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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2019‒07‒08
fifty-four papers chosen by |
| By: | Arovuori, Kyösti; Lehtosalo, Heini; Kohl, Johanna; Yrjölä, Tapani; Niemi, Jyrki |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the path-dependencies of past, current and future agricultural policies. The research is based on the futures-research methodologies and foresight methods. The data was collected in a series of workshops with an aim to define path-ways for future agricultural policies in Finland. Our results show that horizontal path-dependencies of agri-environmental policies in Finland started to evolve from the 1980s. Focus has been on nutrient run-offs, soil erosion, water quality, among others. Current policy aims to take wider view based on ecosystem services. For the future policies, the main breaking-point identified is the role of agriculture in the climate change mitigation. The changing demands of future policies will challenge policy design. It is quite likely, that to respond to the increasing demand for agri-environmental policies, a shift from sector policy towards wider system-based pol-icies is required. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289687&r=all |
| By: | Barendra Kumar Bhoi (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); C.L. Dadhich (Indian Society of Agricultural Economics) |
| Abstract: | Agrarian distress in India, built-up over time, has further deteriorated recently. At the height of the farm output, Indian farmers are a disappointed lot. Despite spectacular rise in agricultural production, they continue to languish in poverty. The underlying reasons for agrarian distress in India are: a) unviable agriculture; b) ineffective Minimum Support Prices (MSP) system; c) adverse terms of trade; d) rural indebtedness; and e) inefficient value chain in agriculture. There is a need to provide medium term solutions to the problem so that sub-optimal solution like loan waiver can be avoided. Among available solutions, government procurement operation covering all major crops may not be feasible, while price-hedging mechanism through derivative instruments like forward/future trading in farm products is yet to be popular among farmers. There is a great potential to protect farmers from distress sale through a composite insurance scheme, which can cover risks arising out of both crop failure and market failure. The value chain of agricultural products needs to be completely revamped to integrate farmers directly to the ultimate consumers. Long-term solution of the agrarian distress lies in improving farm productivity by a series of measures like mass irrigation programme through inter-linking of rivers, diversification of agriculture, smart farming by using latest technology. A scheme of exit route for distress farmers may go a long way in alleviating the situation. |
| Keywords: | Agrarian distress, crop insurance, minimum support price, inefficient value chain, smart farming, farm productivity |
| JEL: | Q10 I13 H57 Q13 Q55 R14 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2019-017&r=all |
| By: | Bruckner, Martin; Wood, Richard; Moran, Daniel; Kuschnig, Nikolas; Wieland, Hanspeter; Maus, Victor; Börner, Jan |
| Abstract: | Primary crops are linked to final consumption by networks of processes and actors that convert and distribute food and non-food goods. Achieving a sustainable metabolism of this bio-economy is an overarching challenge which manifests itself in a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Modelling the physical dimensions of biomass conversion and distribution networks is essential to understanding the characteristics, drivers and dynamics of our societies' biomass metabolism. In this paper, we present the Food and Agriculture Biomass Input-Output model (FABIO), a set of multi-regional supply, use and input-output tables in physical units, that document the complex flows of agricultural and food products in the global economy. The model assembles FAOSTAT statistics reporting crop production, trade, and utilisation in physical units, supplemented by data on technical and metabolic conversion efficiencies, into a consistent, balanced, input-output framework. FABIO covers 191 countries and 130 agriculture, food and forestry products from 1986 to 2013. The physical supply-use tables offered by FABIO provide a comprehensive, transparent and flexible structure for organising data representing flows of materials within metabolic networks. They allow tracing biomass flows and embodied environmental pressures along global supply chains at an unprecedented level of product and country detail and can help to answer a range of questions regarding environment, agriculture, and trade. |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus045:6991&r=all |
| By: | José L. Martínez-González; Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia |
| Abstract: | Building on Allen’s Nytrogen Hypothesis, this paper assesses the role of climate change in the English Agricultural Revolution. Our results show that, while Nitrogen-fixing plants, better cultivation and improved seeds explain half of the variation in yields, the changing climatic conditions characterizing the cooling period (1645-1715) and the subsequent warmer phase account for the remaining variation. Given that the colder and more humid climate existing during the second half of the 17th-century and early 18th-century negatively affected yields, farmers’ efforts during this period were even higher than what it is implied by the observed yields. Increasing temperatures in the next phase (starting c.1715), however, had a positive effect on agricultural productivity, so the role of the farmers in this stage has been previously over-rated. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Revolution, England, climate, Seventeenth century |
| JEL: | N53 O13 Q10 Q54 Q55 Q57 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:seh:wpaper:1902&r=all |
| By: | Balogh, Jeremiás Máté |
