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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2020‒10‒26
35 papers chosen by |
| By: | Kennedy, Adam; Resnick, Danielle |
| Abstract: | With the initial onset of COVID-19, pictures of empty supermarket shelves and panic buying raised questions about the impacts of the pandemic on food supply chains. Around the world, governments have responded in multiple ways to address some of the major constraints generated by lockdowns, restrictions on transport, and financial stresses experienced by farmers, retailers, and consumers (Hawkes 2020; Reardon and Swinnen 2020). Drawing on the data collected for 28 countries for IFPRI’s COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal (IFPRI 2020), this brief summarizes the distribution of government policy choices, highlighting where innovations emerged as well as where there has been a reversion to the status quo. |
| Keywords: | WORLD, agricultural production, Coronavirus, coronavirus disease, Coronavirinae, agricultural policies, trade, policies, food policies, governance, food systems, Covid-19, lockdown, food retailers |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:crpprn:1&r=all |
| By: | Hao, Zhengzheng; Sturm, Astrid; Wätzold, Frank |
| Abstract: | Agricultural intensification is a key driver of water pollution in many parts of the world. A frequent policy response is to implement agri-environment schemes (AES) which compensate farmers for land use measures that are beneficial to the environment but costly for them. We develop a hydro-economic modelling procedure which is able to design cost-effective AES to mitigate water pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus from cropland. Our procedure goes beyond existing research as it considers spatial heterogeneity of both mitigation impacts and costs of cropland management measures and takes into account the decision of farmers to participate in an AES. We demonstrate how the procedure works by applying it to the Baishahe watershed in Shanxi Province, China. |
| Keywords: | payments for environmental services; integrated modelling; non-point source water pollution; SWAT; agri-economic costs; spatial heterogeneity; cropland; China |
| JEL: | Q19 Q52 Q53 Q57 |
| Date: | 2020–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102860&r=all |
| By: | Ben Henderson (OECD); Clara Frezal (OECD); Eimear Flynn (OECD) |
| Abstract: | In light of the urgency for policy action to address climate change, this report provides the first detailed global catalogue of targets and policies for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. It covers 20 countries which collectively account for nearly half of the world’s AFOLU emissions. Most of these countries have recently set targets within their AFOLU sector as part of national climate mitigation strategies and commitments, although these targets are only legally-binding for two countries. However, policies to incentivise emission reductions and achieve these targets still need to be developed. Consequently, policy efforts will need to intensify for the AFOLU sector to contribute effectively to limiting global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and especially to meet the more ambitious 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, LULUCF, NDCs, Paris Agreement |
| JEL: | Q15 Q18 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:145-en&r=all |
| By: | Benjamin Ouvrard (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Raphaële Préget (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Arnaud Reynaud (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Laetitia Tuffery (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | In a global context of increasing water scarcity, reducing water use in the agricultural sector is one of the spearheads of sustainable agricultural and environmental policies. New technologies such as smart water meters are promising tools for addressing this issue, but their voluntary adoption by farmers has been limited. Conducting a discrete choice experiment with randomized treatments, we test two policy instruments designed to foster the voluntary adoption of smart water meters: a conditional subsidy and green nudges. The conditional subsidy is offered to farmers who adopt a smart meter only if the rate of adoption in their geographic area is sufficiently high (25%, 50% or 75%). In addition, we implement informational nudges by providing farmers specific messages regarding water scarcity and water management. With the responses of 1,272 French farmers, we show that both policy instruments are effective tools for fostering smart water meter adoption. Surprisingly, our results show that the willingness to pay for the conditional subsidy does not depend on the collective adoption threshold. We also demonstrate that farmers who receive an informational nudge are more likely to opt for a smart water meter. This result calls for a careful joint design of these two policy instruments.. |
| Keywords: | Behavioural economics,Choice experiment,Nudges,French farmers,Smart water meters,Social norms. |
| Date: | 2020–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpceem:hal-02958784&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; Alejandro Caparrós; José L. Oviedo; Paola Ovando; Alejandro Álvarez; Bruno Mesa |
| Abstract: | This study’s objective is to estimate and compare spatially explicit measures of ecosystem services and total environmental incomes for individual activities which occur in 248,015 hectares of cork oak open woodlands in Andalusia, Spain. The activities include timber, cork, firewood, nuts, grazing, conservation forestry, residential accommodation, private amenity, fire services, water supply, mushroom, carbon, free access recreation, landscape conservation and threatened wild biodiversity preservation. Ecosystem service is an economic indicator that informs of nature’s contribution to the period’s human product consumption, but with an uncertain meaning of ecological sustainability. We show that environmental income is the maximum period consumption of sustainable ecosystem services with both ecological and economic significance only if the benefits and costs involved in sustainable silvicultural management scenarios are accounted for. For measuring environmental incomes, we model sustainable silvicultural management scenarios, considering