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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2018‒07‒09
twenty-two papers chosen by |
| By: | Jayne, Thomas S.; Kwame Yeboah, Felix.; Henry, Carla. |
| Abstract: | Rapidly rising demand for food, fuelled by population and income growth, will provide major opportunities for agri-food systems to accelerate employment creation and transform African economies. Seizing these opportunities will require African agriculture to become more inclusive and profitable. Greater profits in farming will generate greater expenditures by millions of people in rural areas that fuel the transition to a more diversified and robust economy. Higher incomes for millions of households engaged in agriculture will expand the demand for goods and services – and therefore employment – in the non-farm economy, while also opening up new employment opportunities across all stages of agri-food systems. Making agriculture more profitable and inclusive will require public actions to reduce costs in farm production and agri-food systems, and address soil degradation, climate change, land scarcity and concentrated land ownership. The future of work in Africa will, therefore, depend on how well the enabling environment created through policies and programmes can enhance agricultural productivity growth and enable agriculture to contribute to more broad-based employment generation and the overall agenda for economic transformation. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994987492102676&r=agr |
| By: | Chakravorty, Ujjayant; Hubert, Marie-Hélène; Marchand, Beyza Ural |
| Abstract: | More than 40% of US grain is used for energy due to the Renewable Fuels Mandate (RFS). There are no studies of the global distributional consequences of this purely domestic policy. Using micro-level survey data, we trace the effect of the RFS on world food prices and their impact on household level consumption and wage incomes in India. We first develop a partial equilibrium model to estimate the effect of the RFS on the price of selected food commodities - rice, wheat, corn, sugar and meat and dairy, which together provide almost 70% of Indian food calories. Our model predicts that world prices for these commodities rise by 8-16% due to the RFS. We estimate the price pass-through to domestic Indian prices and the effect of the price shock on household welfare through consumption and wage incomes. Poor rural households suffer significant welfare losses due to higher prices of consumption goods, which are regressive. However they benefit from a rise in wage incomes, mainly because most of them are employed in agriculture. Urban households also bear the higher cost of food, but do not see a concomitant rise in wages because only a small fraction of them work in food related industries. Welfare losses are greater among urban households. However, more poor people in India live in villages, so rural poverty impacts are larger in magnitude. We estimate that the mandate leads to about 26 million new poor: 21 million in rural and five million in the urban population. |
| Keywords: | Biofuels; Distributional effects; Household welfare; Renewable Fuel Standards; Poverty |
| JEL: | D31 O12 Q24 Q42 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:32694&r=agr |
| By: | Thomas Ferreira (Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University) |
| Abstract: | Efforts to improve the livelihoods of the poor in sub-Saharan Africa are hindered by data deficiencies. Surveys on socio-economic outcomes, for example, are generally conducted infrequently and are only statistically representative for relatively large geographic areas. To overcome these data limitations, researchers are increasingly turning to satellites which capture data for small areas at high frequencies. Night lights satellite data has particularly drawn interest and growth in lights have been shown to be a useful proxy for GDP growth (Henderson et al., 2012). However, in poor agricultural regions, night lights data might be less useful in explaining variation in socio-economic outcomes because such regions are generally under-electrified. Daytime satellite data measuring land use and vegetation quality, have been used to model socio-economic outcomes across regions, but no studies have explored whether daytime satellite data can be used to track welfare longitudinally. This paper argues that indicators of vegetation quality can be used to track welfare over time in agriculturally dominant areas. Such indicators are used extensively to predict agricultural yields and thus should correlate with welfare, as agriculture is an important source of income. This paper presents results from a small study in Namibia, that explores whether this is the case. Firstly, it is shown using classification of cropland, that daytime satellite data can identify areas of economic activity where night lights cannot. Secondly the relationship between vegetation quality and welfare is studied. Cross-sectionally, increases in vegetation quality correlate negatively with welfare. This is expected as the poor are more likely to live in rural areas. Within rural areas, however, vegetation quality correlates positively with welfare. This study thus supports the hypothesis that satellite based indicators of vegetative health can be used to track welfare over time in areas where night lights are not present. |
| Keywords: | Satellites, Night Lights, Normalised Differenced Vegetation Index, Agriculture, Poverty, Namibia |
| JEL: | I32 O13 Q56 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers305&r=agr |