| Abstract: | The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has grown mainly as a result of human activity in the world. Anthropogenic CO2 emission accounts for around three-fourths of global GHG emissions. Furthermore, the development of greenhouse gas emissions is extremely associated with global warming. Approximately one-third of the global atmospheric methane emissions come from agricultural activities. In the agricultural production process, irrational activities such as inappropriate land use, the excessive application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers may lead to the release of high amounts of GHG emissions, which affect harmfully the environment. In addition, the intensity of agriculture-related factors of climate change might vary over countries and continents. The objective of the research is to explore the main agricultural-related determinants of climate change focusing on livestock farming, crop production, land use, enteric fermentation, manure management, synthetic fertilizers along with the geographical and cultural background of the pollution. The analysis was carried out on a global sample, representing the world economy. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289690&r=all |
| By: | Tienhaara, Annika; Haltia, Emmi; Pouta, Eija; Arovuori, Kyösti; Grammatikopoulou, Ioanna; Miettinen, Antti; Koikkalainen, Kauko; Ahtiainen, Heini; Artell, Janne |
| Abstract: | In order to integrate ecosystem services (ES) in designing agri-environmental policy, we investigated both the demand for, and supply of, ES from agricultural environments in Finland. Using the discrete choice experiment method, we measured citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for four different ES and analysed farmers’ compensation request (WTA) for producing these services. Biodiversity and water quality gathered the highest WTA of farmers, but also highest WTP of citizens. Overall, the average WTA exceeded the WTP for almost all attributes and levels, but 20–27% of farmers were willing to produce the ES with the compensation lower than citizens’ WTP. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289712&r=all |
| By: | Brady, Mark V.; Hristov, Jordan; Wilhelmsson, Fredrik; Hedlund, Katarina |
| Abstract: | Conserving soil natural capital contributes to human welfare through its delivery of ecosystem services such as food security, water quality and climate regulation as well as providing insurance against future uncertainties, particularly climate change. However, individual farmers bear conservation costs, whereas particular services are public goods benefiting humanity generally. Consequently, farmers’ self-interested behaviour will not necessarily promote the optimal management of soil ecosystem services and underlying natural capital. Here we present a roadmap for evaluating the impacts of alternative farming practices that conserve soil ecosystem services, on farmers’ and societal welfare. The results of a Swedish case show that the value of conserving soil natural capital diverges depending on the level of decision-making: farmers or society. This is because public-good services have substantial societal value, and future flows of provisioning services have greater value to society than to current-generation farmers. We conclude that market outcomes are not likely to be generating optimal conservation of soil natural capital from society’s perspective. Innovative information systems and governance institutions are needed to guarantee the welfare of future generations. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289822&r=all |
| By: | Elisa Lanzi; Rob Dellink |
| Abstract: | Climate change and outdoor air pollution are two of the most challenging environmental issues that modern society faces. These challenges are strongly linked through their emission sources, the sectors they affect and the policies that can be implemented to reduce emissions. They also interact in the way they affect economic growth in the coming decades, although this aspect has been neglected in the literature. This paper presents the first global analysis of the joint economic consequences of climate change and outdoor air pollution to 2060, in the absence of new policies to address these challenges. A common methodology and a consistent modelling framework is used to specify the main economic interaction effects. While this paper provides a useful framework to analyse the interactions between two environmental issues in the economic system, the results need to be interpreted carefully, because of limited data availability. |
| Keywords: | air pollution, Climate change, computable general equilibrium models |
| JEL: | C68 Q54 Q53 |
| Date: | 2019–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:148-en&r=all |
| By: | Gren, Ing-Marie; Höglind, Lisa; Jansson, Torbjörn |
| Abstract: | Refunding of climate taxes on consumption of food might reduce the resistance towards the introduction of such a tax, which is necessary to achieve climate targets. This paper examines the implication of refunding a tax on consumption of food in Sweden under three refunding schemes; lump sum, in proportion to agricultural area, and payments for ecosystem services on agricultural land (carbon sink enhancement by restoration of drained peatland, biodiversity provision from increased area of grassland, and nutrient regulation by construction of wetlands). The theoretical results showed that economic and environmental conditions can improve compared with the no tax case under all three schemes, but to different farmer categories. The empirical results from a partial agricultural sector model showed that the introduction of a climate tax corresponding to the Swedish tax of 115 Euro per ton CO2e reduces total emissions by 5% without any refunding of the total tax incomes which correspond to 1.391 billion Euro. Refunding with payments for restoration of drained peatlands enhance carbon sink corresponding to 5.9 million metric tons of CO2e and results in net benefit of the tax system as a whole but not for all farmer categories. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289723&r=all |
| By: | Lin, Tracy Kuo; Teymourian, Yasmin; Tursini, Maitri Shila |