all the management practices required to maintain cork oak woodlands in perpetuity. Micro farm data is needed to estimate voluntary land and livestock owners’ opportunity cost by individual activity as well as for their subsequent transfer to be able to estimate individual’s environmental incomes values at social price. We define, for each individual activity, the social price as the basic price plus the voluntary unitary opportunity cost incurred by farmers in the scheduled management. Economic ecosystems indicators are measured using refined standard national accounts and extended environmental-economic accounts. The cork oak open woodlands’ ecosystem services and environmental incomes measured by extended accounts at basic prices in 2010 are 1.1 and 1.2 times higher than those estimated at social prices, respectively. The refined standard accounts’ ecosystem services and environmental incomes measured at basic prices are, respectively, 0.3 and 0.2 times those estimated by the extended accounts at social prices. |
| Keywords: | Ecosystem services; own intermediate consumption; game grazing; change of environmental net worth; environmental assets |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1904&r=all |
| By: | Hannah Ameye; Joachim De Weerdt; John Gibson |
| Abstract: | The nutrition transition in developing countries has increased interest in moving the measurement and analysis of nutritional choice beyond calories to a more complete understanding of macro- and micronutrient consumption. To help move the literature on data collection forward we randomly assigned six different survey modules to measure food consumption across Tanzania, three using diaries and three using recall methods. These modules were chosen to reflect the variety of modules currently in use in multi-purpose household surveys collecting food consumption expenditures in some detail at national scale. They differ by survey observation period, by length of the food recall list, by type of survey reporter (individual reporting or a single reporter per household) and by frequency of interviewer visits. From these data we calculate the percentage consumed relative to daily recommended intakes of calories, protein, fats, sugars, fiber and 16 micronutrients, taking into account age and gender. We also calculate minimum cost diets in each region, using linear programming, and cost-of-basic needs food poverty lines, the prevalence and depth of food poverty according to these lines, and the cost of targeted transfers designed to eliminate food poverty. |
| Date: | 2020–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:ceswps:655016&r=all |
| By: | Shilpa Aggarwal; Dahyeon Jeong; Naresh Kumar; David Sungho Park; Jonathan Robinson; Alan Spearot |
| Abstract: | We quantify the effect of market disruptions due to COVID-19 on the lives of households in rural areas of Liberia and Malawi, utilizing panel data from phone surveys that were implemented as part of a randomized cash transfer experiment. The surveys began collection several months before the pandemic and have continued throughout it. The household survey included a consistent set of internationally accepted and validated questions on food security (the household dietary diversity score, the household hunger scale, and the food consumption score). In both countries, market activity was severely disrupted and we observe large declines in income among market vendors, but we find no evidence of declines in food security for households in the short run. Even though we observe no adverse effects of the lockdowns on food security among the control group, cash transfers improved dietary quality and quantity over the low levels observed at baseline. |
| JEL: | O12 O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27932&r=all |
| By: | Gao, Li; Zhang, Wendong; Mei, Yingdan; Sam, Abdoul G.; Song, Yu; Jin, Shuqin |
| Abstract: | We examine how land tenure arrangements affect Chinese crop farmers’ adoption of straw retention, a key conservation practice promoted by the Chinese government in part to curb rising air pollution. Using data from a 2016 farmer household survey covering 1,659 crop plots in Henan Province in central China, we analyze whether farmers are less likely to adopt straw retention on rented plots compared to own-contracted plots. To address the potential endogeneity of the choice of renting from others, we use an instrument exploiting the role of remittance income from household members migrated to cities in a bivariate probit model and a control function approach, respectively. Our main results reveal that the Chinese crop farmers’ likelihood of adopting straw retention were almost cut in half on rented plots compared to their owned plots, assuming the assumptions for biprobit or control functions hold. This suggests greater attention is needed to examine the spillovers across agricultural and environmental policies as China pushes for both a nationwide land rental market and more sustainable agricultural practices. |
| Date: | 2018–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201812010800001609&r=all |
| By: | Fabian Thomas (University of Osnabrueck); Estelle Midler (Ministère de l'Agriculture, du Développement Rural et de la Pêche); Marianne Lefebvre (GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage); Stefanie Engel (University of Osnabrueck) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the behavioral economic underpinnings of current policy approaches to integrate environmental objectives into the Common Agricultural Policy. We conduct an economic lab-in-the-field experiment with farmers in Germany. We analyze the impact of the following policy design features on farmers' decisions to adopt sustainable agricultural practices: (i) framing of the policy: whether farmers perceive themselves as being part of the problem or the solution, (ii) degree of control: mandatory vs. voluntary policy (iii) framing of incentives as either losses or gains. All policy designs tested result in a significant increase in hectares conserved compared to a baseline scenario without policy. Also behavioral factors do significantly affect farmers' behavior at the individual level. Only framing is found to significantly affect policy effectiveness. |
| Keywords: | Common Agricultural Policy,Agri-Environment Measures,Greening,Lab-in-the-Field Ex- periment JEL Classifications: C93,D91,H20,Q00,Q18,Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02519104&r=all |
