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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2016‒08‒21
sixty-nine papers chosen by |
| By: | Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Dereje, Mekdim; Minten, Bart; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| Abstract: | Improved technologies are increasingly promoted to farmers in sub-Saharan-African countries to address low agricultural productivity in their staple crops. There is, however, a lack of evidence on how adoption affects farmers’ labor use and profitability at the farm level, as well as the importance gender roles play, all essential drivers for the successful up-scaling of the use of the improved technologies. This paper analyses the labor and profitability impact of the recently introduced row planting technology in teff production in Ethiopia. Based on agronomic evidence in experimental settings, the Government of Ethiopia has focused extension efforts on promoting the widespread uptake of row planting to address low teff yields, replacing the traditional broadcasting method of plant teff. Using an innovative Randomized Controlled Trial set-up, we show that the implementation of row planting at the farm level significantly increases total labor use, but not teff yields, relative to broadcast planting, resulting in a substantial drop in labor productivity when adopting row planting. Moreover, the implementation of row planting has important consequences for inter- and intra-household labor allocation, with relatively more use of non-family labor. The adoption of row planting was further found not to be profitable for farmers in the first year of the promotion campaign, seemingly explaining the limited success in up-scaling the adoption of the technology by farmers in the second year of the program. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, teff, line planting, productivity, yields, smallholders, labor, broadcast sowing, planting, randomized controlled trial, Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure, Land Reform, Land Use, Irrigation, Agriculture and Environment, Q16 Agricultural R&, D, Agricultural Technology, Biofuels, Agricultural Extension Services, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:92&r=agr |
| By: | Diao, Xinshen; Silver, Jed; Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | A renewed focus on agriculture’s potential contribution to economic transformation in Africa has resulted in increased attention paid to agricultural mechanization. African agriculture still relies predominantly on human muscle power despite anecdotal evidence on urbanization and rising rural wages, in contrast to other developing regions that have experienced rapid increases in agricultural mechanization during the past few decades. Past state-led mechanization pushes in Africa often failed due to insufficient understanding of the nature of demand for mechanization technologies among farmers and insufficient knowledge of private-sector functions. This background paper reviews the factors likely to influence farmer demand for mechanization in Africa and details different existing and potential mechanization supply models. Although an empirical analysis of mechanization demand and the effectiveness of supply chains is beyond the scope of this paper, in part due to data limitations, this paper suggests that demand for mechanization may be emerging in some parts of Africa. It also suggests that private-sector-driven supply models are better positioned to meet this demand than direct government involvement and certain types of subsidized programs. The paper then identifies possible areas for government support to complement private-sector leadership in developing mechanization supply chains. Nevertheless, significant further research is required to better understand the changing nature of mechanization demand in Africa and the extent and effectiveness of different supply models in meeting it. |
| Keywords: | AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, mechanization, intensification, agricultural growth, farm inputs, supply chain, production economics, private sector, value chains, agricultural transformation, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1527&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Yanyan; Violette, William; Barrett, Christopher B. |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the evolution of real agricultural wages, machinery use, and the relationship between farm size and productivity in Vietnam during its dramatic structural transformation over the course of the 1990s and 2000s. Using six rounds of nationally representative household survey data, we find strong evidence that the inverse relationship between rice productivity and planting area attenuated significantly over this period and that the attenuation was most pronounced in areas with higher real wages. This pattern is also associated with sharp increases in machinery use, indicating a scale-biased substitution effect between machinery and labor. The results suggest that rural-factor market failures are receding in importance, making land concentration less of a cause of concern for aggregate food production. |
| Keywords: | VIET NAM, VIETNAM, SOUTH EAST ASIA, ASIA, productivity, structural change, farm size, food production, households, mechanization, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1525&r=agr |
| By: | Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Tamru, Seneshaw; Minten, Bart; Swinnen, Johan |
| Abstract: | Due to the rapid growth of cities in Africa, many more farmers are now living in rural hinterlands in relatively close proximity to cities where many provide food to urban residents. However, empirical evidence on how urbanization affects these farmers is scarce. To fill this gap, this paper explores the relationship between proximity to a city and the production behavior of rural staple crop producers. In particular, we analyze data from teff producing farmers in major producing areas around Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. We find that farmers located closer to Addis Ababa face higher wages and land rental prices, and because they receive higher teff prices they have better incentives to intensify production. Moreover, we observe that modern input use, land and labor productivity, and profitability in teff production improve with urban proximity. This urban proximity has a strong and significant effect on these aspects of teff production, possibly related to the use of more formal factor markets, lower transaction costs in crop production and marketing, and better access to information. In contrast, we do not find a strong and positive relationship between rural population density increases and agricultural transformation – increased population density seems to lead to immiserizing effects in these settings. Our results show that urban proximity should be considered as an important determinant of the process of agricultural intensification and transformation in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, intensification, urban areas, productivity, urban rural migration, agricultural transformation, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:91&r=agr |
| By: | Rötter, Reimund; Sehomi, Fanou; Höhn, Jukka; Niemi, Jarkko; van den Berg, Marrit |
| Abstract: | The major challenge of the 21st century is to achieve food security under, roughly, a doubling in food demand by 2050 compared to present, and producing the additional food under marked shifts in climatic risks and with environmentally sound farming practices. Sustainable intensification of agricultural production is required that meets the dual goal of improved environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. Ex ante evaluation of technological innovations to support agricultural production and food security taking into account the various future risks can substantially contribute to achieve this. Here we perceive technological innovations as new or improved agro-technologies and –management practices, such as new breeds, integrated soil fertility practices or labour-saving technologies meeting the goals of sustainable intensification. In this report we present results from three systematic reviews: one on the use of biophysical modelling, the second and third on the use of bio-economic modelling at farm scale and agro-economic modelling at higher aggregation levels, for ex ante evaluation of the effects of (agro ) Technological Innovations (ag-TIs) on sustainable agriculture and food security indicators. To this end, we searched the SCOPUS database for journal articles published between 1996 and 2015. We considered modelling studies at different spatial scales with particular attention to local to national scale studies for the twelve PARI focal countries in Africa . But we also included studies for all other African countries as well as a few studies at supra-national/continental scale. Both, “quick wins” as well as long term benefits from ag-TIs were of interest. The various ag-TIs were furthermore grouped into four classes: (1) water/soil moisture (2) soil nutrients/conservation (3) crop/cropping system, (4) other ag-TIs or (5) combinations of 1 to 4. For each paper, we tried to identify the primary ag-TI analysed, and if there was equal emphasis to more than one, we classified them as combinations. It should be borne in mind that there is some subjectivity in classifying the papers in this way. Results. After various steps of refining “search strings”, screening on relevance and supplementing databases from additional sources, we found 140 relevant biophysical modelling studies, whereby coverage of sub-regions and ag-TIs varied markedly. Most studies were found for East and West Africa, followed by Southern Africa; hardly anything was found for Northern and Middle Africa . A similar pattern appeared for the integrated agro-economic modelling studies at farm scale, for which we found 40 relevant ones. Agro-economic modelling studies at higher aggregation levels showed a somewhat different pattern – and more generally contained little detail on technological innovations. Regarding the share of different primary agro-technologies explored in the biophysical studies we found 45 on crop management, 35 on combined agro-technologies, 31 on soil nutrient management and conservation, 23 on water/soil moisture management, and 6 on other technologies. We found similar shares among the various agro-technology groups for the integrated agro-economic modelling studies at farm scale. Looking at the outcomes from ex ante evaluations we found that many studies are (mostly) positive on effects of single and “conventional” ag-Tis. The majority of biophysical studies is performed at “field scale” and focuses on the effects on productivity (sometimes yield stability); many of these studies were performed in climate variability and change /adaptation research context. Most agro-economic modelling studies that look specifically at ex ante evaluations of ag-TIs are performed at farm or regional (sub-national) scales. While the number of biophysically oriented studies has grown exponentially over the considered period 1996-2015, this is not the case for the agro-economic modelling studies. Looking in more detail at the twelve focal countries of PARI (=Programme of Accompanying Research on Agricultural Innovations) we also find an unbalanced distribution, with most studies found in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali and Ghana (biophysical modelling studies), and respectively in Kenya and Uganda (agro-economic modelling studies), whereas nothing or little was found for both types of studies in Togo, Zambia and Nigeria. Very few of the biophysically-oriented studies include other information than effects on crop yields, and there are few studies for both biophysical and agro-economic modelling that comprise multi-scale or higher scale analyses; if multi-scale, there are more studies that scale up from field/farm to regional/sub-national level than from field/farm to nation scale or beyond. There is definitely a need to overcome the lack of meaningful integrated multi-scale modelling along the lines proposed in chapters 5-6 of this report. Moreover, less than half of all integrated /agro-economic modelling studies at farm scale explicitly address risk – another clear shortcoming, which requires attention by the research community. A more general conclusion is that there is no application yet of true transdisciplinary research approaches in practice. Hence, there is need for participatory, collaborative (cross-sectoral) and combined modelling approaches with adequate stakeholder involvement throughout the research process. In this respect, some lessons might be learned from pioneering work conducted in Asia and Europe. |
| Keywords: | Africa, agricultural system models, agro-economic modelling, biophysical modelling, ex ante evaluation, risk, technological innovation, yield variability, Risk and Uncertainty, C61, C63, C65, C68, D81, O32, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:243219&r=agr |
| By: | Balié, Jean; Magrini, Emiliano; Morales Opazo, Cristian |
