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on Agricultural Economics |
| By: | Mendiratta, Vibhuti; Brubaker, Josh |
| Abstract: | The Smallholder Market-Led Project (SMLP), implemented between 2015 and 2024 in Eswatini, aimed to improve income and nutrition outcomes by combining community-driven planning, sustainable soil and water conservation infrastructure and market-led agricultural production. SMLP focused on five key value chains to boost production, market access and food security. The project supported 37 chiefdoms in developing tailored development plans and mobilizing resources, while protecting erosion-prone land and enhancing irrigation across thousands of hectares. It targeted both market-ready producers and food-deficit households, providing training, input support and market linkages to improve agricultural productivity, food security and income generation. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413161 |
| By: | Vaiknoras, Kate; Gillespie, Jeffrey; Childs, Nathan |
| Abstract: | In 2024, the United States planted nearly 3 million acres of rice, almost entirely in California and the South. This report identifies major trends in rice farming from approximately 2013 to 2024 and examines their causes and implications. While previous research has examined these trends for earlier periods, newly available data from the 2021 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) combined with other data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including on production costs, acreage, and prices, allows for an updated analysis. This data is timely as the rice industry has faced challenges such as drought, flooding, rising input prices, and increased export competition over the past decade. Since 2013, total U.S. planted acreage of rice has fluctuated, largely because of inconsistent rainfall patterns. Technology use has shifted as the adoption of hybrid and nongenetically modified, herbicide-tolerant rice varieties increased from 2013 to 2021. Recently, rising input prices have contributed to increased production costs: The total nominal cost of producing 1 acre of rice increased 36 percent from 2020 to 2024 (or a 14-percent increase in real terms using 2024 dollars). The trends identified in this report have implications for rice growers, other agricultural producers in rice-producing regions, U.S. rice consumers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:413177 |
| By: | Rose Deperrois |
| Abstract: | The environmental and health risks of chemical-intensive agriculture call for a transition towards more sustainable practices. However, the adoption of such practices is often hindered by uncertainty about their effects on yields and profitability, making access to reliable information a critical determinant of farmer behaviour. Exploiting the staggered 2015–2023 rollout of broadband mobile internet (4G) in France as a natural experiment, this paper examines how improved information access influences farmers adoption of organic farming. Results reveal that 4G coverage significantly increases the take-up of organic farming by 1 to 2 percentage points after 3 years among farms located in sloped areas. This finding demonstrates that expanding digital infrastructure that reduces information barriers can accelerate the voluntary adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Organic Farming, Digitalisation |
| JEL: | D8 Q16 Q57 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:2026-05 |
| By: | Aya Suzuki (University of Tokyo); Vu Hoang Nam (Faculty of International Economics, Foreign Trade University); Susan Olivia (University of Waikato); Guenwoo Lee (Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences); Kohei Tanaka (Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | Maintaining water quality is critical for aquaculture, yet smallholder farmers in developing countries often lack the tools to monitor it. Although earlier digital farming that provides "simple" information to farmers consistently yielded positive effects, when more detailed and personalized information are provided, the results have been mixed. Modern "aquatech" provides complex biophysical data that directly impacts productivity, and the effects likely depend on the capacity of farmers to process the "complex" information. We examine the impact of digital water-quality monitors and a farm-management app through a ten-month experiment involving shrimp farmers in Southern Vietnam. Using primary data from 304 farmers across two survey rounds, we find significant ITT and LATE treatment effects on reducing the disease outbreak as well as increasing revenue and profit, though the financial estimates are weaker evidence than the disease estimates: they sit at the margin of what our sample can detect. While these effects do not differ by human capital indicators of education, experience, and technical knowledge, the recorded data reveals strong association between education and stability of dissolved oxygen (DO) over crop cycles but not experience nor technical knowledge. Further, DO instability is associated with smaller shrimp size, and greater water stress is associated with lower harvest volume and smaller shrimp size. Our findings show that average farmers indeed benefit from even "complex" high-frequency digital information, and while the mechanism is not confirmed, the important role of education in water quality maintenance is suggested. |
| Keywords: | Digital agriculture; Aquaculture; Smallholder farmers |
| JEL: | O12 O33 Q22 |
| Date: | 2026–10–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:26/06 |
| By: | Valdes, Constanza; Gillespie, Jeffrey; Bonin, Daniel; Scott, Sara |
| Abstract: | This study compares corn and soybean production costs and returns between Brazil and the United States. It centers on farm-level production costs for the 2023–25 period, comparing input usage and farm practices. Prices received by farmers and average yields for each crop in each country are analyzed to calculate producer returns. The comparison is situated within the broader context of the two countries’ importance in global markets for these crops. Brazil and the United States collectively accounted for 58 and 83 percent of global trade in corn and soybeans in marketing year 2025/26, respectively. Brazil has emerged as a major competitor to the United States, driven by expansion of soybean production and double cropping systems—particularly second-crop corn following soybeans—which has reshaped global export patterns. This study’s findings highlight a range of factors that influence production costs and returns of these countries for corn and soybeans, such as production practices and technological advancements, and examines the differences. The roles of Government policies, infrastructure developments, and access to global markets are also discussed. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:413178 |
| By: | Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Makate, Clifton (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Population growth and intergenerational subdivision are reducing landholdings in many parts of rural Africa, while structural transformation has not generated sufficient alternative livelihoods for all households facing increasing land scarcity. Whether shrinking land ownership translates into shrinking access to agricultural land therefore depends partly on land rental markets. We use balanced household panels drawn from nationally representative surveys from Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Repeated observations of the same households allow us to obtain more reliable measures of land ownership and land rental market participation despite substantial reporting instability across survey rounds. We examine separately who gains access to rented land, how much land participating households obtain, and how important, rented land becomes in their operational holdings. Land rental participation among land-poor households differs across countries, with clear pro-land-poor patterns in Nigeria and Uganda and smaller, less uniform participation differences in Ethiopia. Conditional on participation, near-landless and land-poor tenants obtain fewer hectares than tenants with larger ownership holdings in Nigeria and Uganda, but no comparable gradient is found in Malawi or Ethiopia. Across all four countries, rented land accounts for a progressively larger share of operational holdings as ownership declines and substantially expands operational holdings among many near-landless tenants. Previous participation is strongly associated with current access in Malawi, Uganda, and Ethiopia, but not Nigeria. This pattern is consistent with state dependence arising from initial transaction costs and advantages conferred by established rental relationships. Land rental can therefore loosen the connection between ownership poverty and operational land exclusion, but its contribution depends on who gains access, how much land they obtain, and whether access can be sustained over time. This provides a potential mechanism for sustaining agricultural livelihoods while broader structural transformation remains incomplete. |
| Keywords: | Land rental markets; Land poverty; Operational land access; Rural transformation; Transaction costs; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | O13 O18 Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2026–10–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2026_011 |
