualità delle acque di falda, dissesto idrogeologico, calo della produzione alimentare) quanto quella globale in modo diretto o indiretto (ad esempio, cambiamento climatico, land grabbing, sicurezza alimentare). |
| Keywords: | Consumo di suolo; Sprawl urbano; Europa |
| JEL: | Q01 Q24 R14 |
| Date: | 2017–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sal:celpdp:0149&r=agr |
| By: | Elizabeth Woodburn Cavadel; Douglas A. Frye |
| Abstract: | The current study investigated the role of theory of mind development in school readiness among 120 low-income preschool and kindergarten children. |
| Keywords: | preschool, school readiness, theory of mind, understanding of teaching |
| JEL: | I |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:e1cb614ab8f040acb177dacccccf2933&r=agr |
| By: | Mai Nguyen (NTU - Nanayang Technological University - Nanayang Technological University); Marie-Ange Veganzones-Varoudakis (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - UdA - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Date: | 2017–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01618733&r=agr |
| By: | Okay Gunes (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | This work will demonstrate how economic theory can be applied to big data analysis. To do this, I propose two layers of machine learning that use econometric models introduced into a recommender system. The reason for doing so is to challenge traditional recommendation approaches. These approaches are inherently biased due to the fact that they ignore the final preference order for each individual and under-specify the interaction between the socio-economic characteristics of the participants and the characteristics of the commodities in question. In this respect, our hedonic recommendation approach proposes to first correct the internal preferences with respect to the tastes of each individual under the characteristics of given products. In the second layer, the relative preferences across participants are predicted by socio-economic characteristics. The robustness of the model is tested with the MovieLens (100k data consists of 943 users over 1682 movies) run by GroupLens. Our methodology shows the importance and the necessity of correcting the data set by using economic theory. This methodology can be applied for all recommender systems using ratings based on consumer decisions |
| Keywords: | Big Data; Python; R; Machine learning; Recommendation Engine; Econometrics |
| JEL: | C01 C80 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:17061&r=agr |
| By: | Peter Kritzer; Gunther Leobacher; Michaela Sz\"olgyenyi; Stefan Thonhauser |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyse piecewise deterministic Markov processes, as introduced in Davis (1984). Many models in insurance mathematics can be formulated in terms of the general concept of piecewise deterministic Markov processes. In this context, one is interested in computing certain quantities of interest such as the probability of ruin of an insurance company, or the insurance company's value, defined as the expected discounted future dividend payments until the time of ruin. Instead of explicitly solving the integro-(partial) differential equation related to the quantity of interest considered (an approach which can only be used in few special cases), we adapt the problem in a manner that allows us to apply deterministic numerical integration algorithms such as quasi-Monte Carlo rules; this is in contrast to applying random integration algorithms such as Monte Carlo. To this end, we reformulate a general cost functional as a fixed point of a particular integral operator, which allows for iterative approximation of the functional. Furthermore, we introduce a smoothing technique which is applied to the integrands involved, in order to use error bounds for deterministic cubature rules. On the analytical side, we prove a convergence result for our PDMP approximation, which is of independent interest as it justifies phase-type approximations on the process level. We illustrate the smoothing technique for a risk-theoretic example, and provide a comparative study of deterministic and Monte Carlo integration. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1712.09201&r=agr |
| By: | Olga Chiappinelli; Karsten Neuhoff |
| Abstract: | In this paper we show that carbon pricing is subject to time-inconsistency and we investigate solutions to improve on the problem and restore the incentive for the private sector to invest in low-carbon innovation. We show that a superior price- investment equilibrium can be sustained in the long-term, if the policy-maker is enough forward looking and allowed to build reputation. In the short-term, time- inconsistency can be alleviated by complementing carbon pricing with project-based carbon price guarantees. |
| Keywords: | Carbon pricing, Time-inconsistency, Low-carbon innovation, Environmental regulation, Repeated games, Carbon contracts |
| JEL: | C73 L51 O31 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1710&r=agr |
| By: | Misato Sato, Karsten Neuhoff, Vera Zipperer |
| Abstract: | Greenhouse gas emission benchmarks are widely implemented as a policy tool, as more countries move to implement carbon pricing mechanisms for industrial emissions. In particular, benchmarks are used to determine the level of free allowance allocation in emission trading schemes, which are distributed as a measure to prevent carbon leakage. This paper analyses how benchmark designs impact firms’ production and business model decisions, particularly focusing on the coverage of direct and indirect emissions in the benchmark scope. We develop an analytical model and use the example of a steel mill to analyze and quantify how scope of indirect emissions coverage affect incentives. We seek to clarify generalized principles for efficient benchmark design, that provide a predictable policy framework for innovation and investment to decarbonize energy intensive industry. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp321&r=agr |
| By: | Nguyen, H.T.M.; Do, H.; Kay, A.; Kompas, T.; Nguyen, C.N.; Tran, C.T. |
| Abstract: | The global food security agenda depends on the world rice market which is the thinnest among key cereal markets and often distorted by government interventions. Existing literature suggests that these interventions are not economically efficient. This paper focuses on the political economy of those interventions, asking why they were adopted. The answer is drawn from insights on Vietnam as a case study. Although by no means a representative case, Vietnam is chosen not only for being a key rice exporter but especially so for its unique success in overcoming the inherent tension between `socialist' and `market-based' objectives during its transition to a market-based economy, albeit with a socialist orientation. We find that rice sector in Vietnam has not been fully reformed to follow market rules despite Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization. This is due to the interaction of economic liberalisation processes and the ruling Communist Party's political survival strategy. In this context, seemingly economic disequilibria are shown to be stable, enduring policy settings. In open economy politics, the case reveals how economically sub-optimal policies may be `successful' politically even in the face of what appear to be severe domestic political constraints on reform from external economic pressures. |
