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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2011‒10‒22
twenty-one papers chosen by |
| By: | Sackett, Hillary |
| Abstract: | The ability of a firm to differentiate their product hinges critically on an accurate understanding of the perceptions consumers hold regarding the implications of a credence labeling claim. Building upon existing work evaluating other food attribute labels (e.g., genetically-modified products, region of origin, use of growth hormones) and the impact of consumer inferences (e.g., implicit associations made from explicitly provided information), this work begins to address gaps in the literature regarding food products with sustainably produced claims. This paper uses data collected in the summer and fall of 2010 from a national, web-based survey of 1002 households, to initiate the process of examining consumer inferences and valuations of food products making sustainably produced claims. A Best-Worst scaling framework was implemented to identify what consumers believe sustainably produced labels mean and their preferences for each of the sustainable farming practices considered. The best-worst survey method forces respondents to make trade-offs by simultaneously choosing the most and least preferred attributes. The measured level of concern can then be applied to a standardized ratio scale. The results of this study suggest that consumers perceive farm size and local production as highly important elements of sustainable agriculture. Additionally, consumer preferences over economic attributes such as consumer food prices and financial stability of farmers exhibit high heterogeneity, indicating segmentation in the sample and potential for targeted marketing management. |
| Keywords: | Sustainably Produced Food, Best-Worst, Consumer Perceptions, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Q01, Q13, Q11, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midagr:115966&r=agr |
| By: | Asghar, Zahid |
| Abstract: | Food is one of the most basic rights of every one living on this earth to get food. Food insecurity has very serious consequences in term of undermining people’s health, productivity and even their very survival. Sufficient food policy should not distract us from the need to find ways to address hunger. In this study we have calculated food security indicators related to food access and utilization by using Household Integrated Economic Survey(HIES) 2007-08 data. Almost 25% of the population is suffering from high food insecurity and 40% population is suffering from medium level of food insecurity. Cereals comprise more than 50% of the calories consumed by all income groups. Better educated household heads have lower food insecurity level than less educated after controlling income effect. Household size and food security are negatively related. Sind province has the highest percentage of food insecure population while in absolute number Punjab has the highest number of food insecure people. |
| Keywords: | Availability; Accessibility; Utilization; Food Security Indicators |
| JEL: | D1 |
| Date: | 2011–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:34030&r=agr |
| By: | Onour, Ibrahim; Sergi, Bruno |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates volatility spillover across crude oil market and wheat and corn markets. The corn commodity is taken here to assess the impact of change in demand for biofuel on wheat market. Results of multivariate GARCH model show evidence of corn price volatility transmission to wheat market . Our results indicate that while shocks (unexpected news) in crude oil market have significant impact on volatility in wheat and corn markets, the effect of crude oil price changes on corn and wheat markets is insignificant. The impulse response analysis indicate shocks in oil markets have permanent effect on food commodity price changes. Also indicated that fertilizers markets influenced by own-shocks and shocks in oil markets. |
| Keywords: | Volatility; global food; impulse response |
| JEL: | C53 Q18 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:34079&r=agr |
| By: | Lefèvre, Mélanie; Tharakan, Joe |
| Abstract: | Transport costs play a key role in agricultural markets in developing countries and are one of the causes of poverty amongst farmers that are geographically isolated. Another characteristic of agricultural markets is that they often involve interlinked transactions. However, the existing theoretical literature on interlinked transactions does not take into account the existence of transport costs. This paper develops a model of input-output interlinked contracts between geographically dispersed farmers and a trader, whether this trader is for-profit or non-profit. We derive implications of imposing either uniform or mill pricing policies, as opposed to spatial price discrimination. Impact on profit, farmers' income, level of production, social welfare and regional disparities are investigated. |
| Keywords: | Rural development; spatial pricing; transportation |
| JEL: | O18 R32 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8615&r=agr |
| By: | Shahbaz, Muhammad; Shabbir, Shahbaz Muhammad; Butt, Muhammad Sabihuddin |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the relationship between financial development and agriculture growth employing Cobb-Douglas function which incorporates financial development as an important factor of production for the period 1971-2011. The ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration is applied to examine long run relationship between the variables. The direction of causality is detected by VACM Granger causality test and robustness of causality results is tested through innovative accounting approach (IAA). Our findings confirm that the variables are cointegrated for equilibrium long run relationship between agriculture growth, financial development, capital and labor. The results indicate that financial development has a positive effect on agricultural growth. This implies that financial development plays its significant role in stemming agricultural production and hence agricultural growth. The capital use in the agriculture sector also contributes to the agricultural growth. The Granger causality analysis reveals bidirectional causality between agricultural growth and financial development. The robustness of these results is confirmed by innovative accounting approach (IAA). This study has important policy implications for policy making authorities to stimulate agricultural growth by improving the efficiency of financial sector. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture Growth; Financial Development; Cointegration |