| By: | Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Makate, Clifton (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Do economies of scale create an endogenous tendency toward farm consolidation in African agriculture? We address this question using land rental decisions rather than estimated production functions. If larger farms have systematically higher returns to operational expansion, relatively land-rich households should be more likely to rent in land. We test this prediction using nationally representative household panels from Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda. Repeated observations are used to construct upper-envelope landownership measures and diagnostics for substantial ownership-reporting instability, while dynamic correlated-random-effects models identify how tenant participation varies with households’ ownership position within local land markets. Across all three countries, relatively land-poor households are consistently more likely to rent in land, conditional on productive endowments, previous participation, and reporting reliability. Nonlinear specifications confirm that tenant participation declines from the bottom toward the top of the local ownership distribution, although the shape differs across countries. The revealed direction of operational adjustment provides little evidence that land rental markets generate endogenous consolidation toward larger farms. Instead, rental markets primarily reallocate land toward relatively land-scarce households, suggesting that rural structural transformation need not operate through progressive enlargement of household farms. |
| Keywords: | Land rental markets; Farm size; Economies of scale; Land reallocation; Structural transformation; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | D24 O12 O13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2026–10–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2026_010 |
| By: | Mendiratta, Vibhuti; Gemessa, Sinafikeh Asrat |
| Abstract: | The Dairy Value Chain Development Programme (DVCDP) (2017–2023) aimed to improve rural livelihoods and food security in Uzbekistan by enhancing cattle productivity and access to dairy markets. The programme ran from 2017-2023 and provided specialized training to over 19, 000 small-scale farmers, with a focus on providing livelihood opportunities to women, including livestock management, business skills and value chain development. It also facilitated access to credit for 548 dairy farms, processors and input suppliers through commercial banks, supporting profitable investments across the sector. By combining capacity building, financial support and strong coordination, DVCDP worked to modernize the dairy value chain and strengthen its role in rural development. An impact assessment of DVCDP was conducted in 2023. Because the vast majority of the project financing was directed towards this credit line beneficiaries, the impact estimates are discussed for the entire sample and separately for this component. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413192 |
| By: | Abdelaziz Khalfaoui (National School of Business and Management – ENCG Settat, Hassan The First University, Settat, Morocco.) |
| Abstract: | Already in a bad position, given its inability to Moroccan agriculture must strive to face the new challenges caused by the harm of global warming: scarcity of water resources, desertification of soils and rural exodus, to make it capable of ensuring country. These new constraints are added to other structural problems: low factor productivity, insecurity of land ownership and a negative outcome of free trade agreements…This bleak picture of Moroccan agricultur must give rise to real reform, which must tackle these problems, starting with the establishment of a new paradigm which must transform agricultural activity from a subsistence activity to a lucrative activity, structured into companies aimed at maximizing profits and inco for the success of this transition, in the sense that it must put in place the infrastructures making it possible to qualify and encourage the maintenance of the rural population which until now represents a Moroccans. |
| Keywords: | new agricultural model, Moroccan agriculture, agricultural trade balance, agrarian reform, agrarian reform agricultural trade balance Moroccan agriculture new agricultural model |
| Date: | 2024–12–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05697414 |
| By: | Bossenbroek, Lisa |
| Abstract: | Gender mainstreaming in the water sector has gained increasing attention in international and national governance frameworks, yet its translation into meaningful change for women and in gender relations more broadly, in a context where both institutional arrangements and accelerating climate change are intensifying challenges around water access, control, use, and governance, remains a persistent challenge. This report examines this gap in the Moroccan context, focusing on two complementary entry points: an overview of gender mainstreaming efforts and institutional advances in the water and irrigation sectors; and the everyday realities of women farmers and cooperative members in the oasis regions of Boudnib and the Drâa Valley. Combining document analysis and institutional interviews with in-depth fieldwork, the study asks whether and how national gender mainstreaming commitments translate into tangible shifts in women's water access, livelihoods, and decision-making power on the ground. The findings point to a more nuanced picture. Morocco has made genuine institutional progress: gender is now formally embedded in constitutional principles, water law, sectoral strategies, and national planning instruments, and donor-financed irrigation projects have demonstrated that integrated gender approaches can yield concrete results. Yet these gains remain fragile, often conditional on external support or on the commitment of individual champions within institutions, a dependence that poses significant risks to their sustainability. Outside donor-supported projects, gender analysis is often absent from programme design, and formal inclusion, such as in land programmes, cooperatives, or training schemes, does not automatically translate into effective control over water, labour, or decisions. Many adaptive initiatives are shaped as much by women's own agency as by the institutional programmes formally available to support them, whose reach remains uneven and frequently contingent on literacy, mobility, and institutional connections. Deeper structural constraints, including historical exclusion from water governance bodies, the growing individualisation of groundwater access, and socio-cultural norms that limit women's recognition as farmers and irrigators, remain insufficiently taken into account by current approaches. The report concludes with five recommendations calling for stronger institutional anchoring, cross-sectoral coordination, reformed empowerment indicators, and a gradual reduction of dependence on donor financing. |
| Keywords: | Water, gender, irrigation, North Africa, Morocco, oases, rural development, women in agriculture, climate change |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:diedps:344085 |
| By: | Lara Agnoli (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); Effrosyni Vasileiou (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); Demaria Federica |
| Abstract: | Severe climate conditions and fungal diseases have significantly impacted global wine production, bringing it to its lowest levels in decades. The development of resilient grape varieties with strong quality standards becomes therefore essential for the industry's future. This study examines how European producers perceive New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), innovative methods that enhance plant traits without adding foreign DNA, improving grape resistance to environmental and biological stresses while promoting more sustainable production. Employing qualitative methods, semi-structured interviews were conducted across six major wine-producing countries. Thematic analysis revealed a complex and diverse range of opinions. Growers recognized NGTs' potential to optimize resource management, enhance climate resilience, and reduce production costs, directly contributing to more sustainable practices. However, significant barriers were identified, including ethical concerns, consumer acceptance, misinformation and fear of new technologies, and legislative uncertainties. Furthermore, farmers' knowledge gaps and adherence to traditional methods posed internal barriers. The need for transparent communication was highlighted as a critical factor, as well as the importance of addressing these multiple challenges through stakeholder engagement and informed policymaking. |
| Keywords: | New Genomic Techniques, grape growers, producers, barriers, drivers, technicians |
| Date: | 2025–10–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05799143 |
| By: | Maggio, Giuseppe; Mendiratta, Vibhuti |