| Abstract: | After the 2007-08 food crisis, addressing high and volatile cereal prices became a priority for national governments in Sub-Saharan Africa because of their key role in determining consumption and income of poor smallholders. Nevertheless, the lack of information and some misperceptions on the distinction between the welfare consequences of higher versus more volatile cereal prices limited the effectiveness of policy interventions. Using household-level data, this paper empirically investigates the different effects of the two phenomena and provides an estimate of their magnitude and distributional consequences in four SSA countries over the period 2011-2012. The results show that the impacts of higher and more volatile prices on welfare heavily depend on the domestic structure of the economy. The most important factors to consider are the different weight of food consumption over total expenditure, the shares of the food budget devoted to cereals, the substitution effect among food items, and the relative number of net sellers versus net buyers accessing the market. We also find that the impact of higher substantially outweigh the effects of more volatile prices on farmers' welfare across the entire income distribution in all four countries. As a consequence, farmers are likely to benefit more from policy interventions preventing or limiting cereal price increases than (untargeted and extremely expensive) price stabilization policies. Nevertheless, our results also suggest that some targeted policy interventions aimed at reducing the exposure to cereal price volatility of the poorest quintile of the population is still required to protect them from substantial welfare losses. |
| Keywords: | cereal price,price volatility,welfare,household survey,Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | C31 D12 D13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:daredp:1607&r=agr |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Koru, Bethlehem; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| Abstract: | A large proportion of Ethiopians derive their livelihoods from smallholder agriculture. This has provided the impetus for the smallholder agriculture-focused policies that have guided agricultural development efforts in Ethiopia over the past two decades. In this study, we investigate the productivity of smallholder teff farmers in Ethiopia, since this is an important crop in terms of cultivated area, food expenditure, and gross domestic product. Despite the remarkable growth in the production of teff in the last decade, the drivers of this growth are not well understood. In particular, there is a lack of evidence on the contribution of improvements in productivity to this growth and the link between farm size and productivity. This study employs data envelopment analysis on a recently collected large farm household survey dataset from Ethiopia to measure relative productivity and efficiency of teff farmers and to identify the factors that explain differences in relative productivity and efficiency. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, teff, smallholders, productivity, efficiency, households, food production, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:44&r=agr |
| By: | Rodrigues, Joao; Thurlow, James; Landman, Willem; Ringler, Claudia; Robertson, Richard D.; Zhu, Tingju |
| Abstract: | There is growing interest within the climate change and development community in using seasonal forecast information to reduce the losses to agriculture resulting from climate variability, especially within food-insecure countries. However, forecast systems are expensive to establish and maintain, and therefore gauging the potential economic return to investments in forecast systems is crucial. Most studies that evaluate seasonal forecasts focus on developed countries and/or overlook agriculture’s economywide linkages. Yet forecasts may be more valuable in developing regions such as East Africa, where climate is variable and agriculture has macroeconomic importance. We use computable general equilibrium and process-based crop models to estimate the potential economywide value of national seasonal forecast systems in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. Stochastic seasonal simulations produce value distributions for forecasts of varying accuracy and varying levels of farm coverage. A timely and accurate forecast adopted by all farmers generates average regional income gains of US$113 million per year. Gains are much higher during extreme climate events and are generally pro-poor. The forecast value falls when forecast skill and farm coverage decline. National economic and trading structures, including the importance of agricultural exports, are found to be major determinants of forecast value. Economywide approaches are therefore needed to complement farm-level analysis when evaluating forecast systems in low-income agrarian economies. |
| Keywords: | EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, forecasting, climate change, modeling, economic value, mathematical models, general equlibrium, seasonal forecasts, stochastic modeling, D58 Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models, Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure, Land Reform, Land Use, Irrigation, Agriculture and Environment, Q54 Climate, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1546&r=agr |
| By: | Laborde Debucquet, David; Majeed, Fahd; Tokgoz, Simla; Torero, Máximo |
| Abstract: | The 2015 Global Hunger Index suggests that despite progress in reducing hunger worldwide, hunger levels in 52 of 117 countries in the 2015 Global Hunger Index remain “serious” or “alarming.” Since achieving and maintaining food and nutrition security (FNS) remains a goal for all countries, it is important to understand the individual, national, and global factors that affect FNS. This paper proposes an analytical framework to identify and analyze the respective roles of key long-term drivers of FNS. We start by identifying what the key variables affecting FNS are at the household and country level, and then we continue by defining what the main exogenous or endogenous drivers affecting these variables are. We discuss the key drivers of both aggregated food supply and demand and therefore their impact on prices. Specifically, for aggregated food demand, we discuss demographic factors, income growth, changes in dietary preferences, aggregated domestic distortions, and overall quality of the food system. With respect to the drivers of aggregated food supply, we discuss land available for food products and the drivers behind land availability, the share of waste/losses generated by the food system, and the normalized average yield. We define yield as the amount of nutrients produced by unit of land. It depends both on the physical yield of the crop or the livestock and on the quality of the food produced. It also can be affected by the changes in production patterns linked to the different dietary patterns of the consumers and by climate change. We emphasize the fact that in many cases, key drivers may have ambiguous effects on the FNS situation of different agents. For instance, more liberal trade policies will affect real income, terms of trade, demand and supply, returns of factors, foreign direct investments, and food prices and thus may lead to the improvement of the global-level FNS, that is, the FNS of the majority of the population. At the same time, more liberal trade policies may bring food insecurity to some households. Therefore, careful quantitative assessment is needed for each policy option. Finally, we propose a typology of variables that will help modelers adapt their models to study the different drivers through both direct and indirect effects. |
| Keywords: | food security, nutrition security, climate change, food prices, income, income distribution, food production, long-term economic changes, income growth, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1531&r=agr |
| By: | Worku, Ibrahim; Dereje, Mekdim; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia’s food economy is transforming fast. To better understand this ongoing process, we analyze changes in food consumption that have happened over the period between 1996 and 2011, relying on four rounds of nationally representative household data. The main findings are as follows: First, the share of food in overall expenditures is declining. Second, quantities consumed per capita are increasing. Third, the relative importance of cereals is on the decline. Fourth, there are large differences in the cereal basket of households between rural and urban areas, indicating the importance of increasing urbanization on the food economy. Fifth, cereals – and in particular maize – remain the largest source of calories in the food basket. Sixth, there is a relative shift in consumption to more expensive foods. Seventh, purchased foods are seemingly becoming more important. Finally, there are strong differences in food consumption by income level, but all levels exhibit changes over time. This diet transformation has important implications for the food security debate and for agricultural and food policy in the country. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, nutrition, diet, food consumption, cereals, households, food choice, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:46&r=agr |
| By: | -, Dr R. RAVIKUMAR |
| Abstract: | The need for reviving, rejuvenating agriculture and placing it on a high growth trajectory has been felt to ensure food security and to reduce import dependence. In this regard the core advice coming from knowledgeable quarters is that the time has come for switching from the past conventional production approach to a new dynamics of technology and market driven agricultural production in order to meet the growing demand for food production caused by population explosion. Precision farming has been the buzzword of agricultural research around the globe in recent times. It is based on the philosophy of heterogeneity within homogeneity and requires precise information on the degree of variability within field management. The aim is to vary the agricultural inputs in response to the varying conditions within the field in order to achieve the desired productivity. The study was conducted in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, India with a total sample of 252 and used Garret Ranking Technique and regression models to analyse the data. The study found that The pace of adoption of precision agriculture technologies has been relatively modest and large number of farmers are not familiar and not affordable with these technologies using farm level survey data this study quantifies the role awareness plays in the decision to adopt precision agriculture technology. |
| Keywords: | Precision Agriculture, Production, Productivity, Efficiency, and Adoptability. |
| JEL: | Q1 Q16 |
| Date: | 2016–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:73140&r=agr |
| By: | Minten, Bart; Engida, Ermias; Tamru, Seneshaw |
| Abstract: | Based on a unique large-scale data set on teff production and marketing, Ethiopia’s most important cash crop, we study post-harvest losses in rural-urban value chains, specifically between producers and urban retailers in the capital, Addis Ababa. We analyze the structure of the value chain and rely on self-reported losses by different value chain agents (farmers, wholesale traders, and retailers). We estimate that post-harvest losses in the most prevalent pathway in the rural-urban value chain, amount to between 2.2 and 3.3 percent of total harvested quantities. The variation in this figure depends on the storage facilities used and on assumed losses during transport at the farm. These losses are significantly lower than is commonly assumed for staple foods, possibly because of the rather good storage characteristics of teff due to its low moisture content. These findings, nonetheless, point to the need to gather further solid evidence on post-harvest losses in staple foods in these settings to ensure appropriate policies and investments |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, teff, food storage, postharvest losses, value chains, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:93&r=agr |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Berhane, Guush; Minten, Bart; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia’s agricultural sector has recorded remarkable rapid growth in the last decade. This note documents aspects of this growth process. Over the last decade, there have been significant increases – more than a doubling – in the use of modern inputs, such as chemical fertilizers and improved seeds, explaining part of that growth. However, there was also significant land expansion, increased labor use, and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth estimated at 2.3 percent per year. The expansion in modern input use appears to have been driven by high government expenditures on the agricultural sector, including agricultural extension, but also by an improved road network, higher rural education levels, and favorable international and local price incentives. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, agricultural sector, productivity, agricultural growth, economic growth, farm inputs, poverty, farmland, total factor productivity, poverty alleviation, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:53&r=agr |