| By: | Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad (Asian Development Bank Institute); Rasoulinezhad, Ehsan (Asian Development Bank Institute); Yoshino, Naoyuki (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | We examine the linkages between energy price and food prices over the period 2000–2016 by using a Panel-VAR model in the case of 8 Asian economies: Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Our results confirm that energy price (oil price) has a significant impact on food prices. According to the results of impulse response functions, agricultural food prices respond positively to any shock from oil prices. The findings from variance decomposition reveal that shares of oil prices in agricultural food price volatilities are the largest. In the second period 4.81%, and in the 20th period 62.49%, of food price variance is explained by oil price movements. We offer new policy insight. Since We also found that the impact of biofuel prices on food prices is statistically significant but explains less than 2% of the food price variance. However, by increasing the demand for biofuel, especially in advanced countries, there should be more concern about the global increase in agricultural commodities prices and endangering food security, especially in vulnerable economies. |
| Keywords: | oil price; food price; agricultural commodities prices; Panel-VAR model |
| JEL: | O13 Q11 Q18 Q41 |
| Date: | 2018–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0829&r=agr |
| By: | Benjamin Schwab; UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti |
| Abstract: | The productive impacts of transfer programmes have received increased attention. However, little is known about such effects in emergency and crisis settings. Even less is known about whether transfer type – a food basket or a cash grant – influences the productive potential of such transfers. Theory suggests that, while cash transfers can relieve liquidity constraints associated with investments, subsidized food provision, by acting as a form of insurance, may prevent households from retreating to conservative income-generating strategies during volatile periods. Using a randomized field experiment in Yemen, we contrast the effects of transfer modality. The results demonstrate a modest productive impact of both modalities and suggest a role for both liquidity and price risk channels. Cash transfer recipients invested relatively more in activities with higher liquidity requirements (livestock), while food recipients incorporated higher-return crops into their agricultural portfolios. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inwopa:inwopa965&r=agr |
| By: | Henry, Carla.; Pechevy, Anouk. |
| Abstract: | In many agro-food supply chains, certification has become an important means of reinforcing adherence to standards on process quality and acceptability, including the acceptability of labour practices across the supply chain, and communicating this to buyers and end consumers. Certification is a procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process or service is in conformity with certain standards. There is, however, growing concern that suppliers in some agro-food industries are becoming overburdened by certification schemes, process standards and corporate codes of conduct. With multiple overlapping and costly schemes weighing in particular on individual grower suppliers, the reliability and added value of certification needs to be reassessed. Several frameworks are being considered to signal acceptable labour rights practices within food supply chains. There are currently multiple methodologies with diverse scope and coverage for monitoring and reporting on rights and working conditions in agriculture. These methodologies are based largely on the voluntary certification standards set by individual firms and industries. This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of five leading global agro-food certification schemes that cover labour rights and protection, including for small farmers, as an integral part of their certification scope. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994987492002676&r=agr |
| By: | John Gibson (University of Waikato); Trinh Le (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | Most developing countries lack spatially disaggregated price data, despite the importance of spatial transactions costs in these settings. We experimented in Vietnam with a new way of obtaining disaggregated price data, using local expert knowledge to derive the mean and variance for prices of 64 items in over 1000 communities. We use these prices to calculate regional cost-of-living indexes. These provide a better approximation to benchmark multilateral price indexes calculated from traditional market price surveys than do two no-price methods, based on using food Engel curves to derive deflators and based on unit values (survey group expenditure over group quantity). |
| Keywords: | expert knowledge; inequality; prices; regional cost-of-living |
| JEL: | D12 E31 O15 |
| Date: | 2018–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:18/08&r=agr |
| By: | Rupayan Pal (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Ada Wossink (University of Manchester); Prasenjit Banerjee (University of Manchester) |