| Abstract: | The Rural Clustering and Transformation Project (RCTP), implemented in Montenegro from 2017 to 2023, aimed to improve the livelihoods of small-scale producers by fostering inclusive, market-oriented value chains. By focusing on high-potential sectors – livestock, cultivated berries and seed potatoes – the project supported smallholders and processors in overcoming key production and market constraints. It promoted stronger linkages across the value chain, connecting farmers with input suppliers, advisory services and buyers to enhance productivity and improve market access. To enable this transformation, the project invested in productive rural infrastructure such as water supply systems and roads, while also providing matching grants to encourage climate-smart practices and private investment. This impact assessment, conducted in 2023, covered participants and non-participants across seven municipalities, with a particular focus on those receiving both matching grants and infrastructure support. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413188 |
| By: | Takuma Kunieda (Kwansei Gakuin University); Keisuke Okada (Kansai University); Yasuyuki Sawada (The University of Tokyo); Akihisa Shibata (Osaka University of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Building on Matsuyama’s (1992) model, we examine how the Green Revolution contributed to structural transformation through relative-price adjustments. Using shift-share instruments based on Gollin et al. (2021) and Huang (2024), together with a novel projected-TFP instrument, we address the endogeneity of relative agricultural prices. We find that agricultural productivity gains lower relative prices and facilitate structural transformation when markets function effectively. Institutional quality critically shapes this mechanism: weak institutions distort price transmission and impede structural transformation. We further construct a price-based misallocation index capturing these distortions. Our findings highlight the importance of institutions in realizing the benefits of agricultural innovation. |
| Keywords: | Asset bubbles; Structural transformation; Green Revolution; Misallocation; Economic development; Price-based misallocation (PBM) index |
| JEL: | O11 O13 O43 Q16 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:1131 |
| By: | Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Makate, Clifton (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Land rental markets allow households to adjust the area they cultivate without changing ownership, but the direction of this adjustment under increasing land scarcity remains contested. We examine whether rental-mediated expansion in Ethiopia is associated with relatively larger local ownership holdings (ownership-scale gravity) or with complementary productive resources relative to land endowments (factor-ratio gravity). Using three rounds of the Ethiopia LSMS-ISA household panel (2011/12–2015/16), we construct upper-envelope ownership holdings to reduce the influence of instability in reported ownership and measure ownership rank within 𝑘𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠. We distinguish tenant participation, rented-in area conditional on tenancy, and rented-in area relative to ownership. Higher local ownership rank is negatively associated with tenant participation and proportional land rental adjustment. Its association with conditional absolute rented-in area is weakly positive and becomes statistically insignificant when contemporaneous hired-labor use and credit access are included. Cultivation capacity (oxen ownership) is positively associated with all three outcomes, and its association diminishes as ownership rank increases. The negative ownership-rank gradient in proportional adjustment persists under alternative treatments of very small ownership holdings. These findings are consistent with factor-ratio gravity facilitating land rental expansion among relatively smaller owners, rather than a uniform pattern of expansion toward larger landowners. |
| Keywords: | agricultural transformation; land rental markets; farm size distribution; reverse tenancy; land scarcity; Ethiopia |
| JEL: | C12 O13 O15 Q15 |
| Date: | 2026–10–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2026_009 |
| By: | Gallegos, Armando; Grigg, Neil S.; Llano, Wendy |
| Abstract: | Advancing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is essential for integrating land and water strategies and ensuring access to safe and secure water services. Yet, assessing the quality of IWRM implementation remains a persistent challenge for policy and practice. This study presents the first systematic review of 375 empirical articles to consolidate evidence on how enablers and obstacles shape IWRM’s effectiveness in advancing Sustainable Territorial Development (S-TD). Following PRISMA guidelines and combining bibliometric and qualitative coding procedures, we identify ten categories of enablers and eleven categories of obstacles. Results show that institutional strengthening, stakeholder participation, and technological innovation are the most frequent enablers, while fragmentation, coordination challenges, and financial limitations are the most prevalent obstacles. Beyond frequency patterns, this review highlights that outcomes depend on the configurations and interactions of these factors, which condition IWRM’s capacity to steer sustainable development trajectories in the territory. By comparing enablers and obstacles across nexus sectors (food, energy, land) and geographic scales (sub-basin, basin, transboundary, urban, national), we delineate scale- and sector-sensitive pathways linking IWRM to S-TD. To support further research, we provide an open-access dataset as a unique resource for replication, comparative analysis, and policy design, enabling evidence-based decision-making toward sustainability and resilience across diverse geographical and institutional contexts. |
| Keywords: | Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) |
| JEL: | Q25 Q25 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ger:wpaper:0006 |
| By: | Dominique Desbois (AgroParisTech, Département EcoSocio - Département Économie et Sciences Sociales pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | In the context of the upcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, analyzing agricultural production costs is a crucial step in formulating fair pricing policies—particularly at the regional level—to avoid potential distortions of competition. This article presents the application of statistical techniques based on the Wasserstein distance to the regional analysis of specific agricultural production costs. Accounting for distribution heterogeneity and asymmetry, the approach combines conditional quantile estimation methodology with techniques based on the Wasserstein distance (factor analysis of distance matrices, unsupervised classification, and quadratic testing). The procedure is applied to a comparative regional analysis of specific fertilizer cost distributions for crop production, using data from the European Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) at the NUTS 2 regional level. The results regarding specific input costs appear consistent with those of previous studies conducted under the European Union's 7th Framework Programme for Research. |
| Abstract: | Dans le contexte d'une prochaine réforme de la Politique agricole commune, l'analyse des coûts de production agricole est une étape déterminante pour élaborer des politiques de prix équitables, en particulier au plan régional pour éviter d'éventuelles distorsions de concurrence. Cet article présente l'application de techniques statistiques basées sur la distance de Wasserstein à l'analyse régionale des coûts spécifiques de production agricole. Prenant en compte l'hétérogénéité et l'asymétrie des distributions, elle articule la méthodologie de l'estimation quantile conditionnelle à celles basées sur la distance de Wasserstein (analyse factorielle du tableau de distances, classifications non supervisées, test quadratique). La procédure est appliquée pour l'analyse régionale comparative des distributions de coûts spécifiques en fertilisants, pour les productions végétales sur la base du Réseau européen d'information comptable agricole, à l'échelle des régions de base européenne (NUTS2). Les résultats obtenus sur les coûts spécifiques en intrants apparaissent cohérents avec ceux de travaux antérieurement menés dans le cadre du 7e programme cadre de recherche de l'Union européenne. |
| Keywords: | Divisive clustering, Wasserstein Distance, Factorial analysis of distance matrix, Agricultural production, Quadratic test, Quantile estimation, FADN, Specific cost, RICA, Analyse factorielle du tableau de distances, Classification divisive, Distance de Wasserstein, Estimation quantile, Coûts spécifiques, Production agricole, Test quadratique |
| Date: | 2026–10–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05785136 |