| By: | Stifel, David; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of improved market access on household well-being and nutrition using a quasi-experimental setting in Ethiopia. We find that households in remote areas consume substantially less than households nearer to markets, they are more food insecure, and their school enrollment rates are lower. Although their diets are also less diverse, we find no significant differences in anthropometric measures. Part of these welfare differences can be attributed to lower household agricultural production in remote areas. But agricultural production differences alone do not account for all of the differences in household consumption levels for remote households. An additional contributing factor is the deteriorating terms of trade for remote households that negatively affect both the size of the agricultural surplus that these households market and the quantity of food items that they purchase. Reducing transaction costs associated with poor rural infrastructure can pay important dividends as it facilitates households’ abilities to transform marketed surpluses into consumption goods and into healthier, more diverse diets. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, welfare, food security, nutrition, food consumption, rural areas, poverty, market access, trade, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:51&r=agr |
| By: | Valdes, Constanza; Hjort, Kim; Seeley, Ralph |
| Abstract: | A prominent issue related to land-use changes in Brazil is the westward expansion of agriculture into the country’s frontier region, which includes the surrounding Cerrados savannah. The conversion of range, pasture, and other land into cropland in Brazil is due to rising domestic and international food demand but is also a consequence of ethanol production and policies that have increased the demand for sugarcane (ethanol feedstock). Because the supply and demand for ethanol are inexorably linked to that of petroleum, oil prices can affect production and land-use decisions for ethanol feedstocks and related agricultural commodities. This study examines the effects of longrun changes in oil prices on ethanol production in Brazil and resulting cropping patterns. Given a sustained fall in oil prices, ethanol use would be expected to fall, leading to a decrease in area planted to sugarcane and an increase in land available for other agricultural commodities. However, a sustained increase in oil prices would be expected to increase the incentives to produce ethanol, thereby expanding sugarcane production and planting area. Given Brazil’s dominant position in multiple global commodity export markets, adjustments to output and exports would lead to changes in world prices. |
| Keywords: | Brazil, agriculture, agricultural sector model, oil prices, ethanol, crops, livestock, land use., Agribusiness, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:242449&r=agr |
| By: | Clay, Marie; Ver Ploeg, Michele; Coleman-Jensen, Alisha; Elitzak, Howard; Gregory, Christian; Levin, David; Newman, Constance; Rabbitt, Mathew |
| Abstract: | The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) is the first nationally representative household survey to collect data on foods purchased or acquired during a survey week, producing results that are both nationally representative and representative of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants as well as of low-income non-SNAP households. In order to assess the quality of FoodAPS data, this report compares estimates from FoodAPS to estimates from other national-level food-related surveys, examining: (1) general demographic and socio-economic characteristics; (2) food expenditures; (3) food security; (4) SNAP participation and income; and (5) diet behavior and health. FoodAPS estimates of total, food-at-home (FAH) spending are greater than estimates from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) but less than those from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Compared to other national-level surveys, FoodAPS estimates a greater share of households with low or very low food security. |
| Keywords: | National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey, food expenditures, SNAP participation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:242451&r=agr |
| By: | Goundan, Anatole; Tankari, Mahamadou Roufahi |
| Abstract: | Spatial interactions are essential drivers of price transmission mechanisms and may significantly affect any food’s policy outcomes. However, spatial aspects seem to be generally overlooked when analyzing price transmission. This paper attempts to fill this gap by highlighting the usefulness of spatial interaction and models for market integration analysis. A spatial dynamic panel datamodel is presented and applied to Niger’s millet market. Empirical results show that (1) the millet market is partly integrated, (2) locally traded commodities (millet and sorghum) are linked by a cross-commodity price transmission, (3) most imported cereals prices, which for Niger is maize and rice, did not affect the millet market, and (4) no cross-regions price transmissionoccurred for the millet market. |
| Keywords: | NIGER, WEST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, commodities, markets, econometrics, agricultural products, market integration, spatial econometrics, panel data, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1536&r=agr |
| By: | Chakrabarti, Suman; Kishore, Avinash; Roy, Devesh |
| Abstract: | There is an increasing demand to add pulses to the basket of subsidized goods in the Public Distribution System (PDS) of India—the world’s largest food-based social safety-net program. Would subsidizing pulses through PDS lead to a significant increase in its consumption? We study the case of subsidy on pulses in select Indian states and its impact on consumption and ultimately nutrition (in terms of protein intake) by exploiting an exogenous variation in prices to answer this question. Between 2004/2005 and 2009/2010, four Indian states introduced subsidized pulses through the country’s PDS, while other states did not. We exploit exogenous price variations to examine whether the price subsidy on pulses achieves its goal of increasing pulse consumption, and by extension protein intake, among India’s poor. Using several rounds of consumption expenditure survey data and difference-in-difference estimation, we find that the change in consumption of pulses due to the PDS subsidy, though statistically significant, is of a small order, and not large enough to meet the goal of enhancing the nutrition of beneficiaries. |
| Keywords: | INDIA, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, subsidies, pulses, public distribution system, public services, social protection, social safety nets, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1523&r=agr |
| By: | Cossar, Frances |
| Abstract: | The adoption of machinery in agricultural production in Africa south of the Sahara has been far behind the level of mechanization found in Asia and Latin America. However, recent survey data have revealed high levels of machinery use in localized areas of cereal production in northern Ghana. A survey conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, in partnership with the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute, found that in some areas more than 80 percent of farmers were using machinery for at least one operation. This paper considers the theoretical drivers of agricultural intensification, as outlined by Boserup, Pingali, and Binswanger, and the extent to which they are able to explain the spatial variation in machinery use found in northern Ghana. Population pressure, market access, and agroecological conditions are considered key drivers that cause farmers to find ways to increase productivity and adopt new technologies. Combining survey data with geospatial datasets, the empirical analysis finds that population growth and travel time to the local urban center explain a significant and large proportion of the variation in machinery use by farmers. |
| Keywords: | GHANA, WEST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, mechanization, intensification, market access, surveys, innovation, food production, Boserupian theory, agricultural transformation, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1528&r=agr |
| By: | Rüter, Sebastian; Werner, Frank; Forsell, Nicklas; Prins, Christopher; Vial, Estelle; Levet, Anne-Laure |
| Abstract: | The ClimWood2030 study, commissioned by DG CLIMA of the European Commission, quantifies the five ways in which the EU forest sector contributes to climate change mitigation: carbon sequestration and storage in EU forests, carbon storage in harvested wood products in the EU, substitution of wood products for functionally equivalent materials and substitution of wood for other sources of energy, and displacement of emissions from forests outside the EU. It also explores through scenario analysis, based on a series of interlocking models (GLOBIOM, G4M and WoodCarbonMonitor), along with detailed analysis of Forest Based Functional Units, based on life cycle assessment (LCA), the consequences for GHG balances of policy choices at present under consideration. The focus is on the EU-28, but GHG balances for other parts of the world are also considered, notably to assess consequences of EU policy choices for other regions. The five scenarios are (I) The ClimWood2030 reference scenario, (II) Increase carbon stock in existing EU forests, (III) Cascade use - increase recovery of solid wood products, (IV) Cascade use - prevent first use of biomass for energy and (V) Strongly increase material wood use. The study presents detailed scenario results for key parameters, the policy instruments linked to the scenarios, and main conclusions. The ClimWood2030 study, commissioned by DG CLIMA of the European Commission, quantifies the five ways in which the EU forest sector contributes to climate change mitigation: carbon sequestration and storage in EU forests, carbon storage in harvested wood products in the EU, substitution of wood products for functionally equivalent materials and substitution of wood for other sources of energy, and displacement of emissions from forests outside the EU. It also explores through scenario analysis, based on a series of interlocking models (GLOBIOM, G4M and WoodCarbonMonitor), along with detailed analysis of Forest Based Functional Units, based on life cycle assessment (LCA), the consequences for GHG balances of policy choices at present under consideration. The focus is on the EU-28, but GHG balances for other parts of the world are also considered, notably to assess consequences of EU policy choices for other regions. The five scenarios are (I) The ClimWood2030 reference scenario, (II) Increase carbon stock in existing EU forests, (III) Cascade use - increase recovery of solid wood products, (IV) Cascade use - prevent first use of biomass for energy and (V) Strongly increase material wood use. The study presents detailed scenario results for key parameters, the policy instruments linked to the scenarios, and main conclusions. |
| Keywords: | forest-based sector,climate change,greenhouse gas balance,harvested wood products,substitution,scenario analysis,policy instruments |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtire:42&r=agr |
| By: | Ghebru, Hosaena; Koru, Bethlehem; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| Abstract: | This study assesses factors that explain households’ perceived land tenure insecurity and the demand for new formalization of land rights in Ethiopia. We use data from the 2013 Agricultural Growth Program survey of 7,500 households from high agricultural potential areas of Ethiopia. The results from a descriptive analysis and a logistic estimation reveal that demand for further land demarcation is positively associated with higher perception by households of tenure insecurity. Moreover, disaggregated results indicate that ownership and boundary-related disputes characterize periurban locations and economically vibrant communities, whereas perceived risk of government expropriation of land is mainly manifested in rural communities and areas where administrative land redistribution is a recent practice. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, agricultural growth, land rights, households, land tenure, land policies, tenure insecurity, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:52&r=agr |
| By: | Hassen, Ibrahim Worku; Dereje, Mekdim; Minten, Bart; Hirvonen, Kalle |
| Abstract: | Africa's food systems are changing fast amid rapid economic growth, emerging urbanization, and structural transformation. In this study, we use four rounds of nationally representative data from Ethiopia to examine changes in household food consumption patterns over a period of unprecedented economic growth. We find that while there is a general decline in the share of food in the total consumption basket of households in Ethiopia, food quantities and intake of calories have increased considerably over the period 1996 to 2011. This was mostly driven by improvements in household incomes, as shown using decomposition analysis. Furthermore, the content of the food basket is changing with a gradual shift towards high-value foods, such as animal products, fruits and vegetables, and processed foods. However, irrespective of the level of income, a heavy focus on starchy staples in the Ethiopian diet remains. Overall, this diet transformation has important implications for the food security debate and for agricultural and food policy in the country. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, food consumption, households, diet, income, economic growth, structural change, energy value, starch equivalent, calorie intakes, decomposition, O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, Q18 Agricultural Policy, Food Policy, D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:87&r=agr |