| Abstract: | Background: Studies find that economic, political, and social globalization - as well as trade liberalization specifically - influence the prevalence of overweight and obesity in countries through increasing the availability and affordability of unhealthful food. However, what are the mechanisms that connect globalization, trade liberalization, and rising average body mass index (BMI)? We suggest that the various sub-components of globalization interact, leading individuals in countries that experience higher levels of globalization to prefer, import, and consume more imported sugar and processed food products than individuals in countries that experience lower levels of globalization. Method: This study codes the amount of sugar and processed food imports in 172 countries from 1995 to 2010 using the United Nations Comtrade dataset. We employ country-specific fixed effects (FE) models, with robust standard errors, to examine the relationship between sugar and processed foods imports, globalization, and average BMI. To highlight further the relationship between the sugar and processed food import and average BMI, we employ a synthetic control method to calculate a counterfactual average BMI in Fiji. Conclusion: We find that sugar and processed food imports are part of the explanation to increasing average BMI in countries; after controlling for globalization and general imports and exports, sugar and processed food imports have a statistically and substantively significant effect in increasing average BMI. In the case of Fiji, the increased prevalence of obesity is associated with trade agreements and increased imports of sugar and processed food. The counterfactual estimates suggest that sugar and processed food imports are associated with a 0.5 increase in average BMI in Fiji. |
| Keywords: | Globalization; Imports; Obesity; Synthetic control method |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2018–04–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:101053&r=all |
| By: | Garrone, Maria; Emmers, Dorien; Olper, Alessandro; Swinnen, Johan |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between EU agricultural subsidies, including agri-environmental subsidies, and the outflow of labor from agriculture. We use more representative subsidy indicators and a wider coverage (panel data from 210 EU regions over the period 2004-2014) than has been used before. The data allow to better correct for sample selection bias than previous empirical studies. We find that, on average, CAP subsidies reduce the outflow of labor from agriculture, but the effect is almost entirely due to decoupled Pillar I payments. Coupled Pillar I payments have no impact on reducing labor outflow from agriculture, i.e. on preserving jobs in agriculture. The impact of overall Pillar II is mixed, but agri-environmental payments strongly reduce the outflow of labor from agriculture. Our estimates predict that an increase of 10 percent of the CAP budget would prevent an extra 16,000 people from leaving the EU agriculture sector each year. A 10 percent decoupling would save 13,000 agricultural jobs each year. However, the budgetary costs are large. The estimated cost exceeds € 300,000 per year (or € 25,000 per month) per job saved in agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289831&r=all |
| By: | Vígh, Enikő; Miskó, Krisztina; Fogarasi, József |
| Abstract: | Agricultural ecosystems deliver food, fibre, pharmaceuticals, bioenergy and are fundamental to human wellbeing. In Hungary main measures targeting the sustainable use of agricultural land in New Hungary Rural Development Programme (NHRDP) are: Agri-Environment Payments and payments to Less Favoured Areas. Based on theoretical assumptions, the delivery of different ecosystem services (e.g. soil fertility, pest control) may be typical of one product–product connection, but farms can deliver multiple services which by themselves are produced in non-separable packages. In this study we employ a transformation function with multiple outputs and inputs, representing the maximum output producing possibility from a given input and with given conditions using generalised linear regression. Given the limited options to implement the overall policy coherence of ecosystem conservation, the presented work contributes to knowledge of decisionmakers, whose need to take into account the heterogeneity of farms and corresponding ecosystem services on farm territory. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289716&r=all |
| By: | William A. Brock; J. Isaac Miller (Department of Economics, University of Missouri) |
| Abstract: | Assessments of decreases in economic damages from climate change mitigation typically rely on climate output from computationally expensive precomputed runs of general circulation models (GCMs) under a handful of scenarios with discretely varying targets, such as the four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) for CO2 and other anthropogenically emitted gases. Although such analyses are extremely valuable in informing scientists and policymakers about specific, well-known, and massive mitigation goals, we add to the literature by considering potential outcomes from more modest policy changes that may not be represented by any concentration pathway or GCM output. We construct computationally efficient Quasi-representative Concentration Pathways (QCPs) in order to leverage existing scenarios featuring plausible concentration pathways. Computational efficiency allows for common statistical methods for assessing model uncertainty based on iterative replication, such as bootstrapping. We illustrate by feeding two QCPs through a computationally efficient statistical emulator and dose response functions extrapolated from estimates in the recent literature in order to gauge effects of mitigation on the relative risk of heat stress mortality. |
| Keywords: | representative concentration pathways, statistical emulation, climate change mitigation, heat stress mortality |
| JEL: | C14 C33 C63 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1904&r=all |
| By: | Jansson, Torbjörn; Höglind, Lisa; Andersen, Hans Estrup; Hasler, Berit; Gustafsson, Bo |
| Abstract: | We study how changes to the common agricultural policy (CAP) affect eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Our results indicate that if the entire first pillar of the CAP, containing the direct payments, greening and accompanying measures, were to be abolished, production and agricultural land use would be reduced while yields and fertilizer use per hectare would go up. Our computations indicate that the net effect of those opposite forces would be that nitrogen and phosphorus loadings from agriculture decrease, marginally improving indicators of good ecological status for eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, and thus that the first pillar contributes to aggravating eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289745&r=all |
| By: | Hart, Kaley; Baldock, David; Bas-Defossez, Faustine; Meredith, Stephen; Mottershead, David |
