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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2012‒01‒18
35 papers chosen by |
| By: | Freshwater, Dave |
| Abstract: | Agricultural policy has been unusual in that it has specified the ongoing existence of a desired production unit â the family farm, as a policy objective. But, despite decades of policy intervention, the majority of anadian farms no longer meet the common definition of a family farm. Yet, for the most part, the data collected on farming seems trapped in the use of the older and simpler concept of the family farm. Certainly agriculture is more complex than in the past when the family farm was a useful shorthand expression for the organization of agriculture. Farms now commonly engage in complex marketing arrangements that involve negotiated prices and quality standards. Some farms are completely integrated into processing firms. A large share of farmland is owned by parties who are not considered to be farmers, but in some cases they influence production and marketing decisions. And, most farm households and farm operators now derive a significant portion, if not the majority, of their income from non-Ââfarm labor activity. But complexity has another dimension beyond the behavior of farmers and farms. It also describes farm policy. Society now expects more from farm policy than a stable supply of commodities and support for farm income. Reconciling a more nuanced set of policy goals with a heterogeneous structure of agriculture has become a major challenge for providers and analysts of data. |
| Keywords: | data concepts, farm policy, agricultural policy, Canada, data collection, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Public Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2012–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ukysps:119473&r=agr |
| By: | Gunther Capelle-Blancard; Dramane Coulibaly |
| Keywords: | Speculation, financialization, food crisis, soft commodities, index funds, panel Granger causality |
| JEL: | G10 Q10 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2011-28&r=agr |
| By: | Janaka Wijayasiri; Suwendrani Jayaratne (Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the implications of standards on two agricultural and food exporting sectors in Sri Lanka – tea and fisheries – and their strategic response. |
| Keywords: | Agri-food standards, Sri Lanka, Tea and fisheries export industries, food safety |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esc:wpaper:10411&r=agr |
| By: | Stefanie Glotzbach (Sustainability Economics Group, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | A twofold challenge arises from the normative aim of environmental justice to the management of agricultural systems: (1) the improvement of food security and livelihood of the rural poor today; (2) the sustenance and enhancement of the long-term productivity and resilience of agricultural systems to future generations. The paper analyzes the success factors and barriers of the Philippine farmer network MASIPAG in simultaneously realizing both objectives - based philosophically on Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice” (1971), conceptually on specific determinants of the relationship between the objectives, and empirically on the results of a comprehensive evaluation of the MASIPAG network. |
| Keywords: | environmental justice, ecosystem services, agriculture, agrobiodiversity, Philippines |
| JEL: | Q15 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:225&r=agr |
| By: | Van Ittersum, M.K.; Heckelei, T.; Oude Lansink, A.; Wolf, J.; Kanellopoulos, A.; Britz, W. |
| Abstract: | In this contribution we first present a methodology for integrated assessment of agricultural systems (SEAMLESS Integrated Framework), illustrate its application in an integrated assessment of high commodity prices and then discuss its flexibility and limitations. From there we take a broader view and reflect on key scientific and empirical questions with respect to the development of research tools for the integrated assessment of agricultural systems. |
| Keywords: | agricultural systems, integrated assessment, modelling, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa122:119329&r=agr |
| By: | ECLAC; FAO; IICA |
| Abstract: | Since late 2010 and continuing into 2011, price volatility, in relation to basic agricultural commodities, has occupied centre stage on the agendas of decision makers. An additional concern has been uncertainty about a new global economic crisis in the wake of the macroeconomic diiculties experienced in the economies of several European countries and the United States. In recent months, this situation has been compounded by the food crisis in the Horn of Africa --a reminder of the extremely vulnerable conditions under which broad segments of the world population continue to live. This third edition of Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: a Perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean is an informational and analytical tool that is intended to promote a better understanding of these phenomena and their efects for purposes of regional public policymaking. The document was prepared jointly by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Regional Oice for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The report underscores the need for the countries to adopt diferentiated policy instruments to mitigate the efects of severe price volatility (including exchange rates) on society, production and the macro-economic context. It also suggests the need to institute comprehensive policies to address the efects of acute climate variability in agriculture, since in a context of climate change, it becomes an additional contributing factor in escalating agricultural price volatility. The long-term trend of higher agricultural commodity prices afords Latin America and the Caribbean an opportunity for its agriculture, given the regionâs availability of land, which can be incorporated into production, and its relative abundance of water, biodiversity and human resources on which it could capitalize. The report recommends exploiting this potential through productive development policies aimed at promoting food production, increasing the role of family agriculture in the process and fostering the sustainable use of natural resources. he objective must be to improve the contribution made by agriculture and its related activities to income generation and job creation. It further recommends promoting ranching, aquaculture, and community forest development in the context of family agriculture by designing alternative schemes that guarantee sustainable food production and contribute to food and nutritional security. T he report