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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2015‒08‒30
39 papers chosen by |
| By: | Zbranek, Peter |
| Abstract: | The common agricultural policy affects a broad range of issues on farms. Their productivity is no exception and CAP can affect it with different intensities and in different directions. CAP was introduced in the Slovak Republic after its accession to the EU in 2004. From that moment there was a significant increase in number of farms receiving subsidies. The aim of this paper was therefore to analyze the impact of these changes on the development of productivity and its components on the Slovak farms. The research consisted of two stages. The first stage we got a detailed picture of the evolving nature of the performance of Slovak crop and livestock farms in the period 2000-2012 by applying two approaches to evaluation of change in total factor productivity and its components, namely Malmquist Productivity Indices and Luenberger Productivity Indicators. We found that on average both types of farms increased their total factor productivity during the specified period. The driving force behind this development was the technological progress, the slowing factor was deterioration of technical efficiency of farms. By way of further decomposition of Malmquist indices we have also revealed Hicks-non-neutral technical change in the character of Slovak agriculture since the industry increasingly opted for automation and mechanization of production and mitigated use of the workforce. In the second stage we applied Random Effect Models for analyzing panel data to examine the effects of accession to the EU on the development of performance indicators of Slovak farms and input bias of technical change. We found that dependence on farm subsidy policy was significantly higher after joining the Union, while total factor productivity after 2004 developed worse for both types of farms. The effect of changes in the share of total subsidies received on total farm income was the net effect of investment induced productivity growth and the negative effect of efficiency loss. The first prevailed in the case of crop and the second one in the case of livestock farms. |
| Keywords: | Malmquist Productivity Indices, Luenberger Productivity Indicators, EU accession, Common Agricultural Policy, input bias of technical change, Agricultural and Food Policy, C23, C25, C44, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea15:207353&r=all |
| By: | Ahlerup, Pelle (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Tengstam, Sven (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | In the context of the global land rush, some portray large-scale land acquisitions as a potent threat to the livelihoods of already marginalized rural farming households in Africa. In order to avoid the potential pitfall of studying a particular project that may well have atypical effects, this paper systematically investigates the impact on commercial farm wage incomes for rural smallholder households of all pledged investments in the agricultural sector in Zambia between 1994 and 2007. The results suggest that agricultural investments are associated with a robust moderate positive effect, but only for households with a relative shortage of land.<p> |
| Keywords: | Agriculture; Investments; sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | N57 O13 O16 Q12 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0624&r=all |
| By: | Aruga, Kentaka |
| Abstract: | The study examines the consumer survey data collected for the seven agricultural products (rice, apple, cucumber, beef, pork, egg, and shiitake mushrooms) of regions near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNP) to find out what factors and attributes of consumers affect their purchasing behavior by using the contingent valuation method. In most of the agricultural products, we found that consumers who put high priority on food safety issue, think the risk of radiation contamination became high after the Fukushima nuclear incident, live distanced from the FDNP, and live with children under the age of 15 require a higher discount rate to accept agricultural products of regions near the FDNP. On the other hand, our study indicated that consumers who trust the current safety standard for radioactive material concentrations in food, knowledgeable about radiation and radioactive materials, have high environmental consciousness, and aged are more likely to accept buying products of regions near the FDNP. |
| Keywords: | radioactive contamination, willingness to accept, CVM survey |
| JEL: | D12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2015–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66153&r=all |
| By: | Beyene,Abebe D.; Bluffstone,Randall; Dissanayake,Sahan; Gebreegziabher,Zenebe; Martinsson,Peter; Mekonnen,Alemu; Toman,Michael A. |
| Abstract: | This paper provides field experiment?based evidence on the potential additional forest carbon sequestration that cleaner and more fuel-efficient cookstoves might generate. The paper focuses on the Mirt (meaning ?best?) cookstove, which is used to bake injera, the staple food in Ethiopia. The analysis finds that the technology generates per-meal fuel savings of 22 to 31 percent compared with a traditional three-stone stove with little or no increase in cooking time. Because approximately 88 percent of harvests from Ethiopian forests are unsustainable, these findings suggest that the Mirt stove, and potentially improved cookstoves more generally, can contribute to reduced forest degradation. These savings may be creditable under the United Nations Collaborative Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries. Because of the highly specific nature of the Mirt stove and the lack of refrigeration in rural Ethiopia, rebound effects are unlikely, but this analysis was unable completely to rule out such leakage. The conclusions are therefore indicative, pending evidence on the frequency of Mirt stove use in the field. The effects of six randomized behavioral treatments on fuelwood and cooking time outcomes were also evaluated, but limited effects were found. |
| Keywords: | Urban Environment,Energy Production and Transportation,Renewable Energy,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Environmental Economics&Policies |
| Date: | 2015–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7394&r=all |
| By: | Stickel, Maureen (University of WI); Deller, Steven (University of WI) |
