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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2005‒11‒09
fifteen papers chosen by |
| By: | Eric Koomen; Jan Groen |
| Abstract: | Although the Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries, two thirds of the land area are still under agricultural use. Major socio-economic changes are however expected for the agricultural sector. The increasing globalisation of economic relations in agriculture and the possible reduction of European price support to farmers are examples of such developments that may affect agricultural land use. At the same time other land use functions put increasing pressure on rural land in order to accommodate housing, employment, recreation and water storage. The present study takes a closer look at the expected spatial developments and simulates possible future land use patterns by using an economics based land use model. Two opposing scenarios of anticipated land use change are used to illustrate the possible extremes of future land use configurations. These scenarios vary both in their quantitative and qualitative description of the projected changes. The simulation of low-density residential areas in green areas will illustrate this approach. The development of these new rural living areas is currently a sensitive topic in the public debate on urbanisation. The simulated urbanisation patterns are evaluated in terms of their impact on spatial policy related issues through the application of newly developed indicators. For decades the Dutch government has strived for compact forms of urbanisation in order to preserve the remaining stretches of open space. The applied metrics of land use change will therefor focus on the concentration of urbanisation and the fragmentation of open space. The findings of this study may be especially interesting now Dutch spatial policy seems to be on the brink of loosening its traditional grip on spatial planning. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p639&r=agr |
| By: | Luis H.B. Braido (Getulio Vargas Foundation, Graduate School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Ever since Adam Smith, share contracts have been condemned for their lack of incentives. Sharecropping tenants face incentives to undersupply productive inputs since they receive only a fraction of the marginal revenue. The empirical literature reports that lands under sharecropping are less productive and employ inputs less intensively than those operated by owners. This paper shows that: (i) share contracts are also associated with lower-quality lands; (ii) the sharecroppers' input choices satisfy profit-maximization conditions; and (iii) the contract form does not affect farm productivity conditional on land quality and input use. These findings suggest that farmers optimally choose to employ inputs less intensively in lower-quality lands under sharecropping and, then, these lands end up being less productive. Land- quality selection bias (as opposite to incentives) seems to be behind the existing evidence on the productive disadvantage of share contracts. |
| Keywords: | Econometric test, moral hazard, development, tenancy data, selection bias |
| JEL: | C52 D82 O12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2005–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpdc:0508013&r=agr |
| By: | Francisco Diniz |
| Abstract: | Small and medium-sized towns in rural areas are of particular interest at this stage in the evolution of the European CAP. Serious consideration is being given to mechanisms that could transfer resources from the agricultural sector into a more diversified rural economy in order to safeguard the well-being of both the farming community and the wider rural population while still preserving the environmental assets which are such a valued feature of Europe¡¯s rural areas. Small and medium-sized towns are potentially attractive as a focus for future rural development initiatives because: ¡ñ The concentration of initiatives within such settlements takes advantage of the economies of agglomeration while allowing the benefits of such initiatives to spread out from these sub-poles into the surrounding countryside; ¡ñ Small and Medium-sized towns contain the concentration of both human and institutional capacity required for ¡°bottom-up¡± initiatives of which the LEADER approach to integrated rural development is a good example; ¡ñ Small and medium-sized towns often contain the administrative infrastructure required to manage rural development initiatives on behalf of regional, national or European authorities in a properly accountable and auditable manner; ¡ñ In regions where land is scarce and the population density high, small and medium-sized towns provide the right locations to foster beneficial rural development while preserving the environmental assets of the open countryside. The ESDP ¨C European Spatial Development Perspective, a document published in May 1999 by the European Commission regarding the ballanced and sustainable development of the European Union territory stresses the role of small and medium-sized towns in the spatial orientation policies. It points to the ¡°development of a polycentric and balanced urban system¡± as one of the main development guidelines. It also refers the strengthening of partnerships between urban and rural areas¡± as a means of overcoming the outdated dualism between city and countryside. One of the policy options of this polycentric spatial development towards a new urban-rural relashionship mentioned in point 3.2.3 (Indigenous Development, diverse and Productive Rural Areas) make it clear the important role small and medium-sized towns are expected to play as focal points for regional development and promotion of their networking. With this paper we wish to analyze the results provided by around 150 questionnaires addressed to non-farm businesses in each of the three small and three medium-sized Portuguese towns chosen to be studied in order to draw some conclusions about the purchases and sales local economic integration of these firms regarding: - the relative importance of some of the firms¡¯ characteristics; - the question whether the size of the town matters; ¨C the economic sector where the firm developed its activity; and, finally, - the role of the main economic activity of the town in terms of employment and proximity of a metropolitan area. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p349&r=agr |
