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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒12‒19
125 papers chosen by |
| By: | LaDue, Eddy |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2013–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cudasp:189186&r=agr |
| By: | Cai, Yongxia; Beach, Robert H.; Zhang, Yuquan |
| Abstract: | Efforts to satisfy global energy demand and improve food security while simultaneously taking action to mitigate climate change pose many key challenges for the world. In this study, the Applied Dynamic Analysis of the Global Economy (ADAGE), a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, is applied to examine the impact of oil price on biofuel expansion, and subsequently, on food supply/price, land use change and climate mitigation potential, when both first and second generation biofuel feedstocks are considered. The results indicate despite a continued increase in land productivity and energy efficiency, increases in population and economic growth lead to a global increase in agriculture production, rising food, agriculture, biofuels, and energy prices, and land conversion from the other four land types to cropland in the REF scenario from 2010 to 2040. Oil price plays an important role in biofuel expansion. Globally, higher oil price leads to the expansion of biofuel production, increasing its share in total liquid fuel consumption in the private transportation sector. Consequently, more land is allocated for biofuel production, reducing global agriculture output and increasing agricultural consumption prices. Although emissions from land-use change increase, the overall emissions including fossil fuel emissions decreases. Regions display different patterns on biofuel expansions, land-use change, prices for food/agriculture and energy/biofuels, and GHG emissions. |
| Keywords: | Biofuels, Computable General Equilibrium, Oil Price, Food security, GHG Mitigation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170589&r=agr |
| By: | Michler, Jeffrey; Josephson, Anna Leigh |
| Keywords: | Crop Diversification, Poverty Persistence, Control Function Approach, Rural Ethiopia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Land Economics/Use, C33, C35, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170576&r=agr |
| By: | McBride, Linden |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172437&r=agr |
| By: | Wamisho, Kassu |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170719&r=agr |
| By: | Upton, Joanna B. |
| Keywords: | cash transfers, food assistance, development economics, household models, Niger, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172942&r=agr |
| By: | Saak, Alexander |
| Abstract: | Selected Poster for AAEA 2014 annual meetings |
| Keywords: | monitoring, food safety, reputation, supply chain, moral hazard, Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2014–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169783&r=agr |
| By: | Domjan, Erika |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169083&r=agr |
| By: | Mrabet, Rachid |
| Abstract: | Mediterranean agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate change. A crop production strategy that responds to climate change must address both adaptability and mitigation aspects, and should also contribute to decreasing the overall agricultural carbon footprint in the economy. Over the past decades, there have been concerted efforts to promote such strategy through application of conservation agriculture (CA). CA is a set of soil management practices that minimize the disruption of the soil's structure, composition and natural biodiversity. Despite high diversity in the types of crops grown, all forms of CA share 4 core principles. These include (i) maintenance of permanent or semi-permanent soil cover, (ii) direct seeding with minimum soil disturbance, (iii) regular crop rotations or sequences and (iv) integrated weed control. It also uses or promotes where possible or needed various management practices such as utilization of green manures/cover crops, integrated pest and disease management, use of well adapted, high yielding varieties and good quality seeds, efficient water management and controlled traffic over agricultural soils. The origins, inventions and evolution of CA principles and practices are embedded in North and South American farming societies who, out of necessity, had to respond to the severe erosion and land degradation problems and productivity declines on their agricultural soils due to “intensive” tillage-based production agriculture. CA is currently practiced on 117 million hectares in all continents and all ecologies, including the dry Mediterranean environments. Presently, CA is advertised as a climate-smart agriculture permitting to (i) cope with drought and climate variability, (ii) invert erosion processes, (iii) mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and (iv) sustain food production and tackle food security. For Mediterranean environments, many researchers believe that agriculture has the potential of becoming a much larger sink for CO2, if CA principles are followed. In fact, the accumulated scientific and farmer’s evidences have shown that CA can successfully provide a range of unequivocal productivity, socio-economic and environmental co-benefits to the producers and the society at large. To achieve these benefits, CA needs heightened attention in agricultural policy processes and strategies from national to regional levels. This paper is addressing these issues in order to smooth policy shifts to CA in dry Mediterranean areas. |
| Keywords: | Conservation agriculture, Mediterranean climate, ecological intensification, climate-smart agriculture, no-tillage systems., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:morc11:188547&r=agr |
| By: | Yi, Fujin; Sun, Dingqiang |
| Abstract: | This study examined the effects of China’s grain subsidy program, the largest food self-sufficiency project in the developing countries, on grain-sown areas within a context of liquidity constraints. A large household level panel was used to evaluate how the subsidy affects the cultivation schedule of farm households through the relaxation of households’ liquidity con¬straints. Results suggest that in general, the grain subsidy program significantly improved farm households’ grain planting areas for liquidity-constrained households. This finding provides a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of China’s grain subsidy than previous studies |
| Keywords: | China grain subsidy, liquidity constraint, food security, land use, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169779&r=agr |
| By: | Anonymous; Chmieliński, Paweł; Wigier, Marek |
| Abstract: | Institutional restrictions concerning growth and development of Polish farms. The Russian agricultural sector and WTO: advantages and disadvantages. Policy and economic rent as sources of agricultural producer’s income. An analysis of current economic problems and development factors in agriculture facing Ukraine. The assessment of quality and price competition strategies in Polish trade of agri-food products. The dynamic of agrifood systems and institutional impacts on Romanian vegetable producers. The status and development perspectives of the agricultural production sector of the Republic of Belarus. Would equal direct payments in the EU be fair? Impact of the CAP support measures on the agricultural sector in Lithuania. Economic and managerial analysis of the effect of human capital on the growth of horticulture sector in Bulgaria. Agriculture and rural development – the case of Norway. Agricultural policy supporting the structural development of farms and other rural enterprises in Finland. Economic crisis in rural areas of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Clusters development in terms of building competitive advantages of an agricultural sector in transition countries. Sustainability of individual farms based on farm accountancy data and survey of respondents from Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. Development factors and elements of a farm management system in France. The impact of CAP on agriculture in the opinion of farmers. Regional restructuring and modernization of Bulgarian dairy sector after the accession to the EU. Trade arragements and their impact on food sector development in Balcan region countries candidate countries. Modelling the factors of human resources management in the horticulture sector in Bulgaria. Change of Productivity in German Dairy Farms. Structural and market changes in the Hungarian fruit industry. Social and economic assumptions of employment increase in fruit and vegetable sector of Slovakia. |
| Keywords: | economics, sociology, fruit industry, employment, CAP, agricultural policy, human capital, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:164841&r=agr |
| By: | Baldos, Uris Lantz C.; Hertel, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Poster Presentation for the 2014 AAEA Annual Meetings |
| Keywords: | Food Security, Green Revolution, Africa, Malnutrition, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170194&r=agr |
| By: | Zeng, Di; Alwang, Jeffrey; Norton, George; Shiferaw, Bekele; Jaleta, Moti; Yirga, Chilot |
| Abstract: | Adoption of agricultural technology can lead to multiple benefits to farm households, including increased productivity, incomes and food consumption. However, specific causal linkages between agricultural technology adoption and child nutrition outcomes are rarely explored in the literature. This paper helps bridge this gap through an impact assessment of the adoption of improved maize varieties on child nutrition outcomes using a recent household survey in rural Ethiopia. The conceptual linkage between adoption of improved maize varieties and child nutrition is first established using an agricultural household model. Instrumental variable (IV) estimation suggests the overall impacts of adoption on child height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores to be positive and significant. Quantile IV regressions further reveal that such impacts are largest among children with poorest nutritional outcomes. By combining a decomposition procedure with system of equations estimation, it is found that the increase in own-produced maize consumption is the major channel through which adoption of improved maize varieties affects child nutrition. |
| Keywords: | child nutrition, impact, improved maize varieties, Ethiopia, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:171427&r=agr |
| By: | Dumortier, Jerome |
| Abstract: | Although a cellulosic ethanol mandate for 2022 is in place, significant political, economic, and agronomic uncertainty exists surrounding the attainability of the mandate. This paper evaluates the effects of bioenergy crop yield and cost uncertainty on land allocation and the feedstock mix for cellulosic ethanol in the United States. The county-level model focuses on corn, soybeans, and wheat as the field crops and corn stover, wheat straw, switchgrass, and miscanthus as the biomass feedstocks. The economic model allocates land optimally among the alternative crops given a binding cellulosic biofuel mandate. The model is calibrated to 2022 in terms of yield, crop demand, and baseline prices. The bioenergy and commodity prices resulting from a mandate are endogenous to the model. The scenarios simulated differ in terms of bioenergy crop types (switchgrass and miscanthus), bioenergy crop yields, bioenergy production cost, and the cellulosic biofuel mandate ranging from 15 to 60 billion gallons. Our results indicate that the largest proportion of agricultural land dedicated to either switchgrass or miscanthus is found in the Southern Plains and the Southeast. Almost no bioenergy crops are grown in the Midwest across all scenarios. The 15 and 30 billion liter mandates in the high production cost scenarios for switchgrass and in all miscanthus scenarios are covered to 95\% by agricultural residues. Changes in the prices for the three commodities are negligible for low cellulosic ethanol mandates because most of the mandate is met with agricultural residues. The amount of bioenergy crops brought into production at the highest imposed mandate result in price increases ranging from 5% for corn and soybeans to almost 14% for wheat. |
| Keywords: | cellulosic ethanol, switchgrass, miscanthus, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:171168&r=agr |
| By: | Voica, Daniel C. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Financial Economics, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169788&r=agr |
| By: | Allen, James E. IV |
| Abstract: | Effective food security work in developing countries, such as Mali, relies on a thorough understanding of the rural farming system. A common approach is to study land allocation decisions to specific crops. In accomplishing this, one challenge is to model all production outcomes in a multi-crop system. This paper attempts to overcome this challenge to study the determinants of household allocation to cotton, maize, sorghum, millet, and secondary crops. First, a reduced form of the agricultural household model helps to identify factors that explain land allocation to various crops. This framework is applied to survey data from six villages in Mali’s Koutiala Cercle. A fractional multinomial logit econometric model is used to estimate the effect of household and production attributes on shares of cotton, maize, sorghum, millet, and secondary crops simultaneously, the results of which are presented as average marginal effects. Among other results, the analysis shows that ethnic groups not native to the Koutiala Cercle are associated with significantly smaller shares of maize, and that villages with better market access are correlated with much higher shares of secondary crops and smaller shares of cotton. These results provide insights for policymakers on the role of cotton in farming system, the need to promote and develop better markets for coarse grains and secondary crops, and the importance of understanding the dynamic farming system in Mali’s Koutiala Cercle. |
| Keywords: | Mali, Land Allocation, Agricultural Household, Econometrics, Fractional Multinomial Logit, Farming Systems Research, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170175&r=agr |
| By: | Haas, Rainer; Sterns, James; Meixner, Oliver |
| Abstract: | The market of local and organic food is still a niche market in the USA, despite its strong growth rates. Both offer consumers an alternative to a globalized anonymous food supply chain. Yet local food and organic food seem to be overlapping and to some degree competing food concepts. While the organic food market somehow has managed to “mature”, being widely distributed in national supermarket chains, local food in the US still seems to be tied to a “grassroots food movement”, being mainly distributed over short food supply chains. With several trends indicating sustained growth for local and organic consumption, this paper first addresses different connotations of local food and compares them to standard definitions of organic food. The main focus is to explore the perception of US consumers towards local and organic food, using results from two different studies, both using laddering techniques and word association tests, which were undertaken at Cornell University in New York State and at the University of Florida in the city of Gainesville. These findings are used to arrive at a better understanding of the image of local and organic food, and the motives and values of local and organic food consumers’. |
| Keywords: | local food, organic food, consumer values and motives, product attributes of local food and organic food, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164759&r=agr |
| By: | Ferrier, Peyton; Zhen, Chen |