| By: | Ghebru, Hosaena; Khan, Huma; Lambrecht, Isabel |
| Abstract: | Tenure security is believed to be critical in spurring agricultural investment and productivity. Yet what improves or impedes tenure security is still poorly understood. Using household- and plot-level data from Ghana, this study analyzes the main factors associated with farmers’ perceived tenure security. Individually, farmers perceive greater tenure security on plots acquired via purchase or inheritance than on land allocated by traditional authorities. Collectively, however, perceived tenure security lessens in communities with more active land markets and economic vibrancy. Migrant households and women in polygamous households feel less secure about their tenure, while farmers with political connections are more confident about their tenure security. |
| Keywords: | GHANA, WEST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, land tenure, land rights, gender, land reform, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1545&r=agr |
| By: | Smith, Vincent H.; Glauber, Joseph; Dismukes, Robert |
| Abstract: | A central, but inadequately explored issue with respect to subsidized crop insurance programs concerns the costs of delivering insurance coverage to farmers. This study examines that issue in the context of the heavily subsidized US crop insurance program which has often been put forward as a model for agricultural insurance programs in other countries. US Government programs often rely on private firms to deliver income transfers or services, which then establish their own rent-seeking lobbies, which are shared with input suppliers. This rent dispersion process is examined in the context of the U.S. agricultural insurance industry, which receives as much as one third of the annual subsidies that support the federal crop insurance program. We find that as total payments to insurance companies increased between 2001 and 2009, an increasingly large share of the agricultural insurance industry’s rents accrued to insurance agents, although in markets where insurance companies possessed some oligopsony power, agent payments are smaller. The findings also suggest that the insurance industry (companies and independent agents) would almost surely provide the same service for substantially less than the gross revenues from the subsidies and underwriting gains they received. |
| Keywords: | UNITED STATES, NORTH AMERICA, agricultural policies, subsidies, crop insurance, markets, rent seeking, market power, oligopsony, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1532&r=agr |
| By: | Ward, Patrick S.; Bell, Andrew R.; Droppelmann, Klaus; Benton, Tim |
| Abstract: | Land degradation and soil erosion have emerged as serious challenges to smallholder farmers throughout southern Africa. To combat these challenges, conservation agriculture (CA) is widely promoted as a sustainable package of agricultural practices. Despite the many potential benefits of CA, however, adoption remains low. Yet relatively little is known about the decision-making process in choosing to adopt CA. This article attempts to fill this important knowledge gap by studying CA adoption in southern Malawi. Unlike what is implicitly assumed when these packages of practices are introduced, farmers view adoption as a series of independent decisions rather than a single decision. Yet the adoption decisions are not wholly independent. We find strong evidence of interrelated decisions, particularly among mulching crop residues and practicing zero tillage, suggesting that mulching residues and intercropping or rotating with legumes introduces a multiplier effect on the adoption of zero tillage. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI, SOUTHERN AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, conservation agriculture, technology adoption, land degradation, soil erosion, smallholders, sustainability, zero tillage, land use, land management, multivariate probit, O13 Economic Development: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Energy, Environment, Other Primary Product, Q01 Sustainable Development, Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure, Land Reform, Land Use, Irrigation, Agriculture and Environment, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1530&r=agr |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Berhane, Guush; Minten, Bart; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia’s economy is rapidly transforming. However, the extent to which this is affecting off-farm income and labor markets in rural areas is not well understood. Based on a large-scale household survey in high potential agricultural areas, we find that total off-farm income (defined as wage and enterprise income) makes up 18 percent of total rural income. Wage income in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors accounts for 10 percent of total household income, equating in importance to livestock income. We show off-farm income and wage income to be relatively more important for the poor and female and youth-headed households. We further find that real rural wages increased by 54 percent over the last decade, mostly driven by high agricultural growth. While this wage increase is good news for the poor, it also induces adjustments in agricultural production practices, including increased adoption of labor-substituting technologies such as herbicides and mechanization. However, it also relaxes liquidity constraints in the off-season for some households, consequently leading to higher productivity. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, labour market, labor, rural areas, income, wages, economic development, off farm employment, livestock, households, productivity, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:90&r=agr |
| By: | Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Trapathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad |
| Abstract: | Growing inequality has become an important concern in many countries. One of the ways that inequality is perpetuated is through differential market access across regions. This research deals with one of the primary determinants of regional inequality manifested in terms of market access. Nepal is one country where hierarchical geography leads to regional inequality. Differential market access can cause as well as accentuate inequality among farmers. Coordination arrangements such as contract farming can improve outcomes for the farmers and integrators on the one hand, but on the other hand it can accentuate inequality if only some regions benefit from it. With this background, in this paper we study the case of contract farming for exports with farmers in remote hilly areas of Nepal. The prospect for contract farming in such areas with accessibility issues owing to underdeveloped markets and lack of amenities is ambiguous. On the one hand, contractors in these areas find it difficult to build links, particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. On the other hand, remoteness can make the contracts more sustainable if the agroecology offers product-specific quality advantages and, more important, if there is a lack of side-selling opportunities. At the same time, concerns remain about buyers’ monopsonistic powers when remotely located small farmers do not have outside options. This study hence quantifies the benefits of contract farming on remotely located farmers’ income and compliance with food safety measures. Results show that contract farming is significantly more profitable (offering a 58 percent greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher price realization, along with training on practices and provision of quality seeds. |
| Keywords: | NEPAL, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, income, smallholders, small farmers, contract farming, income, food safety, ginger, market access, agricultural policies, Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q13 Agricultural Markets and Marketing, Cooperatives, Agribusiness, Q17 Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 Agricultural Policy, Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1524&r=agr |
| By: | Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle |
| Abstract: | The agricultural sector in Ethiopia and in other developing countries is increasingly asked to contribute to reducing undernutrition as well as poverty and food insecurity. Within agriculture, the livestock sector is thought to play a particularly important role in this respect, since the consumption of animal-sourced foods (ASFs) is a well-known determinant of child growth and the production of ASFs is an important source of income. However, there is growing evidence of associated health risks of poultry rearing in developing countries, particularly for young children who have been observed to directly ingest poultry feces. This is hypothesized to contribute to chronic gut damage – a condition termed environmental enteric disorder (EED) – that is widely believed to be a leading cause of child stunting in developing countries such as Ethiopia. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, children, health, hunger, nutrition, poultry, livestock, poultry droppings, stunting, scavenging poultry, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:43&r=agr |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Yimer, Feiruz; Minten, Bart; Dorosh, Paul A. |
| Abstract: | We analyze the evolution of crop and livestock producer prices and wages of unskilled laborers in Ethiopia over the January 2014 to January 2016 period, during which time the country was massively impacted by El Niño triggered droughts, which started in 2015. The analyses reveal no evidence of widespread adverse price effects of the drought in the labor and cereal markets. Real prices of the major cereals were lower at the beginning of 2016 compared to two years earlier, especially for maize, sorghum and wheat, the crops that make up the major source of calories in the areas that were most hit by the drought. Conversely, prices of root crops and pulses increased. However, given the large importance attached to cereal consumption, the overall real food consumption basket price has declined compared to two years earlier. In particular, the decline in the cost of cereals in the food basket was estimated at 11.2 percent at the national level. However, the overall declines were lower in drought-affected (decline of 8 percent) than in non-drought affected areas (decline of 14 percent), indicating the adverse effect of failed harvests in the former areas. Considering crop and livestock prices jointly reveals that livestock-cereal terms of trade declined in the worst affected areas, mainly because livestock prices declined faster than cereal prices in such areas. In contrast, the livestock-cereal terms of trade considerably improved in areas less affected by the drought. The fluctuating behavior of cereal prices since January 2015 strikingly contrasts with the situation during the major drought of 1997/98. During that period, cereal production declined by 25 percent compared to the year before, with significant simultaneous real price increases of between 15 and 45 percent. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, prices, droughts, livestock, crops, wages, labor, commodities, pulses, tubers, cereals, El Niño, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:88&r=agr |
| By: | Berhane, Guush; Hirvonen, Kalle; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | In this research note, we provide a preview of results from a study of agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia. Our research shows that 9 percent of farmers in the Feed the Future regions of Ethiopia used mechanization at some point during the agricultural year 2014/15. We find that mechanized ploughing was most widespread (5 percent), while mechanized threshing and harvesting was reported by 3 and 2 percent of households, respectively. We further examine the uptake of different forms of mechanization through a number of associations. The results show that farm size and rural wages are positively associated with the adoption of mechanization, while remoteness is negatively linked. These findings suggest that as Ethiopia’s economy transforms and leads to higher rural wages, as well as with further development of its infrastructure, more demand for mechanized agricultural services will likely arise. Having policies that actively assure widespread availability of appropriate mechanized services at low cost, seem likely to benefit Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, mechanization, productivity, farm inputs, agricultural development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:48&r=agr |
| By: | Yimer, Feiruz; Tadesse, Fanaye |
