|
on Agricultural Economics |
|
Issue of 2016‒02‒29
forty papers chosen by |
| By: | Jean Vasile, Andrei; Mirela, Panait; Alexandra, Alecu |
| Abstract: | The European agricultural sector is, for the last decades, a subject to a quite extensive and important transformations imposed by the new paradigm`s changing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), especially the influences of complex phenomena such as integration and globalization of markets under pressure impose by changes in the global economy. From this perspective, the agriculture is not only a traditional economic sector designed to ensure the food safety and food security, but also a complex one; the agriculture becoming multifunctional in rural communities and diversification of the pluriactivities. In this article are analyzed some of the major transformations of this sector, form the perspective of the European agricultural market and European agricultural model under the CAP`s influence. |
| Keywords: | CAP, agriculture, Agricultural factor income, agricultural paradigm, direct aids |
| JEL: | A1 O1 Q1 R2 |
| Date: | 2015–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69556&r=agr |
| By: | Jesse Lueders, Cara Horowitz, Ann Carlson, Sean B. Hecht, and Edward A. Parson |
| Abstract: | For the last several years, California has considered the idea of recognizing, within its greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, offsets generated by foreign states and provinces through reduced tropical forest destruction and degradation and related conservation and sustainability efforts, known as REDD+. During their deliberations on the issue, state policymakers have heard arguments from stakeholders in favor of crediting REDD+ offsets, and those against. After years of planning and cooperative efforts undertaken with states in Brazil, Mexico, and elsewhere, California is still determining whether to embrace REDD+ offsets. The most salient and potentially persuasive arguments in favor stem from the opportunity to influence and reduce international forest-related emissions contributing to climate change, while simultaneously reducing the costs imposed by the state’s climate change law. The state is still grappling, however, with serious questions about the effectiveness of REDD+ in addressing climate change, as well as the impacts of REDD+ on other social and environmental objectives. The suitability of the state’s cap-and-trade program as a tool for reducing emissions outside the state, given the co-benefits that accrue to local communities from in-state reductions, remains another key area of debate. The outcome of this policy discussion will depend on interrelated questions of program design, future offset supply and demand, and the weight given to the importance of prioritizing in-state emissions reductions and co-benefits. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Mitigation, Forests, REDD+, Cap-and-trade |
| JEL: | Q23 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:386&r=agr |
| By: | Antonio G.M. La Viña and Alaya de Leon |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an analysis of the international political dynamics around the reduction of tropical deforestation and forest degradation as a climate mitigation strategy, emphasizing the necessity of an enabling environment and sustainable financing to support the scaling up of these efforts globally. After describing the evolution from the 1990s of international cooperation to combat tropical deforestation, the paper focuses principally on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and how it provided an impetus for a renewed effort on this issue. The paper describes the complex process through which the climate and tropical forest agenda got inserted into UNFCCC processes, from its marginal role in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) created by the Kyoto Protocol to the emergence of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the Role of Conservation, Sustainable Management of Forests and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks) as the forum where decisions have been made on climate and tropical forests. The paper dissects the issues that have dominated the REDD+ negotiations, identifies and characterizes the actors and constituencies that have been influential in the process, analyzes lessons learned from the successes of this UNFCCC agenda, and suggests recommendations to move the REDD+ and overall tropical forests and climate agenda forward. The paper concludes with an anticipation of what to expect in the future, in the light especially of what could possibly be a new climate change agreement in 2015. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Forests, REDD+. |
| JEL: | Q23 Q54 F53 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:388&r=agr |
| By: | Shiferaw, Kaleb; GEBEREMEDHIN, Berhanu; LEGESSE, DEREJE |
| Abstract: | Access to credit is often viewed as a key to transform semi-subsistence smallholders into market oriented producers. However only few studies have examined factors that affect farmers’ decision to allocate credit on farm activities in general and livestock production in particular. A trivariate probit model with double selection is employed to identify factors that affect farmers’ decision to allocate credit on livestock production using data collected from smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. After controlling for two sample selection bias – taking credit in the production season and decision to allocate credit on farm activities – land ownership and access to a livestock centered extension service are found to have a significant (p |
| Keywords: | livestock production, credit access, credit allocation, household decision, double sample selection |
| JEL: | C34 D13 Q12 Q14 Q16 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69344&r=agr |
| By: | Alexandri, Cecilia |
| Abstract: | The paper approaches the different dimensions and analysis levels of the food and nutritional security, presenting the sets of indicators and methodologies used by the national and international organizations for its assessment. The sources used refer to the indicators and studies elaborated by FAO, OECD, IFPRI, Eurostat, EUI, Defra, the Ministry of Health and NIS. In the recent years, the population food security issue came to the foreground again, due to the challenges at global level, among which we can mention the food demand increase from the new emergent countries, the non-food uses of agricultural production by biofuel production, as well as the impact of climate changes, on agricultural production and on food supply. Food security is a concept that widely evolved in the last decades, while its complexity gradually increased. Practically, at present, in order to evaluate the food security from the different countries of the world, the specialized institutions or research teams use dozens of indicators, in order to measure the multiple dimensions of the food security concept. In this respect, the paper also contains an assessment of the population food security in Romania, as reflected by the most representative indicators presented. |