| Keywords: | vegetable, EASI, demand, fresh, preserved, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–07–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170555&r=agr |
| By: | Peterson, Hikaru Hanawa; Peterson, Jeffrey M. |
| Keywords: | rural grocers, food deserts, attribute non-attendance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170698&r=agr |
| By: | Alpmann, Jan; Bitsch, Vera |
| Abstract: | The paper deals with the conflict between the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) and the Federal Dairy Farmers Association (BDM) based on the two milk delivery strikes as culmination points in the so called dairy conflict. The analysis focusses on the main causes of the conflict and the different stages of escalation in the dairy industry. The objectives are to outline the process of change in Germany’s farmers associations, and the opportunities and risks regarding a long-term institutional differentiation. The main data collection methods are in-depth interviews and qualitative document analysis. |
| Keywords: | Dairy conflict, Farmer Association, grounded theory, institutional change, milk delivery strike, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164757&r=agr |
| By: | Narayan, Tulika; Belova, Anna |
| Abstract: | To support low-emission development strategies (LEDS) in the agriculture sector in Vietnam, this paper estimates marginal abatement cost curves (MACC) for mitigation options for rice cultivation in Vietnam: short-duration rice variety, draining of rice fields and reduced use of fertilizer or alternate wetting and drying (AWD). The MACC, which show the average cost of reducing total greenhouse gas emissions by one unit in rice cultivation in Vietnam, are the first attempt at using representative data on rice management practices and their costs are realized by farmers on the field. Typically, these estimates are usually developed using expert judgment and assuming perfect adoption of the technology. In addition, the MACC uses with region-specific estimates of carbon emissions from rice fields. Furthermore, when estimating the potential for potential for carbon emissions abatement from alternative management practices, we consider the behavioral constraints in adopting management practices, rather than just focusing on the technical potential. Among these potential mitigation options, in the South (An Giang Province), the largest percentage area is under low fertilizer and short-duration variety, followed by short duration with AWD. In the North (Thai Binh Province), majority of the area is under low fertilizer and short-duration variety. In the North, low fertilizer and short-duration variety appear to be production cost-reducing options, but do not have as much mitigation potential compared to alternate wetting and drying (AWD). However, AWD is a production cost-increasing option, implying that farmers may need a financial incentive to adopt AWD. Furthermore, farmers have trouble adopting AWD given its complexity. Therefore, when accounting for adoption constraints for AWD the abatement potential reduces significantly for AWD. This implies that the Government of Vietnam will have to focus on areas and communities that are more likely to adopt these technologies: farmers with ability to control irrigation and farmers with deeper pockets and access to high value markets. In the South, the use of short-duration variety had higher emissions. Short-duration varieties lead to lower methane (CH4) emissions but can have higher nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The explanation for this outcome is that the South has more rain and hotter temperatures, which can lead to higher nitrous oxide emissions. Thus, the short-duration variety needs to be revisited as a mitigation option in the South. In particular, this option needs to be combined with reduced fertilizer use to be an effective mitigation option. The application of organic amendments and crop residue management were not practiced much in the South. Therefore, these options could be not be analyzed. Overall, only AWD was a viable option, which is why we did not generate MACCs for the South. |
| Keywords: | MACC, Marginal Abatement Cost Curve, Rice Cultivate, Climate change mitigation., Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, International Development, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170185&r=agr |
| By: | Isoto, Rosemary; Kraybill, David |
| Abstract: | There is growing interest in the role of remittances on livelihoods of households in developing countries including those in Sub-Saharan Africa. We estimate the remittance elasticity for a number of macro- and micronutrients using a sample of rural households in Tanzania. Due to endogeneity of net income and remittances, special focus is placed on econometric analysis. One major finding is that remittances seem to be used as an investment in higher quality nutrients like proteins, vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium that lead to better development of especially the young population while net income is used for mere consumption. Remittances do not have any significant effect on calories, carbohydrates, and fats. |
| Keywords: | Remittances, Macronutrients, Micronutrients, Sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, O15, D1, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170612&r=agr |
| By: | Kafle, Kashi R. |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the impact of Heifer International’s livestock donation program in the Copperbelt Province in Zambia. Using a panel data of 300 households and 4 survey rounds, this analysis assesses the impact of dairy cow, meat goat, and draft cattle donation programs on poverty and food security measures. The impact on consumption expenditures and livestock revenue are estimated with a difference-in-difference method, and the impact on dairy/meat consumption frequency is estimated with a pooled poisson regression. A probit model is used to estimate the effects on subjective measures of poverty and food security. Results show that the impact of the program has increased significantly over time and animal recipients are relatively feeling better. By the fourth round, all animal recipients have seen a significant increase in consumption expenditure, livestock revenue, and frequency of dairy/meat consumption. However, no significant impact exists on household asset ownership and growth. Although all the animal recipients have increased milk consumption, meat consumption has gone up among the goat beneficiaries only. While all three animal species contribute to increase consumption expenditures among animal recipients, only the draft cattle and dairy cow programs help increase revenue from livestock products. Likewise, the meat goat and dairy cow programs have contributed to food security through improved dietary diversity. |
| Keywords: | livestock donation, poverty, dietary diversity, milk consumption, consumption expenditure, food security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014–07–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170629&r=agr |
| By: | Sidlovits, Diana; Kator, Zoltan; Kocsis, Marton; Szabo, Zsuzsanna |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:169089&r=agr |
| By: | Vorotnikova, Ekaterina; Asci, Serhat; Seale, James |
| Abstract: | After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian economy was on the way to becoming more market-based. While the broadening of market forces in Russian agriculture seems plausible, there is little empirical evidence to support the proportion that land allocation decision among grains and oil-seeds are in large determined by output prices for the crops. The crops are wheat, barley, oats, corn, rye, soybeans, rapeseed, and sunflower. In this chapter, a land allocation model developed recently by Vorotnikova, Asci and Seale (2013) is fit to post-Soviet data to determine if output prices for grains and oil-seeds significantly affect land allocation among these crops and by what magnitudes. We look at the effect of the relative export price changes on allocation of land among top eight top crops in agricultural production for Russia during the years 1992 to 2012. We have determined that most price responsive acreages are those of 1) soybeans, 2) corn, 3) sunflower, 4) wheat, 5) rye, 6) barley, and 7) other. Overall, we can conclude that Russian agriculture has become price responsive when it comes to the land allocation. |
| Keywords: | Post-Soviet Union agriculture, land allocation, price responsiveness, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170681&r=agr |
| By: | Elbakidze, Levan; Vinson, Hannah; Cobourn, Kelly; Taylor, Garth |
| Keywords: | Water, Prior Appropriation, Agricultural Production, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170554&r=agr |
| By: | Okello, Julius J.; Lagervist, Carl Johan; Kakuhenzire, Rogers; Parker, Monica; Shulte-Geldermann, Elmar |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170237&r=agr |
| By: | Pieralli, Simone |
| Abstract: | Faster agricultural development requires understanding whether the inverse land size-yield relationship exists or not. To verify the presence of this relationship, this study decomposes a yield index into separate components attributable to (1) efficiency, (2) soil quality, (3) land size, (4) variable inputs, (5) capital inputs, and (6) outputs. Nonparametric productivity accounting methods are used to decompose the inverse land size-yield relationship in a multi-output representation of the technology without specific assumptions on returns to scale. A strongly significant inverse (positively convex) land size-yield relationship is present in the Kenyan data, but vanishes in favor of a linear inverse relationship when accounting for the effect of outputs' diversification. |
| Keywords: | inverse land size-yield relationship, productivity decomposition, efficiency, yield, Kenya, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D20, C14, C43, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170454&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Xiaoguang; Khanna, Madhu |
| Abstract: | We developed an integrated model of U.S agricultural and transportation sectors to examine the impacts of corn ethanol production on the reduction in CRP enrollment and grassland conversion during the period 2007-2012. We also examine the extent to which ethanol production raised the budgetary cost of maintaining the CRP program at the 2007 level. Our simulation analysis shows that by raising crop prices and increasing opportunity costs of marginal lands, corn ethanol production led to additional 1.6 million acres reduction in CRP enrollment and grassland conversion relative to a no-biofuel policy baseline scenario. In order to maintain the CRP enrollment at the 2007 levels, a net present value of government expenditure of $1.85 billion on reenrollment would be needed under the baseline scenario for the period 2007-2012. Government expenditure will increase to $2.07 billion with the booming of corn ethanol industry. |
| Keywords: | Biofuels, Conservation Reserve Program, Maintenance Cost, Grassland Conversion, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170284&r=agr |
| By: | McLaughlin, Patrick W. |
| Keywords: | non-price competition, WIC, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Marketing, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170532&r=agr |
| By: | Davidova, Sophia; Thomson, Kenneth J |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2014–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:170155&r=agr |
| By: | Bharad, Abhishek; Harrison, R. Wes; Davis, Christopher |
| Abstract: | Not only does information about food recalls play a vital role in changing the demand for implicated food products, but it also impacts the demand for close substitutes. The study aims to identify the structural change in demand for cookie dough due to the 2009 cookie dough recall of Brand1, one of the most publicized single brand recalls in recent years. The study utilizes Barten’s synthetic differential demand system, and introduces a sentiment analysis technique to identify the tone of media publicity and its effect on demand. The results suggest a spillover effect in the cookie dough market and finds that media sentiment has an effect on consumption. |
| Keywords: | Consumer Demand, Demand System, Food Safety, Information Effect, Sentiment Analysis, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:173577&r=agr |
| By: | Zhang, Jun; Yen, Steven |
| Abstract: | The roles of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and parental resources in household food insecurity are investigated with a endogenous ordered probability model. Data for husband-wife families with children from the 2010 and 2011 Current Population Survey are used. SNAP participation is found to reduce the probability of household food insecurity among adults by 8.8%,increases the probability of being low food security among children by 6.1%,and increases the probability of being very low food security among children by 2.7%.Parental resource and socio-demographic variables also play important roles in determining SNAP participation and household food insecurity. |
| Keywords: | Household food insecurity, SNAP participation, husband-wife households with children, ordered probability model, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, I12, I38, C31, |
| Date: | 2014–05–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:167477&r=agr |
| By: | Bingham, David; Dharmasena, Senarath; Capps, Oral; Salin, Victoria |
| Keywords: | Brand-level milk, Tobit model, Nielsen data, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D11, D12, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170468&r=agr |
| By: | Dharmasena, Senarath; Bessler, David A.; Todd, Jessica; Capps, Oral, Jr. |
| Abstract: | State level data on food environment variables for the period 2000 through 2013, gathered from the Food Environment Atlas and various other government sources are used to model a panel VAR to capture specific state-level fixed and random effects. The set of food environment variables can be broadly classified into four major categories: food insecurity, food assistance, poverty and obesity. This will help explain interactions of innovations (new information) from food environment variables, which in turn help generate policy prescriptions dealing with the food environment in the United States |
| Keywords: | Food Environment, Obesity, Food insecurity, Poverty, Food assistance, Panel VAR, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C31, C32, C53, C54, E61, I38, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169797&r=agr |
| By: | Qi, Lingqiao; Bravo-Ureta, Boris E.; Cabrera, Victor E. |
| Abstract: | This study examines the effect of climatic variables on dairy farm productivity using panel data for the state of Wisconsin along with alternative stochastic frontier models. A noteworthy feature of this analysis is that Wisconsin is a major dairy producing area where winters are typically very cold and snowy, and summers hot and humid. Thus, it is an ideal geographical region for examining the effects of a range of climatic factors on dairy production. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the climatic effect on the productivity of Wisconsin farms. We identify the effect of temperature and precipitation, both jointly and separately, on milk output. The analysis shows that increasing temperature in summer or in autumn is harmful for dairy production, while warmer winters and warmer springs are beneficial. By contrast, more precipitation has a consistent adverse effect on dairy productivity. Overall, in the past 17 years, climatic conditions have had a negative impact on the dairy farms in Wisconsin and the data reveals a mild negative trend. |
