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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2022‒01‒10
34 papers chosen by |
| By: | Oyinbo, Oyakhilome |
| Abstract: | Agricultural intensification associated with increased use of external inputs, such as inorganic fertilizer is widely considered relevant to improving farm income and welfare of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The emphasis on increased use of inorganic fertilizer will likely be associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions, especially nitrous oxide, as with the Asian Green Revolution. Yet, traditional agricultural extension systems typically provide generalized ‘blanket’ fertilizer recommendations that are not tailored to the plot-specific growing conditions of individual farmers, which could lead to negative environmental externalities. Within this context, a digital nutrient management decision support tool ‘Nutrient Expert’ has been co-developed in Nigeria to enable the extension system to transition from provision of generalized to plot-specific fertilizer recommendations. Using a three-year randomized controlled trial in northern Nigeria, this paper analyses the impact of farmers’ access to site-specific nutrient management recommendations, provided through the Nutrient Expert tool on environmental sustainability of maize intensification. The primary outcome of interest is global warming potential (greenhouse gas emission per unit maize yield), measured using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier 1 method. The preliminary results show that the provision of tailored recommendations to the treatment group led to a reduction in global warming potential compared with the control group, who were exposed to blanket recommendations. However, the observed effect size is small, and the effect is not statistically significant at the conventional significance levels. A plausible reason could be due to the on average, low fertilizer application rates in the study area compared with the often cited over application of fertilizer in most parts of Asia. Overall,this paper finds weak evidence of the causal effects of farmer-tailored nutrient management extension advice on mitigating the environmental impacts of fertilizer intensification under farmers’ conditions and management in maize-based farming systems of northern Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316602&r= |
| By: | Alan Matthews (University of Dublin, Trinity College) |
| Abstract: | This report constitutes a compilation of the principal issues raised by speakers at an online workshop jointly organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) together with the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE) and the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (SANTE) on the ‘Contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security’ held on 20 May 2021. The objective of the workshop was to assist in the preparation of the EU contingency plan to ensure the future food supply and food security proposed by the European Commission in its Farm to Fork Strategy. Its aim was to provide insights and technical advice from a scientific perspective as well as examples of good practices on how to prepare, coordinate and respond to unfavourable events that could threaten food security in the EU. |
| Keywords: | Contingency plan, food chain, crisis, food security, food supply |
| JEL: | Q18 Q11 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc125831&r= |
| By: | Liesbet Vranken (KU Leuven); Ewa Tabeau (Wageningen Economic Research (WEcR)); Peter Roebeling (Wageningen Economic Research (WEcR)); Pavel Ciaian (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this report is to provide an overview of agricultural land market regulations in the EU Member States. This report builds upon the framework developed by Swinnen, Van Herck and Vranken (2014a) to provide a comprehensive and structured analyses of agricultural land market regulations in different MS. The report describes the situation of land market regulations as in place in 2020 in 22 different MS. The analyses of the report are based on information obtained from the MS country experts using the following three tools (i) structured questionnaires, (ii) semi-structured group interviews and (iii) country reports. Overall, 24 different measures regulating the land markets were identified in the 22 EU MS. The median number of all measures regulating land markets in all 22 MS is 7.88, and the average is about 7 measures. While some countries have heavily regulated markets (e.g. Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania), other countries have a very liberal approach to land markets (e.g. Czechia, Denmark, Ireland and Finland). Countries with heavily regulated land markets can mainly be found among the new MS. Countries with the relatively lower number of measurers exercised are mainly from old Member States. |
| Keywords: | Land market, regulations, rental market, sales market, Member States, EU |
| JEL: | Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc126310&r= |
| By: | Mohammad Alauddin; Clement A Tisdell; Md Abdur Rashid Sarker |
| Abstract: | Employing Bangladeshi national data on rice production, area and yield disaggregated by dry (irrigated) and wet (rainfed) seasons over a period of 73 years (1947-2019, this paper investigates annual and seasonal dimensions of Bangladeshi rice culture and explores trends, emerging patterns and their implications with a focus on the Green Revolution period since the late 1960s. We find that: (i) structural breaks differ between dry and wet seasons for the same variable or among different variables; (ii) annual and seasonal outputs, areas and yields of overall or HYV rice exhibit slowdown in their increase in the last decade or so; (iii) the diffusion of the HYV rice technology exhibit differential patterns between seasons; (iv) the increasing percentage area under the dry season rice crop has significantly underpinned the increased annual rice yield; and (v) growth in outputs and yields of HYV rice exhibit significant differential patterns by dry and wet seasons. This is the first long-term study of its kind and contributes to the existing literature in several important ways by (a) investigates rice production in Bangladesh disaggregated by broad crop seasons (dry and wet); (b) identifying structural breaks employing a priori reasoning, scatter plots and appropriate econometric tests instead of applying arbitrary cut-off points; and (c) exploring implications of the seasonal dimensions of rice cultivation in Bangladesh. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2021–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseee:316555&r= |
| By: | Shawn Arita; Jason Grant; Sharon S. Sydow; Jayson Beckman |