| JEL: | Q14 |
| Date: | 2011–10–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:34162&r=agr |
| By: | Mukherjee, Soumyatanu |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we try to analyze the possible reasons behind food price hike. The motivation of doing this project is to see the probable reasons, which impact “common people” of India to the utmost extent. We concentrate mainly on the supply side, distribution aspects and the demand side. Checking these aspects we try to see their sensitivity in food prices. |
| Keywords: | Wholesale Price Index; Food grain prices; Public investment; Grain orientation; Public Distribution System; Wholesale and retail prices; Per capita net availability of food grains; Durbin-Watson ‘d’ test; augmented Dicky-Fullar(ADF)test; NREGA |
| JEL: | C32 C82 G38 C87 H30 C22 |
| Date: | 2011–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:34009&r=agr |
| By: | Goodness C. Aye (Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | This study provides empirical evidence of aggregate, anticipated and unanticipated and asymmetric (positive and negative) effects of monetary policy on real agricultural prices in South Africa over the monthly period of 1970:01-2010:12. For this purpose, we use the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model coupled with the monetary misperception model to distinguish between anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy shocks. Results show that the actual, anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy had significant effect on real farm prices. These findings are robust when the shocks are modelled as recursive residuals. Moreover, the positive monetary policy was consistently significant either at specific lags or jointly. With exception of the recursive anticipated monetary policy, the negative components were consistently insignificant. Further, the hypothesis of asymmetric effect was supported for the recursive anticipated monetary policy only. The effects observed in this study are quantitatively small and accounts for only a very small percentage (1.5 percent - 6.5 percent) of the variation in real farm prices. |
| Keywords: | Monetary policy, real farm price, asymmetric effects, recursive residuals |
| JEL: | C12 E52 Q11 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201119&r=agr |
| By: | Jakob Vesterlund Olsen (Knowledge Centre for Agriculture, Aarhus (Denmark)); Arne Henningsen (Institute of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present a theoretical model for adjustment costs and investment utilisation that illustrates their causes and types and shows in which phases of an investment they occur. Furthermore, we develop an empirical framework for analysing the size and the timing of adjustment costs and investment utilisation. We apply this methodology to a large panel data set of Danish pig producers with 9,281 observations between 1996 and 2008. The paper further contributes with a thorough discussion of the calculation and deflation of capital input from microeconomic data. We estimate an output distance function as a stochastic frontier model and explain the estimated technical inefficiencies with lagged investments, farm size and age of the farmer. We allow for interaction effects between these variables and derive the formula for calculating the marginal effects on technical efficiency. The results show that investments have a negative effect on farm efficiency in the year of the investment and the year after accruing from adjustment costs. There is a large positive effect on efficiency two and three years after the investment. The farmer’s age and the farm size significantly influence technical efficiency, as well as the effect of investments on adjustment costs and investment utilisation. These results are robust to different ways of measuring capital. |
| Keywords: | investment utilisation, adjustment costs, stochastic frontier analysis, technical efficiency, pig production, Denmark |
| JEL: | Q12 D24 D92 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:foi:wpaper:2011_13&r=agr |
| By: | John Charlery |
| Abstract: | Discussion of climate change impacts in the Caribbean based on model projections including interpretation of the model results for more detailed impacts the Region could expect as the climate continues to change. |
| Keywords: | Environment & Natural Resources :: Climate Change, Environment & Natural Resources :: Water Management |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12778&r=agr |
| By: | Dambala Gelo; Steven F. Koch |
| Abstract: | Through the implementation of a choice experiment valuation exercise, this study set out to identify the set of community plantation attributes that impact the welfare of potential community forestry program participants. We employed a combination of choice models to evaluate the preferences, welfare impacts and choice elasticities associated with alternative community forestry programs, allowing for different assumptions regarding heterogeneity. In line with economic theory, increased participation costs reduced the demand for community forestry, while increases in expected productivity raised the demand. With respect to preferences for the other alternatives considered — type of forest, area enclosure and type of land upon which the forest was to be situated — the results point to significant differences in preferences across the study population, suggesting that programs should be tailored to the communities in which the program is to be implemented. |
| Keywords: | community forestry, choice experiment, conditional logit, random parameters logit and latent class model |
| JEL: | Q23 Q28 Q51 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:248&r=agr |
| By: | Alan Barreca; Price V. Fishback; Shawn Kantor |
| Abstract: | The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) caused a population shift in the United States in the 1930s. Evaluating the effects of the AAA on the incidence of malaria can therefore offer important lessons regarding the broader consequences of demographic changes. Using a quasi-first difference model and a robust set of controls, we find a negative association between AAA expenditures and malaria death rates at the county level. Further, we find the AAA caused relatively low-income groups to migrate from counties with high-risk malaria ecologies. These results suggest that the AAA-induced migration played an important role in the reduction of malaria. |
| JEL: | H3 H51 N32 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17526&r=agr |
| By: | Ulric Trotz |