| Keywords: | climatic effect, dairy production, stochastic production frontiers, Wisconsin, Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Q12, D24, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172411&r=agr |
| By: | Kim, Elizabeth J.; Ahn, Byeong-il |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of this study is to classify consumers according to their time allocation on food consumption and to analyze socioeconomic characteristics that affect time-saving food consumption pattern. We find out the determinants of time-saving food consumption lifestyle. Since the dependent variables we consider are the degrees of time saving, we employed the ordered logit model. Cross-sectional survey data in 2011, which includes 2,012 individuals, collected by the Agricultural Trade Company in Korea is used for the ordered logit model analysis. |
| Keywords: | Households, time allocation, food consumption lifestyle, cluster analysis, ordered logit model, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Labor and Human Capital, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170365&r=agr |
| By: | Hu, Wu-Yueh; Vukina, Tomislav; Zheng, Viaoyong |
| Abstract: | Abstract The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between farmers’ risk-aversions and the riskiness of various agricultural enterprises to see which marketing arrangements would typically emerge. Relying on the basic agency theory model we hypothesize the prevalence of alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) in situations with high-risk averse farmers and high-risk enterprises and the prevalence of spot (cash) markets for low risk-averse participants and less risky enterprises. Our empirical tests are carried out using the 2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). The empirical results are largely supportive of the agency theory of contract choice. |
| Keywords: | Agency theory, Risk, Contract choice., Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Marketing, Risk and Uncertainty, Q12, Q13, L14, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:168930&r=agr |
| By: | Chenarides, Lauren; Bonanno, Alessandro; Palmer, Anne; Clancy, Kate |
| Abstract: | In the U.S., many households are unable to meet their dietary needs for leading an active and healthy lifestyle. Research has focused on assessing community-level constraints and opportunities to access health and nutritious food for low-income and disadvantaged populations. Our aim is to investigate how community-level constraints relate to the perceived barriers to purchasing healthy foods. Probit regressions are performed where the probability of declaring a specific barrier to purchasing more healthy food (or no barrier) is regressed on the respondents’ demographic characteristics and on the zip code level food store location variables. Understanding the barriers that exist to purchasing healthy foods for consumers living in underserved areas can have a considerable impact on current policy discussions. |
| Keywords: | food insecurity, healthy foods, perceptions, consumer purchasing behavior, survey, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170606&r=agr |
| By: | Adjognon, Serge; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, International Development, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170515&r=agr |
| By: | Clemente, Felippe; da Silva Júnior, Aziz Galvão |
| Abstract: | A contract is considered incomplete when the optimal solution for a contractual problem requires some information from the parts which is not observable by one or both parts. This problem is found in the biodiesel production chain among small scale farmers and biodiesel companies in Brazil, which is regulated by a certification called Social Fuel Seal under the framework of the PNPB (Brazilian Program for Production and Use of Biodiesel). In order to minimize this hindrance, an incentive structure was elaborated utilizing the nonlinear programming. The Principal-Agent approach was used to verify if these new incentives allow for the small scale soybean farmer to put great effort level in the agricultural production. When the incentive structure is evaluated through the model proposed, the result indicates that both the farmer and the biodiesel company will have their profits maximized if the producer puts on great effort. Thus, it is clear the importance to include this mechanism of stimulation to productivity increase into the PNPB framework in order to contribute to the competitiveness of the Biodiesel chain in Brazil. |
| Keywords: | Contracts Farms, Biofuel, Principal-Agent Model, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164767&r=agr |
| By: | Li, Ziran; Hang, Qian |
| Keywords: | Agricultural cooperative, Mixed oligopoly, Decision under uncertainty, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Risk and Uncertainty, D4, D43, L1, L2, Q1, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170206&r=agr |
| By: | Lee, Sang Hyeon; Han, Doo Bong; Caputo, Vincenzina; Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170671&r=agr |
| By: | Barbier, Edward B.; Hochard, Jacob P. |
| Abstract: | According to global spatial data sets in 2000 more than one-third of the rural population in developing countries was located on less favored agricultural land and areas. Less favored agricultural lands are susceptible to low productivity and degradation, because their agricultural potential is constrained biophysically by terrain, poor soil quality, or limited rainfall. Less favored agricultural areas include less favored agricultural lands plus favorable agricultural land that is remote, that is, land in rural areas with high agricultural potential but with limited access. The paper presents tests of whether these spatial distributions of rural population influence poverty directly or indirectly via income growth in 83 developing countries from 2000 to 2012. The analysis finds no evidence of a direct impact on poverty, but there is a significant indirect impact via the elasticity of poverty reduction with respect to growth. Reducing poverty requires targeting rural populations in less favored lands and remote areas, in addition to encouraging out-migration in some areas. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Regional Economic Development,Population Policies,Achieving Shared Growth |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7101&r=agr |
| By: | Brockhaus, Jan H.; Kalkuhl, Matthias |
| Abstract: | We investigate to which extent the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), set up by the G20 in 2011, can help to reduce food price volatility. Linking uncertainty about fundamentals and volatility in a theoretical model, we show that the uncertainty provides an upper limit for the volatility. In our qualitative analysis we argue that AMIS may help to foster desired price changes and to prevent undesired price changes but at the same time its success in doing so has been limited until now because countries remain reluctant to share their data and the private sector remains largely excluded. Our quantitative analysis shows that the estimations of fundamentals from different sources deviate a lot, especially for stocks. Over time, different estimations seem to comove rather than to converge (for the marketing year 2012/13). With the help of a panel regression we find correlations between food price volatility and oil price volatility, stock-to-use ratios, productions shocks, and uncertainty of the fundamentals. |
| Keywords: | food price volatility, AMIS, intransparency, uncertainty, information, harvest estimations and forecasts, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170391&r=agr |
| By: | Taheripour, Farzad; Tyner, Wallce E. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines and quantifies the consequences of increases in supplies of oil and gas from shale resources for the US economy and its agricultural and biofuel industries using a computable general equilibrium modeling framework under alternative economic conditions and emissions reduction policies. It shows that increases in supplies of oil and gas from shale resources generate enormous gains for the US economy. The question is do we use it all for higher economic growth or do we allocate part of it for reducing future global warming. This paper shows that we can sacrifice about 43% of the gains to reduce GHG emissions by 27%. Finally, the results of this paper indicate that in the presence of shale resources elimination of biofuel mandates negatively affect biofuels and crop industries. However, the impact is not huge because using shale resources increases national income and that generates a higher demand for food (including livestock product) which eventually prevents a big fall in demand for crops. |
| Keywords: | Shale Resources, Biofuels, Agriculture, General Equilibrium, Emissions Reduction, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C68, D60, F18, Q10, Q20, Q40, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170238&r=agr |
| By: | Amani, Pegah; Båth, Klara; Östergren, Karin; Liljestrand, Kristina; Fredriksson, Anna; Kjellsdotter, Linea |
| Abstract: | Perishability and quality deterioration over time makes food differ from industrial products. The objective of this research is to describe the food quality from a logistics perspective and specify which characteristics of food products are necessary to consider in designing food logistics. These characteristics include food sensory factors, food safety factors, packaging, and the interaction of all these factors with the surrounding environment which can occur related to the logistics processes. According to the results, food products are suggested to be divided into 6 major groups based on their similarity in the interaction with surrounding environment factors affecting the products during logistics activities. These groups are Vegetables, Fruits, Biennial vegetables, Chilled & Super-Chilled, Frozen, and Ambient. Subsequently, the sensitivity of each group was analyzed with regard to the environmental factors they are exposed to during logistics, such as e.g. temperature variations, humidity, or pressure and vibration. The results of this study can increase the knowledge and know-how for more efficient and safer food transports while minimizing the risk of damage to the food products during transport. |
| Keywords: | Food logistics, food quality, metabolic activity, chilled food, frozen food, ambient food, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164761&r=agr |
| By: | Pruitt, J. Ross; Tonsor, Glynn T.; Brooks, Kathleen R. |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the tradeoffs that agricultural economists accept for current levels of information contained in two U.S. Department of Agriculture livestock reports. Our analysis compares the components of a report to its value in improving understanding of market dynamics, expense, substitutability, and priority to be maintained. Results indicate the importance of maintaining information regarding the placement weights of cattle in feedlots as well as the inventory and weight information for market hogs. |
| Keywords: | Public Information, Value of Information, Livestock, Forced-Rank Choices, Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169389&r=agr |
| By: | Abramczuk, Łukasz; Augustyńska-Grzymek, Irena; Czułowska, Magdalena; Idzik, Marcin; Jabłoński, Konrad; Skarżyńska, Aldona; Żekało, Marcin |
| Abstract: | Morphology of the volatility of time series of prices of selected agricultural products. Materials and research methods and presentation of results. Projection method for income from agricultural products. Means of production – consumption and trend in price changes in the period, selected problems. Projection for 2015 of production costs and economic performance of selected agricultural products. |
| Keywords: | agricultural products, changes of price, potatoe, milk, wheat, triticale, maize, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:164836&r=agr |
| By: | Jonathan Rushton; Jorge Pinto Ferreira; Katharina D.C. Stärk |
| Abstract: | The use of antimicrobials in livestock production provides a basis for improving animal health and productivity. This in turn contributes to food security, food safety, animal welfare, protection of livelihoods and animal resources. However, there is increasing concern about levels of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from human, animal, food and environmental samples and how this relates to use of antimicrobials in livestock production. The report examines antimicrobial usage in livestock and its impact on public health and the food economy. Policy issues and knowledge gaps to manage antimicrobial use and the risk of antimicrobial resistance are identified and discussed. |
| Keywords: | animal productivity, antimicrobials, growth promoters, Animal health, antibiotics |
| Date: | 2014–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:68-en&r=agr |
| By: | Maganga, Assa Mulagha; Phiri, M. Alexander R.; Mapemba, Lawrence D.; Gebremariam, Gebrelibanos G.; Dzanja, Josephy K. |
| Abstract: | In contrast to the myriad of empirical work on food demand in other countries, very few studies have considered zero expenditures on some food groups. Those which have attempted have been based on techniques which result in endogeneity and inefficient estimates which in turn may misinform policy calibration. Improving on methodological flaw of previous studies, the present study censors zero expenditures in the first stage using simulation based maximum likelihood multivariate probit. In the second stage, Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System which allows for a more realistic assumption of curvature in Engels curve is estimated. In turn, food expenditure and price elasticities are derived. In view of the high expenditure elasticities, considering a policy option that would enhance rural consumer income is desirable, since it will result in high consumption thereby providing more incentives for food production. |
| Keywords: | QUAIDS model, food demand elasticities, Rural Malawi, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D12, C31, Q19, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174853&r=agr |
| By: | Carnegie, Rachel; Wang, Holly; Widmar, Nicole; Ortega, David |
| Keywords: | Consumer Preferences, Choice Experiment, China, Duck, Food Service Industry, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170717&r=agr |
| By: | Jones, Michael S.; Alexander, Corinne E.; Smith, Bruce |
| Abstract: | To date there is extremely limited knowledge of the economic consequences of post-harvest losses for smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa. Major contributors to economic losses are price penalties for poor quality marketed grain. This study investigates farm-gate level discounts demanded by rural Rwandan bean traders for insect-damaged dry beans. We use a simplified contingent evaluation methodology with physical grain samples to elicit seasonal damage discount schedules, gathering data from 270 trader interviews in 25 regionally-diverse rural markets, in periods of both grain abundance and grain scarcity. We find that while levels of 5-10% grain damage can generally be sold with a moderate discount, grain with 20-30% damage is largely unmarketable. We additionally use a two-stage model to investigate physical and non-physical drivers of buying insect-damaged grain and, if so, the demanded discount intensity. Results indicate that while grain damage levels play a central role, large volume traders penalize damage less while traders in the seed market, storing before re-sale, or purchasing heavily from farmers (vs. other traders) penalize damage significantly more. Findings have helped develop more evidence-based extension programming for the Post-Harvest Task Force of the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture. Additionally, derived discount coefficients help evaluate the cost-effectiveness of technologies throughout the region which prevent post-harvest damage. |