| Abstract: | Development of the local food sector has become a popular strategy employed by a range of communities in the hopes of achieving sustainable and equitable economic growth and development. Local foods describes a range of economic activities such as farmers markets, community supported agriculture engagements, urban gardening, food hubs, and intermediated marketing channels. Despite its growing importance in the policy arena, the presumptions of the local food movement remain largely untested. This literature review provides critical analysis of the current research on local food networks. A review of current work reveals that current research on local food lacks strong theoretical grounding and quantitative rigor. As community development practitioners and planners play an important role in food system design, organization, and policy, it is important for practitioners to distinguish between objective, research-based information and speculative, advocacy-oriented analysis. |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:wisagr:576&r=all |
| By: | Marieke Blondet (Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière, INRA - AgroParisTech; MNHN UMR 7206 Eco-anthropologie et ethnobiologie) |
| Abstract: | The issue of climate change is progressively entering the field of forest management in France and Europe. It poses significant questions to forest managers since forest management is made on a very long time scale. Decisions taken today will impact forest for many years and climate change may threaten these long term investments. According to scientists, beech forest is particularly sensitive to drought and may disappear in the coming years due to global warming. Beech is also one of the protected species in the Annexes of the Habitat Directive. To face and bring answers to this issue of the future of beech forest before this change in climate conditions various actors from the forest sector, the conservationist organisations and the policy-making sphere are engaging at the national level. Yet they carry different views of the issue. What are at play, there, are competing positions and perceptions toward nature protection, sustainable forest management and biodiversity integrity. Nevertheless, in the field, our research shown that local people barely consider the issue of climate change as clearly relevant for them since they have not noticed worrying enough signs of environmental change in their surrounding at that stage. As a consequence they are not that much engaged in adapting to the climate’s new conditions such as the various stakeholders at the national level. Our article therefore analyses this issue and the interacting and often conflicting perceptions of this issue by the various social actors at different level of the policy-making process. The problem of beech forest under climate change is, indeed, the arena for power relationships between various political stakeholders that we will describe here. We will then show that this competition could be quite disconnected from the life and views of the people in the field. Environmental change remains an issue for the top national experts and policy makers. |
| Keywords: | climate change, engagement, discourse, power relationship, virtualism |
| JEL: | Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2015-03&r=all |
| By: | Paul Feichtinger (Former PhD student at the Technische Universität München); Klaus Salhofer (Institute for Sustainable Economic Development, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna) |
| Abstract: | Based on 7,300 agricultural land sales transactions we estimate the effect of the 2003 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy on land prices. As opposed to the main body of the literature on agricultural land values, we do not start from a demand-oriented net present value approach or hedonic prizing method, but derive our reduced form pricing equation from a spatial land sales market model. Our empirical model accounts for spatial dependence and endogeneity of explanatory variables. A reduction of payments by 50 €/ha would decrease land sales prices by 445 €/ha before and by 984 €/ha after the reform. |
| Keywords: | agricultural land prices, Common Agricultural Policy, spatial econometrics |
| JEL: | Q15 Q18 C21 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sed:wpaper:582015&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières) |
| Abstract: | This chapter reviews existing long term water demand forecasting methodologies. Based on an extensive literature review, it shows that the domain has benefited from contributions by economists, engineers and system modelers, producing a wide range of tools, many of which have been tested and adopted by practitioners. It illustrates, via three detailed case studies in the USA, the UK and Australia, how different tools can be used depending on the regulatory context, the water scarcity level, the geographic scale at which they are deployed and the technical background of water utilities and their consultants. The chapter reviews how practitioners address three main challenges, namely the integration of land use planning with demand forecasting; accounting for climate change; and dealing with forecast uncertainty. It concludes with a discussion of research perspectives in that domain. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01183853&r=all |
| By: | Kalpana Kochhar; Catherine A. Pattillo; Yan Sun; Nujin Suphaphiphat; Andrew Swiston; Robert Tchaidze; Benedict J. Clements; Stefania Fabrizio; Valentina Flamini; Laure Redifer; Harald Finger |
| Abstract: | This paper examines water challenges, a growing global concern with adverse economic and social consequences, and discusses economic policy instruments. Water subsidies provided through public utilities are estimated at about $456 billion or 0.6 percent of global GDP in 2012. The paper suggests that getting economic incentives right, notably by reforming water pricing, can go a long way towards encouraging more efficient water use and supporting needed investment, while enabling policies that protect the poor. It also discusses pricing reform options and emphasizes an integrated and holistic approach to manage water, going beyond the water sector itself. The IMF can play a helpful role in ensuring that macroeconomic policies are conducive to sound water management. |
| Keywords: | Economic policy;Fund role;Policy instruments;Supply and demand;Subsidies;Water supply;Water resources;Water, externalities, public utilities, water use, water management, water infrastructure |
| Date: | 2015–06–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfsdn:15/11&r=all |