| Keywords: | Food policy, rice, political economy, Vietnam, Communist Party |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:crwfrp:1713&r=agr |
| By: | Adelina Gshwandtner; Cheul Jang; Richard McManus |
| Abstract: | Increased pollution leads to a constant decrease of drinking water quality worldwide. Due to safety concerns, unpleasant taste and odour only about 3% of the population in South Korea is drinking untreated tap water. The present study uses choice experiments and cost-benefit analysis to investigate the feasibility of installing advanced water treatments in Cheongju waterworks in South Korea. The waterworks is situated in the middle of the country and is providing more than half a million people with drinking water. The study shows that the lower bound of the median WTP for installing a new advanced water treatment system is about $2 US/month, which is similar to the average expenditures for bottled water per household in South Korea. Scenarios under which the instalment of the advanced water treatments is feasible are discussed together with environmental solutions in the long-run. |
| Keywords: | Drinking Water Quality, Water Pollution, Choice Experiments, Willingness to Pay, Random Parameter and Latent Class Logit, Cost-Benefit Analysis |
| JEL: | C19 C83 C90 D12 D61 Q25 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:1720&r=agr |
| By: | Kerstin Gerling |
| Abstract: | Weather-related natural disasters and climate change pose interrelated macro-fiscal challenges. Using panel-VARX studies for a sample of 19 countries in Developing Asia during 1970 to 2015, this paper contributes new empirical evidence on the dynamic adjustment path of growth and key fiscal variables after severe weather-related disasters. It does not only show that output loss can be permanent, but even twice as large for cases of severe casualties or material damages than people affected. Meanwhile, key fiscal aggregates remain surprisingly stable. Event and case studies suggest that this can reflect both a deliberate policy choice or binding constraints. The latter can make governments respond through mitigating fiscal policy efforts such as ad hoc fiscal rebalancing and reprioritization. The findings help better customize disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts to countries’ risk exposure along a particular loss dimension. |
| Date: | 2017–11–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:17/235&r=agr |
| By: | Hafner, Lucas; Tauchmann, Harald; Wübker, Ansgar |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether moderate weight reduction improves subjective health perception in obese individuals. To cure possible endogeneity bias in the regression analysis, we use randomized monetary weight loss incentives as instrument for weight change. In contrast to related earlier work that also employed instrumental variables estimation, identification does not rely on long-term, between-individuals weight variation, but on short-term, within-individual weight variation. This allows for identifying short-term effects of moderate reductions in body weight on subjective health. In qualitative terms, our results are in line with previous findings pointing to weight loss in obese individuals resulting in improved subjective health. Yet, in contrast to these, we establish genuine short-term effects. This finding may encourage obese individuals in their weight loss attempts, since they are likely to be immediately rewarded for their efforts by subjective health improvements. |
| Keywords: | Self-rated health,BMI,obesity,randomized experiment,short-term effect,instrumental variable |
| JEL: | I12 C26 C93 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:730&r=agr |
| By: | Martin Valdivia; Alberto Chong |
| Abstract: | This study seeks to evaluate the use of short soap operas as a mechanism to promote the use of formal savings accounts among poor rural women that have been secularly excluded from healthy interactions with the formal financial sector. We developed a short soap opera (telenovela), named Josefa, which transmitted pro-savings messages using characters and stories that could generate a level of identification with the intended audience. We used an experimental design that randomly assigned eligible villages of Huancavelica, the poorest department in Peru, to treatment and control groups, and organized special viewing sessions inviting all beneficiaries of Juntos, the Peruvian CCT program, in the eligible villages. A year later, we found that women who were exposed to the treatment have an improved knowledge and attitude towards formal savings, especially for precautionary motives. We did not find a significant change at the end of bimester savings balances until the July-August bimester, which we interpret as evidence that the improved pro-savings attitude remained latent for several months, until right about the time cash surpluses are likely, due to post-harvest season. In searching for the underlying mechanisms, we find no income effect, but a strong empowerment effect within the household, mainly for economic and financial decisions, and especially among the women under 40, which is also the group that shows more robust temporary savings effects. Overall, we interpret these results as evidence that the edutainment approach can have an important contribution to the financial inclusion of poor rural women that have faced secular exclusion from formal financial institutions like the ones from the Peruvian Southern Sierra. |
| Keywords: | Social media |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:piercr:2017-15&r=agr |
| By: | Loic Berger; Massimo Marinacci |
| Abstract: | We review recent models of choices under uncertainty that have been proposed in the economic literature. The framework that we propose is general and may be applied in many different fields of environmental economics. To illustrate, we provide a simple application in the context of an optimal mitigation policy. Our objective is to offer guidance to policy makers who face uncertainty when designing climate policy. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:616&r=agr |