| Keywords: | post-harvest losses, crop storage, storage technology, food security, Rwanda, sub-Saharan Africa, Food Security and Poverty, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170659&r=agr |
| By: | Figiel, Szczepan; Kuberska, Dominika; Kufel, Justyna |
| Abstract: | The economic substance of the cluster concept. Key conditions for the emergence and development of agri-food clusters in Poland. Identification and spatial distribution of agri-food clusters. Examples of global agri-food clusters. |
| Keywords: | cluster, agri-food cluster, global cluster, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepr:179501&r=agr |
| By: | Nti, Frank; Hendricks, Nathan |
| Keywords: | Banana exports, Preference erosion, EU banana policy, economic growth, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade, O100, F1, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170707&r=agr |
| By: | Banterle, Alessandro; Ricci, Elena Claire |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyse if there is a diffuesed interest among consumers about the environmental impacts of their food choices, and try to capture the different types of attitudes of Italian consumers with respect to environmental sustainability of food products. The analysis builds on a survey based on vis-a-vis interviews with 240 consumers in Milan, and on a cluster analysis. The results highlight a high level of stated concern about environmental issues and about possible impacts of personal food consumption choices on the environment. Nevertheless, when investigating their actions during everyday shopping we have identified four groups of consumers: (1) those who take into consideration the environmental information on labels do not require additional information; (2) those for which environmental information on labels does not have a great effect on purchase, but would like to receive more information; (3) those for which the presence of environmental information directs product selection and would also like to receive more; (4) those that do not take into account environmental issues when purchasing and are not interested in receiving more information about the impacts of the products. |
| Keywords: | Consumer Choices, Environmental Sustainability, Food labelling, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Health Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D12, Q13, Q56, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164735&r=agr |
| By: | Ma, Xingliang; Spielman, David J.; Nazli, Hina; Zambrano, Patricia; Zaidi, Fatima; Kouser, Shahzad |
| Abstract: | Social networks play an important role in generating learning externalities that can drive the diffusion of innovative, and potentially poverty-reducing, technologies. This is particularly the case in developing countries where rural education, extension, and agricultural information services are underprovided. The recent introduction of genetically modified insect-resistant Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton in Pakistan represents an example where imperfect markets, weak extension services, and information asymmetries limit the ability of farmers to make informed decisions on how to take best advantage of the technology. This study explores the role of social networks and learning externalities in the adoption of Bt cotton in Pakistan. We model how information from social network members influences farmers’ adoption decisions, controlling for farmers’ characteristics, cotton growing conditions, and other possible information sources. We apply our model to a representative sample of 728 cotton-growing households randomly selected in 2012-13 from 52 villages across Punjab and Sindh. We also assess the role of input dealers, progressive farmers, public extension agents, and farmers’ individual characteristics in the uptake of the technology. Results suggest that communication within social networks helps disseminate information about Bt cotton cultivation and has encouraged its adoption. |
| Keywords: | social networks, Bt cotton, Pakistan, technology adoption, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:175276&r=agr |
| By: | Koirala, Krishna H.; Mishra, Ashok K.; Mehlhorn, Joey |
| Abstract: | Paper removed at the request of the author. Please contact Ashok Mishra if questions (AMishra@agcenter.lsu.edu). |
| Keywords: | Energy prices, agricultural commodity prices, copula, dependency, Clayton Copula, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, C32, Q43, Q47, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170364&r=agr |
| By: | Levine, Kendra; Mason, Nicole M. |
| Abstract: | It is recognized that inorganic fertilizer, as is commonly distributed in large-‐scale input subsidy programs, must be used along with soil fertility management (SFM) practices in order to maximize its efficacy. We use nationally representative data with 8,839 household observations to assess the impact of the Zambian input subsidy program on the use of five SFM practices: (i) manure and/or compost application, (ii) soil erosion preventative measures, (iii) minimum tillage, (iv) rotations between cereals and legumes, and (v) leaving land fallow. We estimate at the household level the effect of subsidized fertilizer on probability of adoption of each practice using a maximum likelihood probit model and the effect on number of hectares under each practice with a maximum likelihood Tobit model. The endogeneity of fertilizer distribution is tested and controlled for using the control function approach. We find a small but positive statistically significant crowding in effect of receiving subsidized fertilizer on all SFM practices except for fallow land, where we report a statistically significant crowding out effect of larger magnitude than estimated for the other practices (a decrease in hectares equal to 11.3% of the unconditional mean hectares of fallow land per household). |
| Keywords: | Fertilizer, Input subsidies, Zambia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Soil fertility management, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, H2, Q180, Q010, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170689&r=agr |
| By: | Galor, Oded (Brown University); Özak, Ömer (Southern Methodist University) |
| Abstract: | This research explores the origins of the distribution of time preference across regions. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically, that geographical variations in natural land productivity and their impact on the return to agricultural investment have had a persistent effect on the distribution of long-term orientation across societies. In particular, exploiting a natural experiment associated with the expansion of suitable crops for cultivation in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that agro-climatic characteristics in the pre-industrial era that were conducive to higher return to agricultural investment, triggered selection and learning processes that had a persistent positive effect on the prevalence of long-term orientation in the contemporary era. |
| Keywords: | time preference, delayed gratification, economic growth, culture, agriculture, economic development, evolution |
| JEL: | O1 O4 Z1 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8427&r=agr |
| By: | Mancino, Lisa; Ver Ploeg, Michele; Williams, Ryan |
| Abstract: | In this research, we examine if and how altering the scale at which access is defined changes the estimated impact of access on diet quality and health outcomes. We also examine the extent to which there is a gradient between distance to the nearest supermarket and diet-related outcomes and whether availability of less healthy food outlets, such as convenience stores, alter any possible relationship between access and diet and health outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Food Access, diet quality, GIS mapping, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170566&r=agr |
| By: | Zhou, Wei; Babcock, Bruce A. |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170584&r=agr |
| By: | Baselice, Antonio; Colantuoni, Francesca; Lass, Daniel A.; Nardone, Gianluca; Stasi, Antonio |
| Abstract: | The fresh-cut sector is constantly evolving and innovating in order to enhance quality and safety of products, which attributes are generally valued by consumers. Quality and safety are multifaceted attributes because they arise from a wide set of methods/technologies, therefore the knowledge about consumers’ preferences for food technologies is still matter of debate. The present paper tests whether new fresh-cut fruit and vegetables (F&V) attributes influence consumers’ choices and preferences. At the same time, we are able to verify the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on consumers’ preferences. A Latent Class Multinomial Logit Model has been fitted for four different European countries: Greece, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, in order to divide the consumers in different latent classes based on their choice and their characteristics. Fresh-cut F&V consumers for the four European countries, have a similar behavior in terms of preferences. We can divide the consumers in two different latent classes: the first made by consumers that do not appreciate any fresh-cut F&V attributes, and the second that include consumers that appreciate the several fresh-cut F&V attributes. |
| Keywords: | fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, consumers' preferences, Choice Experiment, Latent Class Model, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, C83, D12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170527&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, Sun Ling; Ball, Eldon; Nehring, Richard; Williams, Ryan; Chau, Truong |
| Abstract: | We employ state panel data for the period 1961-2004 to identify the role of climate change on U.S. agricultural productivity growth using a stochastic production frontier method. We examine the patterns of productivity changes and weather variations across regions and over time. Climate variables are measured using temperature humidity index (THI) load and Oury index at both their means and the degree of deviation from their historical norm (shocks). We also incorporate irrigation ratio and local public goods—R&D, extension, and road infrastructure—to capture the effects of specific state characteristics and to check for the robustness of the estimates of climate variables’ impacts. Results indicate that higher THI load can drive farm production from its best performance using given inputs and best technology. On the other hand, a higher Oury index, irrigation ratio, local R&D, Extension, and road density can drive state overall farm production closer to the production frontier. In addition, weather “shock” variables seem to have more consistent and robust impacts in explaining technical inefficiency than do level variables. |
| Keywords: | U.S. agricultural productivity, technical inefficiency, stochastic frontier, climate change, THI load, Oury index, Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:177170&r=agr |
| By: | Sabasi, Darlington; Shumway, C. Richard |
| Abstract: | This article examines factors driving technical change, technical efficiency, and scale and mix efficiency – all components of total factor productivity – in U.S. agriculture. We use economic theory and previous literature to identify explanatory variables affecting each component and examine some potentially important factors which have received less attention in the literature. Results show that technical change comes primarily from increased innovation through public research and from improvements in human capital. Technical efficiency is driven by farm size and the ratio of family to total labor, while scale and mix efficiency is driven mainly by agro-climatic conditions, weather, and farm size. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170225&r=agr |
| By: | Li, Haoyang; Ross, Brent R. |
| Abstract: | Recently, a number of pilot and demonstration scale advanced biofuel facilities have been established, but commercial scale facilities are yet to become operational. To make informed decisions about this emerging industry, potential biorefinery entrepreneurs and regional policy makers need analysis of how farmers are willing to adopt these feedstocks and how will they switch land into bio-feedstock use to ensure a stable feedstock supply. This paper develops an agent-based simulation model to study farmers’ switchgrass adoption decisions over time within a specific agricultural region. We explicitly examine the effect of various contractual terms across market scenarios and consider the potential for contractual hold-ups. Results show that a contract with a payment of $175/acre plus $50/ton could make both biorefinery and farmer profitable during the simulation period. It is also shown that alfalfa, but not annual crops will be the mostly affected crop (replaced) by the introduction of switchgrass in the region of North Michigan. |
| Keywords: | agent based simulation, contract hold-up, ethanol price, switchgrass, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Land Economics/Use, L10, L11, L14, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170502&r=agr |
| By: | France, Caillavet; Adélaide, Fadhuile; Véronique, Nichèle |
| Abstract: | Europe committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 40 % by 2030 from 1990 levels. Food emits about 30% of all GHG, the major toll arising from animal products (half of food GHG). This urges the necessity of public actions to encourage sustainable diets. Food policy is now at the double stake of preserving environment and improving health. To implement a public policy combining environmental and nutritional issues in a socially- conscious framework, a food demand study and the potential substitutions between foods is necessary. This article aims at offering a solid base for such policy decisions. Which are the food groups more suitable for a price change? Where are the more disparities in price responsiveness among income classes? Are own-price effects the only relevant? Do cross-price effects matter? To study food demand, we estimate an EASI demand system. It is based on a pseudo panel of 8112 observations constructed from Kantar panel data (1998-2010). It registers French households purchases for food-at-home. We add the nutritional content and Greenhouse gas emission related to foods through Life Cycle Analysis. For 21 food groups, built according to their environmental and nutritional characteristics, we run expenditure and price elasticities. Based on these results, two taxation scenarios are implemented. For each we increase by 20% the prices of food categories with most adverse effects on (1) environment only (ENV) and (2) both environment and health (ENV-NUT). The ENV scenario induces more reductions in environment impact than the ENV-NUT scenario, in particular for SO2 emissions. A greatest impact is observed for lower-average income households and with a household head less than 30 years old. However, undesirable nutritional effects lead to consider the necessity of a trade-off between environment and nutrition. Our conclusions find that this trade-off is not so costly (-18% in terms of CO2). Moreover, our results give new insights for targeting public policies toward the youngest households which we find more sensitive to prices and which are at the beginning of the consumption life-cycle. |
| Keywords: | EASI demand system, food purchases, socioeconomic inequalities, public policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, C35, D12, Q15, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169974&r=agr |
| By: | Jung, Sangnyeol; Wui, Peter |