| By: | Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano; Di Gioia, Leonardo; Lamonaca, Emilia |
| Abstract: | Vegetable oil market is becoming of increasing interest in the global biofuel industry. This phenomenon has also interested the European Union (EU), where the growing expansion of biofuel production is affected by political interventions promoting fuel security and environmental goals. Yet, empirical evidence on the impacts that changes in price of one commodity may have on the supply of another commodity are rather scant. We investigate these dynamics for the major sources of biodiesel in the EU and conclude on cross-commodity linkages for palm, rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils. We also examine the acreage response of domestically produced feedstocks to changes in prices of vegetable oils. Our findings suggest strong and diversified path dependencies among vegetable oils that should be considered in planning sustainable biofuel policies. In particular, the empirical analysis reveals the great relevance of sunflower and soy oils, which show a high price responsiveness, and the high competition in end uses of domestically produced vegetable oils (i.e. rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils), that tend to be net substitutes in supply. In terms of land use effects, we find that an increase in the price of imported palm oil results in a displacement effect in land devoted to rapeseed cultivation, whereas a surge in the price of sunflower oil decreases the use of land for rapeseed. Land use effects would be relevant in northern EU countries where the production of rapeseed is the most intense. A policy measure in the EU, incentivising the production of renewable and environmental-friendly fuel from sustainable feedstocks, would be positive for the domestic market to the extent that it stimulates the production of vegetable oils (soy and sunflower oils) with the highest direct and indirect emissions saving. However, the expansion of oil palm plantations in extra-EU producing countries and of imports to the EU would determine important impacts in terms of indirect land use change emissions and direct emissions due to increased transports. |
| Keywords: | Biofuel; Land Use Change; Price elasticity; Vegetable oils |
| JEL: | O13 P28 Q21 Q42 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103199&r=all |
| By: | Wendong Zhang (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic is crippling the global economy and heightening distrust and political disagreements among major countries. Furthermore, ongoing deglobalization efforts taken by firms and countries are fueling the rise of economic nationalism. A prime example is the possible decoupling of U.S.-China economic and trade relations, which the ongoing trade war has already significantly disrupted. This paper analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. agricultural exports to China, especially the added delays and uncertainty on China's food imports meeting the U.S.-China phase one trade deal target. I present the views of U.S. farmers and the general public toward China and argue that healthy U.S.-China agricultural trade relations are not only critical for both countries but welcomed by U.S. farmers. I also discuss the possible rise in non-tariff barriers following the pandemic as well as trade policies that are increasingly intertwined with political tensions. Finally, I discuss how the U.S.-China phase one trade deal could possibly lead to a more balanced bilateral agricultural trade portfolio with greater share of protein and retail food products. |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:20-wp611&r=all |
| By: | Weninger, Quinn |
| Abstract: | Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) seeks to integrate the full complexity of real-world marine ecosystems into the design of fisheries management policies and regulations. EBFM is practiced currently with the help of complex ecosystem process models that track and simulate numerous ecosystem elements/organisms across space and time. For simplicity and to maintain tractability, the fishing sector component of process models maintain restrictive assumptions for harvesting technologies, fishing behavior, regulations, and fishing sector response to changing stock conditions. Predictions of fishing sector-ecosystem interaction obtained under these assumptions can grossly misinform EBFM policy design. An alternative rational fishing model is presented and applied to the Gulf of Mexico commercial reef fish fishery. The model relaxes the restrictive assumptions currently in use highlighting stark differences in ecological and external validity across modeling approaches. While models of rational fishing are data and computationally demanding, results show that improved validity they deliver may be essential to further advance the EBFM paradigm. |
| Date: | 2019–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201905100700001072&r=all |
| By: | Beintema, Nienke M.; Echeverria, Ruben G. |
| Abstract: | The primary role of international public agricultural research is undoubtedly to address key social, environmental, and economic goals at the global level. Further, there is consensus that investment must be accelerated in research-based innovations focusing on sustainable food systems. And given the relatively weak situation of many national agricultural research systems in the global South, it is imperative to reach economies of scale in investments in international initiatives. It is not yet clear, however, how much additional investment is needed or how scarce resources should be allocated across priority research-for-development challenges. At the international level, growing consensus indicates that—in addition to increasing funding—far greater harmonization is needed in funding and executing research in order to more effectively tackle global agricultural research challenges. Growing opportunities for technology spillovers and research alliances to occur across national, regional, and international boundaries necessitates the ability to access new technological knowledge from a variety of sources. And since access to new technologies is closely related to the capacity to generate new technologies, the need to strengthen and harmonize national, regional, and global research systems becomes even more of a priority. Although the role, contributions, and impacts of the CGIAR have been analyzed by many authors, only a few have summarized the recent evolution of its financing. This note is intended to contribute to reflections on the CGIAR’s first 50 years, which it will celebrate in 2021, while also providing a useful reference for the current “One CGIAR” governance and management transformation. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:astisn:september2020&r=all |