emphasizes that countries beneiting from rising agricultural commodity prices should seize the moment to promote structural change as a means of diversifying the productive structure of the economies. It further recognizes that bridging the technological gaps that persist in the region in the agricultural arena will release the signiicant potential it has to enhance productive performance and, thereby, food production. Additional resource allocation for research, development and innovation and an improved investment climate for agriculture and related activities are therefore considered to be of the essence. We consider the reduction of price volatility and the prevention of recurring food crises to be an issue that engages global responsibility. Certain decisions must be taken in international fora. Examples are the proposed establishment of a world emergency reserve and a virtual reserve, which have not been addressed up to now. Similarly, the response to the proposal to regulate the basic commodities market and cushion the efect of speculation on food price increases has been slow. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has recommended a Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries to enable them to address situations where there are sudden downturns in agricultural prices or substantial rises in imports, which have a negative impact on rural development. Discussion of this mechanism is, however, at a standstill. It is extremely important to avoid punishing food importing countries by aggravating their vulnerability or introducing major distortions on world food markets. he countries of the region should ensure more coordinated participation in international fora and act in unison with respect to initiatives that integrate policy tools for regional beneit. As in the two previous editions, the document includes a special report. he special report in this edition covers the use of information and communication technologies in agriculture. To enhance their impact, the countries should increase rural connectivity and promote access to these technologies and their use in their national institutional framework (e-government, digital agenda, etc.). hese measures are essential in bringing down the costs of the technologies and attenuating the resistance of rural agents to introducing them in agribusiness management and production. The document maintains that enhancing the potential of information and communication technologies to narrow the technological gap and improve operating working conditions, production and market access in the rural milieu must also be an imperative in public policies aimed at shoring up the development of agriculture and furthering its contribution to the development of the countries of the region. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eclacr:119195&r=agr |
| By: | Robert Rudolf (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes effects of the Republic of Korea’s two major rural reforms in 1950 and 1962/63 on agricultural productivity and individual well-being. The 1950 Land Reform resulted in a large-scale redistribution of land while ‘green revolution’-type reforms in 1962/63 pushed forward the application of modern agricultural technologies and improved rural infrastructure. This study’s findings indicate that both reforms had significant positive impacts on agricultural productivity. Using the link between final height outcomes and early childhood nutrition further allows an assessment of the effects of the interventions on the biological standard of living using adult height outcomes. Korean mean adult height grew by a remarkable 8.1 to 12 cm for women and 7 to 9.6 cm for men born between 1920 and 1987. Two thirds of this growth took place after the 1950 reform, and about 40 to 50 percent after the 1962/63 reforms. Structural break analyses of height trends reveal significant upward shifts in trend around the years of the reforms. While Korea can be considered a case of successful land reform, the years between the two major reforms can be considered Korea’s lost decade. |
| Keywords: | Land Reform; Rural Technological Reforms; Agricultural Productivity; Biological Standard of Living; Equity-Efficiency |
| JEL: | Q15 N35 O13 |
| Date: | 2012–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:106&r=agr |
| By: | Antoine Leblois (CIRED - Centre international de recherches en environnement et en développement - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - CNRS : UMR8568 - AgroParisTech - ENPC); Philippe Quirion (CIRED - Centre international de recherches en environnement et en développement - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - CNRS : UMR8568 - AgroParisTech - ENPC, LMD-IPSL - Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique - CNRS : UMR8539) |
| Abstract: | In many low-income countries, agriculture is mostly rainfed and crop yield depends highly on climatic factors. Furthermore, farmers have little access to traditional crop insurance, which suffers from high information asymmetry and transaction costs. Insurances based on meteorological indices could fill this gap since they do not face such drawbacks. However, a full-scale implementation has been slow so far. In this article, the most advanced projects that have taken place in developing countries using these types of crop insurances are described. Following this, the methodology that has been used to design such projects in order to choose the meteorological index, the indemnity schedule and the insurance premium, is described. Finally the main research issues are discussed. In particular, more research is needed on implementation, assessment of benefits, how to deal with climate change, spatial variability of weather and interactions with other hedging methods. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; insurance; climatic risk |
| Date: | 2011–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00656778&r=agr |
| By: | Rebecca S. Dodder; Amani Elobeid (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD); Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)); Timothy L. Johnson; P. Ozge Kaplan; Lyubov A. Kurkalova; Silvia Secchi; Simla Tokgoz |