| Keywords: | Food and nutritional security, methodology, indicators, Romania |
| JEL: | C1 C15 E01 I1 Q1 Q18 R0 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69258&r=agr |
| By: | Belton, Ben; Hein, Aung; Htoo, Kyan; Kham, L. Seng; Nischan, Ulrike; Reardon, Thomas; Boughton, Duncan |
| Abstract: | Fish farming (aquaculture) is important to Myanmar’s food security and is developing and transforming quickly. This study presents findings from a new field survey of the farmed fish value chain that is more detailed and broader than any previous study conducted in Myanmar. Many of our findings are at odds with what we perceive as conventional wisdom about fish farming in Myanmar. The findings have important policy implications to unlock the sector’s full growth potential and food security contributions. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:230981&r=agr |
| By: | Esther Gehrke |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the role of risk constraints in households’ production decisions. Using representative panel data for Andhra Pradesh, India, it analyses the effects of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) on households’ crop choices. This paper shows that the introduction of the NREGS reduces households’ uncertainty about future income streams because it provides reliable employment opportunities in rural areas independently of weather shocks and crop failure. Households with access to the NREGS can therefore increase the share of inputs allocated to more profitable but also riskier crops, especially cotton. These shifts in agricultural production can considerably raise the incomes of smallholder farmers. Linking the employment guarantee to risk considerations is the key innovation of this paper. Therewith, it provides empirical evidence of the validity of the theory of decision-making under uncertainty and contributes to the ongoing debate on the effects of the NREGS on agricultural productivity. |
| Keywords: | uncertainty, employment guarantee, crop choice |
| JEL: | I38 O12 Q16 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:152_gehrke&r=agr |
| By: | Shiferaw, Kaleb; Berhanu Gebremedhin, Berhanu |
| Abstract: | Ethiopian farmers have a long tradition of beekeeping and the country has huge potential for honey production. However traditional mode of production still dominate the sub sector which negatively affect the total production and productivity. A number of studies has been conducted to better understand the working honey production however none of them systematically investigate the extent of technical efficiency of the sub-sector. This paper uses Stochastic Frontier production model to quantifying the extent of technical efficiency and identify exogenous determinant of inefficiency. The result showed that consistent with other studies traditional practice dominate small scale honey production in Ethiopia. The finding also revealed that use of purchased inputs such as bee forage and other supplement is very limited among honey producers indicating that natural bee forage is the primary source of bee forage. The immediate consequence of all these is low production and productivity. The number of hives the household owns, whether the household used improved apiculture technologies, availability of natural forest which is the primary sources of nectar for bees and amount of land owned by the households were found to have a significant influence on the amount of honey produced by beekeeper. Our result further showed that the mean technical efficiency of honey producers is 0.79 implying that, on average honey producer produce 80 percent of the maximum output. The implication is that 20 percent of the potential output is lost due to technical inefficiency. Number of hives owned by a honey produces, distance to district town-a proxy to market access, household wealth, and whether the household head has a leadership role in the PA affect the technical efficiency of honey producers. The finding suggest that policies that aim to expand the use of improved hives is expected to increase the honey production at household level. The result also suggest that investment on rural infrastructure would be instrumental in improving technical efficiency of honey producer. |
| Keywords: | Small-scale honey producer, Ethiopia, technical efficiency in apiculture, stochastic frontier analysis |
| JEL: | C31 D13 Q10 Q12 |
| Date: | 2015–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69332&r=agr |
| By: | Cavalcante, Ana Helena A. P. |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the current water crisis in Greater São Paulo. It is based on a diagnosis of the main barriers that impeded government and other stakeholders at different governance scales to take action to guarantee a secure water provision. The objective was to discuss why there was a lack of preparation of this region to the occurring of a prolonged drought and which adaptation measures could have been taken to avoid or diminish its effects on water supply. The analysis is the result of an in-depth explanatory case study and field research, which had as its primary evidence a set of twelve semi-structured interviews made in the studied region in March and April 20151. Further evidence was extracted from newspaper articles, government reports and scientific publications. The key reference of this lecture is the literature on barriers to adaptation to climate change. Ostrom's (2009) Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework provided the analytical framework used to analyze the collected data and to understand the interactions among core subsystems that affect each other and are linked to social, economic, and political settings and related ecosystems. The results comprehend ten barriers that were encountered in the interactions that contributed to the water crisis. We conclude that the misrepresentation of the interests of the population in having a secure water provision and the risky behavior of water managers influenced the crisis. Further we argue that the lack of governance mechanisms and the political power concentration, which characterizes the actual governance system, are central in the explanation of the ongoing crisis. |