| Abstract: | Global agricultural trade, which increased at the end of 2020, has been described as “resilient” to the impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic; however, the size and channels of its quantitative impacts are not clear. Using a reduced-form, gravity-based econometric model for monthly trade, we estimate the effects of COVID-19 incidence rates, policy restrictions imposed by governments to curb the outbreak, and the de facto reduction in human mobility/lockdown effect on global agricultural trade through the end of 2020. We find that while agricultural trade remained quite stable through the pandemic, the sector as a whole did not go unscathed. First, we estimate that COVID-19 reduced agricultural trade by the approximate range of 5 to 10 percent at the aggregate sector level; a quantified impact two to three times smaller in magnitude than our estimated impact on trade occurring in the non-agricultural sector. Second, we find sharp differences across individual commodities. In particular, we find that non-food items (hides and skins, ethanol, cotton, and other commodities), meat products including seafood, and higher value agri-food products were most severely impacted by the pandemic; however, the COVID- 19 trade effect for the majority of food and bulk agricultural commodity sectors were found to be insignificant, or in a few cases, positive. Finally, we also examine the effects across low vs high income countries, the changing dynamics of the pandemic’s effect on trade flows, and the effects along the extensive product margins of trade. |
| JEL: | F13 F14 Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29551&r= |
| By: | Lee, Seungmin; Barrett, Christopher B.; Hoddinott, John F. |
| Abstract: | This paper studies household food security dynamics in the United States from 2001 to 2017. We introduce a new measure, the probability of food security (PFS), the estimated probability that a household’s food expenditures equal or exceed the minimum cost of a healthful diet. We use PFS to analyze household-level as well as subpopulation-scale dynamics by investigating both the conditional distribution of food insecurity spells and the chronic and transient components of food insecurity over an extended period. More than half of newly food insecure households resume food security within two years. Households headed by female, non-White, or less educated individuals disproportionately suffer persistent, chronic food insecurity. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2021–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cudawp:316604&r= |
| By: | Alexandre Sauquet (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - UMR 5211 - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | In this article we aim at quantifying the impact of the crop diversification measure implemented in France as part of the 2013 CAP greening reform. While numerous studies assess the impact of the measure using simulation models, none uses causal treatment methods or ex-post data. We exploit a discontinuity in the constraints imposed on farms over and under 30ha, respectively, and apply an OLS-FE method with a regression discontinuity setup on land use data collected from a representative sample of French farmers before and after reform implementation. We find that the crop diversification measure increases both compliance with the measure and the number of crops grown by farms greater than 30ha. Furthermore, graphical analyses suggest that farms over and under 30ha responded differently to the reform. |
| Keywords: | Common Agricultural Policy,Greening,Crop diversification,France,Regression discontinuity design.,Q18,Q25,Q28,Q53 |
| Date: | 2021–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03455548&r= |
| By: | Upton, Joanna; Tennant, Elizabeth; Fiorella, Kathryn J.; Barrett, Christopher B. |
| Abstract: | Resilience offers a useful lens for studying how human well-being and the systems on which it depends can absorb and recover from a range of shocks and stressors, including events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking beyond the direct effects of observable shocks and individual or household resilience capacities to the meso-level mechanisms that shape impacts on communities, households, and individuals can both guide our understanding of COVID-19 impacts and help leverage findings from the pandemic context to better understand resilience to other food systems shocks, past, present, and future. We develop a conceptual framework for the multiple paths through which observed, exogenous shocks interact with systemic, endogenous mechanisms to influence the resilience of household well-being and supporting food systems. We illustrate this framework with reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and policy responses as they unfolded in three rural study areas in Malawi, Madagascar, and Kenya. Consistent with this framework, we find multiple pathways through which the pandemic shock affected household food security and resilience. Our findings highlight that in some settings, at some points in the multi-stressor trajectory of a shock, the more serious, direct effects – in this case, severe illness and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 – may impact far fewer people than do the substantive, indirect impacts that arise as behaviors, markets, and policies adjust to the shock. These adjustments are necessarily correlated and elicit varied household coping responses. We illustrate the degree to which, from the point of view of rural food systems and households, COVID-19 is a new shock but its massive, broad-reaching impacts manifest through familiar stressors and uncertainties that frequently burden poor rural populations in much of the lowand middle-income world |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2021–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cudawp:316613&r= |
| By: | Behrendt, Karl; Paparas, Dimitrios |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepr:316594&r= |
| By: | Schmit, T.M.; Tamarkin, F.C; Seversorn, R.M |
| Abstract: | A comprehensive economic impact assessment using input-output methods is developed to account for localized spending activities and distributions of residual earning to member owners by cooperatives. The framework is applied to agricultural supply, service, marketing, farm credit, and rural electric cooperatives doing business in New York State. Detailed spending patterns from cooperative survey data reveal that agricultural cooperatives in the state have higher levels of localized spending when compared to average industry firms using aggregate industry data and equivalent levels of direct industry output. Accordingly, total economic impacts for these cooperatives; i.e., the direct, indirect, and induced effects, are larger. Overall, agricultural cooperatives contribute 7%, 3%, and 10% more total impact with respect to jobs, labor income, and output in New York State. Limitations to the enumeration of total impact to local economies are discussed and directions for future research that encompass more than current economic impacts are proposed |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2021–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cudawp:316615&r= |