| By: | Besley, Timothy J.; Leight, Jessica; Pande, Rohini; Rao, Vijayendra |
| Abstract: | Agricultural tenancy reforms have been widely enacted, but evidence on their long-run impact remains limited. In this paper, we provide such evidence by exploiting the quasi-random assignment of linguistically similar areas to different South Indian states that subsequently varied in tenancy regulation policies. Given imperfect credit markets, the impact of tenancy reform should vary by household wealth status, allowing us to exploit historic caste-based variation in landownership. Thirty years after the reforms, land inequality is lower in areas that saw greater intensity of tenancy reform, but the impact differs across caste groups. Tenancy reforms increase own-cultivation among middle-caste households, but render low-caste households more likely to work as daily agricultural laborers. At the same time, agricultural wages increase. These results are consistent with tenancy regulations increasing land sales to relatively richer and more productive middle-caste tenants, but reducing land access for poorer low-caste tenants. |
| Keywords: | inequality; Land reform; long-run impact of institutions |
| JEL: | H73 O12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10780&r=all |
| By: | Takeshi, Sakurai |
| Abstract: | Irrigated rice farming in the Senegal River Valley is known to be highly productive, as indicated by the average yield of nearly 5 tons per hectare, and the extensive adoption of modern seed-fertilizer technology. This study seeks to understand why rice farming is so productive in this region; analyzing this situation from the viewpoint of the management efficiency of large versus small scale irrigation schemes. Contrary to popular belief, the study found that farmers in large-scale irrigation schemes achieve significantly higher yields and profits than those in small-scale irrigation schemes. |
| Keywords: | large-scale irrigation schemes , small-scale irrigation schemes , roductivity , rice farming , Senegal river valley |
| Date: | 2015–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:105&r=all |
| By: | Pierre-André Jouvet (EconomiX, University of Paris Ouest, France); Julien Wolfersberger (Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière, INRA - AgroParisTech) |
| Abstract: | We study sustainable growth in an economy with natural land endowments, specifically forests, and the need for public policies to quantify the financial value of green capital, measured by forests. Exhaustible primary forests are first depleted for agriculture and production, until a switch occurs to the renewable secondary forests. The introduction of REDD+ in the economy reduces agricultural expansion, since the social planner invests in green capital, at the expense of the physical one. We show that the optimal REDD+ national strategy highly depends on the development stage of the recipient economy. In the end, we prove our findings by calibrating our model to Indonesia and illustrate recommendations for public policies. |
| Keywords: | Deforestation; Development; Forest Transition; Green capital; Growth |
| JEL: | Q15 Q23 Q32 Q56 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2015-06&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières); Bernard Barraqué (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - CIRAD - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS) |
| Abstract: | This chapter discusses the evolving role of interbasin transfers (IBT) in urban water management. After providing an historical overview of IBT development, the chapter describes how IBTs are challenged by a change in the technological and socio-economic context. The emergence of alternative technologies, such as desalination, wastewater reclamation and reuse, or managed artificial groundwater recharge is reducing the attractiveness of IBTs. Water utilities are also becoming increasingly aware that water conservation programs can save volumes of water at a much cheaper cost than IBT. Various international examples are used to show that IBTs trigger increasing concerns from communities involved or affected, in particular related to the environmental impact on donor and receiving river basins, the economic impact on donor regions, the impact on local cultures and livelihoods, how costs and benefits are distributed (social justice), and issues related to public participation. The chapter concludes by looking ahead at new and more efficient uses of existing IBTs. As conjunctive use management approaches gain support, IBTs will be operated in conjunction with aquifer storage and recovery schemes. They will probably also support the development of emerging water markets, in particular during drought years. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01183852&r=all |
| By: | Bonfiglio, Andrea; Camaioni, Beatrice; Esposti, Roberto; Pagliacci, Francesco; Sotte, Franco |
| Abstract: | This paper is aimed at assessing distribution of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) expenditure through the European Union (EU) space. Firstly, spatial distribution of past CAP expenditure is analysed, specifically 2007-2011 payments. Both overall expenditure and disentangled measures are investigated; major territorial patterns through the EU-27 are highlighted as well. Secondly, spatial distribution of future expenditure, according to latest 2014-2020 CAP reform, is analysed. In particular, we assess re-distributional effects connected with spatial spillovers that are due to regional economic integration. Assessment is made through the adoption of a multiregional I-O model. The analysis is carried out at a very high level of disaggregation, i.e. NUTS 3 level throughout the EU-27. Furthermore, a specific focus is devoted to rural-urban relationships. |
| Keywords: | common agricultural policy, regional integration, urban-rural relationships, multiregional I-O model, Agricultural and Food Policy, C00, O18, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea15:207273&r=all |
| By: | Hoddinott, John; Karachiwalla, Naureen; Ledlie, Natasha; Roy, Shalini |