| Abstract: | Focussing on the European Commission’s proposals for the 2021-27 CAP, this paper looks at the opportunities they present for enhancing climate and environmental ambition in the EU, examining in particular the role that the proposed new Pillar 1 eco-scheme might play in the policy mix. It discusses some of the opportunities and risks related to its introduction including: the ability to target and tailor direct payments to environmental needs; the balance between flexibility and accountability; securing sufficient resources; the pros and cons of the two payment models permitted; annual versus multi-annual commitments; and its relationship in the green architecture with conditionality and other rural development payments. It concludes that the eco-scheme represents a change in direction for the integration of environmental goals and tools into Pillar 1 of the CAP which could act as a bridge to a more integrated and sustainable single pillar policy architecture in the future. However, it remains to be seen whether Member States are yet ready to appreciate its potential and use its flexibilities in innovative ways to promote a more ambitious environmental agenda in conjunction with other CAP measures. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289727&r=all |
| By: | Helming, John; Vrolijk, Hans; van Meijl, Hans |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the four year H2020 project MIND STEP. The overall objective of MIND STEP is to support public decision making in agricultural, rural, environmental and climate policies taking into account the behaviour of individual decision making units in agriculture and the rural society. The result of MIND STEP is a toolbox that includes new models based on individual decision making units (IDMs) and improved existing models. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289837&r=all |
| By: | Holst, Carsten |
| Abstract: | Using official data from the farm structure surveys 2010 and 2016 for roughly 10,000 German farms specialised on arable farming we analyse the effects of structural change on participation in agri-environmental programmes by estimation of a multinomial logit model. Large farms participating in 2010 tend more often than smaller farms to stop participation by 2016. However, farm growth steps increase the probability to continue or start with participation in 2016. Younger farmers are more likely to participate than older farmers, unless the latter are sure to have a successor. Farms on which generational renewal took place between 2010 and 2016 show statistically significant increases in the probability to continue or start with agri-environmental commitments. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289742&r=all |
| By: | Uehleke, Reinhard; Petrick, Martin; Hüttel, Silke |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289713&r=all |
| By: | Hübler, Michael; Schwerhoff, Gregor |
| Abstract: | This article introduces a new Melitz-type model of heterogeneous producers with decreasing returns to scale and different productivities. Different to previous models, it describes smallholder producers in rural areas of developing countries in the context of environment and development economics. The model enables a socially sensitive policy analysis considering poverty and distributional effects. In this model, the production input causes a negative environmental externality. External shocks, e.g., caused by climate change, and economic policies affect the producers' endogenous choice between market entry or exit and between simple or advanced technology. In the frst step, various shocks and policies are analyzed theoretically. A novel type of the rebound effect (Jevons paradox) is identifed for the production input that occurs when market entry is incentivized by productivity improvements. In the second step, the model is calibrated by applying it to coffee production in rural Vietnam. The simulation results show that secondary effects of the shocks, such as employment effects, can be substantially larger than the original impact. The support of market entry or of the advanced technology creates adverse distributional effects. |
| Keywords: | heterogeneous producers, technology choice, climate change, coffee, Vietnam |
| JEL: | O33 Q12 Q17 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:han:dpaper:dp-655&r=all |
| By: | Martin T. Bohl; Pierre L. Siklos; Martin Stefan; Claudia Wellenreuther |
| Abstract: | Previous literature on price discovery in commodity markets is mainly focused on the question of whether the spot or the futures market dominates the price discovery process. Little attention, however, has been paid to the question of how the price discovery process is affected by futures speculation. Using different measures for speculation and hedging and a new price discovery metric, the present study analyzes this relationship for various agricultural commodities. On the whole, the results suggest that speculative activity reduces the level of noise in the futures markets under analysis, while increasing their relative contribution to the price discovery process. |
| Keywords: | Commodity Markets, Futures Speculation, Price Discovery |
| JEL: | G13 G14 Q02 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2019-42&r=all |
| By: | Casaburi, Lorenzo; Macchiavello, Rocco |
| Abstract: | Despite extensive evidence that preferences are often time-inconsistent, there is only scarce evidence of willingness to pay for commitment. Infrequent payments for frequently provided goods and services are a common feature of many markets and they may naturally provide commitment to save for lumpy expenses. Multiple experiments in the Kenyan dairy sector show that: (i) farmers are willing to incur sizable costs to receive infrequent payments as a commitment device, (ii) poor contract enforcement, however, limits competition among buyers in the supply of infrequent payments. We then present a model of demand and supply of infrequent payments and test its additional predictions. |
| JEL: | K12 L66 O13 O17 Q12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2019–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:100180&r=all |
| By: | Mittenzwei, Klaus; Øygarden, Lillian |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it gives an account of recent developments in Norwegian environmental policy that affect agriculture. Climate action and the protection of predators are two prominent examples of environmental policy with a potentially significant impact on agriculture. Secondly, we present results from a partial equilibrium model for the Norwegian agricultural sector in which we use various policy instruments to balance multiple agricultural and environmental objectives regarding agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289814&r=all |