| By: | Sawadgo, Wendiam; Zhang, Wendong; Plastina, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | Conservation practices such as no-till and cover crops have been shown to have on-and off-farm benefits. However, underinvestment may occur when benefits of a practice do not go to the provider. A commonly cited barrier to conservation-practice adoption in agriculture is farmland-rental arrangements where tenants may not reap the benefits of conservation investments, resulting in lower adoption rates on leased land than on owner-operated fields. This issue is especially important since more than 40% of US farmland and more than half of Midwestern farmland is now rented from others. This paper examines the factors driving landowners’ decisions to adopt four key conservation practices–no-till, cover crops, buffer strips, and ponds/sediment basins–using a statistically representative survey of Iowa landowners contrasting from the common datasets that focus on farm operators. Our results show that no-till and cover crops are used on 27% and 4% of Iowa farmland in 2017, respectively. We find that to the conventional wisdom that adoption is lower on rented land only applies to the use of cover crops, buffer strips, and sediment basins, but not for no-till. In fact, our results show the adoption rate of no-till is higher on leased land than on owner-operated land. This puzzle is mainly driven by the fact that part-time farmers have far less no-till on their owner-operated land than do other types of farmers, which could be because full-time farmers and renters use no-till as a timesaving technique. Also, no-till is heavily adopted in western Iowa, likely as a way to reduce wind erosion on loess-hill soils. Furthermore, we find that landowners are open to incentivizing the adoption of cover crops on their land by helping tenants pay part of the planting costs for cover crops but not by extending the length of rental agreements. In particular, those who currently own no-tilled land are more willing to help their tenants finance cover crops or offer longer leases than those who do not own no-tilled land. Finally, our results show that half of landowners would be willing to increase the area of their land under conservation practices, if they could receive conservation-related tax credits or deductions. |
| Date: | 2019–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201905230700001082&r=all |
| By: | Babu, Suresh Chandra; Zhou, Yuan |
| Abstract: | Young people engaging in agricultural entrepreneurship in developing countries face several challenges. Above all, they lack adequate access to important resources and opportunities. These include land, credit, farm inputs, agronomic and vocational training, insurance, and lucrative markets. Addressing these challenges requires answers to some key questions: Which factors drive the success of youth entrepreneurs in developing countries? What type of business ‘ecosystem’ is best suited for their development? What roles should the various stakeholders play in making youth entrepreneurship flourish nationally? How can young people expand their start-ups to become small, medium, or largescale businesses? To answer these questions, the International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) developed a conceptual framework. This framework classifies contextual and driving factors that contribute to the success of youth entrepreneurship. There are four broad categories for intervention: policy, institutional, technological, and individual capabilities. |
| Keywords: | NIGERIA, WEST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, youth, rural areas, entrepreneurship, agriculture, rural development, developing countries, policies, technology, skills, youth entrepreneurship, conceptual framework |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:134031&r=all |
| By: | Karol Mazur |
| Abstract: | I present a model of interaction between risk sharing and co-operation over irrigational investments in presence of limited commitment constraints and apply it to the case of farmers in rural India. I demonstrate that if access to irrigation can be regulated by villagers, the two institutions reinforce each other. However, if benefits of such investments are non-excludable (as is the case with provision by central authorities), they may harm local co-operation. Using the ICRISAT panel, I provide empirical support for the mechanism. Quantitative evaluation demonstrates significant reinforcement between the two institutions and economic losses due to sub-optimal irrigation management. |
| Keywords: | Risk Sharing; Limited Commitment; Village Economies; Endogenous Aggregate Risk; Irrigation; Public Goods; Endogenous Informal Institutions |
| JEL: | E20 O12 O11 O13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2020-19&r=all |
| By: | Schmidt, Emily; Dorosh, Paul A.; Gilbert, Rachel |
| Abstract: | Rice prices in international markets rose sharply between December 2019 and May 2020, increasing, for example, by 25 percent in Thailand and 30 percent in Vietnam. Given that essentially all of the rice supply for Papua New Guinea (PNG) comes from rice imports, the domestic price of rice in PNG is likely to rise substantially in coming months. Although PNG’s food economy is dominated by domestically produced starchy staples, rice imports have almost doubled from 167,000 tons annually in 2005 to an estimated 300,000 tons in 2020. This note examines rice consumption patterns and international trade trends for PNG to shed light on the potential impacts in rural and urban PNG of disruptions to rice imports. Our model simulations indicate that a 30 percent rise in the world price of rice would be expected to decrease the rice consumption of poor households by 17.3 percent. Under this scenario, consumers in poor households, which are those in the bottom 40 percent of the household expenditure distribution in PNG, would suffer a net welfare loss of USD 23.0 million, equivalent to a 1.6 percent decrease in a per capita daily income of one US dollar. |