| Abstract: | Background: In many low-income countries, including in Bangladesh, girls tend to marry early and have children very soon after marriage. Although conveying infant and young child nutrition (IYCN) knowledge to adolescent girls in a timely manner is important to ensure the well-being of their children, little is known about the best ways to convey these messages. Objective: This study examines the sources from which adolescent girls derive IYCN knowledge in order to inform the design of programs that convey such information. Methods: Information on both characteristics and IYCN knowledge of adolescent girls aged 12-18 was collected as part of a baseline survey in 2013 for the DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh project. A total of 436 girls in rural areas and 345 girls in urban areas are present in the study. Data were analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, fixed effects regression, and Poisson regression models. Results: In both the urban and rural samples, girls’ schooling is positively and significantly associated with IYCN knowledge. IYCN knowledge of adolescent girls’ mothers is also associated with adolescents’ IYCN knowledge in both urban and rural samples, but the magnitude of association in the urban sample is only half that of the rural sample. Conclusions: In Bangladesh, efforts to improve knowledge regarding IYCN is typically focused on mothers of young children. Only some of this knowledge is passed onto adolescent girls living in the same household. As other messaging efforts directed towards mothers have only small, or no association with adolescent girls’ knowledge of IYCN, improving adolescent girls’ understanding of breastfeeding, complementary feeding and more general nutrition knowledge may require information and messaging specifically directed towards them. |
| Keywords: | adolescent girls, infant and young child feeding knowledge, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | I12 O12 O15 R00 |
| Date: | 2015–07–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65767&r=all |
| By: | Casini,Paolo; Vandewalle,Lore; Wahhaj,Zaki |
| Abstract: | Self-help groups (SHGs) are the most common form of microfinance in India. The authors provide evidence that SHGs, composed of women only, undertake collective actions for the provision of public goods within village communities. Using a theoretical model, this paper shows that an elected official, whose aim is to maximize re-election chances, exerts higher effort in providing public goods when private citizens undertake collective action and coordinate their voluntary contributions towards the same goods. This effect occurs although government and private contributions are assumed to be substitutes in the technology of providing public goods. Using first-hand data on SHGs in India, the paper tests the prediction of the model and shows that, in response to collective action by SHGs, local authorities tackle a larger variety of public issues, and are more likely to tackle issues of interest to SHGs. The findings highlight how the social behavior of SHGs can influence the governance of rural Indian communities. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Corporate Law,Debt Markets,Civil Society,Political Economy |
| Date: | 2015–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7397&r=all |
| By: | Beaman, Lori (Northwestern University and Innovations for Poverty Action); Karlan, Dean (Yale University and Innovations for Poverty Action); Thuysbaert, Bram (Ghent University and Innovations for Poverty Action) |
| Abstract: | High transaction and contracting costs are often thought to create credit and savings market failures in developing countries. The microfinance movement grew largely out of business process innovations and subsidies that reduced these costs. We examine an alternative approach, one that infuses no external capital and introduces no change to formal contracts: an improved "technology" for managing informal, collaborative village-based savings groups. Such groups allow, in theory, for more efficient and lower-cost loans and informal savings, and in practice have been scaled up by international non-profit organizations to millions of members. Individuals save together and then lend the accumulated funds back out to themselves. In a randomized evaluation in Mali, we find improvements in food security, consumption smoothing, and buffer stock savings. Although we do find suggestive evidence of higher agricultural output, we do not find overall higher income or expenditure. We also do not find downstream impacts on health, education, social capital, and female decision-making power. Could this have happened before, without any external intervention? Yes. That is what makes the result striking, that indeed there were no resources provided nor legal institutional changes, yet the NGO-guided, improved informal processes led to important changes for households. |
| JEL: | D12 D91 O12 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:yaleco:136&r=all |
| By: | Ramirez, Octavio A. |
| Abstract: | This appendix is comprised of two sections. The first section entitled “Yield Variability and Premium Estimation Error” establishes a range of plausible levels of crop insurance premium estimation error corresponding to typical corn production scenarios in the Midwestern US. The second section entitled “Distribution of Crop Insurance Subsidies” assesses the potential impact of such levels of premium estimation error on the distribution of the Crop Insurance subsidies across participating corn producers. |
| Keywords: | Financial Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aepapa:162318&r=all |
| By: | Deller, Steven C. (University of WI); Brown, Laura (University of WI); Canto, Amber (University of WI) |
| Abstract: | In this exploratory analysis we look for patterns in the relationship between local foods and community health using U.S. nonmetropolitan counties. We take an ecological approach using 2007 Census of Agriculture and "County Health Rankings & Roadmaps" data collected by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute program at the U.S. county level. In addition to the central question (are higher concentrations of characteristics of local food systems associated with healthier communities) we address the question of health modeling uncertainty by use a Spatial Bayesian Model Averaging (SBMA). As expected, our findings indicate that higher levels of activities associated with local foods are generally associated with higher levels of community health. Two problems with the analysis are (1) challenges around definitions and measurement of local foods and (2) direction of causation is unclear. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:wisagr:571&r=all |
| By: | Contò, Francesco; Fiore, Mariantonietta; Conte, Alessandra; Pellegrini, Giustina |
