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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2020‒04‒27
34 papers chosen by |
| By: | van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Minten, Bart; Ariong, Richard M. |
| Abstract: | This policy note summarizes findings from a dairy value chain study in Uganda that documented the institutional and technological innovations associated with the transformation of the sub-sector from a USD 2 million industry in 2008 to a USD 150 million industry in 2017. Uganda is now one of the largest exporters of dairy products in Africa. Using primary data obtained from dairy farmers, traders, and processors, we examine the drivers of this transformation of Uganda’s dairy sub-sector. The insights gained can guide policy and investment decisions for upgrading other agricultural value chains that have been prioritized for agro-industrialization in the medium- and long-term national development plans of Uganda. |
| Keywords: | UGANDA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, dairy industry, value chains, milk, technology, innovation, trade, dairy farms, farmers, food consumption, exports, dairy value chain, dairy farmers, dairy consumption, milk sheds |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:pnapril2020&r=all |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | Unlike in many other countries, in Bulgaria there are no comprehensive analysis of the state and evolution of the system of knowledge sharing, innovation and digitalization in agriculture (AKIS). The goal of this paper is to fill the gap and analyze the state, efficiency and factors of the agricultural knowledge sharing, innovation and digitalization in Bulgaria at current stage of development. Analysis is based on 2019 expert assessment with 32 leading experts from research institutes of the Agricultural Academy, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, agrarian and other universities, National Agricultural Advisory Service, and major professional associations of agricultural producers. The study has found out that AKIS of the country consists of diverse and numerous organizations, for which activities and complex relations have no sufficient official or other reliable information. The expert assessments in that study let us identify the state, and major achievements and challenges in development in of that complex system. The lack of data however, only partially can be compensated by experts’ assessments of these type. It is also necessary to carry out in-depth and representative surveys of individual components and the AKIS as a whole. Furthermore, it is necessary to institutionalize and regulate collection of official statistical, report, etc. information for the state and efficiency of that important system. |
| Keywords: | knowledge sharing, innovation, digitalization, agriculture, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | Q1 Q12 Q13 Q16 Q18 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99601&r=all |
| By: | Kazushi Takahashi; Rie Muraoka; Keijiro Otsuka |
| Abstract: | Given the stagnant agricultural productivity and persistent food insecurity in low-income countries - notably in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - there has been continued interest in the adoption of new technology and its impact on productivity in these regions. Interestingly, there are signs of Green Revolution in maize and rice in SSA, reflected in sharply increasing yield trends in advanced regions. To increase crop yields and sustain yield gains, recent case studies of technology adoption unanimously recommend the adoption of integrated farm management systems, particularly in SSA. On the other hand, since the 2010s, there have been increasing numbers of studies on social network or farmer-to-farmer technology extension. These studies explore more efficient extension systems than traditional public-sector extension approaches. This article reviews both recent case studies of technology adoption and its productivity impacts as well as studies on agricultural extension to identify common findings, shortcomings, and major remaining issues. |
| Keywords: | technology adoption, productivity impact, agricultural extension, technological diffusion |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:196&r=all |
| By: | Kenney, Martin; Serhan, Hiam; Trystram, Gilles |
| Abstract: | Abstract Technologies such as digitally-equipped agricultural equipment, drones, image recognition, sensors, robots and artificial intelligence are being rapidly adopted throughout the agrifood system. As a result, actors in the system are generating and using ever more data. While this is already contributing to greater productivity, efficiency, and resilience, for the most part, this data has been siloed at its production sites whether on the farm or at the other nodes in the system. Sharing this data can be used to create value at other nodes in the system by increasing transparency, traceability, and productivity. Ever greater connectivity allows the sharing of this data with actors, at the same node in the value chain, e.g., farmer-to-farmer, or between different nodes in the value chain, e.g., farmer-to-equipment producer. The benefits of data sharing for efficiency, productivity and sustainability are predicated upon the adoption of an online digital platform. The conundrum is that, as the intermediary, the owner of a successful platform acquires significant power in relationship to the platform sides. This paper identifies five types of platform business models/ownership arrangements and their benefits and drawbacks for the various actors in the agri-food system and, in particular farmers. The types discussed are: 1) venture capital financed startups; 2) existing agro-food industry firms including equipment makers such as John Deere, agrochemical/seed conglomerates such as Bayer/Monsanto, and agricultural commodity traders such as ADM and Cargill; 3) agricultural cooperative such as InVivo in France; 4) various specially formed consortia of diverse sets of agri-food system actors including farmers, and 5) the internet giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The paper assesses the business models for each of these organizational forms. Finally, we describe the drawbacks each of these organizational forms have experienced as they attempt to secure adoption of their particular platform solution. |