| By: | Bianca Carducci; Kate Schneider Lecy (ASU - Arizona State University [Tempe]); Stella Nordhagen (GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition); Ty Beal (GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition); Christophe Bene (CIAT - International Center for Tropical Agriculture [Colombie] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Carlos Gonzalez Fischer (CU - Cornell University [Ithaca, NY, USA]); Anna Herforth (WUR - Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen]); Francesco N. Tubiello (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Ramya Ambikapathi (CIAT - International Center for Tropical Agriculture [Colombie] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Krishna Arunkumar; Christine Campeau (CARE); Shouro Dasgupta; Fabrice Declerck (CIAT - International Center for Tropical Agriculture [Colombie] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Inmaculada del Pino Alvarez (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Alejandro Guarin (World Benchmarking Alliance); Rebecca Mclaren (GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition); Jose-Luis Vivero-Pol (WFP - World food programme); Nancy Aburto (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Simon Barquera; Jane Battersby (University of Cape Town); Carlo Cafiero (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Piero Conforti (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Patrick Caron (UMR ART-Dev - Acteurs, Ressources et Territoires dans le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UM - Université de Montpellier - UMPV - Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry); Andrea Cattaneo (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Namukolo Covic (ILRI - International Livestock Research Institute [CGIAR, Nairobi] - ILRI - International Livestock Research Institute [CGIAR, Ethiopie] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Ismahane Elouafi (CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Carola Fabi (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Jessica A. Gephart (University of Washington [Seattle]); Alexander Fremier (WSU - Washington State University); Pat Foley (WFP - World food programme); Christopher D. Golden (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health); Sheryl L. Hendriks (University of Greenwich); Jikun Huang (Peking University [Beijing]); Gina Kennedy (CIAT - International Center for Tropical Agriculture [Colombie] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Amos Laar (Université du Ghana = University of Ghana); Rattan Lal (OSU - The Ohio State University [Columbus]); Preetmoninder Lidder (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Brent Loken (WWF - World Wildlife Fund for Nature); Hazel Malapit (IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute [Washington] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Quinn Marshall (IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute [Washington] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Yuta J. Masuda (Paul G. Allen Family Foundation); Roseline Remans (JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra]); Danielle Resnick (IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute [Washington] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Michaela Saisana (JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra]); Ussif Rashid Sumaila (UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]); Maximo Torero Cullen (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Patrick Webb (Tufts University [Medford]); Keith Wiebe (IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute [Washington] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Lawrence Haddad (GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition); Jose Rosero Moncayo (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations); Jessica Fanzo (JHU - Johns Hopkins University [Baltimore]); Mario Herrero (CU - Cornell University [Ithaca, NY, USA]) |
| Abstract: | Despite national and international commitments to food systems transformation and an increasing adoption of common indicators, no comprehensive targets have been established against which progress can be measured. Here, building on the Food Systems Countdown Initiative framework, we identify existing targets—based on internationally agreed commitments and normative goals—and establish benchmarks—based on empirically derived peer performance reference values at the global, regional and income group levels—for 44 Food Systems Countdown Initiative indicators. We also assess countries' historical progress and the rate of change required to achieve targets and benchmarks over two different timescales. We show that current progress is insufficient to meet 2030 targets and benchmarks at global level. Comparing countries' status to regional and income benchmarks, which are generally less ambitious, yields better performance across indicators and regions, although gaps remain. Achieving most targets and benchmarks by 2050 is possible if countries correct course and accelerate progress, but certain indicators will require considerable investment and intervention. |
| Keywords: | National assessments, Pathways, Performance, Food System |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05796361 |
| By: | Arnaud Natal (BSE - Bordeaux sciences économiques - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry - MEAE - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Damien Girollet (BSE - Bordeaux sciences économiques - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | How does social proximity between borrowers and lenders influence informal lending terms in rural areas of the Global South? We answer this question using a unique dataset collected in 2020-2021 in rural South India. We examine four dimensions of loan agreements: interest rates, collateral, services provided by lenders and borrowers. We analyse the role of social proximity (i.e., homophily and strength of ties) in determining credit terms using loan-level probit models. We find two key results. First, social proximity operates as an ambivalent resource: while homophily and strong ties reduce the financial cost of borrowing, they are also associated with reciprocal obligations. Second, the benefits of social proximity are unequally distributed across social groups. These findings suggest that informal credit markets are deeply embedded in local hierarchies and that policies addressing household indebtedness must go beyond financial inclusion to tackle the structural inequalities shaping credit relations. |
| Keywords: | Tamil Nadu, Strength of ties, Homophily, Debt, Interpersonal networks |
| Date: | 2027 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05701286 |
| By: | Sadania, Clémentine; Steiner, Susan; Zucchini, Emanuele |
| Abstract: | The FORMAPROD programme (2013–2023) was designed to enhance agricultural productivity and increase incomes among rural youth aged 14 to 29 who were out of school and not in formal employment. Implemented in 14 regions of Madagascar, the programme supported the national strategy for rural and agricultural training by strengthening institutional frameworks, building and equipping 219 training centres, and delivering vocational training to over 105, 000 youth across 292 municipalities. Through a phased implementation approach, FORMAPROD combined skills development with access to agricultural services, inputs and infrastructure, facilitating the adoption of improved practices and the development of youth-led enterprises along key agricultural value chains. This impact assessment was carried out in 2023 using a sequential mixed-method approach, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative primary data, with greater emphasis on quantitative analysis. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413186 |
| By: | Ashok Gulati (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Tanmoy Adhikary |
| Abstract: | The paper argues for a more adaptive and market-oriented approach to the ethanol blending policy. It recommends using sugar imports as an immediate buffer during shortages; limiting FCI rice largely to genuine surplus stocks while moving its pricing closer to at least the acquisition cost; making feedstock allocation responsive to agricultural conditions; greater openness to feedstock and ethanol imports. Most importantly, it calls for an India-specific well-to-tank assessment of sugarcane, maize and rice. A study that incorporates their full energy, environmental and economic costs, including implicit subsidies. Reforming distortionary input subsidies and allowing ethanol producers greater flexibility to choose feedstocks based on their true market costs could improve efficiency. In the longer term, second-generation ethanol from agricultural residues and other non-food biomass offers a way to expand ethanol use without intensifying the competition between food and fuel. |
| Keywords: | Ethanol Blending Programme, E20, Food Policy, Sugar Price, Net Energy Balance, icrier |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdc:ppaper:77 |
| By: | Marcelo Caffera; Felipe Vásquez Lavín |