| Abstract: | The structure of mid-western corn production is analyzed within the context of a changing structure of the U.S. and global production and marketing systems. Further, the economic role of corn production in mid-western regions is investigated both at the major corn-producing states and an industry level using a combination of a descriptive analysis and an impact analysis. The impact analysis is done using an input-output model. The descriptive analysis by itself cannot be used to draw definitive conclusions regarding the role of the region’s production and marketing systems; thus, in addition to the descriptive analysis, an input-output analysis using IMPLAN is executed to incorporate the interdependence of the production and marketing system with other sectors of the economy by estimating economic multipliers. |
| Keywords: | Corn, Economic Impact, IMPLAN, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170662&r=agr |
| By: | Sauer, Johannes; Gorton, Matthew; Davidova, Sophia |
| Keywords: | International Development, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172684&r=agr |
| By: | Xu, Xiaojie |
| Abstract: | Using daily data from 182 spatially separated U.S. cash markets for the years 2006-2011, I investigate price discovery for corn. With a large number of cash markets available, I take into account explicitly the issue of market selection, which has been neglected in previous work. I find that empirical results concerning price discovery based on corn cash and futures markets vary with selection of cash markets. The cointegration relationship between corn cash and futures prices only holds for 52 cash markets based on logarithmic prices. And the informational source roles of futures and cash prices are equal in the long run for 49 out of these 52 markets. In the short run, the unidirectional causality from cash to futures prices is most possible no matter whether the cash market is cointegrated with the futures market or not. While the vast majority of causal relationships are linear, the causality from futures to cash prices is more likely to be nonlinear, especially for cash markets cointegrated with the futures market. For quantitative measures of the relative contributions of the futures market and an associated cointegrated cash market to the price discovery process, information share model and common factor model draw the same conclusion qualitatively and find that the contribution of the futures market is more likely to be small than a cash market. |
| Keywords: | Corn, Error Correction Model, Cointegration, Causality, Price Discovery, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Financial Economics, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D84, G13, G14, Q13, Q14, R12, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169809&r=agr |
| By: | Xu, Xiaojie |
| Abstract: | This study investigates dynamic relationships among U.S. corn cash prices for the years 2006-2011. With daily data from 182 spatially separated markets spreading across 7 states, Iowa (IA), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Ohio (OH), Minnesota (MN), Nebraska (NE), and Kansas (KS), we apply an error correction model and directed acyclic graphs to identify the contemporaneous casual relationships among prices of different states, where the price of each state is calculated as the average of the prices of observed markets in it. Our empirical results show that 3 states, IA, OH, and MN, can dominate the corn cash prices. Depending on the way the causal flows are assigned among them, OH and MN together, MN, OH, or IA is the most important in pricing. If additional empirical evidence becomes available, more precise results can be expected. We also divide the data into a store period and a harvest period, and adopt a VAR in differences to model the price relationships. While IA and OH dominate the corn prices during the store period, IL, IN, OH, and MN can be essential in pricing without more evidence to narrow our attention. |
| Keywords: | Corn, Error Correction Model, Cointegration, Causality, Price Discovery, Graph Theory, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Financial Economics, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D84, Q13, Q14, R12, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169806&r=agr |
| By: | Tozer, Peter R.; Marsh, Thomas L.; Jiang, Xiaojiao |
| Keywords: | Perennial crops, tree fruit dynamics, substitution, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170045&r=agr |
| By: | Bassyouni Shehata, Gaber Ahmed |
| Abstract: | Agricultural is the principal source of food and some essential raw materials for industrial development. It accounts for almost 18-20% of the Egyptian gross domestic production, for about 17-19% of export earning and employs 32% of the workforce. Increasing Egyptian demand for food yearly, due mainly to the growth of the population considers one of the reasons which caused raising imports. The red meat of staple food commodities that meet Egypt in the proportion of sufficiency was about 73.6% in 2011, having reached the quantities available for consumption of red meat about 1251 tons, while the average individual share of 15.3 kg / year in 2011, increasing an annual rate was about 1.25% during the study period (1992-2011). This shows that the high prices of red meat that makes the consumer to alternatives available in the markets where the average individual share of fish and poultry were about 18.9, and about 13.8 kg / year in 2011 respectively, while the annual growth rate was about 4.87% and 2.04% of fish and poultry, respectively during the period (1992-2011). The shortage of providing food from animal protein is very important because it is one of the components of the major food necessary for human nutrition and the maintenance of health, it is access to sources of animal protein from red meat, poultry and fish, it is associated with the demand by increasing population, increasing expenditure income and the level of awareness of health and nutrition of the population, and increase the average per capita, with an average individual share consumption of red meat, fish and poultry in Egypt with about 13.63, 13.18 and 10.93 kg / year during the study period (1992-2011), while the annual growth rate was about 1.48%, 5.04%, 2.3%, respectively, which demonstrates that the rate of increase in population growth exceeded the rate of increase and improve the demand for red meat due to increase the incomes as a result of continuous rise in the price of red meat and low average per capita, resulting in the transformation of consumer to the alternatives available in the market of animal protein resources such as fish meat and poultry. The study results showed that the demand for red meat using the Almost Ideal Demand System( AIDS) in Egypt during the study period (1992-2011) as follows: • The most important factors affecting the demand for red meat in Egypt during the study period ware the average retail price of red meat, fish, poultry and expenditure on red meat. • High proportion of expenditure for the Egyptian consumer on the red meat for fish and poultry which amounted to about 57.97%, 23.62% and 18.41% respectively, it means that consumer preference for red meat, fish and poultry in bridging the requirements of the animal protein products. • Most of consumer income spent on red meat because the significant value of demand elasticity expenditure coefficient. • The research showed that the value of the signal coefficient of price elasticity of demand cross - compensated that red meat and fish are considered alternative or competing commodities, thus raising the price of fish entail a reduction in the proportion of expenditure on red meat. • The research showed also found that red meat and poultry are considered alternative or competing commodities, which increases the price of poultry, leading to increase in the proportion of expenditure on red meat. |
| Keywords: | Demand elasticity, animal protein, food commodities, consumption, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164760&r=agr |
| By: | Jones, Ghangela L.; Rusiana, Hofner D.; Escalante, Cesar L. |
| Keywords: | organic farming, risk assessment model, probit, backward stepwise regression, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169754&r=agr |
| By: | Iao, L.C.; Hsiao, H.I.; Yang, M.F. |
| Abstract: | The aim of the study was the development of a quality prediction model combined with the incoming analysis for temperature control in 18 degree ready-to-eat food during logistics flows. And analyzed how temperature monitoring improves inventory decision. Base on the growth of Pseudomonas sp., the model was developed by mathematical model with Gompertz model. The model predicts for quality as well as shelf life in the monitoring temperature is about 19.5 h. On the other hand, the incoming analysis shows that the inventory quantities at 7 ℃ and 18 ℃ is more than at 25 ℃. The model can be considered to be an effective tool (in combination with temperature monitoring) for improvement of quality management with the incoming consideration. Moreover, our results suggest that temperature-controlled food companies could share temperature information with its chain partners which emphases a food quality and logistics cost balance in supply chain. |
| Keywords: | food, quality, temperature, cold chain, incoming, inventory, logistics, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi13:164772&r=agr |
| By: | Sendhil, R.; Ramasundaram, P. |
| Abstract: | The present study highlights the context of wheat futures trading in India and examines its performance in terms of price transmission between Indian and US futures, domestic futures and spot markets, and, extent of integration between those markets. Role of wheat futures in price stabilisation/volatility reduction and its relevance to the small scale production system in the country have also been examined. Evidence of unit root in price series and a strong integration between spot and futures markets in India were found through Johansen’s test. Despite the integration of domestic markets, US and Indian futures are not integrated in the long-run. Application of Generalized auto-regressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model indicated a high degree of volatility in spot prices right from inception of trading and revival of trading, however it was low during the ban period. This showed that the function of price stabilisation of futures trading has not been fulfilled. Despite futures market serving as a platform for price discovery and hedging, low marketed surplus and the complexity in trading avoids farmers’ participation. On the whole, the study concludes that wheat futures are efficient in price transmission but inefficient in price stabilisation and warrants for awareness, margin money discount and aggregating farmers produce so that farmers can participate and take advantage of hedging in an uncertain situation of the farm business. |
| Keywords: | wheat futures, cointegration, GARCH, volatility, NCDEX, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:174839&r=agr |
| By: | Olubode-Awosola, Femi; Palmer, Jon; Webby, Rex; Jamieson, Ian |
| Abstract: | Sheep and beef farming industry is probably more challenging than any other industries in New Zealand. Farm costs are rising without corresponding price increases for wool and meat. On top of that is the reality that restoring and maintaining water quality has gone beyond expectations on any one industry alone. As part of a project to study the costs of meeting water quality in Waikato region, sheep and beef, including dairy support farms were surveyed to identify 5 ‘typical’ case study farms/systems in terms of main enterprises and other factors that characterise the farms. The farms were then modelled with different but relevant nutrient loss mitigation practices based on the farms’ main enterprises and characteristics. FARMAX® model was applied to investigate biological feasibility and financial implications of the mitigation practices and then OVERSEER® model was applied to estimate the nutrient budgets associated with the mitigation practices. The results show some trade-off, but also, that mitigating nutrient loss is possible even with increased financial net benefits in some cases. However, the socio-economic, cultural and demographic factors that could impact on farmers' decision were not captured with the data used and so those factors have not been considered. |
| Keywords: | sheep and beef farming, water quality, nutrient loss, mitigation, farmlevel, abatement, mitigation, catchment, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187494&r=agr |
| By: | Benedek, Zsofia; Balazs, Balint |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2014–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:168925&r=agr |
| By: | PENA LEVANO, LUIS; Ramirez, Octavio A. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169814&r=agr |
| By: | Phillips, Jon C.; Tamayo, Fatima R. |
| Abstract: | In the program that is featured in the poster, participants were members of the Nevada National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team (ADT). The program consisted of four days of training to develop an overall understanding of agriculture in the U.S. and world. The classroom training encompassed topics related to agriculture and the modern world and global resources for food. The first three days were group sessions, specifically, classroom lectures, guest presentations, activities, and case studies. The fourth day involved the group breaking out into specialist teams, guided by faculty members in bio-physical science disciplines. The training was attended by 11 army personnel and was held on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona in the U.S. The focus of the poster is the evaluation of the training program that was done by participants. |
| Keywords: | International Agricultural Development, Student Evaluation, Training, Army, Afghanistan, International Development, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, O1 Economic Development, A29 Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - Other, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170399&r=agr |
| By: | Tirivayi J.N.; Groot W.N.J. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of food transfers on diet and consumption expenditures in food insecure households with HIV positive members on antiretroviral therapy. We use primary data collected from 199 beneficiary and 179 non-beneficiary households in Lusaka, Zambia. Propensity score matching estimates show that the food transfers significantly increase dietary diversity and food consumption expenditures. Our results also show that the food transfers increased the proportion of households with optimal dietary diversity and consuming at least five food groups. The results are robust to variation in the propensity score model and matching technique. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that our results are largely robust to substantial amounts of unobserved selection bias. We discuss the implications of our findings in the context of the growing number of HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support programmes providing food assistance in resource poor settings. |
| Keywords: | Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis; General Welfare; Welfare and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs; |
| JEL: | D01 D12 I31 I38 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014065&r=agr |
| By: | Ariyaratne, Chatura; Briggeman, Brian |