| Keywords: | Digitization, Platform Economy, Agriculture, Agri-food systems, Cooperatives, Platforms |
| JEL: | Q1 Q13 L6 L66 |
| Date: | 2020–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:78&r=all |
| By: | Bellon, Mauricio Rafael; Mastretta-Yanes, Alicia; Ponce-Mendoza, Alejandro; Santamaria, Daniel Ortiz; Galindo, Oswaldo Oliveros; Perales, Hugo; Acevedo, Francisca; Kermez, Jose Sarukhan |
| Abstract: | Mexico is the center of domestication and a center for diversity of maize. Area planted with maize is the country’s largest agricultural land use, mostly planted by smallholder family farmers known as campesinos. Due to the large area they plant with saved seed from native varieties in a wide variety of environments across the country, maize evolution under domestication continues today at a very large scale and under a multiplicity of selection pressures. Campesinos have been considered mainly subsistence farmers. Here we show that subsistence production is insufficient for explaining the scale of the area they plant with maize and on which its contemporary evolution under domestication depends. Our hypothesis is that beyond supplying their own consumption needs, campesinos across Mexico collectively produce maize to respond to the demand of non-maize producing local consumers. Here we quantify the extent of subsistence versus surplus production among campesinos, showing that subsistence production cannot explain the scale of their maize cultivation. Then, we test statistically the association between the scale of maize cultivation and socioeconomic variables that link campesino production to the demand by other consumers and examine the implications of the results for the supply and conservation of native maize in the country. Our results suggest that maize trading linking campesinos to other consumers may be important and widespread. We conclude that there are important opportunities for maintaining maize evolution under domestication at large scale by strengthening local maize markets. |
| Date: | 2020–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:fcyxe&r=all |
| By: | Ragasa, Catherine; Mzungu, Diston; Kalagho, Kenan; Kazembe, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | The study assesses the effect of interactive radio programming on women’s empowerment and agricultural development, employing nationally representative household panel data and qualitative interviews in Malawi. Four major findings can be highlighted. First, radio programming is the preferred source of agricultural and nutrition advice among many subpopulations: younger women and men used radio more than other sources for their agricultural information needs, while younger and older men used radio more than other sources for nutrition education. Second, results show a positive impact of radio programming on technology awareness but a limited impact on actual adoption of most agricultural practices being promoted, except crop residue incorporation. Third, results show positive impacts on dietary diversity and adoption of other nutrition practices among the rural population. Fourth, results show a strong association between access to interactive radio programming and women’s and men’s empowerment scores. The association is greater for women’s empowerment and younger men’s empowerment, the latter being the most disempowered group in the sample. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI; SOUTHERN AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; empowerment; gender; women; radio; telecommunications; diet; crops; Information and Communication Technologies (icts); technology; agricultural extension; diversification; mixed model method; technology adoption; dietary diversity; mixed methods |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1920&r=all |
| By: | Ochieng, Dennis O. |
| Abstract: | While contract farming provides opportunities to link smallholder farmers to markets, its sustainability depends on how the interests of both farmers and buyers are addressed. Previous studies analyze farmers’ preferences for contracts, but buyers’ preferences for contracts and design attributes are hardly examined. This Working Paper contributes to the knowledge gap by analyzing farmers’ and buyers’ preferences for contracts and design attributes, and the similarities and differences in preferences using a discrete choice experiment with 505 cotton farmers and 512 tea farmers in southern Malawi. Using a mixed logit model, the author examines farmers’ and buyers’ preferences and estimate farmers’ willingness to pay for improvement of contract attributes. Results show that both farmers and buyers have positive preferences for contracts in general and for many design attributes. The author however observes clear differences in preference for payment mode where farmers prefer spot payments while buyers prefer delayed payments. Further, while both parties prefer better quality products, there are no standardized grading systems for the two crops in Malawi. Consequently, buyers are skeptical of farmers’ ability to produce quality products while farmers are distrustful of buyers’ grading systems. Even though buyers are open to offer contracts that provide inputs or insurance to farmers, there are no information sharing platforms to guide in contracting farmers thus exposing buyers to risks of contract default. The author also finds that farmers prefer contracts that address their social needs as seen in their choice of contracts with funeral expenses insurance. Such attributes could strengthen the relationship between farmers and buying companies. Sustainable contract schemes require designing contracts that are acceptable to both farmers and buyers by balancing risks between the parties. Successful contract relationships have to build business relationships and foster mutual trust by developing standardized grading systems and information sharing platforms for buyers and farmers to guide selection into the schemes. To minimize side-selling, companies can advance cash credit to liquidity constrained farmers, but this must be accompanied by stronger contract enforcement mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI, SOUTHERN AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, contracts, cotton, tea, farmers, companies, contract farming, agriculture production, passbooks, contract preferences, buyers, choice experiment |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masspp:34&r=all |