| Abstract: | The tighter linkages between energy and crop markets due to recent climate and energy legislation in the US have large potential environmental impacts beyond carbon sequestration and climate mitigation. These range from effects on water quality and quantity, soil erosion, habitat and biodiversity preservation. These impacts are very location and management-decision specific, as they are the product of atomistic decisions and depend on soil and landscape specific variables. In order to fully understand the effects of biomass markets, the new and stronger linkages and feedback effects between national- and global-scale energy and commodity markets must be properly understood and identified using an integrated perspective. We discuss the various interactions between agricultural and energy markets and their environmental impacts for existing biomass crops and detail how these interactions may be strengthened with the emergence of corn stover as a second generation biofuel feedstock. The tighter coupling of land use and management and energy systems needs to be accounted for to ensure that we have accurate indicators of the sustainability of biomass as an energy resource. |
| Keywords: | Energy and Commodity markets linkages, Integrated energy system assessment, Environmental impacts, Biofuels. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:11-wp526&r=agr |
| By: | Ana María Ibáñez L.; Manuel Fernández; Ximena Peña |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the use of labor markets to mitigate the impact of violent shocks on households in rural areas in Colombia. It examines changes in the labor supply from on-farm to off-farm labor as a means of coping with the violent shock and the ensuing redistribution of time within households. It identifies the heterogeneous response by gender. Because the incidence of violent shocks is not exogenous, the analysis uses instrumental variables that capture several dimensions of the cost of exercising terror. As a response to the violent shocks, households decrease the time spent on on-farm work and increase their supply of labor to off-farm activities (non-agricultural ones). Men carry the bulk of the adjustment in the use of time inasmuch as they supply the most hours to off-farm non-agricultural work and formal labor markets. Labor markets do not fully absorb the additional labor supply. Women in particular are unable to find jobs in formal labor markets and men have increased time dedicated to leisure and household chores. Additional off-farm supply does not fully cover the decrease in consumption. The results suggest that in rural Colombia, labor markets are a limited alternative for coping with violent shocks. Thus, policies in conflict-affected countries should go beyond short-term relief and aim at preventing labor markets from collapsing and at supporting the recovery of agricultural production. |
| Date: | 2011–11–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:009246&r=agr |
| By: | Fahim, Muhammad Amir |
| Abstract: | Pakistan is confronting the problem of water scarcity which is rendering an adverse impact on food security. The study examines the impact of water scarcity on food security in an era of climate change. It further focuses on projecting the future trends of water and food stock. The research effort probes the links among water scarcity, climate change, food security, water security, food inflation, poverty and management of water resources. Data on food security was collected from the FSA (Food Security analysis) of the Sustainable development Policy institute (SDPI) and Food insecurity and Vulnerability Information mapping system (FIVIMS). Logistic regression equations have been employed to catch the effect of water scarcity on three components of food security separately. In fact, the present study develops a series of models that captures the impact of water scarcity on the components of food security at Macro level.The models has traced an adverse impact of water scarcity water scarcity on food security at macro levels. The findings so obtained may help in proposing the policy guidelines for overcoming water scarcity and handling with food insecurity caused by water scarcity and other factors. |
| Keywords: | Water scarcity; Water supply; Water demand; Food security; Macro level |
| JEL: | O1 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–10–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35758&r=agr |
| By: | M. VERSCHELDE; M. D’HAESE; G. RAYP; E. VANDAMME |
| Abstract: | We use a nonparametric approach to investigate the relationship between farm produc- tivity and farming scale. A Kernel regression is used on data of mixed cropping systems to study the determinants of production including different factors that have been identifieed in literature as missing variables in the testing of the inverse relationship such as soil quality, location and household heterogeneity. Household data on farm activities and crop produc- tion was gathered among 640 households in 2007 in two Northern provinces of Burundi. Five production models were specified each with different control variables. Returns to scale are found to depend on the farm scale. Our results qualify to a large extent the finding of an inverse relationship between farm size and productivity, though without fully explaining it. Other factors that affect significantly positive production include the soil quality and produc- tion orientation towards banana or cash crop production. Production seems to be negatively affected by field fragmentation. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:11/745&r=agr |
| By: | Fahim, Muhammad Amir |
| Abstract: | Pakistan is confronting the problem of water scarcity which is rendering an adverse impact on food security. The study examines the impact of water scarcity on food security in an era of climate change. It further focuses on projecting the future trends of water and food stock. The research effort probes the links among water scarcity, climate change, food security, water security, food inflation, poverty and management of water resources. Data on food security was collected from the FSA (Food Security analysis) of the Sustainable development Policy institute (SDPI) and Food insecurity and Vulnerability Information mapping system (FIVIMS). Simultaneous, structural and reduced form equations have been employed to catch the effect of water scarcity on three components of food security separately. In fact, the present study develops a series of models that captures the impact of water scarcity on the components of food security at Meso level. The models have traced an adverse impact of water scarcity water scarcity on food security at Meso levels. The findings so obtained may help in proposing the policy guidelines for overcoming water scarcity and handling with food insecurity caused by water scarcity and other factors. |
| Keywords: | Water scarcity; Water supply; Water Demand; Food security; Meso level; Simultaneous equations |
| JEL: | Q01 |
| Date: | 2011–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35759&r=agr |