| Abstract: | Over the last decades, food waste has generated an immense amounts across the food life cycle, determining serious environmental, social and economic issues. Reducing the amount of food waste is a key element in developing a sustainable food system.The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between food waste and belief, attitudes and behaviours at the household level so exploring its possible drivers among Italian consumers: how people could reduce or avoid the amount of food waste is the main step for addressing the consumer behaviour and for planning shopping routines. In effect avoidable food waste represents the majority of food waste generated at the household level. The disposal of food is the final step in the food provisioning process (Munro, 1995) entailing a series of food-related behaviours from purchasing food to preparing and eating it (Jensen et al., 2012). The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen,1991) helps to understanding how the people actions can be modified linking beliefs and behaviour; this theory is our starting point to predict household decisions in order to avoid, to minimize or to recycle waste (Biswa et al., 2000; Knussen et al., 2004) as well as to improve food-related behaviours (Conner & Armitage, 2002). To this end, an on-line survey was carried out via social networks and e-mail. A focus group and a pilot test with 12 Italian consumers were conducted to support the questionnaire design. 256 were respondents. Results are in line with the studies on this research topics. The current study focuses on Italian consumers, but the basic concepts in our framework should be replicable and so applicable to any society. The policy implications are related to the crucial importance that new models to address behaviour consumer have to be identified in order to change eating habits and attitudes. |
| Keywords: | Food Waste, Shopping routines, Consumer behaviour, Theory of Planned Behaviour., Agricultural and Food Policy, Q10, Q18, D12., |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea15:207355&r=all |
| By: | Corentin Girard (UPV - Universitat Politecnica de Valencia [Espagne] - Universitat Politécnica de Valencia); Jean-Daniel Rinaudo (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières); Manuel Pulido-Velazquez (UPV - Universitat Politecnica de Valencia [Espagne] - Universitat Politécnica de Valencia); Yvan Caballero (BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières) |
| Abstract: | Shaping global change adaptation strategy in water resource systems requires an interdisciplinary approach to deal with the multiple dimensions of the problem. The modelling framework presented integrates climate, economic, agronomic and hydrological scenarios to design a programme of adaptation measures at the river basin scale. Future demand scenarios, combined with a down-scaled climate scenario, provide the basis to estimate the demand and water resources in 2030. A least-cost river basin optimisation model is then applied to select adaptation measures ensuring that environmental and supply management goals are achieved. In the Orb river basin (France), the least-cost portfolio selected suggests mixing demand and supply side measures to adapt to global change. Trade-offs among the cost of the programme of measures, the deficit in agricultural water supply and the level of environmental flows are investigated. The challenges to implement such interdisciplinary approaches in the definition of adaptation strategies are finally discussed. |
| Date: | 2014–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01183833&r=all |
| By: | Roswenzweig, Mark R. (Yale University); Udry, Christopher (Yale University) |
| Abstract: | We look at the effects of rainfall forecasts and realized rainfall on equilibrium agricultural wages over the course of the agricultural production cycle. We show theoretically that a forecast of good weather can lower wages in the planting stage, by lowering ex ante out-migration, and can exacerbate the negative impact of adverse weather on harvest-stage wages. Using Indian household panel data describing early-season migration and district-level planting- and harvest-stage wages over the period 2005-2010, we find results consistent with the model, indicating that rainfall forecasts improve labor allocations on average but exacerbate wage volatility because they are imperfect. |
| JEL: | J20 O12 O13 O15 Q12 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:yaleco:128&r=all |
| By: | Kamal Saggi (Vanderbilt University); Mark Wu (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | An agricultural price range system (PRS) aims to stabilize local prices in an open economy via the use of import duties that vary with international prices. The policy is inherently distortionary and welfare-reducing for a small open economy, at least according to the canonical economic model. We offer an explanation for why a government concerned with national welfare may nevertheless implement such a policy when faced with risk aversion and imperfect insurance markets. We also highlight open questions arising out of the Peru – Agricultural Products dispute for the WTO's Appellate Body to address in order to clarify how a PRS consistent with WTO rules could be designed. Finally, we discuss the possibility that a WTO member might resort to a free trade agreement (FTA) to preserve its flexibility to implement a PRS and how an FTA provision of this sort ought to be treated in WTO litigation. |
| Keywords: | Price range systems, variable duties, WTO, dispute, welfare |
| JEL: | F1 K0 |
| Date: | 2015–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:van:wpaper:vuecon-sub-15-00009&r=all |
| By: | Yoann Verger (REEDS - REEDS - Centre international de Recherches en Economie écologique, Eco-innovation et ingénierie du Développement Soutenable - UVSQ - Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) |
| Abstract: | References to Sraffa and to the neo-Ricardian school is something quite customary in ecological economics. By looking at contributions in this area since the beginning of ecological economics and at contributions on environmental problem from the neo-Ricardian school, we see that a connection between both school still has to be made. This connection should be articulated around the initial aim of Sraffa: to develop a new paradigm, competing against the neoclassical one. Only then it will be possible to develop a real eco-Sraffian approach able to pursue the analysis of the sustainability of the economic system. This review of the literature is divided in three sections. Section 1 describes the part of the literature engaged in the “valuation of nature” debate; section 2 the works of researchers trying to develop a neo-Ricardian approach of ecological conflicts; and section 3 several works trying to use the neo-Ricardian knowledge in the analysis of physical interdependence between processes, in particular for the assessment of CO2 emissions. In each of these last sections, works are presented in a (more or less) chronological way. |