| By: | Muhammad, Andrew; Smith, S. Aaron |
| Abstract: | On January 15, 2020, the U.S. and China signed a “Phase One” trade deal to address desired structural reforms and other changes to the Chinese economy affecting international trade and foreign investment. The U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement, which is the first agreement in what is expected to be a series of agreements, focuses on reforms in the Chinese economy in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The agreement also includes commitments by China to purchase additional U.S. goods over the next two years, including significant purchases of U.S. agricultural, food, fish and forest products (USTR, 2020a). Although the U.S. has agreed not to impose additional tariffs on imports from China, and China has agreed to reduce or eliminate certain tariffs imposed in retaliation, the Phase One Agreement does not specifically address the escalating tariffs between the two countries due to the ongoing trade dispute that started in 2018. However, the agreement signifies a decrease in tensions and a possible path to tariff reductions and eliminations in the future. This is particularly important for U.S. forest product exports, which suffered significant losses in 2018 and 2019 from Chinese retaliatory tariffs. In this report, we provide the context and overview of the U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement and implications for U.S. forest product exports. Forest products are a major agricultural and agriculture-related export for the U.S. However, the negative impact of the trade dispute on the sector has received little attention compared to other agricultural commodities such as soybeans and cotton. Over the last decade, the sector has become increasingly reliant on China for sales and suffered considerable losses from the retaliatory tariffs that China imposed (Ward, 2019; Pryor, 2019). The U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement sets the stage for a decrease in tensions between the two countries and the eventual removal of Chinese tariffs on U.S. products. This could result in considerable gains for the U.S. forest product sector moving forward. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2020–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:utaeer:302978&r=all |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | Despite its big theoretical and practical importance in Bulgaria there are no comprehensive analysis of the state and evolution of digitalization in agriculture and rural areas. The goal of this study is to analyze the state, development and efficiency of digitalization in the agrarian sphere in Bulgaria, specify major trends in that area, compare the situation with other EU countries, identify main problems, and make recommendation for improving policies in the next programing period. Analysis has found out that in recent years there is considerable improvement of the access of Bulgarian households to internet as well as a significant increase in the persons using internet for relations with public institutions and trading goods and services. Nevertheless, Bulgaria is quite behind from other EU members in regards to introduction of digital technologies in the economy and society taking one of the last places in EU in terms of Integral Index for Introduction of Digital Technologies in the Economy and Society – DESI. There is a great variation on the extent of digitalization in different subsectors of agriculture, farms of different juridical type and size, and different regions of the country. Most agricultural holdings are not aware with the content of digital agriculture as 14% apply modern digital technologies. Major obstacles for introduction of digital technologies are qualification of employees, amount of required investment, unclear economic benefits, and data security. Main areas where state administration actions are required are: support of measures for supplementary training of labor, tax preferences in planning of actions and digitalization of activity, stimulation of young specialists, introduction of internationally recognized processes of standardization and certification, adaptation of legislation in the area of data protection, and securing reliable and high speed networks. |
| Keywords: | digitalisation, agriculture, rural, Bulgaria, AKIS, EU CAP |
| JEL: | Q1 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q16 Q18 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99649&r=all |
| By: | Ochieng, Dennis O. |
| Abstract: | While contract farming provides opportunities to link smallholder farmers to markets, its sustainability depends on how the interests of both farmers and buyers are addressed. Previous studies analyze farmers’ preferences for contracts, but buyers’ preferences for contracts and design attributes are hardly examined. The author contributes to the knowledge gap by analyzing farmers’ and buyers’ preferences for contracts and design attributes, and the similarities and differences in preferences using a discrete choice experiment with 505 cotton farmers and 512 tea farmers in southern Malawi. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masspn:37&r=all |
| By: | Leight, Jessica; Awonon, Josue; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Ganaba, Rasmané; Martinez, Elena M.; Heckert, Jessica; Gelli, Aulo |
| Abstract: | This article reports on a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in 120 villages in rural Burkina Faso evaluating a multifaceted intervention (SELEVER) that seeks to increase poultry production by delivering training in conjunction with the strengthening of village-level institutions providing veterinary and credit services to poultry farmers. The intervention is evaluated in a sample of 1,080 households surveyed following two years of program implementation. Households exposed to the intervention significantly increase their use of poultry inputs (veterinary services, enhanced feeds, and deworming), and report more poultry sold and higher revenue; however, there is no evidence of an increase in profits. This evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that the return to inputs in the poultry market may not be sufficient to counterbalance the market costs of these inputs. |