| Abstract: | We examine how endogenous social preferences could affect economic incentive design to encourage biodiversity protection on private land. A 'green' farmer may enjoy esteem from leading by example if there are few farmers who do the right thing. In contrast a farmer without social preferences ('brown' farmer) might merely tick the boxes and is expected to shirk from the desired environmental actions whenever possible unless this affects their reputation. We analyze the design of an incentive scheme that takes into account both types of farmers ('green' or 'brown') under asymmetric information about their true motivation. It follows that under perfect Bayesian equilibrium, the regulator can separate out the farmer types in a two-period setting by monitoring their voluntary conservation actions in response to payment in the first period. The optimal mechanism would be a mixture of a facilitation contract with small monetary incentive but high visibility to keep 'green' farmers interested and a higher monetary-incentive contract to attract the brown farmers. |
| Keywords: | Mechanism Design, Social Norm, Esteem, Motivation Crowding, Signalling, Public goods, Agriculture |
| JEL: | D03 Q57 Q58 D82 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2018-006&r=agr |
| By: | Mario Cunha (Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto and Centro de Investigação em Ciências Geo-Espaciais); Christian Richter (Faculty of Management Technology, German University in Cairo) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we model the impact of climate dynamics on wine production temporal cycles for the period 1933 to 2013 in the Douro wine region. We identify the cyclical properties of wine production and which cycles are de-termined by spring temperature and soil water levels during summer. We find that the in-season spring temperature as well as the temperatures of two and three years ago explain about 65% of the variability of wine pro-duction. When the soil water level in summer is incorporated, the R2 in-creases to 83% minimizing the Akaike criterion. The effects of soil water in wine production are depending on the timing. The in-season effect of an increase in soil water is negative, whilst soil water from two and three years ago have a positive effect on wine production. There is a stable but non- constant link between production and the spring temperature. The temper-ature is responsible for two long-medium cycles of 5.8 year and 4.2 years as well as a short one of 2.4 years that began since the 80s. The soil water level can explain 60% of the 7 years cycles of wine production as well as a short one of 2.3 years cycle which has been happening since the 90s. We also identify a shift of the relative importance away from temperature to soil water. Despite using a new an extended dataset, our results largely confirm the results of the impact of climate on the wine production in Douro region in our previous research. Modelling the impact of climate on the wine production can be an important instrument contributing for mitigation strategies facing the projected climate conditions in order to remain com-petitive in the market. |
| Keywords: | climate variability, wine production, time-varying spectra, Kalman filter, Douro region |
| JEL: | Q15 Q16 Q25 Q54 Q57 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:guc:wpaper:47&r=agr |
| By: | Pascale Schnitzer; UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti |
| Abstract: | The methods used to identify beneficiaries of programmes aiming to address persistent poverty and shocks are subject to frequent policy debates. Relying on panel data from Niger, this paper analyses the performance of different targeting methods that are widely used by development and humanitarian actors and explores how they can be applied as part of an adaptive social protection (ASP) system. The methods include proxy-means testing (PMT), household economy analysis (HEA), geographical targeting, and combined methods. Results show that PMT performs better in identifying persistently poor households, while HEA performs better in identifying transiently food insecure households. Geographical targeting is particularly efficient in responding to food crises, which tend to be largely covariate in nature. Combinations of geographical, PMT, and HEA approaches may be used as part of an efficient and scalable ASP system. Results motivate the consolidation of data across programmes, which can support the application of alternative targeting methods tailored to programme-specific objectives. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inwopa:inwopa964&r=agr |
| By: | Ole Boysen (School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Ireland); Kirsten Boysen-Urban (International Agricultural Trade and Food Security, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.); Harvey Bradford; Jean Balié (Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.) |
| Abstract: | The consumption of highly processed food has been singled out as one of the factors responsible for the rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity and its associated non-communicable diseases and costs. While obesity prevalence is still comparatively low in lower-income sub-Saharan Africa(SSA), development prospects in this region render its markets especially interesting for these foods, whose consumption is already growing at higher rates than in developed countries. This might be reflected in the massive rise in obesity prevalence growth rates in SSA over the past decade, which has occurred while many of these countries are simultaneously struggling with high undernutrition prevalence. With a focus on SSA, this study econometrically investigates the effect of higher import tariffs on highly processed vis-à-vis less-processed foods with respect to their impacts on obesity and underweight prevalence, utilizing a newly constructed cross-country panel dataset. The effects of the tariff differences are found to be significant and substantial in cases differentiated by income level of the country as well as by gender. The results more generally show that policies affecting the consumer price differential between the two food groups are effective for influencing obesity and underweight prevalence and that these two issues cannot be treated separately. |