| By: | Jasper E.C. Dekkers; Piet Rietveld; Adri Vanden Brink; Henk Scholten |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on rural land prices. Different actors and factors influence land prices. Buurman (2003) has analysed, categorised, and used them to explain spatial differences in transaction prices of parcels using a GIS-based linear regression model. The model distinguishes parcel and transaction characteristics and uses principles of hedonic price and bid-rent theory to explain differences in land prices. Some theoretical aspects regarding the model are discussed. The regression model, estimated on a land transaction dataset covering the province of Noord-Brabant in the southern part of the Netherlands, is re-applied on a dataset covering the province of Noord-Holland. Insight is gained into actors and factors playing a role on the rural land market in this province. It seems that rural land that is included in building plans or located very close to areas for which building plans exist has a land price far higher than average. In most of these transactions, the city council is the buyer. Compared to other buyers, they pay the highest price for land in Noord-Holland. Keywords: land market, hedonic price theory, regression analysis, Noord-Holland |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p574&r=agr |
| By: | Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411 004 Maharashtra , INDIA) |
| Abstract: | An investigation into rural credit delivery system in Maharashtra shows slower growth in institutional finances through commercial banks, credit cooperatives, RRBs and LDBs, particularly during the decade of 1991- 2000, which is mainly due to adverse environment created by the financial sector reforms. Due to unfavourable policy framework, the entire rural credit delivery system encompassing rural branches of commercial banks, cooperative credit institutions and RRBs is reduced to a moribund state. High transaction costs and poor repayment performance are the twin root causes of the moribund state of rural credit delivery system. With a view to revive the agricultural credit delivery system, there is need to adopt innovative approaches like linking of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) with mainstream financial institutions. Such linkages are reported to have not only reduced transaction costs but also ensured better repayment performance. One of the recent studies conducted in Maharashtra has shown cent per cent recovery of loans through SHGs despite having excessively high rates of interest (24-36 per cent per annum) on their loan advances. One of the further disquieting features of RFIs in Maharashtra has been the high proportion of NPAs to total assets, particularly of RRBs and SCARDBs, which are estimated to hover around 36-48 per cent during the mid-to late nineties. One of the reasons for such high incidence of NPAs of RFIs has been the familiar practice of debt forgiveness, which eroded repayment and allowed defaulters to scot free with no deterrent reprimand. Political interference in issues of prudent fiscal management has got a lot to do with this unfortunate scenario. In order to rejuvenate rural credit delivery system, the twin problems facing the system, viz., high transaction costs and poor repayment performance, need to be tackled with more fiscal jurisprudence reserving exemplary punishment for willful defaults, especially by large farmers. In fact, insofar as the rural credit delivery system is concerned, the focus should be on strategies that are required for tackling issues such as sustainability and viability, operational efficiency, recovery performance, small farmer coverage and balanced sectoral development. |
| JEL: | G |
| Date: | 2005–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0508019&r=agr |
| By: | Daniel Shefer; Mordechai Cohen; Shlomo Bekhor |
| Abstract: | This paper is concerned with the development of varieties and fertilization techniques of greenhouse tomatoes, and their spatial diffusion in the northwestern region of the Negev in Israel. The main objective of the paper is to identify the factors affecting the farmers’ decision to adopt innovations and the factors inducing the process of knowledge-diffusion in the rural region. The approach adopted is the use of discrete choice models based on random utility theory. Results of the empirical analysis when applying the disaggregate Logit Model indicate that the regional, local and individual attributes have a significant bearing on the farmers’ decision-making process in regard to choosing among alternative tomato varieties and fertilization techniques. The findings indicate that the models constructed for this study may be used as a planning tool for the purpose of evaluating the effect of different factors on the spatial diffusion of innovations in rural regions. The results of the research could also assist decision-makers in formulating development policies for rural regions. Keywords: Spatial diffusion; discrete choice models; greenhouse tomatoes; nested logit |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p484&r=agr |
| By: | José Cadima Ribeiro; José Freitas Santos |
| Abstract: | Resources (tangible and intangible) can be mobilized to increase region's reputation and image giving a competitive advantage to certain products with origin in that region. The returns of a region's resources depend upon the ability of local firms to appropriate the rents earned and whether the consumers value the characteristics of the region that are associated with the product, being disposed to pay a price premium. The estimation of a hedonic price function, which relates the price of Portuguese regional cheeses to its various attributes provided empirical support to test the importance of designation of origin on price. The study showsthat some designations of origin and milk types have a significant impact on price, while retailer format (hypermarket versus online store)and cheese characteristics (cured versus not cured)are nor significant. Specifically, while cheeses from regions of Minho e Trás os Montes and Alentejo are expected to have price premiums, cheeses from regions of Beiras and Ilhas are expected to have discounts. Also, cheeses made with mixed milk and goat's and ewe's milk all have positive effects on price regarding cow's milk (base category). |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p41&r=agr |
| By: | José Manuel Viegas; Helder Cristovão; João Filipe Camisão Caio Vieira; Elisabete A. Silva |