| Keywords: | BURKINA FASO; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; poultry; livestock production; empowerment; gender; women; nutrition; child nutrition; value chains; households; intervention; poultry feeding; diet; livestock; poultry production |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1919&r=all |
| By: | Abay, Kibrom A.; Ibrahim, Hosam; Breisinger, Clemens |
| Abstract: | Understanding the public health implication of fiscal policies is crucial to combat recently increasing overweight and obesity rates in many low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). This study examines the implication of food policies, mainly tariff rates on “unhealthy†foods, including sugar and confectionery products as well as fats and oils, and governments’ subsidies on individuals’ body weight outcomes. We compile several macro- and micro-level datasets that provide for several LMICs macro-level information on food policies and micro-level anthropometric data. We exploit temporal dynamics in tariff rates on “unhealthy†foods and governments’ spending on subsidies to estimate fixed effects models characterizing the evolution of body weight outcomes. We find that temporal dynamics in tariff rates on unhealthy and energy-dense foods are significantly and negatively associated with body weight. Conditional on several observable and time-invariant unobservable factors, a decrease in tariff rates on sugar and confectionary foods or fats and oils is associated with an increase in overweight and obesity rates. On the other hand, an increase in subsidy rates, as a share of government expenditure, is significantly associated with higher overweight and obesity rates. Interestingly, we find that the implications of these food policies are more pronounced among poorer individuals. This is intuitive because relatively poorer households are more likely to spend a larger share of their income on food consumption or unhealthy foods, and these types of households are beneficiaries of government subsidies in many LMICs. These findings have important implications for informing public health policies in LMICs, which are experiencing an unprecedented rise in overweight and obesity rates. |
| Keywords: | EGYPT, ARAB COUNTRIES, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, YEMEN, SOUTHWESTERN ASIA, ASIA, food policies, obesity, developing countries, nutrition, trade, policies, public health, fiscal policies, trade policies, subsidies, body mass index, overweight, health, health foods, low and middle income countries, nutrition transition |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:menawp:28&r=all |
| By: | David F. Hendry (Dept of Economics, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School and Climate Econometrics, Nuffield College, University of Oxford); Felix Pretis (University of Victoria, Canada) |
| Abstract: | Comparisons between alternative scenarios are used in many disciplines from macroeconomics to climate science to help with planning future responses. Differences between scenario paths are often interpreted as signifying likely differences between outcomes that would materialise in reality. However, even when using correctly specified statistical models of the in-sample data generation process, additional conditions are needed to sustain inferences about differences between scenario paths. We consider two questions in scenario analyses: First, does testing the difference between scenarios yield additional insight beyond simple tests conducted on the model estimated in-sample? Second, when does the estimated scenario difference yield unbiased estimates of the true difference in outcomes? Answering the first question, we show that the calculation of uncertainties around scenario differences raises difficult issues since the underlying in-sample distributions are identical for both ‘potential’ outcomes when the reported paths are deterministic functions. Under these circumstances, a scenario comparison adds little beyond testing for the significance of the perturbed variable in the estimated model. Resolving the second question, when models include multiple covariates, inferences about scenario differences depend on the relationships between the conditioning variables, especially their invariance to the interventions. Tests for invariance based on automatic detection of structural breaks can help identify in-sample invariance of models to evaluate likely constancy in projected scenarios. Applications of scenario analyses to impacts on the UK’s wage share from unemployment and agricultural growth from climate change illustrate the concepts. |
| Date: | 2020–04–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nuf:econwp:2005&r=all |
| By: | Guillermo Donoso (UC - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile); Elisabeth Lictevout (HSM - Hydrosciences Montpellier - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - UM2 - Université Montpellier 2 - Sciences et Techniques - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)) |
| Abstract: | Groundwater has increasingly become a water supply source in Chile. In the future this trend is expected to grow as a consequence of the increased water use due to economic growth, together with population growth, urbanization, water contamination and pollution, as well as the projected climate change impacts. The Water Code of 1981, as well as previous water codes, were in essence designed for surface water and, thus, contained only few references to groundwater. This regulatory absence has been covered with groundwater guidelines established through internal administrative acts. As it stands, the legal and institutional context considers the required instruments and mechanisms to balance growing demand and the need to protect and preserve groundwater resources. This chapter investigates whether this framework has been effective to ensure that groundwater is managed sustainably, through the analysis of two cases located in an arid region of northern Chile: the Copiapó Valley and the Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer. |