| Abstract: | Since 1990, the farmer cooperative landscape has experienced a significant structural shift. Steep consolidation, elevated competition, and surging commodity prices have elevated the need for co-ops to be mindful of their cost structure and efficiencies. To test for this structural shift, this study estimated technical, allocative, scale, economic, and overall efficiencies for a set of grain marketing and farm supply cooperatives using a unique financial database. Chow test statistics for overall efficiency model show one structural shift in 2002 and 2003. Cooperatives are more likely to reduce costs by focusing on technical efficiency rather than adjusting the scale of operation. Nearly all efficiency trend lines, except for allocative, follows the business cycle patterns of the 1990s and 2000s. Our regression results shows capital constraint was one reason an average cooperative was off the technical frontier. |
| Keywords: | Cooperatives, Consolidation, Structural Change, Cost Efficiencies, Productivity, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170425&r=agr |
| By: | Weber, Jeremy G.; Hitaj, Claudia |
| Abstract: | We glean information about shale gas development by studying farm real estate values over time. Looking at the Barnett Shale (Texas) and the northeastern part of the Marcellus Shale (Pennsylvania and New York), we find that development caused appreciation in both areas but the effect was much larger in the Marcellus. There, quantile regressions reveal that farms at the 50th and 75th quantiles experienced substantial appreciation, suggesting broader ownership of oil and gas rights by surface owners. In both regions, most appreciation occurred when land was leased for drilling, not when drilling and production boomed. The higher values then persisted through the last year of our study, 2012, indicating a net positive effect of shale gas development on landed properties. Compared to agriculturally-intensive farms, the effect of development was greater for farms with limited agricultural sales and whose owners had a primary occupation other than farming. A correlation between farm type and the presence of oil and gas rights may explain the difference, a possibility that underscores the value of information on oil and gas right ownership when studying the effect of shale gas development on property values. |
| Keywords: | natural gas, land values, oil and gas rights, Barnett Shale, Marcellus Shale, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q32, Q51, Q15, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170596&r=agr |
| By: | Didier, Y. Alia; Reed, Michael R. |
| Abstract: | We examine the dynamic inter-dependencies between soybean and majors cereal prices. The importance of this analysis is justified by the high volatility in grain prices and the need to understand how shocks are diffused across markets. We use monthly prices on the international markets of the different grain for a relatively long period from January 1960 to December 2013. The preliminaries analysis of the series show that they are stationary in first difference even in presence of two structural upward shifts in their trend explain the observed persistence of shock in grain markets. Using Johansen cointegration test, we formally test for the co-movement hypothesis and find strong evidence that the grain prices move together pair by pair and as a group. The test confirms the existence of the long run equilibrium relationship among the prices. We find that deviations from the long run equilibrium are large and the corrective adjustment are slow. We also run a causality analysis with an innovation accounting exercise and estimated a dynamic conditional variance and correlation model to understand how and to what extent shocks on one market diffuse to the other markets. We find that there is rich and complex causality links among the grain prices and they volatility. Soybean and wheat as well as maize, individually and together, play a central role in causing the other grain prices. In overall the results show that the grain markets are highly integrated and shocks, on one market, not only accumulate but also diffuse largely and persistently to the other markets. The central role of soybean, wheat and maize suggests that policy to stabilize food prices should focus on these key cereals with the understanding that this may varies according to different country or region. |
| Keywords: | Grain, Price transmission, Volatility, Cointegration, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170510&r=agr |
| By: | Gao, Jianfeng; Norton, George W. |
| Abstract: | The adoption of new technologies by farmers may impact the environment, and hence affect consumer welfare. This channel of impact is seldom assessed in the literature, especially when the production technologies adopted are not labeled on the consumption goods, and as a result are not directly observed by the consumers. We propose a novel theoretical framework where the supply of and demand for an agricultural good are incorporated to estimate consumers’ general and partial equilibrium willingness to pay (WTP) for producers’ unlabeled technology adoption choices. The framework is applied to a sample of 219 tomato farms and a sample of 498 consumers in Maryland, New York and Ohio. Results show that the consumer’s average partial equilibrium marginal WTPs for the tomato grower’s adoption of single-species cover crops, mixed-species cover crops, and environmentally-sound greenhouses range from -1.28 to -1.78 $/lb, 1.36 to 1.76 $/lb, and 1.63 to 1.94 $/lb, respectively, compared to the baseline scenario where cover crops and greenhouses are not adopted. In contrast, the corresponding general equilibrium marginal WTPs are between -1.15 and -0.98 $/lb, between 1.30 and 1.67 $/lb, and between 0.24 and 0.32 $/lb, respectively. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Valuation, Technology Adoption, General Equilibrium Willingness to Pay, Model in WTP Space, Two-part Model, Fresh Tomato, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q120, Q510, Q160, C510, D500, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169940&r=agr |
| By: | Cain, Jewelwayne; Parcell, Joe |
| Abstract: | Soybean farmers continue to face a number of challenges, including a constant environmental threat brought about by prolonged periods of drought. Among the immediate consequences is a diminished crop growth or yield production. Previous experiences of major droughts in the U.S. also resulted in livestock deaths and transformation of fertile land into desserts. Increasing focus is being given to create and develop soybean varieties that are more drought-resistant. The introduction of more drought-resistant soybeans have the potential to provide farmers with improvements in productivity either through improvement in yield, reductions in costs, or both. This would eventually translate into changes in the value of soybeans as well as a response in acreage planted of both the new drought-resistant varieties as well conventional types of varieties. Equally impacted are product derivatives of soybeans as well as other related markets. Given the potential gains and losses to different markets and industries from introducing more drought-resistant soybeans, it is important to evaluate how welfare impacts are distributed through the soybean value chain due to the introduction of such new soybean seed technology. We apply comparative static analyses using a multi-market equilibrium displacement model that takes a value chain approach to estimate the economic implications of introducing more drought-resistant soybean seeds into the marketplace. |
| Keywords: | Drought-tolerance, Equilibrium displacement model, Soybeans, Welfare analysis, Demand and Price Analysis, D60, Q11, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170684&r=agr |
| By: | Van Loo, Ellen J.; Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr.; Seo, Han-Seok; Verbeke, Wim |
| Abstract: | Respondents in choice experiments (CEs) may ignore some of the attributes presented to them when evaluation alternatives in a choice task, which has been referred to as attribute non-attendance (ANA). Previous studies have shown that ANA may impact both the model fit as the WTP estimates for the presented attributes. We used a new approach and accounted for the issue of ANA, by using eye-tracking measures. By accounting for visual ANA, the coefficients from the ANA model differ from the model which did not account for this issue. This clearly indicates that assuming that respondents in a CE attended to all attributes in all of the choice tasks biases your estimation results. |
| Keywords: | Eye-tracking, sustainability labeling, Attribute non-attendance, Visual attention, Consumers, Decision making, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170298&r=agr |
| By: | Fraser, PJ; Ridler, BJ; Anderson, WJ |
| Abstract: | This paper applies an economic lens to the argument that dairy farmers should increase production via supplements, which has led to concerns regarding the environmental impact of intensification. This paper finds: 1. Intensification has led to farms producing at levels incompatible with profit maximisation 2. Claims that de-intensification will result in lower farm profitability are unconvincing 3. The current suite of assessment and planning tools are likely to be causing systemic overstocking 4. Failing to recognise the difference between marginal and average costs is likely to be leading to expensive mitigation measures that treat symptoms rather than address causes. |
| Keywords: | Average cost, Average revenue, Constant returns to scale, Diseconomies of scale, Economic loss, Economic profit, Economies of scale, Intensification, Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF), Marginal cost, Marginal revenue, Subnormal/supernormal profit Theory of the Firm, Perfect competition, Agribusiness, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar14:187491&r=agr |
| By: | Valeria Groppo |
| Abstract: | For people in rural areas of developing countries, finding a better paying job or better education is often only possible by moving - migrating - somewhere else. Moreover, agricultural production, generally the main economic activity in rural areas of developing countries, is risky, affected by droughts and floods. Due to poverty and the limited availability of crop insurance, rural households often rely on distant family members to provide money for buying food, starting a business or maintaining an existing business. The vast majority of moves happen within countries. Focusing on developing regions, this Roundup addresses the following questions: What are the broad trends in internal migration? Do internal migrants and their families really benefit from within-country mobility? What role does internal migration play in the recent urbanization process? The Roundup also documents how policy can increase the development impact of internal migration. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwrup:31en&r=agr |
| By: | Kolleen Rask (Department of Economics and Accounting, College of the Holy Cross); Norman Rask (Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University) |
| Abstract: | The production of food is one of humanity’s fundamental and most critical endeavors, yet our understanding of its impact on limited global resources is not well developed. Food production supplies a basic human need, provides important employment for millions of the world’s poor, and generates significant export income for some countries, while using up valuable foreign exchange reserves for others. On the demand side, as population grows, demand for food grows commensurately. Even more importantly, as incomes grow, the per capita demand for food grows, and studies have shown that diet changes related to rising incomes result in a five-fold increase in food consumption per capita when measured in terms of resource use, or cereal equivalents. Following the publication of those studies, the authors received requests to clarify the calculation of specific cereal equivalent values. The purpose of this paper is to respond to these requests by detailing the methodology employed in the previous studies in order to allow other researchers to use this technique in their own work. We specify the required datasets, the individual calculations by food category, the adjustments necessary to measure country self-sufficiency in food, and the impact of GDP per capita on disaggregated food consumption measured in this way. |
| Keywords: | food consumption, food production, food self-sufficiency, food measurement, food resources, cereal equivalents |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hcx:wpaper:1410&r=agr |
| By: | Olimov, Jafar |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170833&r=agr |
| By: | Jiang, Yuan; House, Lisa A.; Gao, Zhifeng |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170680&r=agr |
| By: | Ahmed, Mansur; Goodwin, Barry |
| Abstract: | This paper examines off-farm labor supply effects of farm mechanization. The conceptual framework in the paper suggests positive effect of farm mechanization on farm operator’s off-farm labor supply. The paper uses adoption of tractor as proxy measure of farm mechanization and utilizes a nationally representative household survey dataset from Bangladesh. Using Probit and Tobit models, the paper finds support for the proposition that farm mechanization boosts farm operator’s off-farm labor supply. |
| Keywords: | Farm Mechanization, Off-Farm Labor Supply, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, Q12, Q16, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170408&r=agr |
| By: | Jo, Hyebin; Lee, Seoyoun; Choe, Youngchan |
| Abstract: | The Home Meal Replacement (HMR) sector has been growing rapidly in the food industry. Due to the conveniences that the HMR product offers, the target consumers are generally busy workers and/or individuals who live alone. This study aims to investigate factors that affect the purchasing of HMR products and to formulate strategies for future HMR product sales. This study examines the effect of five independent variables: dine-out frequency, dine-out costs, and the employment status of housewives, involvement of meal preparation, and the role of overload on HMR purchase behavior. The study also examines what influences the purchasing of HMR products through different kinds of lifestyles. Surveys were conducted with a panel of housewives from major metropolitan areas in South Korea and configured by clusters according to different lifestyles. The panel of housewives was divided into four groups based on Food Related Lifestyles: Price Insensitive Group, Pride in Cooking Group, Indifference to Health Group and Against Eating Out Group. The results indicate that HMR sales target segments are consumers who tend to dine-out more and desire a low involvement in meal preparation than consumers who are busy and have less time to cook at home. |
| Keywords: | Buying behavior, Food-related life style (FRL), Home meal replacement (HMR), Market segmentation, Role overload, Working status of wives, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170253&r=agr |
| By: | Cho, Seong-Hoon; Kim, Taeyoung; Larson, Eric R.; Armsworth, Paul R. |