| Keywords: | PAPUA NEW GUINEA, OCEANIA, food prices, rice, welfare, households, food consumption, trade, exports, rice prices. rice consumption |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:pngprn:6&r=all |
| By: | Rossana Scita (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Pier Paolo Raimondi (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Michel Noussan (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | Hydrogen is currently enjoying a renewed and widespread momentum in the energy market. In the last years, demand for hydrogen has substantially increased worldwide, with several countries developing hydrogen national strategies, and private companies investing in the development of hydrogen related projects. Green hydrogen’s environmental sustainability and versatility contribute to its representation as the holy grail of decarbonisation. This working paper challenges this definition, by analysing the historical process which contributed to hydrogen’s rise, showing the current uses of hydrogen and the major obstacles to the implementation of a green hydrogen economy, and assessing the geopolitical implications of a future hydrogen society. Particularly, the paper shows that the hydrogen economy is still far from becoming reality. Even though investments in green hydrogen technologies and projects have increased over the last decade, there still remains a high number of unresolved issues, relating to technical challenges and geopolitical implications. Nonetheless, a clean hydrogen economy offers promising opportunities not only to fight climate change, but also to redraw geopolitical relations between states. The energy transition is already taking place, with renewable energies gradually eroding the global energy system based on fossil fuels. A global transformation, set in motion by the need to decarbonise the energy system, will have the potential to redraw international alliances and conflicts. In this context, hydrogen may play a crucial role. By 2050, hydrogen could indeed meet up to 24% of the world’s energy needs, thus highly influencing the geopolitical landscape. In this regard, the choice over which pathway to take for the creation of hydrogen value chains will have a huge geopolitical impact, resulting in new dependencies and rivalries between states. Conclusively, if national governments are willing to spur the emergence of a green hydrogen economy, they should heavily invest in research and development, encourage the development of a clean hydrogen value chain, and promote common international standards. Moreover, they should also take into account hydrogen’s geopolitical implications. If the hydrogen economy is well-managed, it could indeed increase energy security, diversify the economy, and strengthen partnerships with third countries. |
| Keywords: | Green Hydrogen, Decarbonization, Energy, Energy Policy |
| JEL: | Q4 Q42 O14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2020.13&r=all |
| By: | Researchers of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Michigan State University |
| Abstract: | Between April and October 2020, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Michigan State University (MSU), with support from the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) and the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), have undertaken analyses of secondary data combined with regular telephone surveys of actors at all stages of Myanmar’s agri-food system in order to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the system. These analyses show that the volume of agribusiness has slowed considerably in Myanmar since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. There is lower demand from farmers for agricultural inputs and mechanization services and lower volumes of produce traded, especially exports to neighboring countries whose borders are closed. All actors in the agri-food system are facing liquidity constraints and experiencing increased difficulties in both borrowing and recovering loans. |
| Keywords: | MYANMAR, BURMA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, ASIA, Coronavirus, coronavirus disease, Coronavirinae, COVID-19, agrifood systems, food systems, policies, social protection, ex ante impact assessment, agricultural production, processing, marketing, retail markets, household income, food security |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:myanwp:4&r=all |
| By: | Wang, Pingping; Zhang, Wendong; Li, Minghao; Han, Yijun |
| Abstract: | Farmers in China and many other developing countries suffer from low technical efficiency of chemical fertilizer use, which leads to excessive nutrient runoff and other environmental problems. A major cause of the low efficiency is lack of science-based information and recommendations for nutrient application. In response, the Chinese government launched an ambitious nationwide program called the “Soil Testing and Fertilizer Recommendation Project†(STFRP) in 2005 to increase the efficiency of chemical fertilizer use. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of this program. Using data from a nationally representative household survey, and using wheat as an example, this paper first quantifies the technical efficiency of chemical fertilizer use (TEFU) by conducting stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), then evaluates the impact of STFRP on the TEFU using a generalized difference-in-difference approach. We found that STFRP, on average, increased TEFU in wheat production by about 4%, which was robust across various robustness checks. The lessons learned from STFRP will be valuable for China’s future outreach efforts, as well as for other countries considering similar nutrient management policies. |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201901010800001678&r=all |