| Keywords: | resource access/control,water security,climate adaptation,Brazil,urban development |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cenwps:042015&r=agr |
| By: | Alecu, Ioan Niculae; Stroe, Ana-Maria Georgiana |
| Abstract: | Through the present study it aims to represent the actual image of the interprofessional organizations on product chain in Romania, reflecting briefly the establishment and development issues. In the context of the reorganization of entire agrifood production system, in dealing with future crises, whatever is their nature, it’s needed to seriously manage the organizational issues and to present them as a useful tool for increasing the access to new markets for producers and to offer local products quality to consumers in Romania both. Using the documentation method it was obtained an overview of the relationship between the need of affirmation and the real need to convert the interprofessional organizations in Romania in functional structures. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recognized till now only five IPO but the analysis and the directly involved interprofessional organizations opinions exchanges, it was emerged some primordial issues in order to improve the legislation of interprofessional organizations on product chain. The interprofessional organizations on product chain are meant, almost in ingrate way, to be interposed between the pressing help need in the development of intra-community trade relationships and the stiffness required by the legislation. |
| Keywords: | Interprofessional organisations, agrifood sector, legislation, need, development |
| JEL: | D83 L22 Q10 Q13 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69339&r=agr |
| By: | Pascale PHELINAS; Johanna CHOUMERT (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International(CERDI)) |
| Abstract: | We study the determinants of rental prices of farmland in the Argentinean Pampas. In particular, we examine the value of lease contract characteristics within a hedonic price framework, while controlling for other potential sources of variation. Using first-hand data for 255 parcels, our results indicate that both short-term contracts and contracts with sowing pools push rental prices upwards. We also find that soybean yields have a significant impact on land rental rates. These results suggest that if Argentina intends to protect the enormous natural advantage it has for agricultural production, it should consider strictly regulating land rental contracts. |
| Keywords: | Argentina ; Hedonic price ; Lease ; Contracts ; Soybean |
| JEL: | R11 Q15 Q13 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdi:wpaper:1764&r=agr |
| By: | Jane Du; Kent Deng |
| Abstract: | This article provides an empirical assessment of China’s state price policies and strategies in relation to (1) market-rebuilding for the agricultural sector and (2) food security for China.1 It traces main changes in government grain pricing, urban food subsidies, grain procurement and the administrative control over food circulation from 1979 to 2006 in a bid to transfer a non-market economy to a market one, commonly known as the post-Mao reforms. |
| Keywords: | market reforms; food prices; food security; food policies |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:65369&r=agr |
| By: | Candido Roman-Cervantes (University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to show an overview of the Spanish agricultural cooperatives. It responds to the reasons why the agricultural associations were not consolidated enough in the early stages of development, and especially what contributed to their weakness. State action, determined for over half a century the rules of corporate governance. This was a heavy burden for its modernization and adaptation to the rules of international markets. Spanish historiography seems to be in agreement with the three cycles. The appearance of the first associative experiences during the last third of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marks the first phase of the process. Although they were influenced by the strained political environment, being considered as a sort of radical labor niche, they proliferated strongly in the Mediterranean and North regions where small and middle-sized farms were relatively important. This lead to the consolidation of cooperatives and in some ways, to the transformation of the agricultural sector. The second phase started after the Civil War. Cooperatives entered a period of decline and inactivity in spite of government support through tax reductions and other actions aimed at monitoring the agricultural cooperatives. Finally, it was during the last third of the twentieth century until now, that the cooperative model became rather more active in the modernization of agriculture with cooperatives. As well as that, the globalization of enterprises was also accomplished. For that, there started a tendency of mergers towards second tier cooperatives that were larger and had an international dimension. |
| Keywords: | agricultural cooperatives, regulation, modernization, evolution. |
| JEL: | N5 N4 Q1 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1509&r=agr |
| By: | Bucur, Elena Carmen; Bucur, Sorinel Ionel |
| Abstract: | As important part of national economy, the agri-food sector had oscillating evolutions in the post-accession period, mainly generated by the need to get in line with the EU requirements. The analysis of the resources-utilizations ratio, from the point of view of production account, reveals significant modifications, as regards both the direct relations between the different subsectors of national economy and the relation between the overall sector and the rest of national economy. Based on data processing from the input-output table from national accounts, the present approach tries to make a diagnosis of the agri-food economy resources utilization in relation to other branches of the economy. |
| Keywords: | resources, utilizations, national accounts, agri-food sector. |
| JEL: | Q18 Q20 Q30 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69266&r=agr |
