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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Svanidze, Miranda; Götz, Linde; Duric, Ivan; Glauben, Thomas |
| Abstract: | We investigate wheat price relationships between the import-dependent countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus and the Black Sea wheat exporters to assess wheat market efficiency which is crucial for ensuring availability and access to wheat and for reducing food insecurity. Results of linear and threshold error correction models suggest strong influence of trade costs on market integration in Central Asia, while those costs are of minor importance in the South Caucasus. In particular, wheat trade in Central Asia is characterized not only by higher transportation costs but also unofficial payments play a large role. In addition, wheat price volatility is substantially higher in the wheat importing countries of Central Asia compared to the South Caucasus. To foster market functioning, wheat trade should be facilitated by policies reducing trade costs. This includes investments in grain market infrastructure, eliminating unofficial payments, but also resolving geopolitical conflicts. However, wheat trade in this region is characterized by large distances, low scope for import diversification and repeated export restrictions by Black Sea exporters. Therefore, trade enhancing policies should be complemented with policies increasing wheat self-sufficiency to enhance food security. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamodp:285032&r=all |
| By: | Enerelt Murakami; Eiji Yamada; Erica Sioson |
| Abstract: | major labor migrant sending and remittance dependent country in Central Asia. We contribute to the literature in two ways. First, we effectively address the common methodological issues that result in biased estimates in analyses of migration and remittances. Our empirical work accounts for the endogeneity of migration and remittances with respect to the labor supply decisions of household members left at home, and for the self-selection of migrants and remittance senders through the application of a control function approach. Second, we apply our empirical model to unique high-frequency household panel data that further helps to remedy methodological problems present in cross-sectional studies. The findings suggest that having a migrant member and receiving remittances increases the reservation wages of the household members left at home, thereby reducing their labor supply and economic activity rate. This result is robust to different model specifications and definitions of migration and remittances. |
| Keywords: | Migration, remittances, labor market participation, economic activity rate, endogenous switching, Tajikistan |
| Date: | 2018–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:181&r=all |
| By: | Krivonos, Ekaterina; Kuhn, Lena |
| Abstract: | In public and academic debates, the linkages between agricultural markets and nutrition across the world are vividly discussed. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate by analyzing the relationship between greater openness to trade and dietary diversity. It focuses on the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia where trade reforms as part of the economic and political transition provide a natural experiment for studying the effects of trade openness on agricultural markets and consumer behaviour. Reduction in trade barriers, for instance in the context of the accession to the WTO and the EU, and the gradual integration with world markets after 1991 had implications for diets through changes in production, prices and incomes. We utilize country-level panel data for 26 post-communist countries in the period 1996-2013 to assess the effects of trade costs, openness to trade and incomes on dietary diversity measured by the Shannon entropy index. The results arising from fixed effects and instrumental variables estimation are consistent with previous findings that income growth affects dietary diversity positively and provide novel evidence that trade barriers reduce variety of products available in domestic markets, in particular fruits and vegetables. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamodp:285031&r=all |