| Keywords: | highly processed foods, obesity, underweight, food policies, taxes, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2018–06–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201812&r=agr |
| By: | Dubois, C.; Gaigi, H.; Pérignon, M.; Maillot, M.; Darmon, N. |
| Abstract: | Opticourses is a multi-partner and participative health promotion program, which was developed with and for socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals to improve the nutritional quality of their household food purchases without additional cost. The Opticourses program values foods with good nutritional quality and price using in-store social marketing actions (supply side) and participative workshops based on playful activities about food purchasing practices and nutritional quality, price and taste of foods (demand side). This article presents the co-construction and the evaluation of the demand side of Opticourses. The quantitative evaluation, using experimental economics to limit declarative bias, showed that workshops participation improves experimental food purchases (less calories, less free sugars) without additional cost. The qualitative evaluation revealed positive changes in the type of foods purchased, in purchasing strategies and in culinary practices. This study provides evidence on the effectiveness of the opticourses workshops. ....French Abstract: Opticourses est un programme de promotion de la santé, multipartenarial et participatif élaboré pour et avec des personnes soumises à de fortes contraintes budgétaires pour qu’elles puissent mieux conjuguer équilibre alimentaire et petit budget quand elles font leurs courses. Le programme Opticourses s’appuie sur la valorisation des aliments de bonne qualité nutritionnelle et de bon prix, à travers des actions de marketing social en magasin (volet offre) et à travers des ateliers qui proposent des activités ludiques sur les pratiques d’achats, la qualité nutritionnelle, le goût et le prix des aliments (volet demande). Cet article présente la co-construction et l’évaluation du volet demande d’Opticourses. L’évaluation quantitative, basée sur l’économie expérimentale pour limiter les biais de déclaration, a montré que la participation aux ateliers améliore les intentions d’achat (moins de calories, moins de produits sucrés) sans entraîner de dépense supplémentaire. L’évaluation qualitative a mis en évidence des améliorations portant sur le type d’aliments achetés, les stratégies d’achats et les pratiques culinaires des participants. Cette étude apporte des données probantes sur l’efficacité des ateliers Opticourses. |
| Keywords: | HEALTH PROMOTION; LOW-INCOME; NUTRITION; FOOD PURCHASING BEHAVIOR; FOOD PRICES; EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS; PROMOTION DE LA SANTE; PRECARITE; COMPORTEMENTS D’ACHAT; PRIX; ECONOMIE EXPERIMENTALE |
| JEL: | D12 E21 R21 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umr:wpaper:201803&r=agr |
| By: | Richard S.J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam; CESifo, Munich; Payne Institute for Earth Resources, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado) |
| Abstract: | The social cost of carbon is the marginal impact of climate change. Estimates of the total impact of climate change show that a century of climate change is about as bad as losing a decade of economic growth. Poorer countries are more vulnerable. The uncertainties are vast and skewed the wrong way. The many published estimates of the social cost of carbon span six orders of magnitude, and some studies find support for a carbon subsidy. There is mixed evidence for publication bias. Matlab code is used to illustrate key sensitivities of the social cost of carbon; readers can readily run their own analyses. The bulk of the published estimates suggests that carbon dioxide should be taxed somewhere between $20/tC and $400/tC, depending on the preferred rates of discount and risk aversion. Revealed preferences on carbon pricing are at the lower end of this range. The social cost of carbon rises at around 2% per year. The central estimate of the social cost of carbon has not moved much over the last two decades, but the range of estimates is tightening slowly. |
| Keywords: | climate change; Pigou tax; climate policy |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:1318&r=agr |
| By: | Aymeric Ricome (JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra]); François Affholder (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales); Françoise Gérard (GREEN - Gestion des ressources renouvelables et environnement - CIRAD - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement); Bertrand Muller (LEPSE - Écophysiologie des Plantes sous Stress environnementaux - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - Montpellier SupAgro - Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier); Charlotte Poeydebat; Philippe Quirion (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Moussa Sall (ISRA - Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles - ISRA) |