| Date: | 2015–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01182894&r=all |
| By: | Amina Béji-Bécheur (IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée); Nacima Ourahhmoune (NEOMA - Neoma Business School); Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse (LSMRC - Lille School of Management Research Center - Université Lille II - Droit et santé) |
| Abstract: | This article reflects on consumer representations of a typical southern Mediterranean dish that has remained a centerpiece of cultural encounters ever since it was developed in North Africa: couscous. France – a country whose own cuisine is world-renowned, yet which regularly ranks couscous as one of its top three favorite national dishes, and which hosts the largest North African population in Europe – seemed a fertile site for an investigation of the polysemic meanings attached to couscous, a nomad product embedded in socio-historical interrelationships on both shores of the Mediterranean. We found that consumers appropriate and adapt the product in ways that demonstrate some of the major features of Mediterranean relationships, with food as a vehicle for creative personal narratives. We emphasize the diversity of representations of couscous that help dissolve the usual northern/southern Mediterranean binaries in order to achieve a complex understanding of Mediterranean consumer behaviors. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01132487&r=all |
| By: | Hubert Stahn (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM) - AMU - Aix-Marseille Université); Agnes Tomini (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM) - AMU - Aix-Marseille Université) |
| Abstract: | Rainwater harvesting, consisting in collecting runoff from precipitation, has been widely developed to stop groundwater declines and even raise water tables. However this expected environmental effect is not self-evident. We show in a simple setting that the success of this conjunctive use depends on whether the runoff rate is above a threshold value. Moreover, the bigger the storage capacity, the higher the runoff rate must be to obtain an environmentally efficient system. We also extend the model to include other hydrological parameters and ecological damages, which respectively increase and decrease the environmental efficiency of rainwater harvesting. |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01083461&r=all |
| By: | Eric N. Kéré (CERDI-CNRS, Université d’Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France); Serge Garcia (Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière, INRA - AgroParisTech); Arnaud Dragicevic (Chaire Forêts pour Demain, AgroParisTech-Office National des Forêts) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of the intensity of spatial interactions on the behavior of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners and, by the ripple effect, its impact on the decisions to produce timber. We model the spatial interactions in form of a twostage game. We find that when timber harvesting dominates the production of amenities, neighbors’ decisions act as strategic complements. We then prove the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium and find that it reflects the magnitude of spatial correlations. Our econometric analysis suggests that the decisions on harvesting depend on the decisions descried in the neighborhood. In consequence, the policies aimed at increasing the timber harvesting could benefit from the spillover effect. Finally, our work confirms that NIPF owners make a tradeoff between timber harvesting and forest amenities production. |
| Keywords: | Timber harvesting; Forest amenities; Spatial interactions; Sample selection |
| JEL: | C61 C63 C81 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2015-08&r=all |
| By: | H. Spencer Banzhaf |
| Abstract: | For decades, economists have used the hedonic model to estimate demands for the implicit characteristics of differentiated commodities. The traditional cross-sectional approach can recover marginal willingness to pay for characteristics, but has faltered over a difficult endogeneity problem for non-marginal welfare measures. I show that when marginal prices can be reliably estimated, and when panel data on household demands is available, one can construct a second-order approximation to non-marginal welfare measures using only the first-stage marginal prices. Under a single-crossing restriction, the approach remains valid for repeated cross sections of product prices. More recently, economists have questioned the assumptions under which one can identify these cross-sectional hedonic price functions, raising the possibility of unobservables that are correlated with the characteristic of interest. To overcome this problem, they have introduced difference-in-differences econometric models to identify capitalization effects. Unfortunately, the interpretation of these effects has not been clearly perceived in the literature. I additionally show these capitalization effects are the "average direct unmediated effect" on prices of a change in characteristics, which can be interpreted as a movement along the ex post hedonic price func-tion. This effect is a lower bound on Hicksian equivalent surplus. |
| JEL: | D46 D61 H4 Q51 R3 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21485&r=all |
| By: | M'Hand Fares (AGIR - AGrosystèmes et développement terrItoRial - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); Luis Orozco (LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - UTM - Université Toulouse 2 Le Mirail - École Nationale de Formation Agronomique - ENFA) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes the contractual relationship between a wine cooperative (winery) and its member (growers). This relationship is plagued by moral hazard and adverse selection problems in grape quality. Indeed, growers can be opportunistic since the cooperative is unable to observe: (i) their effort level due to imperfect monitoring technology; (ii) their productive abilities (types) due to adverse selection. Because the growers' vineyard practices and efforts are one of the main determinants of grape quality, the cooperative implements an incentive compensation system to induce growers to provide the maximum effort towards quality. This compensation scheme is similar to that in tournaments (Lazear and Rosen, 1981; Green and Stokey, 1983; Knoeber, 1989; Prendergast, 1999). In our case, the cooperative promotes competition between growers by offering a promotion, while, at the same time, organizing the contest by creating homogenous groups of growers using a menu of contracts and monitoring through regular visits to the vineyard. Using a database of 1219 contracts, we test the effect of: (i) the cooperative's tournament compensation scheme; (ii) the menu of contracts and monitoring mechanism. The results of our econometric estimations provide some confirmation of both effects. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01093245&r=all |