| Keywords: | Chile 522,groundwater communities,collective groundwater management,groundwater management,Groundwater governance |
| Date: | 2020–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02532177&r=all |
| By: | Berhane, Guush; Golan, Jennifer; Hirvonen, Kalle; Hoddinott, John F.; Kim, Sunny S.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abay, Kibrewossen; Assefa, Thomas Woldu; Habte, Yetmwork; Abay, Mehari Hiluf; Koru, Bethlehem; Tadesse, Fanaye; Tesfaye, Haleluya; Wolle, Abdulazize; Yimer, Feiruz |
| Abstract: | This study assesses progress in the implementation of the nutrition-sensitive interventions of the fourth phase of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP-4) and its impact on: (1) the pathways underpinning children’s nutritional status; and (2) the roles it plays in reducing the malign effect of seasonality on the nutritional status of women and pre-school children. The analysis is based on four rounds of household survey data, conducted in March and August 2017 (baseline) and March and August 2019 (endline). These surveys focused on households with a child less than 24 months of age (index child) and his/her mother (index mother). In 2017 and 2019, the survey teams visited more than 2,500 households in 264 kebeles in 88 PSNP woredas in the Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and Tigray regions. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; nutrition; programmes; households; food security; children; women; infant feeding; child feeding; health |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:140&r=all |
| By: | Hongxing Liu; Wendong Zhang (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Elena Irwin; Jeffery Kast; Noel Aloysius; Jay Martin; Margaret Kalcic |
| Abstract: | We develop the first spatially integrated economic-hydrological model of the western Lake Erie basin explicitly linking economic models of farmers' field-level Best Management Practice (BMP) adoption choices with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to evaluate nutrient management policy cost-effectiveness. We quantify tradeoffs among phosphorus reduction policies and find that a hybrid policy coupling a fertilizer tax with cost-share payments for subsurface placement is the most cost-effective, and when implemented with a 200% tax can achieve the stated policy goal of 40% reduction in nutrient loadings. We also find economic adoption models alone can overstate the potential for BMPs to reduce nutrient loadings by ignoring biophysical complexities. |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:20-wp601&r=all |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | Despite the great theoretical and practical significance, in Bulgaria there are no comprehensive analysis of the state and evolution of the system of agricultural information, training and advices in Bulgaria. The goal of this paper is to analyze the state and evolution of the system of agricultural information, training and advices in Bulgaria during the period after country’s EU accession, identify major trends in that area, make a comparison with other EU states, specify main problems, and suggest conclusions for improvement of policies during next programing period. The analysis has found out that in years after accession of the country to EU the number of the farm managers who undertook full agricultural training increases, but despite that almost 93% of them are still with practical experiences and without any agricultural training. The extent of participation of rural areas rests weak and constantly decreasing, and Bulgaria is among the last in EU in hours of formal and informal education and training. In years of EU membership the number of provided consultations is doubled and in recent years 17% of all registered agricultural producers and each tenth farmer in the country are consulted while the subjects of provided consultation widened. Also hundreds of events associated with knowledge and innovation transfer and sharing are organized as most of them are jointly organized by the National Advisory Service with the institutes of Agricultural Academy, agrarian and other universities, research and development organizations. The number of organized events, the overall number of participants, and the average number of participant per event tend to decrease. |
| Keywords: | training, consultation, advices, agriculture, AKIS, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | Q1 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q18 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99694&r=all |
| By: | Simon Meunier (GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 - CentraleSupélec - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Dale T. Manning (CSU - Colorado State University [Fort Collins]); Loic Queval (GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 - CentraleSupélec - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Judith A. Cherni (Imperial College London); Philippe Dessante (GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 - CentraleSupélec - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Daniel Zimmerle (CSU - Colorado State University [Fort Collins]) |
| Abstract: | Access to water for domestic and irrigation uses remains limited across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural areas. While the technical feasibility of implementing innovative technologies to improve water supply has been often evaluated, less is known about the drivers that motivate users to pay for obtaining the inherent benefits of improved water supply. In this article, the determinants of the marginal willingness to pay (mWTP) for improved domestic and irrigation water are investigated. For this purpose, a contingent valuation study is performed in rural Rwanda. This study uses survey data from 316 households situated in 8 villages, in which ~20 % of the households receive electricity thanks to microgrids powered by solar energy. It is found that the mWTP for improved domestic water supply is influenced by the proportion of children in the household, business ownership, and satisfaction with water quantity and quality. The mWTP for irrigation is determined by respondent education, business ownership and crop area planted. This paper contributes to the literature by allowing a comparison of the determinants of the mWTP for improved domestic water supply to the determinants of the mWTP for irrigation. Another contribution is to examine the mWTP for improved water infrastructure in partially electrified villages. Identifying areas with high marginal benefits from water can guide infrastructure investment and electrification efforts while improving well-being and increasing revenues in rural areas. |