| Abstract: | While crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa are low compared to most other parts of the world, weather-index insurance is often presented as a promising tool, which could help resource-poor farmers in developing countries to invest and adopt yield-enhancing technologies. Here, we test this hypothesis on two contrasting areas (in terms of rainfall scarcity) of the Senegalese groundnut basin through the use of a bio-economic farm model, coupling the crop growth model CELSIUS with the economic model ANDERS, both specifically designed for this purpose. We introduce a weather-index insurance whose index is currently being used for pilot projects in Senegal and West Africa. Results show that insurance leads to a welfare gain only for those farmers located in the driest area. These farmers respond to insurance mostly by increasing the amount of cow fattening, which leads to higher crop yields thanks to the larger production of manure. We also find that subsidizing insurance is not the best possible use of public funds: for a given level of public funding, reducing credit rates, subsidizing fertilizers, or just transferring cash as a lump-sum generally brings a higher expected utility to farmers and leads to a higher increase in grain production levels. |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01679763&r=agr |
| By: | Paolo Crosetto (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique); Anne Lacroix (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique); Laurent Muller (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique); Bernard Ruffieux (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | We study in a laboratory framed field experiment the impact of five Front of Pack labels (FOPL) on the nutritional quality and cost of a daily consumption basket. We employ a difference in difference experimental design, between subjects, to cleanly identify the impact of FOPL. 691 subjects issued from the general population shop twice within a catalog of 290 products: a first time without and a second unan-nounced time with labels. Purchases are real. We test five different labels and compare result against a benchmark treatment in which subjects shop twice with no labels. Labels include the existing Multiple Traffic Lights, Reference Intakes and Health Star Rating, and two newly proposed designs: NutriScore, a 5-color synthetic label, and SENS, a frequency-based recommendation label. We measure nutritional quality using the FSA score. All labels but Reference Intakes significantly improve nutritional quality. NutriScore is significantly more effective than all other labels, followed by the Australian Health Star and Multiple Traffic Lights. The nutritional improvements due to the labeling come at an economic cost, as the average cost of 2000Kcal increases for all labels. Nonetheless, we show that the extra cost for a unit nutritional improvement is borne mainly by richer households. Behaviorally, change is concentrated in the extremal categories of each label. Easier to understand labels have a higher impact and crowd out more successfully other information cues like ingredients lists and nutritional tables. |
| Keywords: | Nutritional labels,Experiment,Front of Pack,Etiquetage nutritionnel,Economie expérimentale |
| Date: | 2018–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01805431&r=agr |
| By: | Gibbs, David; O'Neill, Kirstie |
| Abstract: | The past thirty years have seen an explosion of interest and concern over the detrimental impacts of economic and industrial development. Despite this, the environmental agenda has not featured substantially in the regional studies literature. This paper explores a range of options for regional futures from a ‘clean tech’ economy and the promise of renewed accumulation, through to more radical degrowth concepts focused on altering existing modes of production and consumption, ecological sustainability and social justice. In so doing, we investigate the potential role of regions as drivers of the new green economy, drawing on research into sustainability transitions. |
| Keywords: | Green economy; Transitions research; Clean tech; Degrowth; Regional Development |
| JEL: | Q5 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:68392&r=agr |
| By: | Shigeru Matsumoto; Viet Ngu Hoang |
| Abstract: | The Great Tohoku Earthquake and massive tsunami disabled the Fukushima Daiichi power plant cooling system, which resulted in a meltdown of the reactor core and hydrogen explosion of the reactor buildings. A large amount of radioactive substances was released into the environment and the agricultural production in surrounding area was severely damaged by the radioactive contamination. Many experimental studies have been conducted after the nuclear accident to understand how consumers evaluate the internal radiation exposure risk associated with the consumption of agricultural food produced in the affected region. The studies have reported that a typical consumer differentiates agricultural foods produced at the contaminated region from those produced at non-contaminated region and then spends non-negligible amounts of money to lower their perceived internal radiation exposure risk. However, only a few studies have examined how internal radiation exposure risk is evaluated at the market level. In this study, we analyze the sales data of Japanese wholesale markets to examine how consumers' valuation about agricultural food has been altered by the nuclear accident. By modifying the Dixit-Stiglitz demand model, we propose an empirical model to quantify the change in consumer's valuation between competitive agricultural products. We then apply the proposed model for the analysis of daily peach sales data obtained from Japanese wholesale markets. Our empirical results demonstrate that consumer valuation of Fukushima peach dropped significantly in the nuclear accident year, but it rapidly recovered in the following year. The result suggests that the measures against radioactive contamination are positively evaluated among Japanese consumers. |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcr:wpaper:e122&r=agr |