| By: | Leander Heldring; James A. Robinson; Sebastian Vollmer |
| Abstract: | We examine the long-run economic impact of the Dissolution of the English monasteries in 1535, which is plausibly linked to the commercialization of agriculture and the location of the Industrial Revolution. Using monastic income at the parish level as our explanatory variable, we show that parishes which the Dissolution impacted more had more textile mills and employed a greater share of population outside agriculture, had more gentry and agricultural patent holders, and were more likely to be enclosed. Our results extend Tawney’s famous ‘rise of the gentry’ thesis by linking social change to the Industrial Revolution. |
| JEL: | N43 N63 N93 O14 Q15 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21450&r=all |
| By: | Deller, Steven C. (University of WI); Brown, Laura (University of WI); Canto, Amber (University of WI) |
| Abstract: | In this exploratory analysis we explore the interplay between poverty, public health and access to local foods using data for U.S. counties. We ask one simple question: Does access to local foods dampen or mitigate the relationship between poverty and health? As expected we find a strong relationship between poverty and public health and we also find that access to higher levels of local foods activity is associated with higher levels of public health. The interaction between poverty and local foods, however, suggests that higher concentrations of both are associated with poorer, not better health. From a global perspective we find that the presence of local foods related activity tends to have a positive impact on health, but that relationship is not consistent across the United States. Our results suggest that the interplay between local foods, poverty and health is subtle and the resulting policy implications may make sense in some parts of the United States but not in others. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:wisagr:572&r=all |
| By: | Richard S. J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, UK; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; CESifo, Munich, Germany) |
| Abstract: | I assessed five statements in the Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of Working Group II (WG2) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC’s assessment of the impacts of climate change on agriculture all but ignores human agency and human ingenuity. The statement in the SPM on violent conflict is much stronger than in the chapter and indeed the literature. AR5 ignores the literature on the impacts of climate change on cold-related mortality and morbidity. On poverty traps, WG2 reaches a conclusion that is not supported by the cited papers. The total impacts of climate change were assessed in four subsequent IPCC report. Although there are no statistically significant differences between the assessment periods in the underlying literature, the subsequent SPMs reach very different conclusions. In sum, the IPCC has yet to reach the quality that one would expect from a gold standard. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; impacts; IPCC; agriculture; health; poverty; violent conflict; total economic impact |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:7815&r=all |
| By: | Sandrine Mathy (équipe EDDEN - PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - CNRS - Grenoble 2 UPMF - Université Pierre Mendès France - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - Grenoble 1 UJF - Université Joseph Fourier); Odile Blanchard (équipe EDDEN - PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - CNRS - Grenoble 2 UPMF - Université Pierre Mendès France - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - Grenoble 1 UJF - Université Joseph Fourier) |
| Abstract: | The stakes for alleviating poverty and avoiding unbridled climate change are inextricably linked. Climate change impacts will slow down and may even reverse trends in poverty reduction. The pathways consistent with global warming of no more than 2°C require strategies for poverty alleviation to make allowance for the constraint of low-carbon development. Existing climate funds have failed to target poverty alleviation as a high-priority strategy for adaptation or as a component of low-carbon development. This article proposes a funding window as part of the Green Climate Fund in order to foster synergies targeting greater satisfaction of basic needs, while making allowance for adaptation and mitigation. This financial mechanism is based on indicators of the satisfaction of basic needs and could respond to the claims of the developing countries which see alleviating poverty as the first priority in the climate negotiations. It defines a country continuum, given that there are poor people everywhere; all developing countries are therefore eligible with a mechanism of this sort. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01149008&r=all |
| By: | Eléonora MORGANTI (IFSTTAR/AME/SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - PRES Université Paris-Est); Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE]) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes last mile logistics for fresh food products and the food deliveries schemes to urban food outlets, i.e. corporate retail chains, independent retailers and hotel, restaurants and catering (Ho.Re.Ca.) sector. We present two concepts: that of food hub and that of last food mils, as well as an analysis framework to understand food last mile distribution. To illustrate it, two experiences of urban food distribution are compared to a reference situation using the proposed framework. |