| By: | Eoin Ó Broin (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CIRAD - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - AgroParisTech - AgroParisTech, Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg]); Jonas Nässén (Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg]); Filip Johnsson (Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg]) |
| Abstract: | This paper models energy demand for space and water heating from 1970 to 2005 in the residential sector of four EU countries (France, Italy, Sweden, and UK) using index decomposition, ARDL econometric models and cointegration analysis. The partial and temporal influences on energy demand in each country of the number of households, floor area per household (m2) and unit consumption for space and water heating (kWh/m2/year) are disaggregated. The long-run price elasticity of demand at the unit consumption level is found to be low (around -0.25 over the four countries) while the long-run income elasticity of floor area per household is found to be around 0.25 for Italy, Sweden and the UK but insignificant for France. In an exercise using the model to estimate demand to 2050 under annual increases in energy prices of between 0% and 3% it is found that non-price effects such as building codes and autonomous technical progress (represented in the model as a time trend) are equally or more important than the price effect in reducing demand. Thus achieving significant reductions in EU residential sector energy demand by 2050 would require additional non-price policies and measures for success. |
| Keywords: | Heating,Residential,Scenarios,Price and non-price effects |
| Date: | 2015–10–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:ciredw:hal-01219278&r=agr |
| By: | Masson, Paul R. |
| Abstract: | Canada has a small, but vibrant winemaking industry. Since the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which went into effect in 1987, growers have shifted to vinifera grapes and modern winemaking techniques and there has been an explosion in the number of wineries, which number about 150 in the Niagara peninsula alone. However, their share of the Ontario wine market, which fell with free trade, has continued to decline. This paper delves into the reasons for the downward trend. Ontario provides a unique source of data on the wine market, since a single price for each wine is enforced by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). The paper analyses data downloaded from the LCBO’s website at the end of 2012 for all Ontario white table wines available for sale, and for wines from both “old world” (France and Italy) and “new world” (Argentina and Chile) wine producers. It is shown that after controlling for wine characteristics Ontario wines are higher priced than their competitors. This helps to explain why, despite improvements in the quality of Ontario wines, the share of imports in LCBO sales has risen. Certain wine varieties, in particular Chardonnay and Riesling, command higher prices, while in Vintages stores (but not in ordinary LCBO outlets), both the age of the wine and alcohol content have a significant positive effect on price. In terms of exports, Canada is miniscule on the world wine market, and it does not have a revealed comparative advantage in wine (except for ice wine). In addition to the disadvantage on input costs, Ontario wine production also suffers from an industry structure that limits the extent that most wineries can exploit economies of scale. A limit in the number of off-winery stores--included in the FTA and subsequently NAFTA to prevent further protection of Canadian wines--has led to an uneven playing field in which two firms, one now American owned, operate the vast majority of those stores. Other wineries are limited to selling through the LCBO or at the winery. Further development of Ontario’s wine industry is likely to require opening up wine retailing to allow all wineries to benefit equally. In order to avoid the strictures of NAFTA, this would have to mean opening up competition to a wider range of wine retailers able to sell both domestic and imported wines. |
| Keywords: | wine, Ontario, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:231133&r=agr |
| By: | Fernando Collantes (Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This article takes Spain’s dairy chain as a study case of the transformations in the political economy of the food system in the West since the Second World War. I find that there is much to support the prevailing narrative in food regime analysis: the organised capitalism of 1952-1986 was gradually weakened by a policy agenda of deregulation stemming from both internal and external pressures. I also find, however, a thread of continuity between the period 1952-1986and the post-1986 period – in both periods there were strategies of supply chain management by means of which the power of political or business elites joined the market as a mechanism for the coordination of decisions. I argue that there is a case for reassessing the degree up to which the term “neoliberalism” does a good job at describing the new historical era that started in the food system in the latter decades of the twentieth century. |
| Keywords: | neoliberalism, organised capitalism, food regimes, supply chain management, dairy chain |
| JEL: | N54 N64 N74 B52 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1507&r=agr |
| By: | Mihai, Florin-Constantin |
| Abstract: | Poor waste management facilities led to uncontrolled waste disposal on improper sites in the proximity of human settlements particularly in rural areas. This bad practice prevailed in all rural regions until 16 July 2009 when these garbage dumps should be closed and rehabilitated according to Government Decision number 345/2005 which comply the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC. The paper aims a spatial analysis of waste indicators concerning the rural dumpsites at administrative territorial units on national, regional and local scale. These data are correlated to geographical conditions reflecting spatial patterns in their distribution across and within Romanian counties. The role of geographical conditions is revealed at local scales in these spatial patterns due to a low coverage rate of rural communities to waste collection services. Such analysis supported by field observations is necessary for a proper understanding of illegal waste disposal issue. Rural regions are still exposed to such bad practices polluting the local environment |
| Keywords: | spatial analysis, waste indicators, rural areas, dumps, waste management, |
| JEL: | I18 K32 Q50 Q53 Q57 Q58 R52 R58 |
| Date: | 2015–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69068&r=agr |