| Abstract: | Using household survey data from 2013 covering more than 7,000 households in five regions of Ethiopia, we investigate the impact of women’s empowerment in agriculture on the nutritional outcomes of children and women. We use multivariate regression methods and instrumental variable techniques to establish the relationship between women’s empowerment and the dietary diversity of women and children. The results show that the indicators for assessing women’s empowerment are all positively related to better dietary diversity for both children and women. As women’s empowerment leads to improvements in children’s and women’s dietary diversity, it follows that interventions which increase women’s empowerment contribute to improving child nutrition as well as their own well-being. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, gender, women, agriculture, diet, nutrition, empowerment, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:55&r=agr |
| By: | Carlson, Andrea; Jaenicke, Edward |
| Abstract: | Organic foods are one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the retail food market. This study applies a hedonic model to 2004-10 Nielsen Homescan data to estimate the organic price premiums for 17 products. Eggs and dairy products generally have the highest premiums, while fresh produce has the widest spread of premiums (ranging from 7 percent of the nonorganic price for spinach to 60 percent for salad mix). Processed food premiums range from 22 percent for granola to 54 percent for canned beans. The strong organic premiums, combined with increased sales, suggest that there is continued room for growth in the organic supply. |
| Keywords: | organic food, organic price premiums, organic label, Homescan data, fruit and vegetable prices, milk prices, egg prices, processed food prices, hedonic price model, organic consumers, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:242448&r=agr |
| By: | Abay, Kibrewossen; Hirvonen, Kalle |
| Abstract: | Seasonality in agricultural production continues to shape intra-annual food availability and prices in low-income countries. Using high-frequency panel data from northern Ethiopia, this study quantifies seasonal fluctuations in children's weights. In line with earlier studies, we document considerable seasonality in children’s age and height adjusted weights. While children located closer to local food markets are better nourished compared to their counterparts residing in more remote areas, their body weight is also subject to considerable seasonality. Further analysis provides evidence that children located closer to food markets consume more diverse diets than those located farther away. However, the content of these diets varies across seasons: children are less likely to consume animal source foods during the lean season that occurs between May and September in northern Ethiopia. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, children, dietary diversity, nutrition, markets, metrics, seasonality, economic development, agricultural policies, food policies, microeconomics, child anthropometrics, food markets, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:54&r=agr |
| By: | Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Tripathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad |
| Abstract: | This study is undertaken to quantify the benefits of contract farming (CF) on farmers’ income in a case where new market opportunities are emerging for smallholder farmers in Nepal. CF is emerging as an important form of vertical coordination in the agrifood supply chain. The prospect for CF in a country like Nepal with accessibility issues, underdeveloped markets, and a lack of amenities remains ambiguous. Contractors find it difficult to build links in these cases, particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. However, a lack of other market opportunities makes the contracts more sustainable. The latter happens if there are product-specific quality advantages because of agroecology and, more important, lack of side-selling opportunities. Concerns remain about monoposonistic powers of the buyers when small farmers do not have outside options. Results of this study show that CF is significantly more profitable (81 percent greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher yield and price realization. The positive impact of CF on farmers’ profits can help Nepal in harnessing the growing demand for pulses, especially in neighboring international markets, like India. |
| Keywords: | NEPAL, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, contract farming, smallholders, small farmers, income, lentils, households, markets, pulses, monoposonistic, Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q13 Agricultural Markets and Marketing, Cooperatives, Agribusiness, Q17 Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 Agricultural Policy, Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1533&r=agr |
| By: | Todd, Jessica E.; Scharadin, Benjamin |
| Abstract: | Understanding where U.S. households acquire food, what they acquire, and what they pay is essential to identifying which food and nutrition policies might improve diet quality. USDA’s National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) provides a complete picture of where households acquire food, what they acquire, and how much they pay during a 7-day period in 2012. Nearly all households acquire food at least once during the week; 87 percent visited large grocery stores and supermarkets, and 85 percent visited restaurants and other eating places at least once. Households acquired food at no cost on 22 percent of occasions, and these events occurred mainly at food pantries/Meals on Wheels, schools, meals with family or friends, community events, and workplaces. |
| Keywords: | FoodAPS, food acquisitions, free food, SNAP, food expenditure, food away from home, supermarkets, restaurants, school meals, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:242450&r=agr |
| By: | Wouterse, Fleur Stephanie |
| Abstract: | Niger is a landlocked Sahelian country, two-thirds of which is in the Sahara desert. Although only one-eighth of the land considered arable, more than 90 percent of Niger’s labor force is employed in agriculture, which is predominantly subsistence oriented. Food security remains a major challenge in rural areas of Niger, and gender is a significant basis for the inequality among household members with respect to access to land. Access to land, which is a measure of the income-earning potential of an individual, is an important determinant of the distribution of bargaining power within the household. Because households may not act in a unitary manner when making decisions, the power of individuals within the household to exert their own preferences may determine welfare outcomes, such as spending on nutritious foods or healthcare. In this paper, we use new data for Niger and regression analyses to assess the importance of the intrahousehold distribution of power for the behavior of rural households. Our results reveal that men are significantly more empowered than women in rural households in Niger and that social protection programs such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and food-for-training contribute significantly to the empowerment of women. Our findings also point to the validity of the collective approach to modeling household behavior, as the distribution of power was shown to affect household behavior. In particular, we found that an increase in power in favor of the adult female significantly increases expenditures on healthcare and reduces spending on vices (cigarettes and alcohol). |
| Keywords: | NIGER, WEST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, households, gender, assets, smallholders, sociology, decision making, household expenditure, welfare, social protection, distribution of power, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1548&r=agr |
| By: | Berhane, Guush; Abay, Mehari Hiluf; Woldehanna, Tassew |
| Abstract: | Using child-level panel data from rural areas of Ethiopia, we analyze effects of both economic and non-economic shocks on child cognition skills measured after the early childhood age window. We identify that drought, in particular, reduces child cognitive skills markedly. Food price inflation during the study period and divorce also have significant adverse effects on cognition. Promisingly, we find that the safety net program established by the Ethiopian government in 2005 to protect households from the economic effects of such shocks mitigated the reduction in cognitive skills associated with these shocks |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, Children, Health, rural areas, social protection, safety nets, shocks, Cognitive skills, difference in differences, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:49&r=agr |
| By: | Skander Ben Abdallah; Pierre Lasserre |
| Abstract: | We solve Faustmann’s problem when the land manager plans to switch from the current tree species to some alternative species or land use. Such situations occur when the relative value of the alternative increases faster than the value of the species currently in place. The paper characterizes the land value function and the optimum rotations, highlighting the differences between this non-autonomous problem and the traditional Faustmann’s problem. We show in particular that rotations can be either higher and increasing, or lower and decreasing, compared to the traditional, constant, Faustmann’s rotation. |
| Keywords: | Forestry; Land value; Faustmann; Alternative Species; Rotation, |
| JEL: | Q23 Q24 |
| Date: | 2016–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2016s-38&r=agr |
| By: | Minten, Bart; Dereje, Mekdim; Engeda, Ermias; Kuma, Tadesse |
| Abstract: | Important changes to Ethiopia’s coffee sector have occurred in the last decade. The adoption of improved production, harvest, and post-harvest practices has been increasing with positive impacts on coffee productivity and incomes. Upstream marketing has improved, along with large investments in processing capacity, shown by the extended coverage of wet mills. These changes seem to have been driven by greater availability of extension agents, market reform, and high international prices. However, despite these changes, yield growth has been small. Weather shocks, the prevalence of coffee diseases, lack of improved seedlings, and saving constraints has impeded uptake of improved practices, with consequent repercussions on farmers’ productivity and income. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, agricultural development, beans, smallholders, coffee, coffee industry, productivity, marketing, postharvest technology, capacity building, value chains, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:41&r=agr |
| By: | -, Dr S Saravanan; -, Dr V Mohanasundaram |
| Abstract: | Bt Cotton, is genetically engineered with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a bio-toxin which comes from soil bacterium. Bt which was isolated from soil in 1911, has been available to farmers as an organic pesticide since 1930..The engineered Bt gene produces a protein that cuts into the guts of specific insects, rendering the cotton resistant to these insects. Biotechnology for control of bollworms is made available in the seed itself. Farmers have to just sow the Bt cotton seeds as they do with conventional seeds. The resulting plants have the in-built ability to produce Bt protein within their body and defend themselves from bollworms. No extra efforts or equipment are needed to utilize this technology. But after the introduction of Bt cotton it brought into focus a variety of issues like economic, environmental and health and it has a controversy against to adopt it. Hence, the present study focused on the above issues. |
| Keywords: | Bt Cotton, Environment, Health, Economic |
| JEL: | Q16 |
| Date: | 2016–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:73107&r=agr |
| By: | Armand, Alex (University of Navarra); Attanasio, Orazio (University College London); Carneiro, Pedro (University College London); Lechene, Valerie (University College London) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the differential effect of targeting cash transfers to men or women on the structure of household expenditures on non-durables. We study a policy intervention in the Republic of Macedonia, offering cash transfers to poor households, conditional on having their children attending secondary school. The recipient of the transfer is randomized across municipalities to be either the household head or the mother. Using data collected to evaluate the conditional cash transfer program, we show that the gender of the recipient has an effect on the structure of expenditure shares. Targeting transfers to women increases the expenditure share on food by about 4 to 5%. To study the allocation of expenditures within the food basket, we estimate a demand system for food and we find that targeting payments to mothers induces, for different food categories, not only a significant intercept shift, but also a change in the slope of the Engel curve. |
| Keywords: | CCT, intra-household, gender, expenditure |
| JEL: | D12 D13 E21 O12 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10133&r=agr |
| By: | Ebata, Ayako; Hernandez, Manuel A. |