| Abstract: | We use a contingent valuation survey to estimate Uruguayan households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) program targeting 320, 571 hectares of natural grassland in the Río de la Plata region, combining a national in-person probability sample (n=400) with a larger online non-probability sample (n=2, 994). In both samples respondents answer a referendum-style payment question with an assigned price. Within the online sample we vary the spatial configuration of the protected area and the payment horizon (one, five, or ten years). In the former, respondents were randomly assigned to two large zones versus fourteen smaller, dispersed zones covering the same total hectares, bringing the ecological Single Large or Several Small (SLOSS) debate into stated-preference valuation for the first time. Across the full sample we test the sensitivity of WTP estimates to respondents’ self-reported certainty. The median household is willing to pay UYU 371.70 (USD 9) per month in the in-person probability sample. We find no statistically detectable difference in median WTP between the two spatial configurations, across payment horizons, or between the in-person and online samples. The in-person/online comparison confounds sampling design with survey mode, and the horizon tests rest on subsamples of 431–544, so those two nulls are not evidence of equivalence. WTP estimates remain stable under moderate certainty corrections but weaken under more aggressive recoding. These findings point to substantial public support for financing grassland conservation, but limited sensitivity of stated preferences to spatial and temporal design features that were not explained to respondents. |
| Keywords: | Contingent valuation; Biodiversity; SLOSS; Habitat fragmentation; Payment for ecosystem services; Uruguay |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnt:wpaper:2601 |
| By: | Susanna B. Berkouwer; Joshua T. Dean |
| Abstract: | Credit constraints and other demand distortions are pervasive in lower-income contexts. A model of clean technology adoption shows that demand distortions can increase the welfare gains from green subsidies. This arises through two channels: shifting the marginal adopter toward higher private and social benefits, and increasing demand elasticity. We test this by cross-randomizing purchase price subsidies, usage subsidies, and access to an interest-free loan for a US$84 induction stove among 2, 134 charcoal users in Kenya. Usage subsidies of 75% have a precise zero effect on adoption and usage. Purchase price subsidies, however, generate large welfare gains. Credit constraints raise the subsidy’s efficacy by 35%–73%, up to US$10–US$12 in observable welfare gain per subsidy dollar. This demand distortion also lowers the subsidy cost of abatement by 41%, to US$12 per tCO2e. This operates through the two channels identified in the theory: credit constraints raise the marginal adopter’s positive externality by 19% and fuel savings by 30%, and lower the subsidy cost per marginal adoption by 29%. In a counterfactual without demand distortions, the abatement cost rises to US$137 per tCO2e. Contexts with large demand distortions could offer many cost-effective opportunities for climate change mitigation financing. |
| JEL: | H23 O13 Q5 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35911 |
| By: | Brian Greaney; Joseph S. Shapiro; Katherine R. H. Wagner |
| Abstract: | We study the optimality of human groundwater extraction from many of the world’s 3, 400 aquifers, where institutional or market failures may produce nonoptimal extraction decisions. We use remote sensing and economic data to estimate a dynamic model of water extraction for each aquifer, recover the discount factor that rationalizes observed groundwater extraction, and compare it against Ramsey and market benchmarks. Three- to four-fifths of aquifers are extracted more rapidly than is optimal, decreasing aquifer present value by several percent, and creating trillions of dollars in present value welfare losses. Policies that guarantee users constant water quantities indefinitely, through subsidies or prior appropriation, or policy rules that fully discount future extraction, generate larger welfare costs. A sustainable extraction path that maintains current fill forever generates meaningfully lower welfare than the optimal extraction path, because most aquifer stocks are already inefficiently low. |
| Keywords: | groundwater extraction, dynamic programming, renewable resource management, tragedy of the commons, agricultural production |
| JEL: | E22 H23 H43 Q25 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_13062 |
| By: | Hossain, Marup; Toguem, Robinson; Mabiso, Athur |
| Abstract: | The Murat River Watershed Rehabilitation Project (MRWRP), implemented from 2012 to 2021, aimed to reduce poverty in the upland communities of Elaziğ, Bingöl and Muş provinces in Türkiye by improving natural resource management and enhancing rural livelihoods. The project was structured around three core components: Community-based consultation and planning to strengthen participatory resource management and build public sector capacity. Investments in natural resources, including soil erosion control, afforestation and land rehabilitation. Development of small-scale, livelihood-focused infrastructure such as expanded irrigation, rehabilitated livestock barns, orchards, greenhouses and extension services for farmers. This impact assessment was conducted in 2023 using household and village surveys, covering data from July 2021 to June 2022. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413190 |
| By: | Valenzuela, Irina; Nunez-Chaim, Gonzalo; Chiarella, Cristina |
| Abstract: | The PROLENCA project, implemented from 2013 to 2023, aimed to enhance employment opportunities, food security and living conditions for rural people in Honduras, with a focus on vulnerable groups such as women, youth and ethnic minorities. It comprised three main components: Strengthening producer organizations by improving governance and providing technical assistance in areas including financial management and climate adaptation. Financing productive development and business plans formulated by legally recognized producer organizations. Investing in rural infrastructure such as road and irrigation improvements to support agricultural productivity and market access. An impact assessment of PROLENCA was conducted in 2024 using an ex-post quasi-experimental design, based on household survey data collected between March and May 2024. A counterfactual group was selected through careful matching procedures, and impacts were estimated using an Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment (IPWRA) approach, comparing outcomes between treatment (project participants) and comparison (non-participant) groups. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413185 |
| By: | Brubaker, Josh; Mendiratta, Vibhuti |
| Abstract: | The PRELNOR project sought to enhance income levels and food security while mitigating vulnerability among impoverished rural households in northern Uganda. Implemented over a decade from 2014 to 2024, and covering 491 villages across nine districts, the project emphasized strengthening community capacities through comprehensive training and capacity-building programs. Complementing these efforts, significant investments were made in road and market infrastructure to improve connectivity and facilitate market access. This integrated approach aimed to promote sustainable rural development and bolster resilience within vulnerable communities. This impact assessment was conducted using household survey data collected at midline (February-April 2021), with an identification strategy based on households’ exposure to project interventions at the time of the survey. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413191 |
| By: | Lukas Rischen; Achim Hagen |
| Abstract: | Climate change strains public finances through direct economic effects, yet interconnected economies also face indirect climate exposure via trade networks. These spillovers can amplify costs but are widely ignored. We systematically examine foreign climate risk transmission into sovereign financing conditions by mapping and quantifying local and spillover impacts through global value chain linkages. We use a simple static model of production networks to conceptualize climate effects on sovereigns via international spillovers. Deploying regression models for 75 countries (2000-2022), we exploit exogenous variation in temperature to estimate domestic and spillover impacts on financing conditions, measured by sovereign credit ratings. Results are threefold. First, local temperatures exhibit negative and heterogeneous impacts on ratings, with a 1°C anomaly implying an average 0.2 notch downgrade. Second, ignoring foreign climate spillovers underestimates total climate risk by 30%, most severely for cold and small open economies. Third, climate-driven rating changes imply a 36 basis point sovereign borrowing cost increase, of which 11 basis points are attributable to spillovers. Findings hold implications for investors and policymakers regarding asset valuation, climate adaptation and fiscal sustainability. |
| Keywords: | climate change, climate risk propagation, international spillovers, public finance, sovereign credit ratings, global value chains |
| JEL: | F18 F64 G24 H63 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_13066 |
| By: | Jaghdani, Tinoush Jamali; Fugger, Elisabeth Maria; Glauben, Thomas; Götz, Linde; Svanidze, Miranda |