| Keywords: | Rwanda,Willingness to pay,Domestic water,Irrigation,Electricity access,Contingent valuation |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02179229&r=all |
| By: | Konstantinos Chatzimichael; Margarita Genius (Department of Economics, University of Crete, Greece); Vangelis Tzouvelekas (Department of Economics, University of Crete, Greece) |
| Abstract: | The present paper develops a novel methodology for measuring the economic losses resulting from the negative health impacts of pesticides while taking into account their role as a damage control agent. To this effect a production model is presented that takes into account both the effect of the health impairment caused by pesticides on labor units and the pest control and crop enhancing properties of pesticides. |
| Keywords: | chemical pesticides; farmer's health; economic losses; greenhouse farms |
| JEL: | I12 I30 Q12 D24 |
| Date: | 2020–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crt:wpaper:2003&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)); Steve Barnett (Government of South Australia); Cameron Holley (UNSW - University of New South Wales [Sydney]) |
| Abstract: | This concluding chapter compares the important features of the groundwater policy and management approaches that have been implemented in France and Aus-tralia and draws lessons that may be relevant to other countries who are implementing groundwater management regimes. To support the comparison, the chapter looks at six main stages of the policy development process: 1) political awareness raising; 2) increasing the groundwater knowledge base; 3) defining and allocating water use rights; 4) defining sustainability objectives and setting extraction limits; 5) returning over allocated and overused groundwater systems to sustainable levels of extraction; and 6) enforcement policies. |
| Keywords: | political awareness raising,groundwater knowledge base,water use rights,allocation,extraction limts,enforcement |
| Date: | 2020–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02532185&r=all |
| By: | Chirwa Ephraim W. (Department of Economics Chancellor College University of Malawi) |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aer:wpaper:172&r=all |
| By: | Jaime Millán-Quijano, Sebastián Pulgarín |
| Abstract: | The analysis of the relationship between natural resources and violent conflicts has shown how positive shocks in agricultural commodities are usually linked with reductions in violence (opportunity cost effect), while positive shocks to minerals or extractive commodities seem to increase conflict (rapacity effect). In this paper we examine the case of palm oil expansion in Colombia and find that our results differ from previous studies. We use changes in international prices of palm oil to show how positive income shocks increased forced displacement in palm producing municipalities. We found that a 1% increase in the price of palm oil raises the forced internal displacement rate in palm municipalities by 0.42 standard deviations. We also show evidence that the negative effect of palm oil income shock was stronger in areas with paramilitary armies, weak contract institutions and better land distribution. In addition, increases in palm prices increase rural violence but not urban violence. Our results support the hypothesis that the violence linked with the palm expansion was the result of the search for new lands for palm trees in a framework of weak institutions. Therefore, one can argue that in the case of the palm expansion the rapacity effect over new lands was stronger than possible labor market effects. |
| Keywords: | Income shocks, Conflict, Commodity prices, Natural resources, Forced displacement. |
| JEL: | D74 F14 O13 O15 Q17 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nva:unnvaa:wp01-2020&r=all |
| By: | Mishra, Mukesh Kumar |
| Abstract: | Today, the impact of OR can be felt in many areas. A large number of management firms are currently engaged in OR activities. The principles of operational research (OR) and related mathematical methods have been applied to environmental issues for the long times. However, the increasing pressures experienced by industry over the last decade, pertaining to sustainable development performances, have renewed interests and intensified the potential application of OR techniques in environmental management. Capacity decisions establish a set of conditions within which operations will be required to function. Hence, it is extremely important to include input from operations management people in making capacity decisions. There is need to develop a balance between modernization and sustainability. Sustainability refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems that support both current and future human existence. Sustainability measures often go beyond traditional environmental and economic measures to include measures that incorporate social criteria in decision making. Because they all fall within the realm of operations, operations management is central to dealing with these issues. The need for effective optimisation methods that incorporate concepts of efficient resource use and environmental concern is becoming more and more urgent as the environmental situation deteriorates. This paper focus on the possibilities of incorporating Operational Researchers with environmental issues and the importance of OR models and techniques in environmental management. |
| Keywords: | Operation Research,Sustainable Development |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:215782&r=all |
| By: | Gilles Lafforgue; Etienne Lorang |