| Abstract: | This presentation gives a focus on the impacts of climate change on water resources in the Caribbean. This was a very specific presentation trying to outline the vulnerabilities and the risks to the water sector from climate change. |
| Keywords: | Environment & Natural Resources :: Climate Change, Environment & Natural Resources :: Water Management |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12738&r=agr |
| By: | Nicita, Alessandro; Olarreaga, Marcelo; Porto, Guido |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to estimate the potential pro-poor bias in the existing structure of protection in six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (i.e., whether it redistributes income from rich to poor households). We also explore the extent to which the barriers faced by SSA exporters to the rest of the world are biased in favor of poor or rich households. To this end, we start with a simple agricultural household production model and propose an extension to include adjustments in labor income associated with changes in unskilled and skilled wages. We then build indicators that capture the differences in welfare changes across income levels associated with the elimination of SSA's own trade protection, as well as trade protection on SSA's export bundle by the rest of the world. Results suggest that SSA's own trade policy is biased in favor of poor households. In contrast, the trade policies of SSA's trading partners tend to be biased in favor of SSA's rich households, especially when ad-valorem equivalents of non tariff measures (NTMs) are taken into account. |
| Keywords: | Poverty; Sub-Saharan Africa; Trade policy; Wage elasticities |
| JEL: | F13 F16 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8594&r=agr |
| By: | Michael Taylor; Tannecia S. Stephenson |
| Abstract: | This presentation focused on climate modeling and included the methods used and the results that come from climate models. The presentation focused on interpretation of the models rather than the detailed "how to" use of models. The focus was again the Caribbean region. |
| Keywords: | Environment & Natural Resources :: Climate Change, Environment & Natural Resources :: Water Management |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12798&r=agr |
| By: | Martin Berka; Mario J Crucini; Chih-Wei Wang |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:acb:camaaa:2011-34&r=agr |
| By: | Ekhosuehi Iyahen |
| Abstract: | This presentation outlines the potential for insurance to help with risk transfer for adaptation mechanisms to climate change. It discusses the availability of insurance and re-insurance as a source of financing (or at least reduction in risk of costs) for climate change adaptation. The presentation was given by an insurance agency staff that operates in the Caribbean. |
| Keywords: | Environment & Natural Resources :: Climate Change, Environment & Natural Resources :: Disasters |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12678&r=agr |
| By: | Adrian R. Trotman |
| Abstract: | This presentation discussed one of the major impacts of climate change - drought. It addressed the impacts on the water sector from this type of climate effect. Mechanisms for adaptation for such impacts were presented. This presentation also included state of the art climate science to describe potential future impacts. |
| Keywords: | Environment & Natural Resources :: Water Management, Environment & Natural Resources :: Climate Change |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12838&r=agr |
| By: | Kaminski, Jonathan; Serra, Renata |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the case for believing endogenous reforms to be more developmental than externally-imposed reforms, by drawing on the recent unorthodox experience of cotton sector reform in Burkina Faso. We address questions about reform emergence, feasibility, developmental impact, and sustainability. Our analysis, which carefully incorporates local social and political realities, suggests that the urban elites dominating the Burkinabè state favoured a particular cotton reform process, because it provided them with higher rents; while allowing for some rent distribution to the rural world which secured national consensus around reform. Endogenous reforms, though more feasible, are not necessarily more sustainable over time. In Burkina Faso, the initial reform benefits were eroded after 2006. We interpret this as due to the inability of the new institutional equilibrium to win over the ressure from changed stakeholder incentives, as well as to a loss of responsiveness of the rural leadership to its base. |
| Keywords: | Cotton, Cotton policy-making, Reforms, Burkina Faso, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, International Development, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:huaedp:116227&r=agr |
| By: | Ulric Trotz; Roger S. Pulwarty |
| Abstract: | This presentation specifically focused on adaptation measures - what is being done and what can be done in the water sector to adapt to climate change impacts. Very specific options and suggestions were presented. |
| Keywords: | Environment & Natural Resources :: Climate Change, Environment & Natural Resources :: Water Management |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12818&r=agr |
| By: | Steve Gibbons; Henry G. Overman |
| Abstract: | This policy note spells out lessons for rural policy that emerge from recent SERC research. It summarises a SERC policy paper available at http://www.spatialeconomics.ac.uk/texton ly/SERC/publications/download/sercpp008. pdf |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sercpp:009&r=agr |
| By: | Don Fullerton; Catherine Wolfram |
| Abstract: | While economic models have already proven useful to analyze big picture questions about climate policy such as the choice between a carbon tax or cap-and-trade permit system, the 19 chapters in this book show how economic models also are useful to address the many remaining smaller questions that arise as policy is implemented. For example, chapters consider: the tradeoffs policymakers confront in deciding whether to implement the policy upstream on energy producers or downstream on energy users; how to monitor and enforce climate policy; how Federal actions might interact with climate policies at other levels of government or with other non-climate policies; the distributional effects of different policy variations; policies that might impact particular sectors, including residential energy use, agriculture and transportation; and specific questions regarding offsets, trade, innovation, and adaptation. |
| JEL: | H23 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17499&r=agr |