| Abstract: | Access to modern commercialization channels is key for smallholder farmers to be able to move away from subsistence farming and overcome poverty. However, achieving that goal is challenging for smallholders given their lack of appropriate managerial practices, production technology and infrastructure. This paper examines the effect of receiving training in two different entrepreneurial practices designed to link farmers to commercial markets: one direct aimed at the individual and farmer-association level and another indirect focused at the community level. We exploit an extensive panel dataset of staple bean farmers in Nicaragua who participated in a program run by a nongovernmental organization between 2007–2012. We find that the two market-linkage training activities had opposite effects on the commercialization of beans, especially on the intensive margin or volume of sales. While receiving direct training on entrepreneurial practices is positively associated with sales in commercial markets, training on municipality engagement (ME) activities is negatively associated. The market-linkage activities mainly affected entrant farmers as opposed to those already participating in commercial markets. We further find varying effects of the ME activities by plot size and leadership position. Additional results show that training activities that appear to work for bean producers do not necessarily work for other crop producers, and vice versa. |
| Keywords: | NICARAGUA, LATIN AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AMERICAS, markets, smallholders, small farmers, large scale farming, commercial farming, market access, market linkage, commercial markets, Q13 Agricultural Markets and Marketing, Cooperatives, Agribusiness, O13 Economic Development: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Energy, Environment, Other Primary Product, L31 Nonprofit Institutions, NGOs, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1539&r=agr |
| By: | Glauber, Joseph W.; Effland, Anne |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the development of US agricultural policy and considers how it has affected US consumers and producers, as well as how US programs affect foreign producers and consumers within the context of the United States’ obligations under the World Trade Organization. Throughout its history, the United States has supported the farm sector through a myriad of policies affecting prices, production, and farm incomes. Although many of the policies put in place during the New Deal legislation in the 1930s were seen as temporary at the time, most have persisted in one form or another to the present day. And while many would argue that the form and function of today’s agricultural programs are less distortionary than before, the level of support provided to the sector is several billion dollars annually. |
| Keywords: | UNITED STATES, NORTH AMERICA, agricultural policies, crop insurance, agricultural insurance, subsidies, World Trade Organization (WTO), trade, farm bill, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1543&r=agr |
| By: | Animaw, Addisu Tadege; Nkanya, Jasper Alfred Mutegi; Nyakiba, John Mogaka; Woldemariam, Tamiru Habte; Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | This note synthesizes one of the two study tour reports written by the participating African officials. This report provides observations made by participants from Ethiopia and Kenya, the two East African countries with participants on the tour. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, KENYA, BANGLADESH, SOUTH ASIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, ASIA, smallholders, mechanization, diffusion of information, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:47&r=agr |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Koru, Bethlehem; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| Abstract: | Cereal production has exhibited unprecedented growth in Ethiopia, leading to important welfare improvements in the country. However, it is not well understood what the drivers have been of this growth and how it can be sustained. In particular, there is a lack of evidence on the contribution of improvements in productivity to growth in yields. Moreover, doubts exist on whether it is possible to sustain such growth on declining landholdings. We study cereal production using a unique large-scale survey of households and analyze productivity is-sues using stochastic frontier and data envelopment analyses, two conceptually dissimilar methods. Production frontier estimates indicate that modern inputs contribute significantly to improvements in yields. The two analytical methods used indicate that an average cereal producing household is less than half as efficient as optimally producing households, and, consequently, there is considerable opportunity for additional growth in cereal production in Ethiopia. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, cereals, productivity, agricultural growth, sustainability, smallholders, farm inputs, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:essprn:45&r=agr |
| By: | Vangani, Ruchi; Gerber, Nicolas; Saxena, Deepak; Mavalankar, Dileep; von Braun, Joachim |
| Abstract: | The ever-growing population of India, along with the increasing competition for water for productive uses in different sectors – especially irrigated agriculture and related local water systems and drainage – poses a challenge in an effort to improve water quality and sanitation. In rural and peri-urban settings, where agriculture is one of the main sources of livelihood, the type of water use in irrigated agriculture has complex interactions with drinking water and sanitation. In particular, the multi-purpose character of irrigation and drainage infrastructure creates several interlinks between water, sanitation (WATSAN) and agriculture and there is a competition for water quantity between domestic water use and irrigated agriculture. This study looks at the determinants of the microbiological quality of stored drinking water among households residing in areas where communities use different types of irrigation water. The study used multiple tube fermentation method ‘Most Probable Number (MPN) technique, a WHO recommended technique, to identify thermotolerant fecal coliforms and E. coli in water in the laboratory (WHO 1993). Overall, we found that the microbiological water quality was poor. The stored water generally had very high levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination, 80% of the households had water in storage that could not be considered potable as per the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and 73% of the households were using a contaminated water source. The quality of household storage water was largely unaffected by the major household socioeconomic characteristics, such as wealth, education level or social status. Households using surface water for irrigation had poor drinking water quality, even after controlling for hygiene, behavioral and community variables. Drinking water quality was positively impacted by proper storage and water treatment practices, such as reverse osmosis. Hygiene and sanitation indicators had mixed impacts on the quality of drinking water, and the impacts were largely driven by hygiene behavior rather than infrastructures. Community open defaecation and high village-household density deteriorates household storage water quality. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation water, Water Quality, Water Storage, Water Treatment, Sanitation and Hygiene, Health Behaviour, India, Gujarat, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C83, C88, D13, I18, O10, O12, O15, Q25, Q50, Q53, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:243145&r=agr |
| By: | Anya Samek; John List; Terri Zhu |
| Abstract: | We use a field experiment to investigate the effect of incentives on food purchase decisions at a grocery store. We recruit over 200 participants and track their purchases for a period of 6 months, permitting us a glimpse of more than 3,500 individual shopping trips. We randomize participants to one of several treatments, in which we incentivize fresh fruit and vegetable purchases, provide tips for fruit and vegetable preparation, or both. We report several key insights. First, our informational content treatment has little effect. Second, we find an important price effect: modest pecuniary incentives more than double the proportion of dollars spent on produce in the grocery store. Third, we find an interesting pattern of consumption after the experiment ends: even when incentives are removed, the treatment group has higher fruit and vegetable purchases compared to the control group. These long-term results are in stark contrast to either a standard price model or a behavioral model of 'crowd out.' Rather, our results are consonant with a habit formation model. This opens up the distinct possibility that short term incentives can be used as a key instrument to combat obesity. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00421&r=agr |
| By: | Anya Samek; Heather Royer; Manuela Angelucci; Silvia Prina |
| 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. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00444&r=agr |
| By: | Shabnam, Nadia; Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano; Seccia, Antonio; Asghar, Zahid |
| Abstract: | The global economic crisis in 2007-08 resulted in a tremendous food price increase that is likely to have adversely affected food security and nutritional status in many developing countries. Understanding how nutritional intakes may have changed as a result of the food price crisis is important, especially for Pakistan, the country under scrutiny which, despite of being a large producer of staple food, suffers severe problems of undernourishment. We use two survey rounds, 2005-06 and 2010-11, to investigate how calorie and macro nutrient intakes have evolved. The analysis was carried out with the use of a time varying model is enriched by an in-depth investigation for different quantiles. The results show that food security deteriorated because of the food price crisis. In the light of this outcome, policy implications will be discussed |
| Keywords: | Food-price crisis; Nutrient consumption; Quantile regression; Pakistan |
| JEL: | F61 F63 Q11 Q18 |
| Date: | 2016–08–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72971&r=agr |
| By: | Sinha, Pankaj; Mathur, Kritika |
| Abstract: | Gold is one of the most highly traded commodities in the Indian Commodity Market. It can be traded either in the spot market or the futures market, options contracts are not permitted in the Indian commodity market. In this study, the price behaviour of Gold futures traded on Multi Commodity Exchange are analysed from the year 2007 to year 2013. The issue of the introduction of option contracts on Gold in the Indian commodity market has been addressed through: (a) Presence of short term persistence in return volatility (b) Impact of recent Global Financial Crisis on daily return volatility (c) Impact of implied volatility of equity market on return and weekly return volatility. The study indicates the presence of short term persistence in return volatility of gold as well as the influence of the recent Global financial crisis on return volatility of the metal. It is also observed that that the implied volatility of equity market affects the weekly returns as well as weekly return volatility of a futures contract of Gold. |
| Keywords: | Crisis, Futures, Gold, VIX, Options |
| JEL: | G01 L61 Q02 |
| Date: | 2016–08–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72966&r=agr |
| By: | Dou, Xiaoya; Gray, Clark; Mueller, Valerie; Sheriff, Glen |
| Abstract: | As countries design climate change adaptation policies, it is important to understand how workers alter behavior in response to changes in temperature. Nonetheless, the impact of temperature on labor markets is poorly documented, especially in Africa. We address this gap by analyzing panel surveys of labor choices by sector, contractual arrangement, and migration status in four East African countries. Merging survey information with high-resolution climate data, we assess how workers shift employment in response to temperature anomalies. Results suggest important distinctions between rural and urban areas. In urban areas, only agricultural self-employment and migration are responsive to temperature, with participation in both activities decreasing at high extremes. Urban out-migration is used as a tool to increase incomes in “good” years rather than an adaptation mechanism during bad years. In contrast, out-migration appears to be a means of adapting to high temperatures in rural areas, especially among households with relatively little agricultural land. The combined impact of these forces suggests that a 2 standard deviation increase in temperature results in a 7 percent increase in urban unemployment and no significant impact on rural unemployment. |
| Keywords: | EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, migration, labor, climate change, economic development, natural resources management, rural areas, urban areas, time allocation, climate adaptation, J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply, O13 Economic Development: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Energy, Environment, Other Primary Product, O15 Economic Development: Human Resources, Human Development, Income Distribution, Migration, Q54 Climate, Natural Disasters, Global Warming, Q56 Environment and Development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1537&r=agr |