| By: | Marin, Ancuta; Turek Rahoveanu, Petruta |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the evolution of the modern agrarian associations and cooperatives in Romania. Right now, our country is far behind the west-european countries regarding the development of the associative sector in the agricultural domain, from the diversity point of view and also from the presence on the market. One of the biggest problems of the small farmers from Romania represents selling the production, the traditional markets are being suffocated many times by agents. The agrarian sector is confrunting with problems marked mainly by the poor organization of the farmers regarding the production marketing and a slow structuring of their commercial behavior. The biggest problem of the agrarian cooperatives in Romania is the access to funding. This is due to the business related problems and their specific legal form. In Romania a law for crediting cooperatives doesn’t exist, they are not found in the bank nomenclature and they are treated like any LLC. Also, there is an accute need for founding a high level training program intended for the agrarian cooperatives and associations leaders. The purpose is to present a current state synthesis in order to have a real image of their situation. The main object of this study is to make an assessment of the agrarian cooperatives’s situation in Romania with the purpose of offering solutions and recommendations, by setting the development directions in order to become compatible with the European systems of agrarian cooperatives. |
| Keywords: | Association forms, agrarian cooperatives,agrarian associations, producer groups. |
| JEL: | Q13 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69476&r=agr |
| By: | Säll, Sarah (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at the distributional effect of an environmental tax on meat in Sweden, if such a tax was to be introduced. Welfare effects are measured as Compensation Variation (CV) for multiple price changes where Hicksian cross price elasticities, household expenditures and price changes are used in the calculations. Results show that taxes on meat are neutral over households when expenditures on meat are used as welfare indicators, and regressive if income is used. This can be explained as households use similar shares of total expenditures on meat. The households with the smallest income levels need to be compensated with 950 SEK per person and year to feel that utility is not lowered if taxes on meat are introduced, and the households with the highest income levels need to be compensated with 1176 SEK per person and year. This corresponds to 0.78% and 0.80% of total expenditures for the groups respectively. Compared to income levels this is 1.04% for the households with the smallest income levels and 0.52% for the households with the largest income. |
| Keywords: | Meat taxes; Distributional effects; Compensating Variation; Sweden |
| JEL: | D12 D60 Q18 Q50 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slueko:2015_003&r=agr |
| By: | Slave, Camelia; Vizireanu, Ioana |
| Abstract: | Climate change in Romania, will affect all sectors of the economy will lead to changes in vegetation periods and displacement the line between woods and meadows. Extreme weather events (storms, floods, droughts) will occur more frequently, and related risks and damages may become more significant. The areas affected by drought have expanded in the last decades the most exposed being in southeast and most of the country was affected by long lasting dry period. Together with floods, long periods of drought lead to significant economic losses in agriculture, transport, energy, water management, health and activity of households. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, climate, climate change, greenhouse environment. |
| JEL: | Q15 Q25 Q54 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69385&r=agr |
| By: | Islam, Kamrul; Majumder, Sahadeb Chandra |
| Abstract: | Background: Economic evaluation of non-market goods is challenging and can’t be calculated using traditional method. In this study, Travel Cost Method (TCM) was used to evaluate the economic value of Foy’s Lake of Chittagong. Methods: A total of 200 respondents from the visitor of this lake were interviewed on the basis of day of visit (week day: 100, weekend: 100) using structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS v 20 and R v 3.2.1 Findings: A multiple regression model was developed using the analysis which had a R2 value of 0.084. Family size and Total cost of visitors were found significant with a p-value of 0.05. The estimated value for Foy’s Lake for 2014 was worth 294165270 BDT (Bangladeshi Taka) (or 3792034.49 US $). Applications: By applying the model, derived from this study can be used to assess the economic value by revealed preference method of artificial lakes in this region. |
| Keywords: | Economic Evaluation, Travel Cost Method, Revealed Preference, Foy’s Lake |
| JEL: | Q5 Q51 Q57 R1 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69249&r=agr |
| By: | Rosa C. Goodman and Martin Herold |
| Abstract: | Tropical forests have the highest carbon density and cover more land area than forests in any other biome. They also serve a vital role as a natural buffer to climate change ?capturing 2.2–2.7 Gt of carbon per year. Unfortunately, tropical forests, mangroves, and peatlands are also subjected to the highest levels of deforestation and account for nearly all net emissions from Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) (1.1–1.4 Gt C / year). Net emissions from FOLU accounted for only 11% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions or 14% of total carbon emissions in 2010, though these figures are somewhat misleading and do not reflect the full potential of tropical forests to mitigate climate change. First, net FOLU emissions have reduced only slightly while emissions from all other sectors have skyrocketed. Secondly, the FOLU net flux is made up of two larger fluxes —deforestation emissions (2.6–2.8 Gt C / year) minus sequestration from forest regrowth (1.2–1.7 Gt C / year). Additionally, intact tropical forests also appear to be capturing at least 1.0 Gt C/ year. Gross deforestation, therefore, accounts for over a quarter of all carbon emissions, and tropical forests have removed 22–26% of all anthropogenic carbon emissions in the 2000s. If deforestation were halted entirely, forests were allowed to regrow, and mature forests were left undisturbed, tropical forests alone could have captured 25–35% of all other anthropogenic carbon emissions. On the other hand, if climate change continues unabated, forests could turn from net sinks to net sources of carbon. Forestrelated activities are among the most economically feasible and cost-effective mitigation strategies, which are important for both short- and long-term mitigation strategies. Action is needed immediately to utilize these natural mitigation solutions, and we need coordinated and comprehensive forest-related policies for mitigation. An international mechanism such as REDD+ is essential to realize the great natural potential for tropical forests to stabilize the climate. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Mitigation, Forests, REDD+ |