| Abstract: | Market failure results in more human conversion of ecosystems for development and other uses than likely socially desirable. In response, many government agencies and nonprofits focus on conservation, often acquiring land rights to establish protected areas on which further conversion of ecosystems is precluded. The protected areas created vary greatly in size, even within a particular conservation program. Here we examine the costs that conservation organizations face when acquiring sites for protection and pay particular attention to the consequences of this variability in protected area size. We use as our case study parcels in Central and Southern Appalachian forest ecosystems that were protected through fee simple acquisition and using easements by The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust. We compare these sites to unprotected areas similar to the protected areas in terms of site characteristics as identified by post-hoc matching methods. When comparing average costs, we found parcels protected under by fee simple transactions cost less than matched unprotected parcels, and that average costs of protecting parcels using easements were lower still. We also found that acquisition costs of protected areas achieve economies of scale under fee simple transactions. However, these economies of scale were often weaker than those present when considering matched, unprotected parcels. Parcels protected by easements did not show economies of scale with area. We were able to identify a subset of transactions where the agreed price was reduced to reflect an explicit donative intent on the part of the seller. For this subset of transactions, we found that the presence of donative intent disrupted any kind of systematic relationship between lot size and acquisition costs for conservation. Our findings imply that to achieve cost effective conservation, conservation organizations will need to strategize with respect to parcel size and contract type. For example, when acquiring parcels under a fee simple transaction, economies of scale in acquisition costs provide an incentive for conservation organizations to favor larger parcels, reinforcing ecological arguments that favor protecting larger protected areas. Also, by quantifying the cost differential between fee simple and easement acquisitions, we provide a benchmark for evaluating how much greater the ecological benefits of fee simple acquisition would have to be to provide the most effective option for conservation. |
| Keywords: | Protected Area Size, Economies of Scale in Size, Spatial Econometrics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Labor and Human Capital, Marketing, Q57, Q24, Q51, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:177182&r=agr |
| By: | De Backer, Koen; Miroudot, Sébastien |
| Abstract: | World trade and production are increasingly structured around “global value chains” (GVCs). The last years have witnessed a growing number of case studies describing at the product level how production is internationally fragmented, but there is little evidence at the aggregate level on the prevalence of GVCs. The main objective of this paper is to provide for more and better evidence allowing to examine the position of countries within international production networks. We propose a number of indicators that give a more accurate picture of the integration and position of countries in GVCs, as well as a more detailed assessment of the value chain in four broad industries: agriculture and food products, motor vehicles, electronics and business services. JEL Classification: F14, F23, L16, L23 |
| Keywords: | global value chains, world trade |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20141677&r=agr |
| By: | Chisanga, Brian; Meyer, Ferdinand H.; Winter-Nelson, Alex; Sitko, Nicholas J. |
| Abstract: | Over the years, the sugar sector has experienced tremendous growth which has been driven by increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO 2013), raw sugar production rose from 135,000 tons in 1990 to 430,500 tons by 2012, while exports grew from less than a thousand tons to 273,000 tons over the same period FAO 2013). While increased investments have generated growth, they have also tended to create market structures in which a single multinational is dominant. This concentration raises concerns about the functioning of these increasingly important markets and the efficiency and equity implications. |
| Keywords: | Sugercane, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:188569&r=agr |
| By: | Toth, Russell; Barrett, Christopher B.; Bernstein, Richard; Clark, Patrick; Gomes, Carla; Mohamed, Shibia; Mude, Andrew; Taddesse, Birhanu |
| Abstract: | Does the provision of livestock insurance raise the unintended consequence of stimulating excessive herd accumulation and less environmentally-sustainable herd movement patterns? The impact of insurance is theoretically ambiguous: if precautionary savings motives for holding livestock assets dominate, then we would expect to see households that receive index insurance reduce herd sizes and move less intensively. However if risk-adjusted investment motives dominate then we would expect them to build herds and move more. “Behavioural” or norm-based responses are also possible. To test between these theoretical possibilities we use the randomized provision of livestock insurance paired with novel, high frequency data collection. The results suggest that in the presence of insurance pastoralists accumulate larger herds, and move more intensively. This has implications for the potential ecological impacts scaling up of index insurance programs on the pastoralist rangelands, and for microinsurance and pastoralism more broadly. |
| Keywords: | East Africa, index-based livestock insurance, mobility, pastoralism, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:172441&r=agr |
| By: | Garg, Teevrat |
| Abstract: | Despite growing concern about the effect of environmental degradation on human health, little effort has been made to quantify the effect of ecosystem damage on public health indicators such as the incidence and burden of infectious diseases. Using village-level panel data and satellite data on forest cover, I find that the average within-sample deforestation results in a 2-4.5\% increase in the probability of malarial outbreak in each village in that district, translating to 360,000 - 880,000 additional infected individuals during the course of this study. The evidence is consistent with an ecological response and the effect of deforestation on malaria cannot be explained by post-deforestation land use change, anti-malarial programs or migration. The effect is specific to malaria, with deforestation having no discernible effect on other diseases (measles, respiratory infections, dengue and diarrhea) whose disease ecology differs from that of malaria. These large effects underscore that forest conservation can have local health benefits in addition to global carbon benefits. |
| Keywords: | Deforestation, Malaria, Public Health, Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169822&r=agr |
| By: | Casey J. Wichman; Laura O. Taylor; Roger H. von Haefen |
| Abstract: | The efficiency properties of price and non-price instruments for conservation in environmental policy are well understood. Yet, there is little evidence comparing the effectiveness of these instruments, especially when considering water resource management. We exploit a rich panel of residential water consumption to examine heterogeneous responses to both price and non-price conservation policies during times of drought while controlling for unobservable household characteristics. Our empirical models suggest that the burden of pricing policies fall disproportionately on low-income households and fail to reduce consumption among households who generally are large consumers of water. However, prescriptive policies such as restrictions on outdoor water use result in uniform responses across income classes while simultaneously targeting reductions from households with irrigation systems or historically high consumption. |
| JEL: | D12 H42 L51 L95 Q25 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20466&r=agr |
| By: | Holst, Gese Sophie; Hermann, Daniel; Mußhoff, Oliver |
| Abstract: | Auctioning goods is a widespread practice, particularly in the agricultural sector. The out-come of auctions can be affected by various factors. One of these factors can be anchoring effects, which describe the influence of present available information on numerical values in human decisions. However, the influence of anchoring effects in auctions carried out offline is largely unknown. For this reason, we analyze anchoring effects of exogenously provided values using an experimental auction with farmers. In total, 48 groups of five farmers each participate in a series of four auctions for envelopes containing a €10 banknote with a 50% probability of occurrence. Our results indicate that anchoring based on exogenously presented values can result either in negative adjustment or no adjustment depending on the auction characteristic. Furthermore, the results show that previous bids affect following bids, which might also be an anchoring effect. |
| Keywords: | anchoring effect, experimental auction, extra-laboratory experiment, agricultural decision maker, previous sale price., Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi14:187386&r=agr |
| By: | Morehart, Mitch; Milkove, Dan; Xu, Yang |
| Abstract: | The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its ARMS, collects detailed information from farm operators on debt used in the farm business. Specific loan characteristics such as interest rate, loan term, origination date, type of loan, loan purpose, and type of financing are collected for up to the five largest loans. This information is used to construct portions of the farm sector balance sheet in addition to supporting research on credit use, farm solvency, and debt repayment capacity. Valid estimation and inferences are critical to the generation of this data, however, because of sensitivity, is subject to nonresponse or "do not know." Ignoring item nonresponse completely, by setting all missing values to zero or by taking into account only the existing answers will result in a bias. Imputation, the practice of filling in missing data with plausible values, can mitigate this bias. This analysis examines the use of multivariate techniques for debt component imputation. This would be an improvement over the generalized mean imputation approach used in ARMS and for many of the debt components the first attempt at imputation. |
| Keywords: | Farm debt, imputation, Farm Management, Financial Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169401&r=agr |
| By: | Zhou, Song; Awokuse, Titus |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effects of urbanization on nutrition transition and obesity. Taking adult individuals from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), from the year 1989 to 2009, this study confirms the hypothesis that rising urbanization has positive effects on the obesity level. Also, the results reveal a nutrition transition towards a dietary pattern of more fat and protein intake in China. Particularly, evidence from the gender difference indicates that the effect of urbanization, along with the factors as education and income, on obesity is more pronounced for females than males. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170458&r=agr |
| By: | Williams, Robert; Harris, J. Michael |
| Abstract: | This poster compares the financial performance of new and beginning farm operations with established farm operations, based on their income statement and balance sheets, presenting comparative financial ratios such as liquidity, solvency, profitability, as well as loan source, and debt-repayment capacity information. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170572&r=agr |
| By: | Obeng, Isaac Antwarko; Adu, Kofi Osei |
| Abstract: | This study empirically examined cost efficiency of cocoa production in Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira area in Central region of Ghana. Primary data was collected from 400 cocoa farmers in twenty (20) communities using interview guide and the cost efficiency of inputs in cocoa production was estimated using stochastic frontier production function. The empirical result of summation of the partial elasticities exhibited positive increasing returns to scale in the inputs use and the mean cost efficiency was 1.10 indicating that an average cocoa farms in the study area incurred costs that were about 10% above the minimum cost defined by the frontier .The findings show that cost efficiency of inputs use was fairly high. Hybrid varieties, level of education and age of tree, Farmer-based organization and extension contacts were found to be the main determinants of cost efficiency. This study recommends that Farmers should be encouraged to join farmer-based organization. |
| Keywords: | stochastic frontier model, cost efficiency and cocoa production. |
| JEL: | Q1 Q12 |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:59925&r=agr |
| By: | Toro-González, Daniel; McCluskey, Jill J.; Mittelhammer, Ron C. |
| Abstract: | Although mass-produced beers still represent the vast majority of U.S. beer sales, there has been a significant growth trend in the craft beer segment. This study analyzes the demand for beer as a differentiated product and estimates own-price, cross-price and income elasticities for beer by type: craft beer, mass-produced beer, and imported beer. We verify that beer is a normal good with a considerably inelastic demand and also find that the cross price elasticity across types of beer is close to zero. The results suggest that there are effectively separate markets for beer by type. |
| Keywords: | craft beer, demand analysis, differentiated products, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, L11, L13, L66., |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169787&r=agr |
| By: | Subhash C. Ray (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | In most countries the government is empowered by the Constitution to acquire privately owned land for public use on payment of fair compensation for the land acquired. For infrastructure projects like a highway or a dam, the land acquired remains under public ownership. In many cases, however, private land is often taken for industrialization or even construction of commercial and residential real estate in the name of urban redevelopment. In such cases, the acquired land is transferred to a private party. This paper draws upon the parallel between different incidents of forcible acquisition of private land in the US, India, and China. The cases of General Motors in Poletown near Detroit, MI in the 1980s and the recent events relating to Tata Motors and the agricultural land in Singur, West Bengal raise a number of questions about government taking of land for private development. A brief review of the history of land acquisition through Eminent Domain in the US serves as the background for a discussion of the different important questions like the problem of strategic holdouts and fair compensation. The essay also looks into the special problems of land acquisition in China. |
| Keywords: | Eminent Domain, Fifth Amendment, Strategic Holdout, Fair compensation, Land Use Rights, Industrialization |
| JEL: | R14 R52 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2014-32&r=agr |
| By: | Tauer, Loren |
| Abstract: | The objective was to compare the performance of farms that have more than one self-identified manager to the performance of similar farms with only one self-identified manager. The question to be answered is whether more managers enhance the performance of the farm. The technique used is a matching technique to compare similar farms which only vary in whether they have only one or more than one manager. The data set used was the New York Dairy Farm Business Summary data from the years 1998 through 2011. The partnerships as a group did not display higher or lower returns to labor and management income per operator compared to the sole proprietorships. A comparison of parent-child partnerships to non-parent-child partnerships resulted in the non-parent-child partnerships showing $36,442 more labor and management income per manager. The conclusion is that two or more heads for management are better than one head for management, as long as the two heads does not include a parent and child. The results suggest that further data collection and studies that explores the management styles and practices of the non-family partnerships as compared to the family partnerships is warranted. |