| Abstract: | Cet article analyse la logistique du dernier kilomètre pour les produits frais, dans les différents secteurs impliqués, i.e. grande distribution organisée, commerces indépendants et secteur de la restauration. Nous présentons deux concepts : celui du pole alimentaire et celui du dernier kilomètre alimentaire, ainsi qu'un cadre d'analyse pour comprendre la distribution alimentaire en ville. Pour l'illustrer, deux expériences de logistique alimentaire urbaine sont comparés à une situation de référence, en utilisant la méthode proposée. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00986647&r=all |
| By: | Ivelin Iliev Rizov (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Emilio Rodríguez Cerezo (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | The present technical report deals with coexistence issues of genetically modified (GM) soybean cultivation with non-GM soybean and honey production in the EU. The Technical Working Group (TWG) for Soybean of the European Coexistence Bureau (ECoB) analysed the possible sources for potential GM cross-pollination and admixture and agreed on the best practices for coexistence. The terms of reference for this review are presented in Section 1. The scope of the Best Practice Document is coexistence in soybean crop production in the EU. It includes the coexistence between GM soybean cultivation and honey production but excludes coexistence in seed production. The ECoB TWG for Soybean conducted two meetings, one in May 2013 and one in February 2014 examining the state-of-art knowledge from scientific literature, research projects and reports, as well as empirical evidence provided by already existing segregation systems in soybean production. The information reviewed amounts to a total of 123 references listed in this report. The report summarises the review of available information on adventitious GM presence in soybean crop production covering seed impurities, cultivation, outcrossing to non-GM soybeans, and volunteers. The process management during sowing, harvesting, transportation, drying and storage on farm is also reviewed. Additionally the report analyses existing studies dealing with the presence of soybean pollen in honey. Finally, the TWG for Soybean reviewed the state of the art for the detection and identification of traces of GM soybean material in non-GM soybean harvests and honey. Based on this review, the members of the TWG Soybean submitted proposals for best management practices, which form the basis of the agreed consensus recommendations presented in Section 8. |
| Keywords: | Inovation, Biotechnology, Coexistence, Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), Soybean, Best agricultural practices, Agronomy, Policy support, Standatization, Compititivness. |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc91097&r=all |
| By: | Antonello Lobianco (Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière, INRA - AgroParisTech); Arnaud Dragicevic (Chaire Forêts pour Demain, AgroParisTech-Office National des Forêts); Antoine Leblois (Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière, INRA - AgroParisTech) |
| Abstract: | Using the Markowitz mean-value (M-V) portfolio model, we study forest planning looking at arbitration between productivity and risk. By weighting the forest productivity with factors of future climate change effects, we compute the optimal tree species mixes, within reach of forest managers, in ninety French administrative departments. Considering three productivity measures (wood production, carbon sequestration and economic valorization) and their respective variances, we found that: a) optimizing productivity and carbon sequestration yields allocations close to the empirical ones; b) forest managers prefer low variance to high productivity, i.e. their revealed risk aversion is high; and c) unlike maximizing wood productivity or carbon sequestration, which lead to similar portfolios, maximizing the economic value of wood production increases (decreases) wood production and carbon sequestration under risk aversion (neutrality). Under high risk aversion, the economic valorization would lead to a high species specialization, which is very unlikely in reality. In all considered scenarios, the objectives set out in the Kyoto Protocol would be attained, which puts into question its relevance in terms of additionality. |
| Keywords: | bioeconomics, forest planning, mean-variance model, mixed-species forests, climate Change |
| JEL: | G17 Q2 Q54 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lef:wpaper:2015-07&r=all |
| By: | Castellari, Elena; Moro, Daniele; Platoni, Silvia; Sckokai, Paolo |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate the relationship between price dispersion and inflation; we use weekly retail scanner data from 2009 to 2011 to measure price dispersion and inflation for several dairy products. We implement a linear model to investigate the linkage between price dispersion and consumer price indexes. As in the previous literature, we obtain mixed results with respect to the relationship between price dispersion and inflation, and further investigation and theoretical refinement are needed to identify a common pattern. |
| Keywords: | price dispersion, consumer price indexes, food inflation, scanner data, dairy products, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, L11, L66, |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea15:207268&r=all |
| By: | Angelucci, Manuela (University of Michigan); Prina, Silvia (Case Western Reserve University); Royer, Heather (University of California, Santa Barbara); Samek, Anya (University of Southern California) |
| Abstract: | How do peers influence the impact of incentives? Despite much work on incentives, little is known about the spillover effects of incentives. We investigate two mechanisms by which these effects can occur: through peers' actions and peers' incentives. In a field experiment on snack choice (grapes versus cookies), we randomize who receives incentives, the fraction of peers incentivized, and whether or not it can be observed that peers' choices are incentivized among over 1,500 children in the school lunchroom. Incentives increase the likelihood of initially choosing grapes. However, peer spillover effects can be large enough to undo these positive effects. |
| Keywords: | food choice, incentives, spillovers, field experiment |
| JEL: | C93 I1 J13 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9288&r=all |
| By: | Cormac Ó Gráda |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the history of famine in Ireland between c. 1300 and c. 1900. Inevitably, most of its focus is on the two ‘great’ famines of the early 1740s and 1846-52. |
| Keywords: | Famine; Economic history; Ireland |
| JEL: | N N5 O1 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201513&r=all |