| JEL: | Q23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:385&r=agr |
| By: | Djanibekov, Utkur; Finger, Robert; Guta, Dawit Diriba; Varun, Gaur; Mirzabaev, Alisher |
| Abstract: | Bioenergy is a major source of energy in developing countries. However, increasing demand for agricultural commodities can lead to a stronger competition for natural resources with the bioenergy production. The nexus among energy, food production and natural resource use may result in trade-offs and synergies. Accordingly, it is important to consider multidimensional aspects of bioenergy, assess the potential for bioenergy options for meeting rural households’ demand for energy, while increasing their incomes, enhancing food security and reducing potential negative effects. For addressing these interrelated issues within a single framework, we develop a generic household model that allows analyzing the ex-ante potential impacts of bioenergy use on rural households in developing countries. The model relies on dynamic programming approach and is able to evaluate the impacts of bioenergy on livelihoods of households, on environment, and on natural resource use over time. The model explicitly considers decision making among various members of household, including men, women and children. We also trace direct and spillover impacts of policy and technological changes among different socio-economic categories of households. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic programming, equity, gender, technological innovations, environment, trade-offs, spillovers, synergies, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C61, D63, O13, O33, Q4, Q12, |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:230416&r=agr |
| By: | Hottenrott, Hanna; Rexhäuser, Sascha; Veugelers, Reinhilde |
| Abstract: | This study investigates induced productivity effects of firms introducing new environmental technologies. The literature on within-firm organisational change and productivity suggests that firms can achieve higher productivity gains from adopting new technologies if they adapt their organisational structures. Such complementarity effects may be of particular importance for the adoption of greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement technologies. The adoption of these technologies is often induced by public authorities to limit the social costs of climate change, whereas the private returns are much less obvious. This study finds empirical support for complementarity between green technology adoption (either CO2-reducing or resources and energy efficiency-enhancing technologies) and organisational change. While the sole adoption of green technologies is associated with lower productivity, the simultaneous implementation of green technologies and organisational innovations is not. |
| Keywords: | technical change,environmental innovation,organisational change,productivity |
| JEL: | D23 O33 O32 Q55 L23 D24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:206&r=agr |
| By: | Arndt Channing; Jones Sam; Salvucci Vincenzo |
| Abstract: | Changes in relative prices of commodities consumed in different shares across income groups can be expected to alter real income differentials between these groups. Using Mozambican household budget survey and price data from 2002/03 and 2008/09, we show that once relative price increases are accounted for, inequality of real consumption increases substantially. We obtain this result by constructing a price deflator that reflects divergent price dynamics of different product categories. Since the main factors driving this result prevail in other developing countries, it is likely that inequality may be underestimated elsewhere. |
| Keywords: | Equality and inequality, Income distribution, Index numbers (Economics), Prices |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-032&r=agr |
| By: | Sharma, Bharat; Molden, D.; Cook, Simon |
| Keywords: | Water use efficiency; Water productivity; Agricultural population; Crops; Measurement; Nitrogen fertilizers |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h046807&r=agr |
| By: | Katie Jenkins; Swenja Surminski; Jim Hall; Florence Crick |
| Abstract: | Flooding is the costliest natural disaster worldwide. In the UK flooding is listed as a major risk on the National Risk Register with surface water flooding the most likely cause of damage to properties. Climate change and increasing urbanisation are both projected to result in an increase in surface water flood events and their associated damages in the future. In this paper we present an Agent Based Model (ABM), applied to a London case study of surface water flood risk, designed to assess the interplay between different adaptation options; how risk reduction could be achieved by homeowners and government; and the role of flood insurance and the recently launched flood insurance pool, Flood Re, in the context of climate change. The ABM is novel in its coverage of different combinations of flood risk management options, insurance, and Flood Re, and its ability to model changing behaviour, decision making, surface water flood events, and surface water flood risk in a dynamic manner. The analysis highlights that while combined investment in property-level protection measures and sustainable urban drainage systems reduce surface water flood risk, benefits can be outweighed by continued development in high risk areas and the effects of climate change. Flood Re is beneficial in its function to provide affordable insurance, even under climate change, and is shown to have some positive effects on the housing market in the model. However, in our simulations Flood Re does face increasing pressure due to rising surface water flood risk, which highlights the importance of forward looking flood risk management interventions, that utilize insurance incentives, limit new development, and support resilience measures. Our findings are highly relevant for the ongoing regulatory and political approval process for Flood Re as well as the wider flood risk management discussion in the UK. |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp223&r=agr |