| By: | Iñaki Iriarte Goñi (Universidad de Zaragoza e Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, Spain); Vicente Pinilla (Universidad de Zaragoza e Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the evolution of modern agricultural history in Spain within the framework of the development of the discipline of economic history. This analysis is divided into five thematic parts: production, productivity and technical change; the international insertion of Spanish agriculture; the institutional framework; long-term visions; and finally, recent developments and some deficits. It is interesting to emphasize that research on agricultural economic history in Spain has been carried out adopting methodologies, questions and developments similar to those of researchers from other advanced countries. Spanish agricultural economic history is one of the most powerful in the international context. |
| Keywords: | Economic History, Agricultural History |
| JEL: | N01 N50 Q10 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1910&r=all |
| By: | Hildegart Ahumada; Magdalena Cornejo |
| Abstract: | Climate econometrics is a new field which is providing a fruitful approach to give a rigorous basis for many hypotheses related to climate change. With this aim, this chapter illustrates how econometrics can help understand the effects of climate change on the time behavior of crop yields at a country-level scale. We discuss different issues which empirical studies should address such as the non-stationarity nature of climate variables, the exogeneity of the variables used for modelling crop yields, the existence of non-linearities, the presence of extreme events, disentangling short and dealing with long-run effects of climate change, and collinearities in a multivariate framework. The incorporation of new lands to production or the rise of crop yields on existing lands to meet increasing demand for food and energy may be threatened by global climate change. However, there are several factors that have reduced the harmful impacts of climate change: adaptation, trade, the declining share over time of agriculture in the economy and carbon fertilization. In particular, the CO2 fertilization eect should be taken into account for certain crops. As an example, we focus on soybeans in the main producer and exporter countries: Brazil and United States, and particularly in Argentina, as an interesting case of mitigation and adaptation processes due to global and local climate changes. |
| Keywords: | climate change; econometrics; crop yields; soybeans; Argentina |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udt:wpgobi:wp_gob_2019_2&r=all |
| By: | Vrolijk, Hans; Poppe, Krijn |
| Abstract: | The Common Agricultural Policy post 2020 will address an increasing set of objectives, including contributing to the sustainable development goals and the Paris climate agreement. Current monitoring systems are focussed on structural and economic data and hardly cover performance indicators on the sustainability performance of farms. The EU financed FLINT project demonstrated that it is feasible to collect these sustainability data at farm level and illustrated the added value of having this type of data in a range of case studies. In this paper the costs and benefits of collecting sustainability indicators are described. Collecting the sustainability data on all farms included in FADN would increase the costs with about 40%. Large differences between countries can be observed depending on the current costs of data collection and the expected additional work to include sustainability indicators. Given the pressing need for these data a scenario is developed where sustainability data is collected on a sub-sample of 15.000 farms. This can be achieved within current budget limits if the current FADN sample would be reduced from 85 to 75 thousand farms. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289719&r=all |
| By: | Cornelius Christian (Department of Economics, Brock University) |
| Abstract: | I find that favourable temperatures predict more witchcraft trials in Early Mod- ern Scotland (1563-1727), a largely agricultural economy. During this time, witchcraft was a secular crime, and it was incumbent on local elites to commit resources to trying witches. My main empirical specification survives various robustness checks, including accounting for outliers. Turning to mechanisms, I find that positive price shocks to export-heavy, taxable goods predict more witch trials, while price shocks to Scotland’s main subsistence commod- ity, oats, do not. This is consistent with the explanation that as elite income increased, more resources were devoted to witchcraft prosecutions; I cite anecdotal evidence that a different proceeding, sexual trials in Aberdeen, experienced a similar trend. |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:brk:wpaper:1704&r=all |
| By: | Henseler, Martin; Brandes, Elke; Kreins, Peter |
| Abstract: | Microplastic pollution has recently gained the attention of the public media, politics and research. Microplastics (i.e., plastic particles less than 5mm in size) have been identified as a global environmental threat for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and human health. Agriculture is assumed to be both victim and polluter of microplastic pollution. Agricultural soils receive microplastic immissions from tire wear and fragmented macroplastic that enters the environment through littering. Furthermore, farmers who fertilize their arable land with sewage sludge and compost unintentionally apply the microplastic particles contained in these biosolids. On the other hand, agricultural soils may emit microplastics into aquatic environment. Because of this ambivalent position as both victim and polluter, the information on microplastic pollution is of current interest for agricultural production and might become a relevant topic for agro-environmental policies in the future. Our research aims to quantify the microplastic immissions into agricultural soils and emissions from agricultural soils into aquatic systems. We use different analysis approaches and interdisciplinary modelling to address these aims for two case studies in Germany. Because research in microplastics is a relatively new concern, we combine different methodological approaches in a complementary way. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289746&r=all |
