nep-all New Economics Papers
on All new papers
Issue of 2009‒04‒25
three papers chosen by
Philip Yu
Hong Kong University

  1. Marginal and Interaction Effects in Ordered Response Models By Debdulal Mallick
  2. Farmers' Preferences for Crop Variety Traits: Lessons for On-Farm Conservation and Technology Adoption By Asrat, Sinafikeh; Yesuf, Mahmud; Carlsson, Fredrik; Wale, Edilegnaw
  3. Identifying Free-Riding in Energy-Conservation Programs Using Revealed Preference Data By Peter Grösche; Christoph M. Schmidt; Colin Vance

  1. By: Debdulal Mallick (Deakin University)
    Abstract: In discrete choice models the marginal effect of a variable of interest that is interacted with another variable differs from the marginal effect of a variable that is not interacted with any variable. The magnitude of the interaction effect is also not equal to the marginal effect of the interaction term. I present consistent estimators of both marginal and interaction effects in ordered response models. This procedure is general and can easily be extended to other discrete choice models.
    Keywords: Marginal effect, interaction effect, ordered probit
    JEL: C12 C25
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dkn:econwp:eco_2008_13&r=all
  2. By: Asrat, Sinafikeh (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia); Yesuf, Mahmud (Environment for Development Centers in Ethiopia and Kenya); Carlsson, Fredrik (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Wale, Edilegnaw (Bioversity International, Nairobi, Kenya)
    Abstract: Although in-situ conservation is increasingly considered an efficient way of conserving plant genetic resources, little is known about the incentives and constraints that govern conservation decisions among small farm holders in developing countries. Using a choice experiment approach, we investigate Ethiopian farmers’ crop variety preferences, estimate the mean willingness to pay for each crop variety attribute, and identify household specific and institutional factors that govern the preferences. We find that environmental adaptability and yield stability are important attributes for farmers’ choice of crop varieties. Farmers are willing to forgo some income or output in order to obtain a more stable and environmentally adaptable crop variety. Among other things, household resource endowments (particularly land holdings and livestock assets), years of farming experience, and contact with extension services are the major factors causing household heterogeneity of crop variety preferences. Based on our experimental results, we derive important policy implications for on-farm conservation, breeding priority setting, and improved variety adoption in Ethiopia.<p>
    Keywords: biodiversity; choice experiment; crop variety; random parameter logit
    JEL: Q18 Q51 Q57
    Date: 2009–04–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0357&r=all
  3. By: Peter Grösche; Christoph M. Schmidt; Colin Vance
    Abstract: Identifying the incidence of free-ridership is significant to a range of issues relevant to program evaluation, including the calculation of net program benefits and more general assessments of political acceptability. Estimates of freeridership in the area of energy policy frequently rely on ex-post surveys that ask program participants whether they would have behaved differently in the absence of program support.The present paper proposes an ex-ante approach to the calculation of the free-rider share using revealed preference data on home renovations from Germany’s residential sector.We employ a discretechoice model to simulate the effect of grants on renovation choices, the output from which is used to assess the extent of free-ridership under a contemporary subsidy program. Aside from its simplicity, a key advantage of the approach is that it bestows policymakers with an estimate of free-ridership prior to program implementation.
    Keywords: Energy efficiency, residential sector,random utility model, discrete choice simulation
    JEL: C25 D12 Q4
    Date: 2009–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0099&r=all

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