| By: | Marijke Verpoorten; Abhimanyu Arora; Johan F.M.Swinnen |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes data on self-reported food insecurity of more than 50,000 individuals in 18 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2005 to 2008, when global food prices increased dramatically. The average level of self-reported food insecurity was high but remarkably stable, at about 54%.However, this average hides large heterogeneity, both within countries and across countries. In eight of the sample countries, self-reported food security improved, while it worsened in the ten countries. Our results suggest that heterogeneous effects in self-reported food security are consistent with economic predictions, as they are correlated with net food consumption (both at the household and country level) and economic growth. Specifically, self-reported food security improved on average in rural households. Improvements in food security were positively correlated with net food exports and GDP per capita growth. We estimate that over the period 2005-2008 between 5 and 12 milion people in the 18 SSA countries became more food secure. While the self-reported indicator used in this paper requires further study and one should carefully interpret the results, our findings suggest the need for a critical evaluation of the currently used data in the public debate on the food price crisis, which makes mention of hundreds of millions of additional food insecure. |
| Keywords: | Food policy, food insecurity measurement, Sub-Saharan Africa, food crisis |
| JEL: | Q18 I32 O55 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:30312&r=agr |
| By: | Fahim, Muhammad Amir |
| Abstract: | Pakistan is confronting the problem of water scarcity which is rendering an adverse impact on food security. The study examines the impact of water scarcity on food security in an era of climate change. It further focuses on projecting the future trends of water and food stock. The research effort probes the links among water scarcity, climate change, food security, water security, food inflation, poverty and management of water resources. Data on food security was collected from the FSA (Food Security analysis) of the Sustainable development Policy institute (SDPI) and Food insecurity and Vulnerability Information mapping system (FIVIMS). Logistic equations have been employed to catch the effect of water scarcity on three components of food security separately. In fact, the present study develops a series of models that captures the impact of water scarcity on the components of food security at Micro level. The models have traced an adverse impact of water scarcity water scarcity on food security at Micro level. The findings so obtained may help in proposing the policy guidelines for overcoming water scarcity and handling with food insecurity caused by water scarcity and other factors. |
| Keywords: | Water scarcity; Water supply; Water Demand; Food security; Micro level; Logistic regression |
| JEL: | Q00 |
| Date: | 2011–12–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35760&r=agr |
| By: | Nobuhiko Fuwa (Waseda University); Arsenio M. Balisacan (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman); Fabrizio Bresciani (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | The main driver of poverty reduction has shifted from agricultural to non-agricultural income growth in rural Philippines in the past two decades. Agricultural growth is still relatively more important (vis-a-vis non-agricultural growth), however, in reducing rural poverty in relatively more isolated provinces. Our results suggest that agricultural investments should focus on areas with underdeveloped infrastructure but with comparative advantage in agriculture. At the same time, non-agricultural income growth can be made more pro-poor by investing in mobility infrastructure and health, facilitating international labor migration, and lowering income inequality. |
| Keywords: | poverty, growth and inequality, pro-poor growth, role of agriculture, the Philippines, Asia |
| JEL: | I32 O15 O40 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201110&r=agr |
| By: | Arya, Anita; Mehta, Niti |
| Abstract: | Since the State’s inception, the growth process in Gujarat and its regions has experienced ups and downs in the economic activities. Not much attention is attributed to short term fluctuations in the growth of economic activities as long as the long term growth depicts an upward trend. However, if the short term fluctuations become frequent and adversely affect the long term rate of growth, there is a need for a closer look. Tackling instability acquires importance for improving the lot of small and marginal farmers, who are more affected by spells of bad years. Instability in agricultural production raises risk in farm production, affecting farmers’ incomes and decisions for investments to adopt new technologies. This paper is devoted to looking at the long term macro-economic growth pattern of Gujarat since its inception. It highlights the problem of instability in economic growth – both for the economy and in particular for agricultural sector. The comparative picture of Gujarat in the national economy is presented, together with a discussion on changing structure of Gujarat’s economy from early 1960s to 2008-09. The analysis of instability is also carried out at the sectoral level. Analysis of instability is attempted in terms of structure of the economy. Income is the variable selected for analysis as it is a comprehensive measure of economic activity. For agriculture, the paper opts ‘output’ for the sectoral analysis. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural growth; Instability; Sectoral growth; Gujarat |
| JEL: | O1 E32 E01 Q10 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35712&r=agr |
| By: | Pardey, Philip G.; Koo, Bonwoo; Drew, Jennifer; Nottenburg, Carol |
| Abstract: | The United States was the first country in the world to explicitly offer intellectual property protection for plant varieties. Beginning in 1930, asexually reproduced plants were afforded plant patent protection, in 1970 sexually propagated plants could be awarded plant variety protection certificates, and beginning in 1985, courts confirmed that varieties of all types of plants were eligible for utility patents. From 1930 to 2008, a total of 34,340 varietal rights applications were lodged. The number of rights being sought continues to grow, with 42 percent of all the varietal rights claimed since 2000. Contrary to popular perception, most of these rights are for horticultural crops (69 percent), with ornamentals accounting for the lionâs share of the horticulture-related rights (73 percent, or 50 percent of all plant rights). Food and feed crops constitute only 24 percent of the rights sought, although just two crops (corn and soybean) made up 84 percent of the 3,719 varietal rights claimed via utility patents. The structure of these rights has changed dramatically over the years. During the 1930s when the only rights on offer were plant patents, 72 percent of the rights sought were for ornamental crops and individual innovators played a substantial role (50 percent of the rights). By 2004-2008, the annual applications for plant patents had increased in number but fallen to a 60 percent share of the total rights claimed. During this recent period, utility patents were as popular as plant variety protection certificates, and ornamentals made up a large but much reduced share of the total (52 percent). Individual innovators accounted for only 12 percent of the rights, whereas the corporate sector sought the dominant share of varietal rights (82 percent in 2004-2008). These intellectual property markets are complex, with corporations, universities and other agencies seeking different types of rights for different crops. |