| By: | Ali,Daniel Ayalew; Deininger,Klaus W.; Harris,Charles Anthony Philip |
| Abstract: | The 2007/08 commodity price boom triggered a ?rush? for land in developing countries. Yet, many affected countries lacked the regulatory infrastructure to cope with such demand and reliable data on investors? performance. This study uses the example of Ethiopia to show how simple improvements in administrative data collection can help to address this by (i) allowing assessment of the productivity of land use and taking measures to increase it; (ii) comparing productivity between large and small farms to identify spillovers and ways to improve these; and (iii) setting in motion a process of continuing improvement. Implications for global investment in this area are drawn out. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Trade,Livestock and Animal Husbandry,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Agriculture and Farming Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems |
| Date: | 2015–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7342&r=agr |
| By: | Qadir, M.; Noble, Andrew D.; Karajeh, F.; George, B. |
| Keywords: | Land resources; Land degradation; Saline water; Sodic soils; Soil salinity; Desalination; Crop production; Ecosystems; Aquaculture; Water resources; Water productivity; Drainage water; Water reuse; Recycling; Freshwater; Soil properties; Magnesium; Phosphogypsum; Energy generation; Solar energy; Horticulture; Greenhouses; Irrigation; Deltas; Trees; Case studies |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h046996&r=agr |
| By: | Senicovscaia, Irina |
| Abstract: | Statistical parameters, criteria and scales of the soil biota stability to the natural and anthropogenic impact in the Republic of Moldova has been developed. The modifications of the biological properties of soils as a result of their long-term arable use and the impacts of erosion processes have been established. The zones of homeostasis (natural stability) of the biota of different soils have been determined for the first time at the national level. The current status of biota of arable soils is characterized by the significant reduction in comparison with soil’s standards that are in conditions of natural ecosystems and with the level of the 1960s. The scales of soil biological indicators for the evaluation of the degree of chernozemsʼ degradation and its environmental certifications have been developed. The application of no-tillage technology on the soils of the Republic of Moldova has been discussed. |
| Keywords: | Soil biota, degradation, natural stability, recovery, quality standards |
| JEL: | Q15 Q24 Q57 R14 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69375&r=agr |
| By: | Molina, Oswaldo; Saldarriaga, Victor |
| Abstract: | The discussion on the effects of climate change on human activity has primarily focused on how increasing temperature levels can impair human health. However, less attention has been paid to the effect of increased climate variability on health. We investigate how in utero exposure to temperature variability, measured as the fluctuations relative to the historical local temperature mean, affects birth outcomes in the Andean region. Our results suggest that exposure to a temperate one standard deviation relative to the municipality’s long-term temperature mean during pregnancy reduces birth weight by 20 grams and increases the probability a child is born with low birth weight by 10 percent. We also explore potential channels driving our results and find some evidence that increased temperature variability can lead to a decrease in health care and increased food insecurity during pregnancy. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Temperature Variability, Birth Weight, Health |
| JEL: | I10 I15 J13 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69185&r=agr |
| By: | Berge, Erling (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Last summer visitors to the Oslo opera house were met with the following announcement: “Here comes the “Opera Commons” explaining: “Operaallmenningen”, the Opera Commons, “will be a multi-functional meeting place for cultural events, recreational activities and people passing through.” The choice of “allmenning” (commons) to designate a place that is available to citizens of Oslo and their visitors as a “meeting place for cultural events” and “recreational activities” may be part of an international trend idolizing “the commons”. This trend one may observe both in academia and in some political circles. The trend deserves some reflection in its own right. Why is there currently a need for this term? The established theory of the commons does not have much to say about urban reality in its own right. However, the theory is well developed to understand some problems of collective action as these appear in urban development. The link between land tenure and structure of land use decisions is well known. We shall use the theory of the commons to comment on the link between tenure and form of commons that may appear and the problems of governing urban commons in various forms. |
| Keywords: | Urban commons; common pool goods; social dilemmas; Oslo |
| JEL: | H40 R10 Z18 |
| Date: | 2016–02–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2016_004&r=agr |
| By: | Gergaud, Olivier; Plantinga, Andrew J.; Ringeval-Deluze, Aurelie |
| Abstract: | Although evidence for anchoring effects has been produced in experimental settings, there have been relatively few studies testing for anchoring in actual markets. We analyze a large data set of vineyard sales in the Champagne region of France to determine whether Echelle Des Crus (EDC) ratings are an anchor in the land market. The EDC is a set of numerical scores for villages in the region that was used as part of a price-setting system for wine grapes that began in 1919 and persisted until 1990. Although grape prices are now determined in a market and the EDC no longer plays a direct role in determining them, we test whether the EDC continues to be an anchor for participants in the land market. The econometric challenge is to separately identify anchoring effects from the effects of relevant information the EDC may convey about vineyard quality. We instrument for the EDC using the average attributes of vineyards in neighboring villages, which are unlikely to be correlated with errors in prices because only the characteristics of the vineyard itself affect the rents from grape production. We find strong evidence for anchoring effects in the land market, which is further supported by analyses of grape prices. We also examine whether the anchoring effect is diminishing over time as market participants come to rely more on objective information to determine prices. We find, instead, that effect of the EDC persists many years after it became obsolete. |