| Abstract: | We study the recycling opportunity of an industrial sector constrained by climate, resource and waste capacities. A final good is produced from virgin and recycled materials, and its consumption releases both waste and GHG emissions. We identify the optimal trajectories of resources use, mainly depending on the emission rates of each resource and on the relative scarcity of their stocks. Recycling is sometimes an opportunity to reduce the impact of consumption on primary resources and waste but can still affect the environment. We characterize the optimal recycling strategy and we show that, in some cases, the time pace of the recycling rate is inverted U-shaped. Last, we discuss the policy implications of our model by identifying and analyzing the set of optimal tax-subsidy schemes. |
| Keywords: | Recycling, Waste, GHG emissions, Resource extraction |
| JEL: | Q32 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:2003&r=all |
| By: | Joachim Vandercasteelen; Luc Christiaensen |
| Abstract: | Post-Harvest Losses (PHL) are considered to pose important economic losses for farmers in developing countries. This paper examines the effects of an intervention in Tanzania, aimed at reducing PHL of maize growing farmers during maize storage. Farmers were invited to attend a training on best practices in postharvest maize management, and a randomized subset of trainees received the opportunity to buy an improved storage facility (silos) at a substantially discounted price. Data collected at 30 days and 90 days after harvest, however, do not point to significant impacts of the treatments offered to the farmers. Receiving training on best practices improved stated knowledge, but training nor the opportunity to purchase an improved storage had a significant effect on maize storage and sales behavior, physical PHL during storage, or the quality of the stored maize. The paper explores potential explanations, and provides some policy recommendations for future learning and decision-making on how to address PHL issues in developing countries. |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:licosp:653201&r=all |
| By: | Boberg-Fazlic, Nina (Department of Business and Economics); Jensen, Peter Sandholt (Department of Business and Economics); Lampe, Markus (Vienna University of Economics and Business, CEPR); Sharp, Paul (Department of Business and Economics); Skovsgaard, Christian Volmar (Department of Public Health - Health Economy) |
| Abstract: | We explore the role of elites for development and in particular for the spread of cooperative creameries in Denmark in the 1880s, which was a major factor behind that country’s rapid economic catch-up. We demonstrate empirically that the location of early proto-modern dairies, so-called hollænderier, introduced onto traditional landed estates by landowning elites from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein in the eighteenth century, can explain the location of cooperative creameries in 1890, more than a century later. We interpret this as evidence that areas close to estates which adopted the Holstein System witnessed a gradual spread of modern ideas from the estates to the peasantry. Moreover, we identify a causal relationship by utilizing the nature of the spread of the Holstein System around Denmark, and the distance to the first estate to introduce it, Sofiendal. Finally, we demonstrate that areas with cooperatives also enjoyed higher levels of income. |
| Keywords: | Institutions; technology; knowledge spillovers; landowning elites; cooperatives; Denmark |
| JEL: | N53 O13 Q13 |
| Date: | 2020–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sdueko:2020_005&r=all |
| By: | Chad E. Hart (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Dermot J. Hayes (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Keri L. Jacobs; Lee L. Schulz (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); John M. Crespi (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we estimate the COVID-19 outbreak's revenue impacts on some of Iowa's largest agricultural industries. We estimate overall annual damage of roughly $788 million for corn, $213 million for soybean, over $2.5 billion for ethanol, $658 million for fed cattle, $34 million for calves and feeder cattle, and $2.1 billion for hogs. As more data become available and as the pandemic evolves, these estimates will certainly change, but for now they represent our best assessment of the impact on these industries. |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:20-pb28&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)); Guillermo Donoso (UC - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the factors that explain why groundwater can be over-exploited despite the existence of sophisticated water laws, institutions and effective state agencies responsible for water management. The analysis is based on a case study conducted in the Copiapó Valley in Northern Chile. Based on an analysis of water use data, policy documents and interviews with a variety of stakeholders, the paper highlights the state's failure to perform some of its key missions and the ineffectiveness of groundwater users' associations in water management despite a very supportive legal framework. The paper concludes with some recommendations on how ensure long-term sustainable groundwater use. |
| Keywords: | Chile,collective management,governance,groundwater depletion,water policy |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02532239&r=all |
| By: | Dimitrios Bakas (Department of Economics, Nottingham Trent University, UK; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis); Athanasios Triantafyllou (Essex Business School, University of Essex, UK) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we empirically investigate the impact of pandemics on commodity price volatility. In specific, we explore the impact of economic uncertainty related to global pandemics on the volatility of the S&P GSCI commodity index as well as on the sub-indexes of crude oil and gold. The results show that uncertainty related to pandemics have a strong negative impact on the volatility of commodity markets and especially on crude oil market, while the effect on gold market is positive but less significant. Our findings remain robust to a series of robustness checks. |
| Keywords: | Pandemics, Commodity Markets, Economic Uncertainty, Volatility |
| JEL: | C32 Q02 I10 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:20-12&r=all |