| Keywords: | plant patents, plant variety protection, utility patents, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q16, Q18, O32, O34, |
| Date: | 2012–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:119346&r=agr |
| By: | Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, Scott M.; Bals, Bryan D.; Dale, Bruce E. |
| Abstract: | This paper compares environmental and profitability outcomes for a centralized biorefinery for cellulosic ethanol that does all processing versus a biorefinery linked to a decentralized array of local depots that pretreat biomass into concentrated briquettes. The analysis uses a spatial bioeconomic model that maximizes predicted profit from crop and energy products, subject to the requirement that the biorefinery must be operated at full capacity. The model draws upon biophysical crop input-output coefficients simulated with the EPIC model, as well as input and output prices, spatial transportation costs, ethanol yields from biomass, and biorefinery capital and operational costs. The model was applied to 82 cropping systems simulated across 37 sub-watersheds in a 9-county region of southern Michigan in response to ethanol prices simulated to rise from $1.78 to $3.36 per gallon. Results show that the decentralized local biomass processing depots lead to lower profitability but better environmental performance, due to more reliance on perennial grasses than the centralized biorefinery. Simulated technological improvement that reduces the processing cost and increases the ethanol yield of switchgrass by 17% could cause a shift to more processing of switchgrass, with increased profitability and environmental benefits. |
| Keywords: | Biomass production, bioenergy supply, cellulosic ethanol, environmental trade-off analysis, bioeconomic modeling, EPIC, spatial configuration, local biomass processing, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q16, Q15, Q57, Q18, |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:119348&r=agr |
| By: | Aksoy, M. Ataman; Yagci, Fahrettin |
| Abstract: | Cashew policy reforms in Mozambique have been controversial. They are often invoked by critics as an illustration of how agricultural policy reforms supported by international financial institutions may fail to have their intended effects. This paper revisits the reforms and their outcomes almost two decades later. While the reforms resulted in higher producer prices and an increase in output, lack of consensus on the specifics of the reforms and associated non-price support arrangements created a situation in which the sector was not able to withstand international price shocks that ultimately led to a collapse of both the processing industry and cashew production. Non-price support by donors improved the efficiency of the processing industry but this was not complemented by an expansion in cashew nut supply as such support did not extend to smallholder cashew producers. For the reforms to have had their intended results, greater investment in -- and support to -- smallholder production was needed to increase yields and overall output. Such a more comprehensive approach to cashew policy reform would have required a greater focus on achieving consensus on the causes of the cashew sector's problems and agreement by all stakeholders on a common institutional framework for pricing and non-price support. |
| Keywords: | Markets and Market Access,Emerging Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,E-Business |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5939&r=agr |
| By: | Daniele Girardi |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to assess empirically whether speculative financial investments have affected wheat price dynamics in recent years. To address this issue we will (1) analyze recent agricultural price dynamics and their drivers (2) outline the process of ‘financialization’ of agricultural commodity markets, identifying the macroeconomic, monetary and legislative factors which favored it and (3) present an econometric analysis using Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat as a case study. Since 2007 HRW wheat price fluctuations have been positively related to US stock market returns and oil price movements. These correlations appear to be determined by commodity index traders, a category of financial investors, since both these relationships proved to be spurious, with the most tracked commodity index as the confounding variable. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Commodity Prices, Global Commodity Crises, Financialization, Commodity Futures Markets, Commodity Index Trading, Agricultural Markets, Commodity Futures Pricing. |
| JEL: | Q02 G13 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:depfid:0611&r=agr |
| By: | Jouanjean, Marie-Agnes; Maur, Jean-Christophe |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a novel dataset on United States food import refusals to show that reputation is an important factor in the enforcement of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The strongest reputation effect comes from a country's own history of compliance in relation to a particular product. The odds of at least one import refusal in the current year increase by more than 300 percent if there was a refusal in the preceding year, after controlling for other factors. However, the data are also suggestive of the existence of two sets of spillovers. First, import refusals are less likely if there is an established history of compliance in relation to other goods in the same sector. Second, an established history of compliance in relation to the same product by neighboring countries also helps reduce the number of import refusals. These findings have important policy implications for exporters of agricultural products, especially in middle-income countries. In particular, they highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach to upgrading standards systems, focusing on sectors rather than individual products, as well as the possible benefits that can come from regional cooperation in building sanitary and phytosanitary compliance capacity. |