| By: | Alvim, Augusto; Sanguinet, Eduardo |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the impacts of reducing GHG emissions on the Meat and Dairy sectors. For this purpose, the Brazilian targets for the reduction of GHG emissions ratified in the Paris Agreement in 2015 are considered as starting points. To achieve this goal, General Equilibrium Model (GTAP) is used, which allows the inclusion of carbon taxes and the construction of alternative scenarios using GWP and GTP as GHG emissions measures. Four scenarios are analyzed. Scenario 1 applies carbon taxes upon Meat & Dairy sector and no carbon taxes on the other Brazilian sectors. Scenario 2 simulates only carbon taxes upon the Energy sector and Scenario 3 equal carbon taxes on all sectors (20$, 40$ and 60$ per tons of CO2). Scenario 4 considers the application of carbon taxes to the Meat & Dairy, Grains & Crops lower than to the Energy and Industry & Services sectors. For all scenarios is analyzed the main effects on sector emissions but also on production, trade and the Brazilian GPD. In general terms, the results show that: the Scenario 3 may be the most appropriate when we use the GTP measures to estimate GHG emissions. In this case, the reduction in GDP are not as intense as when are used GWP, though the exportation of the Beef and Dairy are also expected to drop. The fourth Scenario seems to be the most adequate in terms of cost distribution among the various economic sectors in Brazil, only when the GWP is considered. |
| Keywords: | Meat and dairy, Carbon taxes, GHG emissions, GTAP. |
| JEL: | F1 F13 Q1 Q17 |
| Date: | 2020–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102997&r=all |
| By: | Christoper Moore; Jasmine Fuller |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first comprehensive review and synthesis of studies that forecast economic impacts of ocean acidification. The changes in seawater chemistry resulting from increased carbon dioxide emissions, collectively known as ocean acidification, will have detrimental impacts to marine ecosystem services. Those services include wild capture fisheries, aquaculture, recreation, shoreline protection, and others. The current literature valuing expected impacts to those services is rather thin and tends to focus on mollusk harvesting and aquaculture. Despite the paucity of studies, we divide all relevant estimates into seven additively separable economic sectors to provide the first aggregate estimate of economic damages from ocean acidification at the end of this century. We perform non-parametric bootstrap to characterize the distribution of estimates within each sector and the aggregation across sectors. We also perform meta-regressions to explore whether estimates provided by these studies are generally consistent with expectations based on ocean chemistry and economic theory. We find a global average of per capita annual losses in the year 2100 between $47 and $58 and we find strong evidence that estimates are consistent with expectations given future emissions and socio-economic scenarios that underlie the original studies. |
| Keywords: | Ocean acidification, climate change, meta-analysis, marine ecosystem services |
| JEL: | Q51 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp202002&r=all |
| By: | Arjun Gupta; Soudeh Mirghasemi; Mohammad Arshad Rahman |
| Abstract: | Empirical studies on food expenditure are largely based on cross-section data and for a few studies based on longitudinal (or panel) data the focus has been on the conditional mean. While the former, by construction, cannot model the dependencies between observations across time, the latter cannot look at the relationship between food expenditure and covariates (such as income, education, etc.) at lower (or upper) quantiles, which are of interest to policymakers. This paper analyzes expenditures on total food (TF), food at home (FAH), and food away from home (FAFH) using mean regression and quantile regression models for longitudinal data to examine the impact of economic recession and various demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors. The data is taken from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and comprises of 2174 families in the United States (US) observed between 2001-2015. Results indicate that age and education of the head, family income, female headed family, marital status, and economic recession are important determinants for all three types of food expenditure. Spouse education, family size, and some regional indicators are important for expenditures on TF and FAH, but not for FAFH. Quantile analysis reveals considerable heterogeneity in the covariate effects for all types of food expenditure, which cannot be captured by models focused on conditional mean. The study ends by showing that modeling conditional dependence between observations across time for the same family unit is crucial to reducing/avoiding heterogeneity bias and better model fitting. |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2010.02614&r=all |
| By: | Li, Chao; Hayes, Dermot J.; Jacobs, Keri L. |
| Abstract: | The supply chain connecting biofuel processing firms and suppliers of biomass is evolving, and processors face a choice in the collection and pricing strategies they will employ to procure biomass. One option is to pay a single price for biomass collected field-side (processor collection). Another is to pay a single price for biomass at the plant gate (supplier delivery). The literature in this area is relatively young, but there is a sense that the evolution of contracting and pricing structures will dictate the industry’s success, and ultimately the costs of producing biofuels from dedicated and non-dedicated energy crops. We examine the collection and pricing choices for a cost-minimizing cellulosic biofuel processor, who initially has monopsony power in feedstock procurement in their collection area. We derive optimal prices, total expenditures on feedstocks, and the collection areas required to meet a processor’s fixed input needs. We show that while societal welfare is greatest under supplier delivery; however, the processor will be indifferent between supplier delivery and processor collection unless they are concerned about entry of a competing processor. When this is the case, the processor can use the processorcollection mechanism as an effective deterrent to entry. Numerical simulation based on corn stover for biomass is used to illustrate optimal pricing and the extent of biomass collection areas for different procurement and pricing strategies. We use these findings to calculate the rates at which collection costs increase for a monopsonistic stover processor constrained to a defined procurement area, as might emerge as the industry moves towards commercialization. The derived marginal cost curve for a monopsonistic processor of stover is compared with the marginal cost curve across alternative feedstocks. |