| By: | Muñoz-Pizza, Dalia M. (Oceanographic Research Institute. Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Baja California, México); Villada-Canela, Mariana (Oceanographic Research Institute. Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Baja California, México); Rivera-Castañeda, Patricia (Department of Urban and Environmental Studies, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Baja California, México); Reyna-Carranza, Marco A. (Oceanographic Research Institute. Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Baja California, México); Osornio-Vargas, Alvaro (Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada); Martínez-Cruz, Adan L. (CERE - the Center for Environmental and Resource Economics) |
| Abstract: | The pervasiveness of particulate matter in arid cities has yet to be discussed and tackled. Given that urban trees have been documented to provide air-filtering and dry deposition services, this study documents the stated benefits from an urban afforestation scenario in Mexicali –an arid city located northwest Mexico at the US-Mexico border. Our double-bounded dichotomous contingent valuation protocol yields an estimated average annual willingness to pay (WTP) of USD 88 per household. Variations in the WTP are associated with perception of air quality and presence of respiratory symptoms in the respondent’s household. The smallest WTP (USD 75) is reported by respondents perceiving poor air quality in their neighborhood and with no household members affected by respiratory symptoms. In contrast, respondents perceiving good air quality and with at least one household member facing respiratory symptoms reported a WTP of USD 99. The average stated benefits represent around 0.8% of the annual household income. |
| Keywords: | Air quality; PM10; urban afforestation; contingent valuation; arid cities; Mexicali. |
| JEL: | Q51 Q53 Q58 Q59 |
| Date: | 2020–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slucer:2020_007&r=all |
| By: | Tomohiro Kitamura (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University) |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koe:wpaper:2005&r=all |
| By: | Lesly Cassin (EconomiX, University Paris Nanterre); Paolo Melindi-Ghidi (EconomiX, University Paris Nanterre); Fabien Prieur (CEE-M, University of Montpellier) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the optimal adaptation policy of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to cope with climate change. We build a dynamic optimization problem to incorporate the following ingredients: (i) local production uses labor and natural capital, which is degraded as a result of climate change; (ii) governments have two main policy options: control migration and/or conventional adaptation measures ; (iii) migration decisions drive changes in the population size; (iv) expatriates send remittances back home. We show that the optimal policy depends on the interplay between the two policy instruments that can be either complements or substitutes depending on the individual characteristics and initial conditions. Using a numerical analysis based on the calibration of the model for different SIDS, we identify that only large islands use the two tools from the beginning, while for the smaller countries, there is a substitution between migration and conventional adaption at the initial period. |
| Keywords: | Small Island Developing States, Climate change, Adaptation, Migration, Natural capital |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 F22 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2020.09&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)) |
| Abstract: | According to French Civil Code, groundwater is considered as a private property. However, after this resource started to be intensively exploited by industries in the 1850's, the State increasingly regulated its use. In 1935, a system of individual access and withdrawal rights, managed by the State, was established to protect deep confined aquifers which were showing signs of overexploitation. This system of use right was later on extended to unconfined shallow aquifers with the 1992 water law, mainly to protect the environment. A new management approach, based on individual volumetric entitlements, was then developed and tested in several French groundwater basins, subsequently obtaining a legal basis in the early 2000's. The 2006 water law constitutes a clear break in French water policy. The system of individual volumetric entitlements managed by the State was cancelled and users asked to form Water Users' Associations at the catchment level. Associations became the recipients of pooled water use entitlements, which they lust, share among their members using rules agreed collectively. Although this reform only applies to the agricultural sector, its represents a clear shift from a private to a common property regime. |
| Keywords: | water trading,users' associations,allocation policy,private property,common property |
| Date: | 2020–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02531779&r=all |
| By: | Glauber, Joseph W.; Xing, Xiaorong |
| Abstract: | A landmark achievement of the Uruguay Round, and notably, the Agreement on Agriculture, was the full inclusion of agriculture in multilateral rules and disciplines. Since the birth of World Trade Organization (WTO), a significant number of member countries have used the dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) for resolving the disputes in agriculture. The DSM has played an important role not only for those parties involved in the disputes, but also by helping member countries to better understand the WTO rules, and therefore help guide them in developing domestic policies and trade policies that are consistent with WTO requirements. This paper examines trade disputes involving the Agreement on Agriculture since the WTO was formed in 1995 through December 2019. It analyzes who brought the disputes and against whom disputes were brought, and provides details on the natures of the disputes, the duration of disputes, and, the outcome of those disputes. |
| Keywords: | WORLD; WTO; dispute settlement; agriculture; trade policies; trade; trade agreements; Agreement on Agriculture; dispute settlement mechanism; appellate body |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1917&r=all |