| Keywords: | Food&Beverage Industry,Emerging Markets,Markets and Market Access,Labor Policies,Inequality |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5935&r=agr |
| By: | Sarthak Gaurav (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Srijit Mishra (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | The acreage under the transgenic Bt cotton seeds in India has risen significantly since its legalization in the year 2002. Discussions on the advantages from the technology have focused on increments in productivity and income, without much analysis on risk. We point out that claims on productivity gains seem to be misplaced, as appropriate counterfactuals do not exist for the same hybrids. In this article we analyse production costs and crop incomes in drought years to test a simplistic theory of risk based on first principles. We employ a mixed-methods framework to draw inferences by combining data from two cross-sectional surveys in Gujarat (Saurashtra and Southern-Plains) and Maharashtra (Western Vidarbha) for the period 2009-10 and compare it with unit-level data for the corresponding regions from a nationally representative sample for the period 2002-03. Empirical evidence, though limited, brings out the problem of how a high cost technology could be associated with higher risks and may be dominated by traditional alternatives under certain conditions. Ethnographic accounts from the field provide qualitative support to our understanding of potential risks and uncertainties associated with the new technology. |
| Keywords: | Bt cotton, agricultural risk, technology evaluation, mixed-methods, India |
| JEL: | D81 O13 Q12 Q16 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2012-001&r=agr |
| By: | Mather, David |
| Abstract: | Replaced with revised version January 11, 2012. |
| Keywords: | AIDS, Mozambique, adult mortality, Child Schooling, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:119320&r=agr |
| By: | Katsumi Nozawa |
| Abstract: | The promotion of oil palm production as an agribusiness development policy is a major issue in response to the increasing demand of palm oil in the Philippines. This paper focused on oil palm production cooperatives composed of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as members who were granted the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA). The paper scrutinized the difference of farm incomes with the land titles between the Individual CLOA and the Collective CLOA under the Agribusiness Venture Arrangement (AVA) mode through the field survey of the cooperatives in the provinces in Mindanao. In conclusion, the proposal was made with the emphasis on the necessity to provide production technology and management skill to the cooperatives and its ARBs members with the special emphasis given to those granted the Collective CLOA through the various kinds of agricultural assistance. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201113&r=agr |
| By: | Samuel GUERINEAU (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International); Hélène EHRHART (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International) |
| Abstract: | The recent boom and bust in commodity prices has renewed the policymakers' interest in three complementary issues: i) characteristics and determinants of commodity price instability, ii) its macroeconomic effects and, iii) the optimal policy responses to this instability. This work falls within the scope of studies dedicated to the macroeconomic effects of commodity price instability, but focuses on the impact on public finance, while existing works were concentrated on growth. This paper also differs from the few previous studies on two aspects. First, we test the impact of commodity price volatility rather than focusing only on price levels. Second, we use disaggregated data on tax revenues (income tax, consumption tax and international trade tax) and on commodity prices (agricultural products, minerals and energy) in order to identify transmission channels between world prices and public finance variables. Our empirical analysis is carried out on 90 developing countries over 1980-2008. We compute an index which measures the volatility of the international price of 41 commodities in the sectors of agriculture, minerals and energy. We find robust evidence that tax revenues in developing countries increase with the rise of commodity prices but that they are hurt by the volatility of these prices. More specifically, increased prices on imported commodities, lead to increased trade taxes and (to a smaller extent) consumption taxes being collected. Export prices are also positively associated with tax revenue collection but the channel is through income taxes and non-tax revenues rather than international trade taxes and consumption taxes. However, the volatility of commodity prices, both of imported and exported commodities, is robustly negatively affecting tax revenues. These findings point at the detrimental effect of commodity price volatility on developing countries public finances and highlight further the importance of finding ways to limit this price volatility and to implement policy measures to mitigate its adverse effects. |
| Keywords: | Price Volatility, Public Finance, Primary Commodities |
| JEL: | F10 O13 E62 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdi:wpaper:1308&r=agr |
| By: | Francesco Di Comite; Jean-François Thisse; Hylke Vandenbussche |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a novel dataset on US food import refusals to show that reputation is an important factor in the enforcement of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures. The strongest reputation effect comes from a country’s own history of compliance in relation to a particular product. The odds of at least one import refusal in the current year increase by over 300% if there was a refusal in the preceding year, after controlling for other factors. However, the data are also suggestive of the existence of two sets of spillovers. First, import refusals are less likely if there is an established history of compliance in relation to other goods in the same sector. Second, an established history of compliance in relation to the same product by neighboring countries also helps reduce the number of import refusals. These findings have important policy implications for exporters of agricultural products, particularly in middle-income countries. In particular, they highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach to upgrading standards systems, focusing on sectors rather than individual products, as well as the possible benefits that can come from regional cooperation in building SPS compliance capacity. |