| Keywords: | Business partnerships, economies of management, family businesses, matching samples, return to management, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, L25, L26, M10, M21, Q12, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:165739&r=agr |
| By: | Ye, Fanglin; Paulson, Nicholas; Khanna, Madhu |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impacts of technology uncertainties and learning curve on investment decisions in the cellulosic biofuel industry. We find the future success of cellulosic biofuel may depend on the learning by doing effects rather than expected advances in conversion technology. The anticipated technology breakthroughs may even further delay investment decisions because the firm has incentives to wait until the breakthrough is realized. If the government wants to trigger commercialized production through the promotion of learning effects, an enforced mandate level of at least 500 million gallons may be needed. |
| Keywords: | cellulosic biofuel, technology uncertainties, real options analysis, learning curve, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, Q42, Q48, Q55, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169789&r=agr |
| By: | Haankuku, Choolwe; Epplin, Francis |
| Abstract: | The net present value (NPV) criterion was employed to develop an economic model that can be used to determine if and when it is optimal to replace an existing switchgrass stand with an alternative higher biomass yielding cultivar. Yield data from a randomized field experiment conducted from 1994 to 2000 in Haskell and Chickasha, Oklahoma were used to represent average yields for the defender. The study assumed a constant and a declining future yield scenario for the defender. Under the assumptions used in the study, it was optimal to renovate a switchgrass stand if the improved cultivar produced a higher biomass yield of 16% or more for a 20 year planning horizon. The estimated breakeven NPV of the defender and challenger was $229 ha-1. For a plot with declining yields, the defender would have to be retained for about six years before being optimally replaced by a 10% yield increment challenger whereas a higher biomass yielding challenger would replace the defender immediately. |
| Keywords: | Challenger, Defender, Replacement, Net present value, Switchgrass, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169785&r=agr |
| By: | Darko, Francis Addeah; Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Shively, Gerald; Florax, Raymond; Kilic, Talip |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170651&r=agr |
| By: | LU, Jie; Tang, Zhong; Lin, Yujie; Zhu, Xinkai; Liu, Wenyong |
| Abstract: | The stability of grain prices relates closely to the development of China’s economy, social stability and quality of Chinese people’s life. However, with the gradual openness of China’s grain market and series of newly-issued China’s grain policies, the volatility characteristics of China’s grain price may experience some structural changes and whether it becomes more stable still remains controversial. In this paper, we investigate the fluctuation characteristics of some main grain prices during the past two decades by using Structural Break Regime Switching Model and the Structural Break Model. We find that China’s grain price has become more stable since 2004 with narrowing low and high growth regimes. The implementation of Minimum Purchasing Price Policy and the semi-separation of domestic and international grain markets may explain part of the reasons for the stabilization. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170635&r=agr |
| By: | Daigneault, Adam; Brown, Pike; Gawith, David |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies the economic impacts of flooding in the Ba River and Penang River catchments in Viti Levu, Fiji. We conducted a detailed assessment of flood damage stemming from two major flooding events in 2012 that severely affected the two important catchments, primarily by using evidence from a novel survey administered in early 2013. We combine these empirical measures of damage with GIS data to estimate total damages from flooding and find that the January 2012 flood caused FJ$36.4 and FJ$12.2 in damages for the Ba River and Penang River catchments, respectively, while the March 2012 flood caused FJ$24.1 and FJ$8.4 in damages for the Ba River and Penang River catchments, respectively. We then estimate the cost of future flooding under moderate and severe climate change projections. Flooding is projected to become more frequent and more severe under both scenarios, with annual losses increasing by 100% with moderate climate change and by 300% with severe climate change. For perspective, damages from a 1-in-50 year flood, which is the estimated return period of the January 2012 event, are projected to cause between FJ$76.5 and FJ$153 million in damages in the Ba River Catchment under these two scenarios. |
| Keywords: | Natural disasters, climate change, flooding, Pacific Islands, economic impacts, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169398&r=agr |
| By: | Du, Xiaodong; Dong, Fengxia |
| Abstract: | Under the theoretical intraday microstructure framework, we analyze the impact of traders’ heterogeneous responses to market information on daily futures price and trading activity by utilizing the unique features of Class III milk futures contract. The cash settlement and classified pricing scheme distinguish milk futures from other commodities. We construct two variables, days to maturity and price deviates, to capture the distinctive features. While days to maturity indicate the length of time before cash settlement in the maturity month, price deviates reflect traders’ heterogeneous responses to weekly published information on milk prices. A structural price volatility-trading volume model is specified and is estimated using the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The results confirm that (i) the closer to cash settlement, the lower milk futures price volatility, which is opposite to the typical “Samuelson effect” for other commodity futures, and (ii) both price variability and trading volume are increasing functions of traders’ heterogeneous responses to market information and therefore are positively associated. The results can be seen as evidence that the USDA weekly published information has significant impact on price and trading activities in the milk futures market. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian methods, classified pricing, microstructure model, stochastic volatility, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, C15, G13, Q18., |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169769&r=agr |
| By: | Nyaupane, Narayan; Gillespie, Jeffrey; Harrison, Robert; McMillin, Kenneth |
| Keywords: | Meat Goat, Breeding Stock, Conjoint, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170398&r=agr |
| By: | Boaitey, albert; Goddard, ellen; mohapatra, sandeep; Hailu, getu |
| Abstract: | The role producer risk preferences on WTP is for sustainable breeding practices addressed in this paper using stated preference methods. Estimates of WTP amongst beef producers are compared with those the diary sector. Whilst preliminary indicate a relatively lower impact, these effects seem nuanced in dairy relative to beef. This suggests that influence of risk in the producer valuation of new technologies may be commingled with market structure effects. |
| Keywords: | risk preferences, genomics, beef cattle, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170231&r=agr |
| By: | Kim, Man-Keun; Tejeda, Hernan A. |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to identify the effect of livestock mandatory price reporting (MPR) on cattle cash prices. Using the lag augmented vector autoregression (LA-VAR) and the historical decomposition, we find that there exist a steady increase in cattle prices after MPR in 2001. Initial (2001-mid 2002) periods of lower ‘actual’ prices respond to historical record supply in markets from 1) unexpected large number of cattle on feed, 2) heavier carcass per cattle, and 3) drop in exports. |
| Keywords: | Cattle price, Mandatory Price Reporting (MPR), Historical decomposition, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, C32, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169692&r=agr |
| By: | Cong, Ronggang; Ekroos, Johan; Smith, Henrik G.; Brady, Mark |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:168928&r=agr |
| By: | Yang, Sansi; Shumway, C. Richard |
| Abstract: | We construct a stochastic dual model to investigate the structural adjustment of three aggregate input and two aggregate output categories in U.S. agriculture under climatic change uncertainty. A century of national annual data (1910-2011) is used in the empirical analysis. Independent and instantaneous adjustment is rejected for each output and input, but strict fixity cannot be rejected for livestock and capital. It takes about four years for crops, and three years for fertilizer to adjust towards their optimal levels. Labor adjustment reaches the equilibrium within one year. |
| Keywords: | adjustment costs, climate change, dynamic duality, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, D21, Q54, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170609&r=agr |
| By: | Edward J. Pinto (American Enterprise Institute); Stephen D. Oliner (American Enterprise Institute); Morris A. Davis (American Enterprise Institute) |
| Abstract: | Our data show that land prices were more volatile than house prices during the recent boom/bust cycle. In areas where land was inexpensive in 2000, the land share of property value jumped during the boom, and this rise in the landshare was a useful predictor of the subsequent crash in house prices. These results highlight the value of focusing on land for assessing house-price risk. |
| Keywords: | Housing finance, housing bubble, housing market |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aei:rpaper:415524&r=agr |
| By: | Cechura, Lukas; Grau, Aaron; Hockmann, Heinrich; Levkovych, Inna; Kroupova, Zdenka |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa142:168927&r=agr |
| By: | Sansi Yang; C. Richard Shumway |
| Abstract: | We construct a stochastic dynamic dual model to investigate the structural adjustment of two aggregate output and three aggregate input categories in U.S. agriculture under climatic change uncertainty. A century of national annual data (1910-2011) is used in the empirical analysis. No constraints on asset fixity are imposed. Results indicate that both output categories as well as all input categories exhibit quasi-fixity in response to market change and stochastic climate change. Crops adjust most rapidly toward equilibrium levels and capital adjusts most slowly. |
| JEL: | Q11 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jmp:jm2014:pya413&r=agr |
| By: | Kala Krishna; Lena Sheveleva |
| Abstract: | Why do developing countries fail to specialize in products that they (at least potentially) have a comparative advantage in? For example, farmers in land-poor developing countries overwhelmingly produce staples rather than exotic fruits that command high prices. We propose a simple model of trade and intermediation that shows how holdup resulting from poor contracting environments can produce such an outcome. We use the model to examine which polices can help ameliorate the problem, even when its cause cannot be eliminated. In the model, farmers can produce two types of goods. Wheat is suitable for subsistence but farmers are inefficient in producing it. Farmers are efficient in making strawberries, but cannot subsist on it, and have to sell them to an intermediary who makes profits by selling it at the world price. In a frictionless world farmers would specialize in strawberries. Central to the model is the inability of farmers and traders to contract ex-ante on a price. The absence of enforceable contracts sets the stage for the classic hold up problem and precludes negotiating the terms of trade prior to entry into production. We use a two period model with continuum of traders and farmers. In the first period, farmers decide whether to produce wheat or strawberries and intermediaries decide whether to enter the business of intermediation. In the second period, farmers and traders meet randomly and trade. Since meetings are random and traders do not know the number of local competitors but do know how thick the market is, they can infer the distribution of potential rivals and offer a price based on this information. In other words, traders compete for the output of farmers in the first price auction. As a result, some farmers fetch a high price for their strawberries; others fetch a low price, or even fail to meet an intermediary. Farmers make the production decision based on the expected price. We solve the model and characterize all the possible equilibria as a function of the primitive parameters. Of particular interest is the region in the parameter space that yields multiple equilibria. In the good equilibrium, specialization occurs according to comparative advantage and there is intermediation, while in the bad equilibrium, there is no intermediation and the staple is produced. Our work suggests that there may be some simple measures to ensure intermediation and specialization according to comparative advantage even if the government is not able to resolve the core issue, the underlying lack of enforceable contracts. A temporary production subsidy or a marketing board that ensures a sufficiently high minimum price to the farmer can help an economy remove the bad equilibrium without intermediation. This paper is closely related to the work of Antras and Costinot (2011). In their paper they focus on the implications of intermediation for globalization in a model that assumes that contracts between traders and producers are enforceable. We study the implications of contractual failure on production choices in a model of trade with intermediation. |
| JEL: | O12 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20630&r=agr |
| By: | Cao, Xiang; Guan, Zhengfei; Vallad, Gary. E |
| Abstract: | Florida tomato industry is suffering from current methyl bromide phase-out under Montreal Protocol. Methyl bromide and its alternative fumigation strategies for producers are analyzed. This article seeks to provide growers and policy makers with scientific information on optimal fumigation strategies in terms of economic feasibility, financial efficiency and risk efficiency through partial budget analysis and stochastic efficiency with respect to a function. |
| Keywords: | methyl bromide, fumigation, cost effectiveness, risk efficiency, partial budget analysis and stochastic dominance, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:170582&r=agr |
| By: | Gafarova, Gulmira; Perekhozuk, Oleksandr; Glauben, Thomas |
| Abstract: | As a result of some recent changes in the international wheat market, market shares of leading wheat exporters have recently altered. The Black Sea region countries – Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine (KRU) – have become important wheat exporters, since they implemented substantial restructuring in total agricultural production, consumption and trade in the 1990s, and subsequently achieved a massive increase in grain production during the 2000s. Consequently, the pricing behaviour of these countries has become a key issue. By applying the pricing-to-market model to annual wheat exports, this study analyses the price discriminating behaviour of the KRU exporters in foreign markets during 1996-2012. The results demonstrate that even though the KRU countries are able to exercise price discrimination in different importing countries, they usually face perfect competition in most destinations. |
| Keywords: | fixed-effects model, price discrimination, pricing-to-market, wheat export, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi14:187583&r=agr |