| Abstract: | The increased uncertainties in the international political landscape have led to a greater perceived danger of disruption in the global food value chain, leading to a stronger emphasis on the resilience of food supply chains. Two measures under examination are the reduction of risk impact through diversification of trade relations on one side and stability of trade relations on the other side. There are doubts about the possibility of having both elements in the food supply chains, as they look to be mutually exclusive. Diversification aims to reduce the impact of shocks in the value chain, while stronger trade relations with stable partners and stronger connectedness with the trade partners reduce the probability for one of the partners breaking the relation, but may simultaneously reduce the potential for diversification. In this study, we test the correlation between diversification and trade duration as an indicator of stability using two micro datasets of the whole Norwegian seafood export for the period 2004-2021 and whole Russian grain and oilseed export for the period of 2008-2023 at the firm-level. Applying the Kaplan-Meier estimator at the firm level, we extracted restricted mean survival time and analysed its correlation with various firm-level diversification indices such as the number of partners, the number of commodities, the partner-commodity index, and the Herfindahl– Hirschman index of the firm-exporter concentration. At the aggregated level, results indicate a weak positive correlation between the stability and diversification indices. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence of exporting firm clusters with a negative correlation between trade stability and diversification. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae25:414516 |
| By: | Christophe C. Gouel (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, UMR PSAE - Paris-Saclay Applied Economics - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute [Washington] - CGIAR - Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]); Brian D Wright (ARE - Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics [Berkeley] - UC Berkeley - University of California [Berkeley] - UC - University of California) |
| Abstract: | This review reassesses the economics of commodity price stabilization policies through the lens of the rational expectations storage model. In frictionless markets, private speculative storage efficiently smooths commodity prices; thus, welfare gains from public intervention require the presence of market or endowment failures, which are prevalent in agricultural markets in low-income settings. Optimal state-contingent stabilization policies raise welfare but are complex, crowd out private storage, and are difficult to design and implement. Simple rules-notably narrow price bands or storage-cost subsidies-offer more feasible approximations, with subsidies being more efficient. In open economies with high trade costs, storage can mitigate price troughs. Conversely, export controls can mitigate domestic transmission of global price spikes but are non-cooperative. Although storage policies stabilize prices, their welfare effects are nuanced. They entail large redistributive transfers that far exceed efficiency gains; accordingly, they should be viewed as second-best instruments, valuable when better-targeted alternatives are unavailable. |
| Abstract: | Cette étude réévalue les aspects économiques des politiques de stabilisation des prix des matières premières à travers le prisme du modèle de stockage fondé sur les anticipations rationnelles. Sur des marchés sans frictions, le stockage spéculatif privé permet de lisser efficacement les prix des matières premières ; par conséquent, pour que l'intervention publique génère des gains de bien-être, il faut qu'il existe des défaillances du marché ou des défaillances de dotation, qui sont courantes sur les marchés agricoles des pays à faibles revenus. Les politiques de stabilisation optimales, conditionnées à l'état du marché, améliorent le bien-être mais sont complexes, évincent le stockage privé et sont difficiles à concevoir et à mettre en œuvre. Des règles simples – notamment des fourchettes de prix étroites ou des subventions aux coûts de stockage – offrent des approximations plus réalisables, les subventions s'avérant plus efficaces. Dans les économies ouvertes où les coûts de transaction sont élevés, le stockage peut atténuer les creux de prix. À l'inverse, les contrôles à l'exportation peuvent atténuer la répercussion sur le marché intérieur des flambées de prix mondiales, mais ils ne favorisent pas la coopération. Bien que les politiques de stockage stabilisent les prix, leurs effets sur le bien-être sont nuancés. Elles impliquent d'importants transferts redistributifs qui dépassent de loin les gains d'efficacité ; par conséquent, elles doivent être considérées comme des instruments de second choix, utiles lorsque des alternatives mieux ciblées ne sont pas disponibles. |
| Keywords: | Food security, Rational expectations, Buffer stock policies, Market stabilization, Commodity storage, Anticipation rationnelle |
| Date: | 2026–10–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05795734 |
| By: | Hossain, Marup; Songsermsawas, Tisorn |
| Abstract: | The Adaptation for Smallholders in Hilly Areas Project (ASHA) was designed to enhance climate resilience among vulnerable smallholder farmers through a combination of grants, training, and capacity-building initiatives. Central to its approach was the strengthening of local climate adaptation planning via Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs) and the promotion of climate-smart agriculture through farmer field schools. The project also supported the development of climate-resilient communal infrastructure and encouraged climate-adaptive, income-generating activities, such as vegetable cultivation, agroforestry and livestock management, leveraging both financial and in-kind contributions from participating communities. This impact assessment of ASHA was conducted in 2023 using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative household and community-level surveys with qualitative interviews. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2025–07–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unadia:413189 |
| By: | David Cuberes (Maynooth University); Aitor Lacuesta (Banco de España); Carlos Moreno-Pérez (Banco de España); Daniel Oto-Peralías (Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how land ownership concentration shapes the deployment of large-scale renewable energy projects across six European countries (Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands). Using a 5×5 km grid-cell framework with cadastral parcel data, we show that cells with a higher share of area in large parcels (= 10 ha) are substantially more likely to host mega photovoltaic (PV) plants (= 50 ha), with a standardized semi-elasticity of 68% in the pooled sample, consistent across all six countries. Land concentration also drives aggregate solar deployment: a one-standard-deviation increase raises expected PV hectares within a grid cell by 62%, an effect driven almost entirely by the mega-plant margin. By contrast, the effect on wind parks is weaker and heterogeneous, consistent with wind requiring less contiguous land assembly than solar. A specificity test and decomposition analysis corroborate that the assembly mechanism operates specifically at the mega-plant margin, and a horse race between cadastral concentration and farm operational size establishes that ownership, not farming scale, is the operative mechanism. A finer 500 m grid within-municipality analysis corroborates the effect of land concentration on mega PV plants and further reveals that it is attenuated in irrigated areas, where higher agricultural rents raise landowner reservation values. We rationalize these patterns with a conceptual framework in which solar assembly requires unanimous consent from a set of landowners whose number falls with parcel size, while wind requires only a subset. Our findings reveal that land ownership structure is a decisive factor in the energy transition: fragmentation impedes large-scale deployment, while concentration enables it but channels its benefits toward a few large landowners, potentially deepening rural grievances and local opposition. |
| Keywords: | solar plants, photovoltaic plants, land concentration, energy transition, renewable projects |
| JEL: | O13 Q40 Q15 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:2639e |
| By: | Rose Deperrois; Adélaïde Fadhuile; Julie Subervie; Sophie Thoyer |
| Abstract: | Peer-to-peer knowledge diffusion is increasingly recognised as a key mechanism in various economic contexts and may play a crucial role in fostering the adoption of new agricultural practices among farmers, including some that relate to agroecology. However, the conditions for effective peer learning remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the role of the injection point – the first individual to receive information – within a peer group. We conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with roughly 850 voluntary French farmers, randomly assigned to peer groups on a digital communication platform. Over an 18-month period, one farmer per treated group receives information on agroecology, serving as the injection point for diffusion. Treatment varies according to whether the injection point is an early adopter of agroecology or an ordinary peer. A benchmark group receives direct broadcasting of the information, so that it is directly accessible for all members. Results from the experiment show that injection points relay only a small fraction of the information to their peer groups, which ultimately results in better performance of the broadcasting diffusion strategy. However, recipients are more likely to read a post shared by an injection point than the same post when broadcasted. This highlights a trust effect coming from peer endorsement, a promising finding for the future of peer-to-peer learning policies. |