| Keywords: | Product standards; SPS measures; Import refusals; Developing countries. |
| JEL: | F13 F15 O24 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:30211&r=agr |
| By: | Bukenya, James O.; Hyuha, Theodora; Twinamasiko, Julius; Molnar, Joseph |
| Abstract: | The paper examines profitability and market performance of small-scale fish traders selected randomly from a cross-section of nine fish markets in four districts in Central Uganda. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire which was designed to solicit information on tradersâ socio-economic characteristics, marketing characteristics, operating costs and returns, and problems associated with fish marketing in the study area. Percentages were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics, market characteristic and problems associated with fish marketing while gross profit and marketing performance models were used to determine profitability, marketing margin and operational efficiency, respectively. The results suggest that fish trade is carried out by both men and women. More men are involved in the trade of fresh fish while more women are involved in the processed (sundried/smoked) fish trade. Some traders dealt in more than one species of fish although a majority sold exclusively in one species. Gross profit was estimated at USh358.40/kg and USh234.73/kg for wholesalers and retailers, respectively, with marketing margins of 19.32% and 16.67% for wholesalers and retailers, respectively. The market operational efficiency was 279.27 percent, implying high efficiency in fish marketing in the study area. The major pressing concerns which included high supply cost, low prices, low fish supply and increased arrests for selling immature fish were common to both retail and wholesale marketing channels. |
| Keywords: | Fish marketing, survey data, gross profit, market margin, operational efficiency, Uganda, Agribusiness, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea12:119527&r=agr |
| By: | Shahzad Kouser (Georg-August-University Göttingen); Matin Qaim (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | Data from a farm survey and choice experiment are used to value the benefits of Bt cotton in Pakistan. Unlike previous research on the economic impacts of Bt, which mostly concentrated on financial benefits in terms of gross margins, we also quantify and monetize positive externalities associated with technology adoption. Due to lower chemical pesticide use on Bt cotton plots, there are significant health advantages in terms of reduced incidence of acute pesticide poisoning, and environmental advantages in terms of higher biodiversity and lower soil and groundwater contamination. These positive externalities are valued at US$ 79 per acre, of which half is attributable to health and the other half to environmental improvements. Adding average gross margin gains of US$ 204 results in an aggregate benefit of US$ 283 per acre of Bt, or US$ 1.7 billion for the total Bt cotton area in Pakistan. |
| Keywords: | Bt cotton; Pesticide use; Health and environmental benefits; Choice experiment; Pakistan |
| JEL: | D62 I15 Q51 Q57 |
| Date: | 2012–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:105&r=agr |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | This paper incorporates interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics and suggests a holistic framework for assessing the forms and efficiency of environmental management in agriculture. First, it defines environmental management as a specific system of social order regulating behaviour and relations of various agents related to natural environment, and environmental management in agriculture as eco-management associated with agricultural production. Second, it specifies spectrum of modes and mechanisms of eco-management comprising: institutional environment, market, private, collective, public and hybrid. Third, it suggests stages in analysis and improvement of environmental management in agriculture including: identification of problems, and risks associated with natural environment; assessment of efficiency of available and feasible modes, and specifying cases of market, private, and public failures; assessment of comparative efficiency of alternative modes for new public intervention and selection of the most efficient one(s). Forth, it classifies personal, institutional, technological, natural, and transaction costs factors of management choice. Finally, it builds a principle governance matrix with the most effective market, private, and public modes taking into account the critical dimensions of eco-activity and transactions (appropriability, assets specificity, uncertainty and frequency), and their potential to coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of individuals, protect eco-rights and investments, overcome uncertainty and risk, assure socially desirable level of environmental protection, and minimize overall (implementing, third-party and transacting) costs. |
| Keywords: | environmental and natural resources governance; institutions; market; private; public and hybrid modes; agriculture |
| JEL: | O18 Q28 Q24 O13 Q12 Q25 Q18 Q38 R58 O17 Q13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35802&r=agr |
| By: | Shuaizhang Feng; Michael Oppenheimer; Wolfram Schlenker |
| Abstract: | We investigate the link between agricultural productivity and net migration in the United States using a county-level panel for the most recent period of 1970-2009. In rural counties of the Corn Belt, we find a statistically significant relationship between changes in net outmigration and climate-driven changes in crop yields, with an estimated semi-elasticity of about -0.17, i.e., a 1% decrease in yields leads to a 0.17% net reduction of the population through migration. This effect is primarily driven by young adults. We do not detect a response for senior citizens, nor for the general population in eastern counties outside the Corn Belt. Applying this semi-elasticity to predicted yield changes under the B2 scenario of the Hadley III model, we project that, holding other factors constant, climate change would on average induce 3.7% of the adult population (ages 15-59) to leave rural counties of the Corn Belt in the medium term (2020-2049) compared to the 1960-1989 baseline, with the possibility of a much larger migration response in the long term (2077-2099). Since there is uncertainty about future warming, we also present projections for a range of uniform climate change scenarios in temperature or precipitation. |