| By: | Balmann, Alfons; Appel, Franziska; Heinrich, Florian; Pitson, Christine |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that the question whether there is rather a need for an agricultural policy for the environment or an environmental policy for agriculture requires to reflect on the question how to address trade-offs and synergies between agricultural and environmental objectives. In particular, the question is raised to which extend current agricultural policy presumptions are based on myths rather than facts. Scepticism about these presumptions are substantiated by reference to issues related to the ignorance of the heterogeneity of the agricultural sector, of the potential of overcoming unexploited returns to size and structural changes, as well as implications of sunk costs, ruinous competition and a subsidy trap which lead to a misunderstanding of the role and meaning of resilience in order to overcome path dependences of the sector as well as the policy formations. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289689&r=all |
| By: | Vigani, Mauro; Curzi, Daniele |
| Abstract: | The productivity impacts of the CAP payments, and especially of the Rural Development measures, are still uncertain and mixed effects from a diversity of empirical approaches have been found in the literature. This paper analyses the effects of the CAP on the productivity of the farms in the EU28 by adopting an alternative approach based on a system of equations derived from a non-nested production function with constant elasticity of substitution. The econometric strategy consists of a simultaneous equation model with GMM estimator which allows dealing with potential endogeneity bias. Results show that the majority of Pillar I and II payments have a positive impact on the productivity of the farming sector, with the noticeable exceptions of agro-environmental schemes and other rural development subsidies. However, the productivity impact of CAP payments is sensitive to the composition of the sample and it is different for different groups of Member States. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289714&r=all |
| By: | Grilli, Gianluca; Curtis, John; Hynes, Stephen |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp623&r=all |
| By: | Kuhfuss, Laure; Begg, Graham; Flanigan, Sharon; Hawes, Cathy; Piras, Simone |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289774&r=all |
| By: | Grilli, Gianluca; Mukhopadhyay, Soumyadeep; Curtis, John; Hynes, Stephen |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp622&r=all |
| By: | Hristov, Jordan; Salputra, Guna; Barreiro Hurle, Jesus; Blanco, Maria; Witzke, Peter |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289743&r=all |
| By: | Paola Vesco (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari; CMCC, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change; PRIO, Peace Research Institute Oslo); Matija Kovacic (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Malcolm Mistry (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari) |
| Abstract: | Recent attempts to find a robust empirical correlation between climate variability, crop production and civil conflict risk have been quite inconclusive. In this paper, we argue that the ambiguity in empirical findings may be partly due to a general tendency to treat agricultural production in absolute terms, while neglecting the importance of the relative deprivation triggered by unequal distribution in crop yields across locations and between groups. To test this hypothesis, we rely on high-resolution global gridded data on the local yield of four main crops for the period 1981-2017, and calculate the level of inequality in crop production by means of a Gini index using the grid-cell information on yearly crop yields both at the country level and between identity based groups (regional and ethnic). In addition, for each level of spatial disaggregation, we compute the Gini coefficient using information on crop production from rural grid-cells only. Our results reveal a strong and robust association between crop inequality and the probability of conflict outbreak. This effect is particularly pronounced in the case of inequality among rural areas. Climatic variability, on the other hand, is shown not to increase significantly the destabilizing effect of crop inequality. We also find that akin ethnic competition and discrimination along ethnic lines represent good predictors of conflict outbreak, especially in the case of ethnic conflicts, and when the between-group inequality in crop production is calculated along ethnic boundaries. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Inequality, Climate Change, Conflict |
| JEL: | D74 Q54 Q18 F51 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2019:17&r=all |
| By: | Scott A. Carson |
| Abstract: | The body mass index (BMI) is the primary means of classifying obesity and reflects a complex set of interactions related to the institution of marriage and household characteristics. There is an inverse relationship between BMI and height, and height reflects the cumulative price of net nutrition during childhood and resources devoted to an off-spring’s health from care-givers. There are gender specific relationships between BMI and marital status, and after controlling for height, single women have lower BMIs than women in other household relationships. While causal mechanisms may have changed over time, there is a positive relationship between BMIs and household size. |
| Keywords: | family structure, obesity, marital status, net nutrition |
| JEL: | D13 I12 J12 J13 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7638&r=all |
| By: | Isabelle CHORT; Maëlys DE LA RUPELLE |
| Abstract: | This paper uses state-level data on migration flows between Mexico and the U.S. from 1999 to 2011 to investigate the migration response to climate shocks and the mitigating impact of an agricultural cash-transfer program (PROCAMPO) and a disaster fund (Fonden). While lower than average precipitations increase undocumented migration, especially from the most agricultural states, Fonden amounts decrease the undocumented migration response to abnormally low precipitations during the dry season. Changes equalizing the distribution of PROCAMPO and favoring vulnerable producers in the non irrigated ejido sector mitigate the impact of droughts on migration, especially for a high initial level of inequality. |
| Keywords: | International migration ; Climate ; Public policies ; Weather variability ; Natural disasters ; Mexico-U.S. migration ; Inequality |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 Q18 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tac:wpaper:2018-2019_8&r=all |
| By: | Kundang, Harisman; Suryaman, Birnadi; Muhammad, Subandi |