| By: | Malikov, Emir; Bokusheva, Raushan; Kumbhakar, Subal C. |
| Abstract: | Despite some recent criticisms, the conventional radial distance function, which treats undesirable by-products as either frontier shifters or inputs, remains a popular go-to formulation of polluting production processes among practitioners. This unfading popularity is arguably driven by the ability of radial distance functions, unlike alternative directional distance functions, to allow for unit-free multiplicative changes in arguments as well as, by implicitly postulating the radial direction, to free researchers from the dilemma of having to explicitly choose the directional vector. In this paper, we offer a generalization of the standard radial distance function to polluting technologies that can accommodate undesirable by-products in a more economically meaningful way. Specifically, we propose modeling undesirable outputs via a hedonic output index, which is meant to ensure that pollutants are treated as outputs, as opposed to inputs or theoretically unregulated frontier shifters, while also recognizing their undesirable nature. By using a radial input distance function generalized to encompass an (unobservable) hedonic output index of desirable and undesirable outputs, we are able to meaningfully describe relationships between different products (including the complementarity of desirable and undesirable outputs) within producible output sets as well as to represent technically feasible polluting production possibilities given inputs. An empirical application of our methodology to the case of Dutch dairy farms in 2001-2009 demonstrates the complexity of interactions between outputs, thereby attesting to the value of more elaborate representations of production possibilities. |
| Keywords: | bad output, dairy production, input distance function, livestock, nitrogen pollution, shadow price |
| JEL: | D24 D62 Q12 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:73186&r=agr |
| By: | Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Götz, Linde; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Dorosh, Paul A.; Glauben, Thomas |
| Abstract: | The extent of market integration and transmission of food price shocks is a major determinant of price stability and overall food security, particularly in developing countries. Few studies have examined these issues for countries in Central Asia, however. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining wheat market integration and price transmission in Tajikistan, the most food-insecure country in Central Asia. In particular, in this study we measure how well wheat market prices in Tajikistan are integrated with international and regional markets, as well as domestically with each other. Subsequently, we assess the nature of price transmission between these markets. Using horizontal price transmission analysis and asymmetric price relationships, a.k.a. rockets and feathers, we demonstrate how prices change in peripheral food-shortage markets compared to markets located in zones with abundant local production. |
| Keywords: | TAJIKISTAN, CENTRAL ASIA, ASIA, food security, markets, prices, agricultural policies, food policies, wheats, commodities, market prices, market access, price transmission, Q11 Agriculture: Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis, Prices, Q18 Agricultural Policy, Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1547&r=agr |
| By: | Häggmark Svensson, Tobias (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences); Elofsson, Katarina (Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Hunting is an important recreational activity for large numbers of people. The roe deer is one of the most popular types of game in Sweden; however, recently the roe deer population has decreased. It is argued that this decrease is due to an increase in predator populations. The aim of this paper is to identify and compare the impact of lynxes and wolves on the hunting values of roe deer, taking into account that the impact depends on the hunting effort. The impact of the predators on the roe deer harvests is estimated econometrically, using a production function approach that accounts for the abundance of predators and the alternative prey, as well as the climatic conditions. The results show that the marginal cost of wolves is larger than that of additional lynx families in terms of their impact on the roe deer harvest values. The marginal costs of the predators vary with the hunter effort and the presence of alternative prey, which can have implications for policies affecting the regional allocation of the wolves and the lynxes. |
| Keywords: | Production function approach; Hunting; Costs; Roe deer; Lynx; Wolves. |
| JEL: | Q26 Q57 |
| Date: | 2016–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slueko:2016_007&r=agr |
| By: | Frank A. Wolak |
| Abstract: | This paper formulates and estimates a household-level, billing-cycle water demand model under increasing block prices that accounts for the impact of monthly weather variation, the amount of vegetation on the household’s property, and customer-level heterogeneity in demand due to household demographics. The model utilizes US Census data on the distribution of household demographics in the utility’s service territory to recover the impact of these factors on water demand. An index of the amount of vegetation on the household’s property is obtained from NASA satellite data. The household-level demand models are used to compute the distribution of utility-level water demand and revenues for any possible price schedule. Knowledge of the structure of customer-level demand can be used by the utility to design nonlinear pricing plans that achieve competing revenue or water conservation goals, which is crucial for water utilities to manage increasingly uncertain water availability yet still remain financially viable. Knowledge of how these demands differ across customers based on observable household characteristics can allow the utility to reduce the utility-wide revenue or sales risk it faces for any pricing plan. Knowledge of how the structure of demand varies across customers can be used to design personalized (based on observable household demographic characteristics) increasing block price schedules to further reduce the risk the utility faces on a system-wide basis. For the utilities considered, knowledge of the customer-level demographics that predict demand differences across households reduces the uncertainty in the utility’s system-wide revenues from 70 to 96 percent. Further reductions in the uncertainty in the utility’s system-wide revenues in the, range of 5 to 15 percent, are possible by re-designing the utility’s nonlinear price schedules to minimize the revenue risk it faces given the distribution of household-level demand in its service territory. |
| JEL: | L38 L5 L51 L95 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22503&r=agr |
| By: | Rubin, Deborah |
| Abstract: | The rise of mixed methods approaches to development-oriented research has brought new attention to qualitative research methods. This paper describes the use of qualitative approaches to illuminate gender relations in agricultural development research and project implementation. For gender research, qualitative methods can be particularly helpful in illuminating how men and women view their lives. Drawing on literature about social science methods and linking it to recent examples of qualitative methods employed in research and development projects, the paper argues for greater precision in key concepts of gender research, starting with sex and gender. From the many possible qualitative methods used in development work, the paper focuses on several common observational (both direct and participatory) and interview techniques, the latter including key informant and group interviews and focus group discussions. Researchers use various techniques to gather different types of information, for example, mapping techniques to understand men’s and women’s different types of knowledge about their environment and eliciting in-depth information on a single topic with key informants. In a brief discussion of the analysis of qualitative data, the paper notes that informant responses are not “the truth” but need to be assessed against other sources of data. Finally, there is a short discussion of how qualitative data have been used in comparative work. The paper concludes that the results of good qualitative research on gender relations can help identify the locally specific pathways needed to achieve gender-transformative development approaches. |
| Keywords: | gender, women, agriculture, qualitative analysis, analytical methods, interviews, qualitative research, mixed methods, informant interviews, group interviews, focus group discussions, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1535&r=agr |
| By: | Anson, Richard; Mogues, Tewodaj |
| Abstract: | This study reviews all of the relevant data and analytical initiatives or activities that focus on or include agricultural public expenditure (AgPE) in developing and transitioning countries. In addition to taking stock of such initiatives, we carry out a comparison of relevant features, describe differences and similarities, and identify possible avenues for greater collaboration and complementarity, including the use of selected empirical examples arising from the comparative review. |
| Keywords: | public expenditure, agricultural research, quantitative analysis, developing countries, agricultural government spending, data comparison, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1541&r=agr |
| By: | Sinha, Pankaj; Mathur, Kritika |
| Abstract: | Given that gold futures contracts are one of the most actively traded commodity futures in the Indian Commodity market, it is of crucial importance to study the price, return and volatility spillover behaviour of gold traded in the Indian commodity market with respect to the International commodity market. The current study tries to study the linkages in Gold futures which are traded on Indian commodity exchange – Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and International commodity exchange – New York Mercantile Exchange are analysed. The study attempts to demonstrate the linkages in price, return and volatility across the two markets for the precious metal through three models: (a) Price – Co-integration methodology and Error Correction Mechanism Model (ECM); (b) Return and Volatility – Modified GARCH model; (c) Return and Volatility – ARMA-GARCH in Mean model – Innovations Model. Empirical analysis indicates that there is a presence of a long run relationship between prices of Gold futures contracts traded in MCX and NYMEX. Apart from cointegration in prices, return and volatility spillovers between MCX and NYMEX are found to be significant and bi-directional. |
| Keywords: | Futures, Gold, Spillover, Transaction costs |
| JEL: | G14 G15 L61 Q02 |
| Date: | 2016–08–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72967&r=agr |
| By: | Fiala, Oliver; Wende, Danny |
| Abstract: | Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity and have devastating impacts on individuals, both humanitarian and economic, particularly in developing countries. Microinsurance is seen as one promising instrument of disaster risk management, however the level of demand for respective projects remains low. Using behavioural games and a discrete choice experiment, this paper analyses the demand for hypothetical microinsurance products in rural Cambodia and contributes significant household level evidence to the current research. A general preference for microinsurance can be found, with demand significantly affected by price, provider, requirements for prevention and combinations with credit. Furthermore, financial literacy, risk aversion, levels of trust and previous disaster experience impact the individual demand for flood insurance in rural Cambodia. |
| Keywords: | microinsurance,trust,risk,discrete choice experiment,Cambodia |
| JEL: | Q10 Q50 Q54 O10 C25 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuddps:0116&r=agr |
| By: | Anya Samek; Charles Sprenger; Sally Sadoff |
| Abstract: | We conduct a natural field experiment with over 200 customers at a grocery store to investigate dynamic inconsistency and the demand for commitment in food choice. Subjects are invited to allocate and re-allocate food items received as part of a grocery delivery program. We observe substantial dynamic inconsistency, as well as a demand for commitment among a non-negligible number of subjects. Interestingly, individuals who demand commitment are more likely to be dynamically consistent in their prior behavior. This work provides direct evidence of dynamic inconsistency in consumption choices in the field and points towards potential extensions to models of temptation. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:natura:00417&r=agr |
| By: | Christoph Böhringer (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics); Xaquin Garcia-Muros (Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Bilbao, Spain); Ignacio Cazcarro (Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Bilbao, Spain); Iñaki Arto (Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Bilbao, Spain) |