| Keywords: | wine, quality rating, land sales, Demand and Price Analysis, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:231136&r=agr |
| By: | Nauges, Céline; Wheeler, Sarah |
| Abstract: | Climate change will require commitment by all levels of the community, but there is still uncertainty surrounding the best way to influence individual mitigation behaviour. This study analyses household survey data on water and energy climate change mitigation behaviour from eleven OECD countries in 2011, and provides new evidence of a form of maladaptation, namely a complex rebound relationship between climate change attitudes and mitigation behaviour. First, results confirm other studies that climate change concerns and economic incentives (in terms of electricity and water charges) positively influence mitigation behaviour. Second, we find that the more costly, in terms of time and/or money, are the mitigation actions of a household, the more likely undertaking such actions directly lessens respondents’ climate change concerns. This negative rebound effect is more likely to occur in ‘environmentally-motivated’ households, who are more likely to have stated they believe human actions can help mitigate climate change. Conversely, economic incentives in driving energy and water pro-environmental behaviour work better in non-environmentallymotivated households. This highlights that a portfolio of policies is needed to drive mitigation behaviour. |
| Keywords: | economic incentives; rebound effect; mitigation behaviour; climate change attitudes |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:29950&r=agr |
| By: | Di Corato, Luca (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences); Dosi, Cesare (Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova); Moretto, Michele (Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study how early-exit options, embedded in long-term procurement contracts which do not provide for sufficiently strong incentives against contract breach, can affect bidding behaviors in multidimensional procurement auctions and the parties' expected payoffs. We show first that bidders' payoff is lower when competing for contracts with unenforceable contract terms. Secondly, that neglecting the risk of opportunistic behavior by sellers can lead to contract awards that do not maximize the buyer's potential payoff. Finally, we make suggestions about how to mitigate potential misallocations, by pointing out the role of eligibility rules and competition among bidders. |
| Keywords: | Public procurement; Scoring auctions; Contract breach; Real options; Conservation contracts |
| JEL: | C61 D44 D86 Q24 Q28 |
| Date: | 2015–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slueko:2015_006&r=agr |
| By: | Paroissien, Emmanuel |
| Abstract: | Cardebat and Paroissien (2015) have provided a new methodology to express the scores of different wine expert on the same rating scale. Their method consists in matching the quantiles of the distributions of each experts’s scores in an exhaustive dataset. However, they use the raw empirical distribution functions, which is arguably downward biased. This leads to a frequent upward bias in the converted scores. This paper exhibits the existence of this bias, provides the sign of the latter, and suggests a simple interpolation to mitigate it. (JEL Classifications: Q13, L15, C14). |
| Keywords: | Wine, quality, experts., Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, Q13, L15, C14, |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:231132&r=agr |
| By: | Rusali, Mirela-Adriana |
| Abstract: | The research aims at analyzing the factors of export growth of Romania's agri-food products on the world market during the period 2001-2013. The analysis used statistics for Romania's foreign trade and world trade in nominal terms, by main groups of products aggregated by codes 01-24 of the Harmonised System. The results show changes in the structure of agri-food trade flows of import and export by processing degree, evolution of trade balance and structure of export growth, highlighting the comparative performance of pre-accession Romanian and post-accession. |
| Keywords: | Agri-food trade, processing sector, post-accession. |
| JEL: | F13 F17 Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69263&r=agr |
| By: | Gokhan Ozertan (Bogazici University); Sayed H. Saghaian (University of Kentucky); Hasan Tekguc (Mardin Artuklu Univeristy) |
| Abstract: | In 2009, the Competition Authority (CA) in Turkey penalized 27 broiler chicken producers for agreeing to restrict supply and controlling prices, hence, forming a cartel. The CA based its punishment decision on communication records among major broiler chicken producers, using raw price series and without any statistical or econometric analysis. In this research, time-series methods are employed to test directly for the presence of market power along the supply chain in the poultry sector for both demand and supply sides. The findings show that the retail price behavior in the poultry supply chain in Turkey is consistent with an oligopolistic market structure. Classification JEL: Q11, Q13 |
| Keywords: | Market power, poultry, Turkey |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrd:martwp:2014-01&r=agr |
| By: | Gisèle MÜLLER (United Nations Environment Programme) |
| Abstract: | As background preparation for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in December 2015, the FERDI (Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International), in collaboration with CERDI (Centre for Studies and Research on International Development) from the University of Auvergne and IDDRI (Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations), held a one-day workshop on the topic of current and future climate change policies with a special focus on challenges faced by developing countries which will be hardest hit by global warming. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:2021&r=agr |