| Date: | 2018–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201810180700001650&r=all |
| By: | Simone Severini; Luigi Biagini |
| Abstract: | We assess the correlation between CAP support provided to farmers and their income and use of capital and labour in the first year of the new CAP regime. This is done applying three regression models on the Italian FADN farms controlling for other farm characteristics. CAP annual payments are positively correlated with farm income and capital but are negatively correlated with labour use. Farm investment support provided by RDP measures is positively correlated to the amount of capital. Results suggest that CAP is positively affecting farm income directly but also indirectly by supporting the substitution of labour with capital |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2009.07684&r=all |
| By: | Abraham Londono Pineda; Tatiana Arias Naranjo; Jose Alejandro Cano Arenas |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the factors affecting the configuration and consolidation of green ports in Colombia. For this purpose a case stady of maritime cargo ports of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta is performed addressing semiestructured interviews to identify the factors contributing to the consolidation of green ports and the factors guiding the sustainability management in the ports that have not yet been certified as green ports. The results show that environmental regulations are atarting point not the key factor to consolidate asgreen ports. As a conclusions, the conversion of Colombian to green ports should not be limited to the attaiment of certifications, such as Ecoport certification, but should ensure the contribution to sustainable development through economic, social and environmental dimensions and the achievement of the SDGs |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2009.10834&r=all |
| By: | Headey, Derek D.; Goudet, Sophie; Lambrecht, Isabel; Oo, Than Zaw; Maffioli, Elisa Maria; Field, Erica; Toth, Russell |
| Keywords: | MYANMAR, BURMA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, ASIA, Coronavirus, coronavirus disease, Coronavirinae, poverty, food security, rural areas, urban areas, households, diet, cash transfers, social protection, surveys, employment, economic recovery, Covid-19, Rural and Urban Food Security Survey (RUFSS) |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:myansn:4&r=all |
| By: | Grant, Marta; Zhang, Wendong |
| Abstract: | Analyzing 24 recent agricultural start-up companies and 23 agricultural applications, this article provides an overview of entrepreneurs and start-ups in the agricultural industry, with a focus on crop production and farm management. Agricultural entrepreneurship is gaining traction and getting more support from universities and industries. While most recent agricultural start-ups focus on producers, opportunities exist to better serve investors and agricultural professionals. Better data management to assist agricultural production and management decisions would be a potential source of new ideas. Despite the challenges, the rural property professionals should be more aware of newer data, tools, and technologies brought by these innovative firms. Additionally, automation, artificial intelligence, and sensors will present significant opportunities for new start-ups. |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201901010800001682&r=all |
| By: | Nowakowski, Adam (Bocconi University); Oswald, Andrew J (University of Warwick, CAGE, and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Economists have proposed a variety of sophisticated climate-change interventions. But do our citizens care enough about climate change to enact such policies? This paper provides evidence that suggests they do not. Two kinds of findings are presented. Using data on 40,000 Europeans from the 2016 European Social Survey, the paper shows that only 5% of people say they are extremely worried about climate change. The cooler European countries express particularly low levels of worry. Using data on 30,000 citizens from the 2019 Eurobarometer Surveys, the paper demonstrates that climate change is viewed as a less important problem than parochial issues such as (i) health and social security, (ii) inflation, (iii) unemployment, and (iv) the economic situation. Other results, from regression equations, are provided. This paper’s conclusions seem to have exceptionally serious implications for our unborn great grandchildren -- and imply that economic policy should now focus on how to alter feelings rather than upon the design of complicated theoretical interventions. An analogy with successful anti-tobacco policy is discussed. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; global warming; feelings; economic policy; welfare JEL Classification: Q54; Q58 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:510&r=all |
| By: | Brañas-Garza, Pablo; Cabrales, Antonio; Mateu, Guillermo; Angel, Sanchez; Sutan, Angela |
| Abstract: | We study experimentally the impact of pre-play social interactions on negotiations. We isolate the impact of several common components of interactions: conversations, food, and alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. Participants perform a standardized negotiation (complex and simple) under six conditions: without interaction, interaction only, and interactions with water, wine, water and food and wine and food. We find that none of the treatments improves the outcomes over the treatment without interactions. We also study trust and reciprocity, where we find the same lack of superiority of interaction. |
| Keywords: | negotiation, trust, business meals, social interactions, alcohol. |
| JEL: | C91 I18 M11 |
| Date: | 2020–07–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102842&r=all |
| By: | Sarah Ashwin (LSE - Department of Management - London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science); Chikako Oka (RHUL - Royal Holloway [University of London]); Elke Schüßler; Rachel Alexander; Nora Lohmeyer |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02952125&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; Alejandro Caparrós; José L. Oviedo; Paola Ovando; Alejandro Álvarez; Bruno Mesa |