| Abstract: | The objectivie of current study is to evaluate agribusiness performance of soybean included the on farm an marketing subsystems, besides, the development of soybean as one of superior agricultural commodities and its contribution of soybean upon the gross domestic product (GDP) of Sumedang. The results indicated that agribusiness performance of soybean consisted of farm iputs procurement, on farm production, harvesting and processing,marketing and supported infrastructure and its supporting subsystems.Soybean as one of superior commodities has been well developed dueto the availability of human and natural resources, exsiting markets,production technology and business partnership program. Thecontribution of soybean upon regional GDP during the years of 2008 –2016, bay the 2008 constant price, was between 0,071% and 0,357% and its contribution upon regional agricultural sector was price was between 0,248%– 1,144%. Where as soybean contribution based on the curret price was between 0,068% and 0,621% and between 0,239%-1,959% respectively. During those periods the contribution of soybean upon the GDP as well as on agricultural sector was fluctuated and tend to be declining. |
| Keywords: | Contribution,Domestic,Market,Performance,Price |
| JEL: | Q5 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:94315&r=all |
| By: | McCarthy, Jack; Bonnin, Christine; Meredith, David |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289811&r=all |
| By: | Tabetando Rayner (International Growth Centre, Tanzania); Yoko Kijima (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the evolution and impact of land sales and rental markets on agricultural efficiency in rural Kenya and Uganda using panel data spanning over 10 years. We first analyse the efficiency gains induced by land sales and rental markets by estimating the impact of participation in markets on unobserved farmer ability and land endowment. We do find evidence in both countries, that land markets induce efficiency by transferring land to households with higher farming ability. In both countries, the land market enhances equity by transferring land from land-abundant to land-constrained households. Although renting-in land increases crop income in Kenya, we find no evidence that renting in land enables households to escape from poverty. In contrast, increase in land owned helped decrease poverty incidence in Uganda. These findings points to potential weaknesses in the functioning of land markets in Kenya and Uganda which impedes their ability to contribute to poverty alleviation. |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:19-08&r=all |
| By: | Bonke, Vanessa; Musshoff, Oliver |
| Abstract: | Mixed cropping, the simultaneous cultivation of two or more coexisting crops in one field, offers the possibility to increase biodiversity within farming systems. However, adoption of mixed cropping systems is challenging for farmers, as the agricultural sector has evolved around mono stands over the past decades and path dependencies have emerged. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior as the main framework, this paper studies the psychological factors underlying German farmers’ intention to adopt mixed cropping. The results demonstrate that perceived eco-logical benefits positively influence a farmer’s attitude towards mixed cropping. Attitude, per-ceived behavioral control, group norm, and subjective norm explain over 49% in farmer’s inten-tion to adopt mixed cropping. A slightly negative influence of subjective norm indicates the ad-vantageousness of voluntary agri-environmental scheme to facilitate adoption. Identified obsta-cles suggest that actors along the value chain have to be addressed and that further research is needed to increase adoption in the long-run. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289821&r=all |
| By: | Michael Rauscher |
| Abstract: | The paper uses a continuous-time overlapping-generations model with endogenous growth and pollution accumulation over time to study the link between longevity and global warming. It is seen that increasing longevity accelerates climate change in a business-as-usual scenario without climate policy. If a binding emission target is set exogenously and implemented via a cap-and-trade system, the price of emission permits is increasing in longevity. Longevity has no effect on the optimal solution of the climate problem if perfect intergenerational transfers are feasible. If these transfers are absent, the impact of longevity is ambiguous. |
| JEL: | Q56 O44 O41 J11 J19 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7676&r=all |
| By: | Feindt, Peter H. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289829&r=all |
| By: | Pedro Naso |
| Abstract: | I study the economic motivations behind a reduction in the discretionary power of environmental regulators, and the impact that such reduction has on perceived corruption in South Africa. I examine the transition from the Air Pollution Protection Act of 1965 to the Air Quality Act of 2005, a change from full to partial delegation of regulation. By constructing a principal-agent model, I argue that this transition might have occurred because of an increase in the dispersion of rent-seeking motivations of public agents. This happens because, from the principal’s perspective, the possible harm— loose pollution control and misappropriation of environmental fines—generated by corrupt agents is greater than the potential benefits brought by diligent agents. In my empirical analysis, I use diff-in-diffs models for a two-period panel with 191 South African firms to show that the regulatory change decreased treated firms’ perceived corruption, but did not improve other institutional quality measures. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Regulation;Political System; South Africa; Corruption |
| JEL: | O14 O33 Q41 Q42 |
| Date: | 2019–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:ciesrp:cies_rp_59&r=all |
| By: | Giannakis, Elias; Kushta, Jonilda; Georgiou, George K.; Bruggeman, Adriana; Lelieveld, Jos |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289718&r=all |
| By: | Jansson, Torbjörn; Choi, Hyung-Sik; Nordin, Ida |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289744&r=all |
| By: | Simon Porcher (IAE - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises) |