| Abstract: | Despite recent achievements towards a global climate agreement, climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions remains quite heterogeneous across countries. Energy-intensive and trade-exposed (EITE) industries in industrialized countries are particularly concerned on stringent domestic emission pricing that may put them at a competitive disadvantage with respect to producers of similar goods in other countries without or only quite lenient emission regulation. This paper focuses on climate policy analysis for the United States of America (US) and compares the economic implications of four alternative protective measures for US EITE industries: (i) output-based rebates, (ii) exemptions from emission pricing, (iii) energy intensity standards, and (iv) carbon intensity standards. Based on simulations with a large-scale computable general equilibrium model for the global economy we quantify how these protective measures affect competitiveness of US EITE industries. We find that while protective measures can attenuate adverse competitiveness impacts measured in terms of common sector-specific competitiveness indicators, they run the risk of making US emission reduction much more costly than uniform emission pricing stand-alone. In fact, the cost increase is associated with negative income effects such that the gains of protective measures for EITE exports may be more than compensated through losses in domestic EITE demand. |
| Keywords: | Unilateral climate policy; competitiveness; computable general equilibrium |
| JEL: | D21 H23 D58 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:old:dpaper:392&r=agr |
| By: | Belmira Neto (European Commission – JRC); Oliver Wolf (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Bethany Field (Anthesis UK); Nicola Jenkin (Anthesis UK); Max Tam (Anthesis UK); Benjamin Oscar (Anthesis UK) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this project is to develop a new EU Ecolabel and revise the existing EU Green Public Procurement (EU GPP) criteria for professional cleaning services. This report investigates the market, operational and sustainability aspects of cleaning services, with a goal to develop a robust evidence base and prioritise key environmental and social issues to support the development of EU Ecolabel criteria and the revision of the EU GPP criteria. |
| Keywords: | EU Ecolabel, EU Green Public Procurement, Cleaning Services |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc102397&r=agr |
| By: | Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Rao, P. Parthasarathy |
| Abstract: | The pulse sector is undergoing dynamic changes globally and in several regions and countries to meet the challenge of growing demand in the face of sluggish production growth. Realizing the importance of pulses in the human diet, 2016 has been declared the International Year of Pulses (IYP). This report captures the dynamics of the pulse sector during the last three decades. The examination of pulse supply, demand, uses, trade, prices, and outlook would help researchers and policy makers make more informed decisions related to the sector. Pulse-based food is an important source of dietary protein and essential minerals, particularly for the vegetarian population. At the global level, the average share of pulses is only 5 percent of the total protein consumption but their contribution in several developing countries range between 10 and 40 percent. To meet the growing demand and raise their per capita availability, countries made efforts to increase production and explore trade opportunities to augment domestic supply. Overall between 1980 and 2013, pulses production at the global level grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent but there were, however, two phases of pulses production at the global level. While there was almost a period of stagnation in production of pulses during the1990s, production has sharply increased since 2005. The bulk of the increase in production came from developing countries where both area and yield growth (from a low base) contributed to the production. For developed countries—where production also grew—the center of production shifted from Europe to North America and Oceania. For developing countries, two new centers of production emerged in Eastern Africa and Southeastern Asia (Myanmar). |
| Keywords: | pulses, forecasting, trade, developing countries, supply balance, forecasting, productivity, protein content, food consumption, diet, nutrition, developed countries, prices, pulses area, pulse uses, per capita availability, trade in pulses, pulses demand and supply, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1544&r=agr |
| By: | Flavio Menezes (School of Economics, University of Queensland); Xuemei Zhang (School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the incentives for pursuing a low-carbon electricity sector that are embedded in China’s regulatory and policy framework. To do so, we first describe the industry structure and the regulatory framework. Second, we explicitly review the policies that were developed to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. These policies range from the introduction of legal requirements to undertake particular actions to pricing mechanism and financial incentives. The paper reviews evidence that the various programs designed to replace less efficient with more efficient power generation units have already produced impressive results. In addition, there has been steady progress in reducing line losses. Thus, supply-side energy efficient initiatives have been, at least, moderately successful. In contrast, we show that demand-side energy efficiency initiatives seem to have gone nowhere. Finally, we tease out the challenges faced by a sector governed by a myriad of complex arrangements, different institutions and agents who face different and often conflicting incentives for pursuing environmental and energy efficiency objectives. |
| Keywords: | Regulatory Incentives, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Electricity Sector |
| Date: | 2016–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:562&r=agr |
| By: | Ligon, Ethan |
| Abstract: | Understanding how marginal utilities of expenditure evolve over time is key to the specification, the estimation, and the testing of dynamic consumer behavior. But in existing dynamic models researchers often (perhaps implicitly) assume that Engel curves are linear. This allows one to specify marginal utilities as a function of nothing more than real expenditures, but is sharply at odds with strong empirical evidence against linearity, including Engel's Law. Here we show how one can use data on disaggregate expenditures to estimate demand systems that may feature highly non-linear Engel curves; this same estimation procedure yields summary measures of household welfare within the period which we call "neediness". Our neediness measure is of interest in its own right, and can also be used to construct measures of inequality and poverty which match conventional measures given prevailing prices, but which also describe how inequality and poverty would be different were prices different. Beyond this, it is intimately related to the marginal utilities of expenditure that are critical in dynamic models. We illustrate the use of these methods using data from Uganda to estimate an incomplete demand system, and to estimate household neediness in different periods. This offers measures of the distribution of welfare and how this distribution changes over time. Our measure of household neediness can also be regarded as an index of the marginal utility of expenditures, which plays a central role in models involving dynamics and risk. We use our estimates to look for evidence of either borrowing or savings constraints, and find no such evidence; separately, we find strong evidence of heterogeneity in relative risk aversion. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Neediness, Frisch demands, Marginal Utility of Expenditures, Relative Risk Aversion, Uganda |
| Date: | 2016–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt5gc4h1fm&r=agr |
| By: | Zhao Chen; Matthew E. Kahn; Yu Liu; Zhi Wang |
| Abstract: | China’s environmental regulators have sought to reduce the Yangtze River’s water pollution. We document that this regulatory effort has had two unintended consequences. First, the regulation’s spatial differential stringency has displaced economic activity upstream. As polluting activity agglomerates upstream, more Pigouvian damage is caused downstream. Second, the regulation has focused on reducing one dimension of water pollution called chemical oxygen demand (COD). Thus, local officials face weak incentives to engage in costly effort to reduce other non-targeted but more harmful water pollutants such as petroleum, lead, mercury, and phenol. |
| JEL: | Q25 Q52 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22507&r=agr |
| By: | John Gibson (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Widely used global hunger estimates from the FAO are ‘top down’ in that they combine data on each country’s total food balance with variance estimates from household surveys. Food balance sheets are only annual so the FAO just estimate the prevalence of chronic hunger. These estimates are criticized and recent research advocates ‘bottom up’ counts of hunger directly from household consumption surveys. These surveys give a snapshot of living standards, for the week, fortnight or month reference period, so only noisy measures of annual dietary energy can be derived from them. This overstated between-households variance raises the share of the population who appear below nutritional standards, for any standard set below the median, and so overstates chronic hunger. In this paper, a new method of deriving chronic hunger estimates from snapshot surveys is proposed, which also lets the transient component of hunger be identified. This method is demonstrated using a household survey from Myanmar that has repeated observations on households during the year. The transient component of hunger is almost one-half of the total and uncorrected snapshot surveys would overstate the chronic hunger rate by almost 90 percent. |
| Keywords: | chronic hunger; survey design; transient hunger; undernourishment |
| JEL: | C81 O15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2016–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:16/07&r=agr |
| By: | Simons, Andrew M. |
| Abstract: | Centralized implementation mandates of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) require a full and uniform payment to each person in an eligible household. In practice, however, communities do not receive enough funding to fully implement the program. Therefore, communities must exercise local discretion in allocating aid. We recover the preferences revealed by local communities’ aid allocations and find they are pro-poor, allocating more to underprivileged groups with lower wage earning potential (e.g., teenage girls vs. teenage boys, adult women vs. adult men, elderly vs. working age adults). Despite communities’ pro-poor implementation, the program with constrained funding does not significantly lower overall poverty rates. In simulations with full funding, the program reduces poverty in both cases of centralized and decentralized program control, using different criteria for the allocation of funds. The major policy implication is that the financial scale of the safety net program is more important to poverty reduction than the locus of control over implementation. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA, EAST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, welfare, food aid, children, poverty, social protection, social safety nets, equivalence scales, targeting, child cost, H53 National Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs, H75 State and Local Government: Health, Education, Welfare, Public Pensions, I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs, Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs, O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:86&r=agr |
| By: | Greer Gosnell; Alessandro Tavoni |
| Abstract: | The recent global climate change agreement in Paris leaves a wide gap between pledged and requisite emissions reductions in keeping with the commonly accepted 2°C target. A recent strand of theoretical and experimental evidence establishes pessimistic predictions concerning the ability of comprehensive global environmental agreements to improve upon the business-as-usual trajectory. We introduce an economic experiment focusing on the dynamics of the negotiation process by observing subjects’ behavior in a Nash bargaining game. Throughout repeated rounds, heterogeneous players bargain over the allocation of a fixed amount of profit-generating emissions with significant losses attached to prolonged failure to reach agreement. We find that the existence of side agreements that constrain individual demands among a subset of like countries does not ensure success; however, such side agreements reduce the demands of high-emission parties. Our results highlight the importance of strong signals amongst high emitters in reaching agreement to shoulder a collective emissions reduction target. |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp249&r=agr |