| By: | Gupta, Prachi (Asian Development Bank Institute); Huang, Bihong (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | In the aftermath of the Asian financial crises, the Indonesian government launched a subsidized rice program called RASKIN in 1998 to moderate the shocks of food price inflation and reduced employment to poor households. The program has been continued since then with an objective to provide food security to poor families and is currently the largest in-kind transfer in Indonesia. Using data from five rounds of the Indonesian Family Life Survey covering the period of 1993–2014, we examine the impact of RASKIN on children’s health status. Using the difference-in-difference estimator, we find that children from the households that are beneficiaries of the RASKIN program show improved health status as measured by various anthropometric measures. We further investigate the long-run gains from RASKIN by tracing the health status of children aged between 0 and 5 years old in 1993 and 1997, respectively, until their adolescence/adulthood. We find evidence of improved anthropometric health outcomes for these children in later years. The gains are found to be higher for children who started receiving the subsidized rice in the early years of childhood. |
| Keywords: | in-kind transfers; food consumption; child development; health; long-run impact |
| JEL: | H50 I12 I38 O15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2018–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0826&r=agr |
| By: | Omid Karami; Mina Mahmoudi |
| Abstract: | Tariff liberalization and its impact on tax revenue is an important consideration for developing countries, because they are increasingly facing the difficult task of implementing and harmonizing regional and international trade commitments. The tariff reform and its costs for Iranian government is one of the issues that are examined in this study. Another goal of this paper is, estimating the cost of trade liberalization. On this regard, imports value of agricultural sector in Iran in 2010 was analyzed according to two scenarios. For reforming nuisance tariff, a VAT policy is used in both scenarios. In this study, TRIST method is used. In the first scenario, imports' value decreased to a level equal to the second scenario and higher tariff revenue will be created. The results show that reducing the average tariff rate does not always result in the loss of tariff revenue. This paper is a witness that different forms of tariff can generate different amount of income when they have same level of liberalization and equal effect on producers. Therefore, using a good tariff regime can help a government to generate income when increases social welfare by liberalization. |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1806.04238&r=agr |
| By: | Boskovic, Branko; Chakravorty, Ujjayant; Pelli, Martino; Risch, Anna |
| Abstract: | Fuelwood collection is often cited as the most important cause of deforestation in developing countries. Use of fuelwood in cooking is a leading cause of indoor air pollution. Using household data from India, we show that households located farther away from the forest spend more time collecting. Distant households are likely to sell more fuelwood and buy less. That is, lower access to forests increases fuelwood collection and sale. This counter-intuitive behavior is triggered by two factors: lower access to forests (a) increases the fixed costs of collecting, which in turn leads to more collection; and (b) drives up local fuelwood prices, which makes collection and sale more profitable. We quantify both these effects. Using our estimates we show that a fifth of the fuelwood collected is consumed outside of rural areas, in nearby towns and cities. Our results imply that at the margin, fuelwood scarcity may lead to increased collection and sale, and exacerbate forest degradation. |
| Keywords: | energy access; cooking fuels; deforestation; forest cover; fuelwood collection |
| JEL: | D10 O13 Q42 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:32692&r=agr |
| By: | Cecilia Temponi; Valérie Botta-Genoulaz (DISP - Décision et Information pour les Systèmes de Production - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - INSA Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon - Université de Lyon - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées) |
| Date: | 2017–07–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01789167&r=agr |
| By: | Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin; Alhusen, Harm |
| Abstract: | Determinants of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) have been studied rigorously in the past decades. Given this spurt, a systematic review of extant research is required to determine factors involved, analyze impact and identify research gaps and new directions. This paper provides a systematic review of current economic and psychological studies regarding the determinants of PEB. As a result, we show that PEB is determined by an interplay of socioeconomic, psychological and further (individual, social, institutional) factors, which need to be considered in its study. In addition, PEB needs to be analyzed with multiple items rather than by focusing on single ones as the impact of the determinants differs depending on the analyzed behavior. To express it in economic terms, the coefficient of each determinant can either be positive or negative, given the specific type of analyzed behavior (low vs high cost behavior). By combining the results from economics and psychology, this work offers a starting point for a more sophisticated understanding of PEB. |
| Keywords: | determinants of pro-environmental behavior,ecological economics,review |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:350&r=agr |