| Keywords: | Information Diffusion, Social Learning, Agricultural Practices |
| JEL: | D8 O33 Q16 Q57 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:2026-04 |
| By: | Alessandro Guerriero; Giuseppe Pagano Giorgianni |
| Abstract: | Perceived inflation in the euro area systematically departs from measured HICP inflation. This gap arises because households place disproportionate weight on salient consumption items, especially frequently purchased goods such as food. Since these items also tend to adjust prices more often, they generate inflation signals that are noisier and more volatile than aggregate inflation. At the micro level, households that are more exposed to food in their consumption basket exhibit a stronger response of perceived inflation to an adverse food supply shock. Additionally, stronger inflation perceptions are accompanied by a sharper increase in pessimism regarding consumption attitudes. At the macro level, perceived inflation reacts with more intensity and persistence compared with actual inflation, while retail sales decline. To interpret these results, we develop a HANK framework with non-homothetic preferences and subjective inflation perceptions. The model shows that heterogeneity in consumption baskets and the greater price volatility of salient goods jointly amplify the effects of negative supply shocks affecting those goods, turning food price disturbances into broader and more persistent contractions in economic activity. |
| Keywords: | Inflation perceptions; HANK; Proxy-SVAR; Local Projections |
| JEL: | E31 D84 E21 E32 C23 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sap:wpaper:wp285 |
| By: | Nicolae Stef (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); Sami Ben Jabeur; Pedro Carmona; Robert F. Scherer |
| Abstract: | Extreme changes in the weather conditions can lead to operational inefficiencies and physical degradation of a firm's assets. As a consequence, firms with a weak capacity to adapt to such changes can be confronted with financial difficulties. Using explainable artificial intelligence modelling (XAI), we examine the performance of variables assessing climate change risks and the magnitude of the climate change phenomenon in predicting corporate failure. The experimental findings, which are supported by real-world datasets from France, show that climate change risk (CCR) and climate change magnitude (CCM) variables combined with accounting ratios can better predict the firm's outcome, which is either survival or liquidation. The findings based on the XGBoost model, which incorporates the CCR and CCM variables, demonstrate high predictive performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.995. By relying upon such variables, the Extremely Randomized Trees (ERT) model also reveals a strong bankruptcy prediction capacity, achieving an AUC of 0.999 for the transport sector and 0.996 for the industrial sector. Additionally, the effects of CCM variables are heterogeneous across sectors. The liquidation risk of trade firms tends to be higher in French counties exposed to a low degree of humidity, higher temperatures, and strong winds. Transport and industrial firms benefit from a low likelihood of failure in counties with more precipitations that can prevent the risk of droughts or heat waves. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Bankruptcy, Firm, Temperature, Weather |
| Date: | 2025–12–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05799013 |
| By: | Dominik Atella-Suri (University of Bonn); Annalena Tetzner (University of Bonn); Sebastian Kube (University of Bonn); Jan Börner (University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Negative income shocks may increase households' reliance on common-pool resources and thereby undermine sustainable resource management. We study this in a preregistered laboratory experiment with 120 participants playing a dynamic resource extraction game framed around a community forest. Participants in the Control condition play the baseline game three times, whereas participants in the Shock condition experience a temporary loss of exogenous income in the second part before income is restored in the third. This design allows us to distinguish responses to the income shock from common changes associated with repeated play and to observe behavior after the shock ends. We find that forest extraction increases in Part 2 for the Shock treatment relative to the ongoing baseline in the Control condition. After income is restored in Part 3, extraction decreases and the forest partially recovers. However, the equivalence tests do not clearly show whether behavior fully returns to its pre-shock level or whether some of the shock effect remains. Our findings support previous evidence that economic hardship can increase pressure on shared natural resources. |
| Keywords: | Resource extraction game; Forest commons; Income shock; Lab experiment; Cooperation |
| JEL: | D70 Q20 Q23 Q50 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:432 |
| By: | Brigitte Roth Tran |
| Abstract: | Despite their potentially major impacts, little is known about how El Niño impact the U.S. economy. El Niños are distinct from other commonly studied weather shocks because they are a global phenomenon, unfold over a period of months, can be forecast months in advance, are relatively infrequent, and have very different effects on weather outcomes depending on the time of year and region. These features make traditional analytical methods ill-suited to studying the economic impacts of El Niño events. In this paper I use a new approach to estimating the impulse response functions of El Niños. I find that El Niños pose material upside risk for PCE prices and employment. The longer-run price effects are driven by core services and food prices and depend on whether La Niñas follow El Niños, a very common occurrence. After modest offsetting initial effects, employment increases are widespread in terms of both sectors and states in the year following the El Niño. These results indicate El Niños can have material impacts on the US economy even though it is neither tropical nor agriculturally focused. |
| Keywords: | El Niño; prices; employment; weather effects |
| JEL: | Q54 E31 E24 |
| Date: | 2026–10–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:103934 |
| By: | Giulia Buccione (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros) |
| Abstract: | This paper tests whether culture can drive policy. I study a religious messaging intervention promoting water conservation in Jordan, where rising scarcity makes behavioral change urgent. I randomly assigned women attending religious classes to receive messaging on the sanctity of water in Islam or on an unrelated religious topic. The design held constant leader identity and nonreligious information. After three months, treated women reduced objectively measured water consumption by 18%. Exploring mechanisms, the messages work by instilling religious beliefs about water, especially those firmly rooted in the religious canon. In contrast, I observe a backlash against new practices, such as treated water adoption. Treatment effects are strongest when religious leaders emphasize moral responsibility over ritual practice. My findings provide new evidence on both the power and limits of harnessing culture to strengthen policy effectiveness. |
| Keywords: | Culture, religion, water scarcity, Middle East. |
| JEL: | D91 Q25 Z12 Z18 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2026_2613 |
| By: | Efi Vasileiou (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); Lara Agnoli (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); Nikos Georgantzis (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); María Ramos-García (Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas de Extremadura); Maria Dolores Osuna (Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas de Extremadura); Nuria Ferreiro-Domínguez (USC - Universidade de Santiago de Compostela [España] = University of Santiago de Compostela [Spain] = Université de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle [Espagne]); María Rosa Mosquera-Losada (USC - Universidade de Santiago de Compostela [España] = University of Santiago de Compostela [Spain] = Université de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle [Espagne]); Ioannis Gazoulis (Agricultural University of Athens); Ilias Travlos (Agricultural University of Athens); Milena Simić (MRIZP - Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje); Milan Brankov (MRIZP - Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje); Vesna Dragičević (MRIZP - Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje); Jessica Girardi (Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre); Leonardo Sulas (CNR - National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche); Federico Sanna (CNR - National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche); Antonino Modaffari (Italian Association of Organic Agriculture); Luis Urra Hernandez; Stefano Bortolussi (Italian Association of Organic Agriculture); Andria Tsalakou (Cyprus University of Technology); Michalakis Christoforou (Cyprus University of Technology); Dimitris Tsaltas (Cyprus University of Technology); Alexandros Tataridas (UC - Universidade de Coimbra = University of Coimbra [Portugal]); Helena Freitas (UC - Universidade de Coimbra = University of Coimbra [Portugal]) |