| Abstract: | This article looks at the reasons for and results of contracting out in local public services, with specific regards to its possible effects on price and other performance determinants. It uses a rich city-level dataset of water public services in France between 1998 and 2008. We find evidence, using alternative econometric methods, that contracting out to private operators is associated with higher prices on average ceteris paribus. This pattern is consistent with the study of units switching from an organizational form to another. We finally discuss several reasons for the existing price gap between direct management (public management) and contracting out (private management) using the expense-preferences of managers. |
| Keywords: | public-private partnerships,water,efficiency,differences-in-differences,Propensity score matching |
| Date: | 2019–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02145863&r=all |
| By: | Guglielmo Maria Caporale; Luis A. Gil-Alana; Carlos Poza |
| Abstract: | This paper examines persistence, structural breaks and non-linearities in the case of five European stock market indices, namely the FTSE100 (UK), DAX30 (Germany), CAC40 (France), IBEX35 (Spain) and FTSE MIB40 (Italy), using fractional integration methods. The empirical results provide no evidence of non-linearities in either prices or returns; the former are found to exhibit unit roots and the latter to be I(0) in most cases. Further, between 2 and 4 structural breaks are found for each of the return series, and mean reversion in some subsamples. |
| Keywords: | European stock markets, nonstationarity, unit roots, fractional integration, persistence, non-linearities |
| JEL: | C22 C58 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7667&r=all |
| By: | Boehm, Rebecca; Martin, Jiff; Foster, Jaime; Lopez, Rigoberto A. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ucozfr:290182&r=all |
| By: | Wieck, Christine; Hausmann, Isabell |
| Abstract: | 232 indicators have been selected to monitor the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) implementation (UN 2018), the European Union (EU) Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF), introduced with the aim of measuring the performance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) implementation of the CAP reform 2014-2020, counts 45 context indicators, 84 output indicators, 41 result indicators, 24 target indicators and sixteen impact indicators (EU COM 2018). Questions such as overlap and synergies between different indicator systems, but also questions regarding the appropriate choice and targeting of chosen indicators (e.g. environmental issues or state of animal welfare) or lack of indicators for specific context and fields of controversies (e.g. external dimension of the CAP) arise. This work aims to address questions of choice, overlap and synergies across different indicator systems with a focus on CAP indicators and the SDG indicator system. Special attention is be given to the proposed agri-environmental indicators. In a comparative, descriptive analysis, we qualitatively compare the indicator systems provided for the measuring of the EU agricultural sector and SDG performance and identify synergies, overlap or lack of alignment. The results further the understanding of synergies and linkages between the indicator systems and facilitate |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289722&r=all |
| By: | Artur Santoalha; Ron Boschma |
| Abstract: | Regional diversification is a process characterized by past and place dependence: new activities tend to emerge and develop in a region in technological or industrial fields closely related to existing local activities. Recently, the relatedness concept has also been applied successfully to studies on green diversification of regions, providing new insights to the transition literature that is primarily focused on disruptive change. What has received little attention is a systematic approach that assesses the role of political support for the ability of regions to diversify into new green activities. This paper makes a first attempt to test the impact of regional capabilities and political support for environmental policy at the national and regional scale on the ability of 95 regions in 7 European countries to diversify into new green technologies during the period 2000-2012. We find evidence that related capabilities rather than political support in a region is associated with green diversification of regions in Europe. However, political support tends to moderate the role of regional capabilities. |
| Keywords: | green technologies, regional diversification, sustainability transition, political support, relatedness |
| JEL: | O18 O44 Q55 R11 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1922&r=all |
| By: | Neuenfeldt, Sebastian; Gocht, Alexander; Osterburg, Bernhard |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289695&r=all |
| By: | The Food Industry Center, University of Minnesota |
| Keywords: | Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2019–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umrfar:290378&r=all |
| By: | Ciliberti, Stefano; Frascarelli, Angelo |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa172:289825&r=all |
| By: | Knut Einar Rosendahl; Ingvild Vestre Sem; Henrik Lindhjem; Kristine Grimsrud (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | The Norwegian high-level Green Tax Commission proposes inter alia cost-effective taxes on red meat and increased toll charges on road traffic to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution, respectively. Implementation requires support by the public, but the acceptance of such taxes is not known. We have conducted a national survey of the public's acceptance of the two taxes. The survey instrument showed dynamically the reduction in emissions/pollution for each tax level. Despite survey information about the purpose of the taxes, only 25 percent, on average, were in favour of their introduction, the rest did not know, had zero willingness to pay, or opposed the tax. In this respect, preferences for the two taxes are similar. However, on average people are willing to pay approximately 90 percent of the optimal tax for red meat, but only about 25-35 percent of toll charges on road traffic depending on fuel type. Earmarking the tax revenue for environmentally friendly technology increased acceptable tax level, but only for red meat. Earmarking tax revenues for reduced income tax did not increase the acceptable tax level. |
| Keywords: | Environmental taxes; red meat; road traffic; acceptance; willingness to pay |
| JEL: | H23 H31 Q51 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:909&r=all |