| Abstract: | Some parts of the Portuguese railway infrastructure have been neglected through time: Rural lines have been abandoned, investment in new infrastructure is sometimes delayed, and marketing strategies to keep or attract more users have not been pursued. Simultaneously, problems with urban congestion, pollution and mobility for the young, the elderly, the poor, and the handicapped are putting forward the discussion about new or more sustainable modes of transportation. Common sense of public officials, other lobbying groups, and the locals demand new, trendy train lines. And while some axes may have the potential to justify rail lines, others seem to lack population or funding to be enabled. One major problem in order to evaluate the worthiness of these rail projects has been the fact that very often the studies of travel demand and physical implantation are done separately. Travel demand analysis is done based on the four-step model (trip generation, distribution, modal split, and network assignment) using survey data and the network system, using a relatively wide zoning. The importance of interacting with other, finer, information (i.e. slope, density of population, environmental sensitivity, or other socio-economic and land use information) with the development of the travel analysis demand will enhance the analysis/results and increase the chance of proposing lines that are both optimal in location and will have the maximum use by the citizens. Off the shelf software is still unable to perform this kind of operations. Some perform the analysis using existing networks, and no information on the land is available besides the zoning system, other software propose lines accordingly to land slopes, but no trip information is included. GIS packages have the capacity to include the land information and some have some transportation analysis, but are lacking computation capabilities and algorithms to perform analysis similar to off-the-shelf transportation software. In order to develop this kind of integrated analysis it is important to have a good knowledge of the algorithms and analysis required by transportation and of the tools/opportunities offered by the GIS packages. This paper presents a methodology that integrates the transportation algorithms with the GIS functionalities, using excel macro-language. The result is an interaction of both travel demand analysis and site selection. The characteristics of the place constrain the travel demand analysis, but on its own the travel demand analysis define not only the buffer of the train line, but systematically enhance the shape of the line and the location of the stops each time the results of a phase of the travel demand analysis is outputted. This paper offers guidelines for those developing travel demand analysis including some site selection criteria, and it can be a starting point for those of whom intend to develop further application of in the GIS fields. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p602&r=agr |
| By: | Jesús María Gómez García; Margarita Rico González |
| Abstract: | The transformation that rural areas have undergone during the last 30 years constitutes a very important phenomenon in Spain, but it is especially relevant in certain regions such as the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León. The constant process of depopulation, which a great number of villages of that region are suffering, primarily caused by the continuous transfer of labour force from agriculture activities to the industrial sector and, more recently, towards the service sector of urban areas, is provoking the progressive demographic and economic decadence of rural areas. In this context, women played a key role in the process of rural exodus, especially in the case of young women. This trend has created highly aged, male rural populations, with few potential human resources, which are incapable of sustaining and promoting economic and social development in the future. This project attempts to determine to which extent women have been and continue to be the protagonists of the social and economic transformations which have affected rural areas during the last decades. To this aim, we will undertake an analysis by sex of different demographic, economic and social variables at the municipal level, which will show women’s spatial situation, according to rural criteria. We will also undertake a prospective analysis of the population evolution of these rural areas, in order to obtain a probable demographic scenario which rural women will have to face in the future. The specific focus of this study will be the territory of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León. The results of this analysis will serve as a very useful reference for the public authorities as well as for private agents of this and other Spanish regions whenever they have to design alternative policies and actions regarding the role that rural women play and will play in the economic maintenance and development of rural areas. This is especially true given that, until now, studies which focus on the quantitative analysis of the economic and social situation of rural women have been practically nonexistent. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p379&r=agr |
| By: | Minki Bae; Deokho Cho; HongSuk Um; Dongho Shin |
| Abstract: | The goal of this study is to build a geographic information system for environmental policymaking. To achieve this goal, this study first surveys the local environment status. Based upon the collected environmental data, it forecasts the future environmental status of each city in Gyeongbuk province and generates a geo-referencing code. Finally, by using these data, it builds up a future environmental geographic information system for supporting environmental policymaking. This study consists of three major parts: 1) developing integrated environmental indicators, 2) establishing an environmental capacity database on the local level, 3) building up an environmental capacity geographic information system, and 4) making an environmental policy monitoring system. The results of this study will contribute to establish a warning system to prevent an excess of environmental capacity. They will also provide the framework and standard for integrating various environmental databases with a local environmental and geographic information system. Key words: Environmental indicators, geographic information system, geo-coding and geo-referencing, environmental policy |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p319&r=agr |
| By: | José Cadima Ribeiro; Laurentina Cruz Vareiro; Carmen Padin Fabeiro; Xulio Pardellas de Blas |