| JEL: | N3 N5 Q1 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17734&r=agr |
| By: | Pierre-Andre Jouvet (Universite Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense, Climate Economics Chair, France); Frederic Lantz (IFPEN); Elodie Le Cadre (IFPEN, Universite Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense,) |
| Abstract: | Reduction in energy dependancy and emissions of CO2 via renewables targeted in the European Union energy mix and taxation system might trigger the production of bioenergy production and competition for biomass utilization. Torrefied biomass could be used to produce second generation biofuels to replace some of the fuels used in transportation and is also suitable as feedstock to produce electricity in large quantities. This paper examines how the CO2 price aspects demand of torrefied biomass in the power sector and its consequences on the profitability of second generation biofuel units (Biomass to Liquid units). Indeed, the profitability of the BtL units which are supplied only by torrefied biomass is related to the competitive demand of the power sector driven by the CO2 price and feed-in tarifis. We propose a linear dynamic model of supply and demand. On the supply side, a profit-maximizing torrefied biomass sector is modelized. The model aims to represent the transformation of biomass into torrefied biomass which could be sold to the refinery sector and the power sector. A two-sided (demanders and supplier) bidding process led us to arrive at the equilibrium price for torrefied biomass. The French case is used as an example. Our results suggest that the higher the CO2 price, the more stable and important the power sector demand. It also makes the torrefied biomass production less vulnerable to uncertainty on demand coming from the refining sector. The torrefied biomass co-firing with coal can offer a near-term market for the torrefied biomass for a CO2 emission price lower than 20 euros/tCO2, which can stimulate development of biomass supply systems. Beyond 2020, the demand for torrefied biomass from the power sector could be substituted by the refining sector if the oil price goes up whatever the CO2 price. |
| Keywords: | Bioenergy, CO2 price, Renery market, Electricity market, Optimization. |
| JEL: | C61 Q16 Q41 Q42 Q58 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1201&r=agr |
| By: | Dutz, Mark A.; Sharma, Siddharth |
| Abstract: | The paper explores existing patterns of green innovation and presents an overview of green innovation policies for developing countries. The key findings from the empirical analysis are: (1) frontier green innovations are concentrated in high-income countries, few in developing countries but growing; (2) the most technologically-sophisticated developing countries are emerging as significant innovators but limited to a few technology fields; (3) there is very little South-South collaboration; (4) there is potential for expanding green production and trade; and (5) there has been little base-of-pyramid green innovation to meet the needs of poor consumers, and it is too early to draw conclusions about its scalability. To promote green innovation, technology and environmental policies work best in tandem, focusing on three complementary areas: (1) to promote frontier innovation, it is advisable to limit local technology-push support to countries with sufficient technological capabilities -- but there is also a need to provide global technology-push support for base-of-pyramid and neglected technologies including through a pool of long-term, stable funds supported by demand-pull mechanisms such as prizes; (2) to promote catch-up innovation, it is essential both to facilitate technology access and to stimulate technology absorption by firms -- with critical roles played by international trade and foreign direct investment, with firm demand spurred by public procurement, regulations and standards; and (3) to develop absorptive capacity, there is a need to strengthen skills and to improve the prevailing business environment for innovation -- to foster increased experimentation, global learning, and talent attraction and retention. There is still considerable progress to be made in ranking green innovation policies as most appropriate for different developing country contexts -- based on more impact evaluation studies of innovation policies targeted at green technologies. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics&Policies,E-Business,ICT Policy and Strategies,Technology Industry,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5932&r=agr |
| By: | Mark J. Roberts; Daniel Yi Xu; Xiaoyan Fan; Shengxing Zhang |
| Abstract: | In this paper we use micro data on both trade and production for a sample of large Chinese manufacturing firms in the footwear industry from 2002-2006 to estimate an empirical model of export demand, pricing, and market participation by destination market. We use the model to construct indexes of firm-level demand, cost, and export market profitability. The empirical results indicate substantial firm heterogeneity in both the demand and cost dimensions with demand being more dispersed. The firm-specific demand and cost components are very useful in explaining differences in the extensive margin of trade, the length of time a firm exports to a destination, and the number and mix of destinations, as well as the export prices, while cost is more important in explaining the quantity of firm exports on the intensive margin. We use the estimates to analyze the reallocation resulting from removal of the quota on Chinese footwear exports to the EU and find that it led to a rapid restructuring of export supply sources in favor of firms with high demand and low cost indexes. |
| JEL: | F1 L0 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17725&r=agr |
| By: | Tetsuya , Tsurumi; Shunsuke , Managi |
| Abstract: | This study explores the effect of trade openness on deforestation. Previous studies do not find a clear effect of trade openness on deforestation. We use updated data on the annual rate of deforestation for 142 countries from 1990 to 2003, treat trade and income as endogenous, and take into consideration an adjustment process by applying a dynamic model. We find that an increase in trade openness increases deforestation for non-OECD countries while slowing down deforestation for OECD countries. There is a possibility that both capital-labor and environmental-regulation effects have a negative impact on deforestation in developing countries, whereas the opposite holds in developed countries. |
| Keywords: | Trade Openness; Environment; Comparative Advantage; Deforestation |
| JEL: | Q23 F10 |
| Date: | 2011–12–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35805&r=agr |