| Abstract: | We present a survey-based intervention through an informative nudge on Agroecological Weed Management (AWM). Data are based on 405 responses by European farmers. An adverse effect of the informational nudge is found. Learning the consequences of the desired practice may nudge the farmer against rather than in favor of adopting it. The effect depends on the current practices adopted, the farmer's experience, education, age and gender. |
| Keywords: | Informative Nudges, Agroecology, Weed Management, Sustainability, Herbicides |
| Date: | 2025–11–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05703511 |
| By: | Antoine Malezieux (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne); Eli Spiegelman (BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne, CEREN - Centre de Recherche sur les Entreprises - BSB - Burgundy School of Business (BSB) - ESC Dijon-Bourgogne) |
| Abstract: | Over the last four decades, a broad stream of experimental literature has been published using the Common Pool Resource (CPR) game to study how people react to congestible resources, and how to keep such resources from socially harmful overexploitation. With the goal of providing guidance to future work on this still-important paradigm, we provide a narrative review of the literature, summarizing the results for several key aspects of the experimental operationalization. We classify these aspects into two broad categories. The first describes ‘environmental' assumptions on the modeled resource problem itself. This refers to aspects of the experimental environment reflecting factors such as group size, resource size and asymmetry of access, which generally constitute the nature of the dilemma. The second category involves ‘institutional' issues related to how people might solve the problem, such as user communication between subjects, information about previous subjects' choices, and regulatory measures. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Common pool, Commons dilemma, Experiment, Harvesting |
| Date: | 2025–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05797893 |
| By: | Stéphane Canonne (EDHEC - EDHEC Business School - UCL - Université catholique de Lille); Lionel Garreau (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres) |
| Abstract: | How do heterogeneous actors achieve alignment in sustainability-oriented ecosystems? Existing research identifies several alignment mechanisms, yet we still lack a systemic understanding of how these mechanisms interact to shape collective action to materialize a value proposition. Based on a qualitative study of the Paris Zero Plastic ecosystem, this paper develops a multi-level systemic model of alignment that integrates six mechanisms -Engagement and motivation of actors, orchestration, social and geographical proximity, specific complementarities, value distribution, and external coherence -in addition to a meta mechanism -shared purpose. It examines how they jointly reinforce or undermine ecosystem performance. Our findings show that alignment emerges not from any single mechanism but from the dynamic interplay of positive and negative interdependencies across actors and subsystems. The paper contributes to ecosystem research by conceptualizing alignment as a systemic configuration, offering new insight into how sustainability ecosystems hold together -or fall apart -under conditions of institutional complexity and heterogeneous actor expectations. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability, Interdependencies, Systemic, Alignment, Ecosystem |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05803212 |
| By: | Hilda SALEH (Department of Mathematics, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran); Morteza SHAFIEE (School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia); Kristiaan KERSTENS (IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Économie Management, F-59000 Lille, France. Corresponding author.) |
| Abstract: | This study proposes a nonconvex network data envelopment analysis model for evaluating efficiency in multi-stage supply chains under centralized and decentralized decision structures. Existing network DEA models typically rely on convexity assumptions, which limit their ability to capture indivisibilities and scale discontinuities inherent in real world supply chains. To address this gap, we develop a unified framework that accommodates nonconvex production technologies while enabling efficiency assessment at both the stage and the system levels. The model allows identification of coordination inefficiencies and structural performance differences across decision regimes. An empirical application to national wheat supply chains demonstrates significant efficiency variation across stages and decision units. It reveals that high efficiency at individual stages does not guarantee overall system efficiency. The results highlight the critical role of coordination in improving supply chain performance. The proposed framework provides a more realistic efficiency assessment tool and offers practical insights for improving resource allocation and operational coordination in complex supply chains. |
| Keywords: | Data Envelopment Analysis, Network, Nonconvex Technology, Centralized and Decentralized Systems, Wheat Supply Chain. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ies:wpaper:e20260430 |
| By: | Cynthia Srnec (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CY - CY Cergy Paris Université); Alexandre Guttmann (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord) |
| Abstract: | This chapter examines the emergence of platform cooperatives as organizational arrangements capable of reconnecting digital economic activity with social and environmental objectives. Building on the literature on commons, cooperatives, and substantive economy, we explore how the integration of collective resource governance and cooperative ownership can generate new forms of socio-economic organization. We propose the concept of commons-oriented platform cooperatives to describe platform-based organizations that combine democratic governance, multi-stakeholder participation, and the production or protection of digital commons. Drawing on a comparative analysis of five international case studies, namely Loomio, CoopCycle, Mobicoop, Open Food Network, and CoopCircuits, we investigate the institutional mechanisms through which cooperatives and commons interact and reinforce one another. The analysis highlights how these organizations mobilize open-source technologies, collective ownership, reciprocal licensing, and community participation to pursue socially useful missions while resisting processes of commodification and data extraction. Our findings show that commons-oriented platform cooperatives contribute to sustainability and social inclusion by fostering local resilience, supporting fairer labor relations, promoting environmentally responsible practices, and creating shared digital infrastructures. At the same time, they face persistent challenges related to funding, governance complexity, scaling, and dependence on voluntary contributions. We argue that the combination of commons-based governance and cooperative ownership can help prevent organizational degeneration and strengthen the capacity of platform cooperatives to serve broader collective interests. By linking Polanyi's notion of the substantive economy with contemporary debates on digital social innovation and platform cooperativism, the chapter contributes to understanding how alternative digital organizations can support ecological transition and democratic economic development. |
| Date: | 2024–12–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05790313 |
| By: | Giannakas, Konstantinos |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a multi-market framework of analysis of vertical relationships in pork production and game theoretic models of heterogeneous firms to examine the economic, market and welfare impacts of abolishing vertical integration in the US pork sector. Different scenarios on the causes of vertical integration and the potential states of nature that can emerge after the removal of this vertical market arrangement are considered within this framework. Analytical results are consistent across the different scenarios and forms of strategic interactions between pork producers and indicate that the abolishment of vertical integration in the US pork sector will hurt pork consumers, integrated pork producers and the hog producers involved. The only beneficiaries of this policy/change will be the non-integrated pork producers. However, the gains of these non-integrated pork producers are less than the consumer, hog producer and integrated pork producer losses, resulting in net social welfare losses from this policy. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nbaesp:413438 |