| Abstract: | The scientific debate on how to make visible the linkages between the standard System of National Accounts (SNA) and its ongoing satellite System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) is a challenge which is still pending. In previous publications we measured selected ecosystem accounting variables associated with Mediterranean forests and woodlands at market prices and simulated exchange prices in terms of ordinary net value added (NVA), ecosystem services (ES), environmental asset (EA), changes in environmental asset (CEA) and environmental income (EI) based on the experimental Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS). In this study, we applied ‘own refined SNA’ (rSNA) and SEEA-EEA (rSEEA-EEA) and a simplified AAS (sAAS) to measure the aforementioned environmental variables at basic and social prices for 15 economic activities considered in 1,408 thousand hectares of the predominantly mixed Holm oak open woodlands (HOW) in Andalusia-Spain. We incorporate the government institutional sector and environmental income in the rSNA and rSEEA-EEA. The government is perceived as the collective owner of public economic activities. Our objectives are to measure and discuss consistencies in total environmental incomes accruing from the results of the ecosystem accounting frameworks applied to HOW. The discrepancies in government institutional sector ecosystem services between rSEEA-EEA and sAAS are due to the omission in the former ecosystem accounting approach of the public farmer voluntary opportunity cost and government manufactured costs incurred in the supply of public final products enjoyed free by the consumers. The most relevant findings of this study are, firstly, that the EI of individual products for the period valued at social prices corresponds with the sustainable economic ecosystem services (except for private amenity), and according to the HOW scheduled modeling of future resource management, the EI also shows physical sustainability of individual natural base products. The ES and the EI of individual market products have the same values, whichever the ecosystem accounting framework applied. This is not the case with the ecosystem services of public products without market prices, due to the fact that rSNA estimates these products at production cost and rSEEA-EEA do not consider the total manufactured costs of the free final public products consumption. |
| Keywords: | Ordinary environmental net operating margin; ecosystem services; changes in environmental asset; environmental net worth: environmental income |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1907&r=all |
| By: | Schulz, Lee L; Boetel, Brenda L.; Dhuyvetter, Kevin C. |
| Abstract: | Feeder cattle prices depend on the weight of cattle and it is well recognized that prices per hundredweight (cwt) normally decrease as cattle weights increase. Not only do prices vary across cattle weights, but the magnitude of price differences depend on the weight of cattle. This price differential, more commonly known as a price slide, is a reflection of the costs to add weight to an animal (i.e., cost of gain). Because costs of gain ($/cwt) are generally lower than the price of cattle ($/cwt), lighter weight cattle have higher prices than heavier weight cattle and the price slide exists. |
| Date: | 2018–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201812010800001709&r=all |
| By: | Pamela Mcelwee (Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University); Esther Turnout (Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University); Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline (PSE - Paris School of Economics, UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne); Jennifer Clapp (School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo); Cindy Isenhour (Department of Anthropology & Climate Change Institute, University of Maine); Tim Jackson (Center for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, University of Surrey); Eszter Kelemen (ESSRG ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH GROUP HUN - Partenaires IRSTEA - IRSTEA - Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture); Daniel Miller (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Graciela Rusch (NINA - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research); Joachim Spangenberg (SERI - Sustainable Europe Research Institute); Anthony Waldron (Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Cambridge University); Rupert Baumgartner (University of Graz); Brent Bleys (Ghent University); Michael Howard (University of Maine); Eric Mungatana (University of Pretoria [South Africa]); Hien Ngo (IPBES); Irene Ring (Technische Universität Dresden); Rui Ferreira dos Santos (Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE), NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon,) |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02954370&r=all |
| By: | Unbreen Qayyum (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad.); Neelum Nigar (Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the bilateral trade flows between Pakistan and china with particular focus on the trade of agricultural goods. It observes the trends and characteristics of China-Pakistan trade relations after both countries signed the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement in 2006. We use trade complementarity index, revealed comparative advantage index, trade integration index and export similarity index to empirically analyse trade complementarity and competition of thirty five agricultural products. Furthermore, we investigate the future prospects of agriculture sector by calculating indicative trade potentials of top agriculture products. The findings of this study show that there exist competition and complementarity for few products; however, complementarity is strong.. The indicative trade potentials show that Pakistan has higher exports potentials in products rice, seafood and cotton, which however have not reached up to their potentials due to various barrier and nonbarrier tariffs. Thus it is important that these challenges are addressed in order to increase the bilateral trade in future. |
| Keywords: | Bilateral Trade; Agriculture sector; Trade Competition; Trade Complementarity; CPEC, CPFTA |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pid:wpaper:2020:23&r=all |