| Abstract: | This paper unveils the results stemming from two parallel researches, whose scope of analysis was tourism in rural areas (TRA) structures, as established in both northeast regions of the Iberia Peninsula which shape the Euro-region Galicia-North of Portugal. Firstly, a descriptive analysis of the regulations and the TRA supply for both territories is presented, and an evaluation of the strategies which have been followed by the private entrepreneurs and the public administration of each of them, as far as the utilisation of resources is concerned, is done. The symmetries and asymmetries of the touristic structures of those regions are also underlined. In the second part of this study, the above mentioned strategies will be discussed at length seeking to pinpoint how they configure and shape very similar touristic models based upon the use of natural and historical resources, which somehow display common features. Finally, it is sought to materialise a brief conclusion. Key Words: Tourism in Rural Areas (TRA), touristic strategies, TRA models |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p405&r=agr |
| By: | María A. García-Valiñas |
| Abstract: | In a context in which environmental protection have become in an important issue, the paper analyses which would be the optimal division of environmental policymaking functions among the different government levels. From the point of view of the fiscal federalism theory, we will design the most appropriate level of decentralization in each situation. In this sense, a proposal of decentralization has been shown, analyzing the consequences that a lax environmental policy could generate on future generations. Key words: Fiscal federalism, environmental policies, water management. Clasificación JEL: H77, Q25, Q28 |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p492&r=agr |
| By: | Santiago Alvarez-García; Antonio Aparicio-Perez; Ana Isabel González |
| Abstract: | This paper will analyse the importance that the Regional Solidarity Funds have acquired in the financial systems of those Autonomous Communities able to benefit from them, and the influence that these Funds have had in their development. In addition, the special role that Structural Funds have had in order to bring the Autonomous Communities’ development in line with the average level of the European Member States will be referred to. Then, the different EC tools that are connected with regional development will be described and analysed; next, the Spanish regions that have benefited from these tools since Spain joined the European Union in 1986 will be studied. The Internal Solidarity Funds and their relationship with the EC Structural Funds will also be analysed. The effects of these mechanisms will be examined from three different points of view. First of all, the impact of these resources on the regional financial system will be considered; secondly, the coordination between the EC Structural Funds and the Internal Solidarity Funds, and the impact of this relationship will be analysed; and finally, whether or not these mechanisms are efficient enough to achieve the aim of regional unity will be determined, and their influence in different areas of production will also be observed. Key words: Fiscal Federalism, Spanish Autonomous Communities, Structural Funds, Inter-regional Solidarity. JEL Codes: H7, H77. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p538&r=agr |
| By: | Anabela Dinis |
| Abstract: | Over recent years territorial cohesion has become an important concern for national and supra-national governments. This concern stems from the unexpected growth in spatial imbalance in terms of economic development. Urban and more developed areas are attracting more and more people and economic activities, while a great part of rural and peripheral territories seem condemned to desertification and abandonment. This is clearly the case of Portugal. This paper shows how the application of marketing tools and philosophy can be used to reverse (or at least slow down) this process when applied to the formulation and implementation of territorial development strategies. With this in mind, the issue of territorial development is looked at and marketing concepts are introduced. Considering rural and peripheral territories as the product to be marketed, the main components of its marketing system are discussed and some of the current trends in society that affect supply and demand of the rural product are presented. Under the light of this theoretical framework, some guidelines for action and the main responsible agents are identified in order to improve the competitiveness of rural and peripheral areas Key words: Rural and peripheral territories, Marketing, Competitiveness |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p681&r=agr |
| By: | Chang Woon Nam; Doina Maria Radulescu |
| Abstract: | Not only transition countries but also a large number of developing (and developed) countries have established free economic zones (FEZs) with the aim of attracting for-eign capital by providing tax incentives, creating employment opportunities and pro-moting exports as well as regional development. Major theoretical justifications for the establishment of such economic zones generally maintain that there are economies of scale in the development of land and in the provision of common services and utilities as well as external economies of agglomeration by having similar industries grouped together. One of the main characteristics of FEZs is the provision of generous tax in-vestment promotion schemes solely allowed in this enclave. In general such measures include: (a) profit tax exemption, (b) free or accelerated depreciation, (c) investment tax allowance, (d) subsidy for investment costs, etc. The incentive effects of various tax con-cessions on firms’ investment decisions can be compared on the basis of the net present value model. Without taxation, the net present value (NPV) is equal to the present value of future gross return, discounted at an appropriate interest rate less investment cost. An in-vestment project is therefore considered to be profitable when the NPV is positive. After introducing the corporate income tax, the present value of the asset generated from an in-vestment amounts to the sum of the present value of net return (gross return less taxes) and the tax savings, led by, for example, an incentive depreciation provision. In this study the theoretical approach is accompanied by a model simulation based on selected parameters. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p174&r=agr |