| By: | Antti Simola (European Commission - JRC); Ole Boysen (European Commission - JRC); Emanuele Ferrari (European Commission - JRC); Victor Nechifor (European Commission - JRC); Pierre Boulanger (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which entered into force at the beginning of 2021, aims to boost intra-African trade and to accelerate economic development on the continent. This report complements previous continental economy-wide assessments of the impacts of the AfCFTA by providing a more comprehensive description of the trade agreement’s effects on food systems and food security. The report employs a global, multiregional model to determine the trade creation and diversion effects of four liberalisation scenarios defined by various policy objectives. The main findings show that the trade agreement will be a positive contributor both to economic growth through higher value added production and to trade diversification. Food consumption across the continent will also increase. A coordinated liberalisation approach to promote trade in agri-food products will further boost food security outcomes. Nevertheless, food prices will increase slightly in most regions, showing the need for further consideration of food affordability aspects in lower-income groups. Results also highlight the importance of non-tariff measures and the capacity of the AfCFTA to reduce the non-tariff costs of intra-African trade. |
| Keywords: | Africa, trade agreement, CGE, food security |
| JEL: | C68 F15 Q17 Q18 N57 O55 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc126054&r= |
| By: | Singh, Dheeraj; Chaudhary, M.K.; Kumar, Chandan; Kudi, B.R.; Dudi, Aishwarya |
| Abstract: | Henna (Lawsonia inermis L.), is a perennial shrub dominating the agro-ecosystem of Pali district of Rajasthan, India, which is priced for its leaves which have natural dying properties. From ancient times, Henna has been employed as a cosmetic dye for hair, skin and nails and it has acquired a particular significance in Islamic culture. It is dryland shrub which can tolerate extreme dry and high temperature conditions and survives well on problematic soils with high pH and saline water where other crops cannot be grown. The development of Henna cultivation and processing in Pali, Rajasthan, is a blend of indigenous knowledge and people's innovations. Presently Henna cultivation in the region is under 40,000 hectares which is the largest area under this crop at single location and it is purely rainfed with no use of fertilizers or pesticides. In this crop generally, no fertilizers and plant protection measures are used and a single leaf cutting is taken every year under the rainfed conditions and two cuttings where water is available. Under rainfed conditions for a dense planting the dried leaf yield in the first year is about 250 kg ha-1 while over the second, third and fourth years the yield normally ranges from 500 to 2,500 kg ha-1. The crop starts generating returns from its second year onwards, which continues for 20 years while incurring only maintenance costs in the form of hoeing, weeding and harvesting. By following these measures, on average they produce 15-20 quintal dry Henna leaves ha-1 from their barren fields. The financial analysis indicated that Henna farming due to its high quality at Pali is a profitable and attractive option for farmers livelihoods. Sustainable income from Henna benefits the farmers of the district as it can tolerate high salinity, drought and incidences of pest and diseases. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316599&r= |
| By: | Ruth Hill (Poverty and Equity Global Practice, World Bank Group); Carolina Mejia-Mantilla (Poverty and Equity Global Practice, World Bank Group); Kathryn Vasilaky (Department of Economics, California Polytechnic State University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the profitability of fertilizer and hybrid seed use in Uganda, inputs widely promoted to enhance smallholder farmers’ productivity, but that have low rates of adoption. Past studies that evaluate the returns to agronomic inputs generally assume a fixed output price and do not account for the high output price volatility that farmers face. Using unique historical output price data, we show that adoption of fertilizer is more profitable than hybrid seed, and that price volatility alone cannot explain the low levels of adoption. When we consider input quality and poor weather conditions returns can become negative even at median prices. Risk aversion further exacerbates low adoption in some markets. |
| Keywords: | input adoption, price volatility, yields, returns, Uganda |
| JEL: | Q12 Q16 D13 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpl:wpaper:2105&r= |
| By: | Delzeit, Ruth; Heimann, Tobias; Schünemann, Franziska; Söder, Mareike |
| Abstract: | The latest Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) by the European Union (EU) provides an updated framework for the use of renewable energy in the EU transport sector until 2030. We employ the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model DART-BIO for a scenario-based policy analysis and evaluate different possible futures of biofuel use under four specifications of the RED II. Our results show that conventional biofuels will not become cost competitive to oil-based fuels. Moreover, we demonstrate the impact of the RED II specifications on the global production of food and feed crops. A further focus of this paper lies on the palm oil phase-out as feedstock for biofuels in the EU, to halt deforestation and land-use change in tropical countries. We find that this phase-out has a relatively small impact on global palm fruit production. Moreover, this study shows that the regulation has the potential to act as a technical barrier to trade, discriminating palm oil producing countries in favour of European rapeseed producers. |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium (CGE),EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II),Biofuels,Land Use,Land Use Change,High iLUC-Risk,Palm Oil Biodiesel,Palm Oil Phase-Out |
| JEL: | C68 D58 F18 O13 Q16 Q17 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2203&r= |
| By: | Karol Mazur |
| Abstract: | I present a model of joint co-operation over irrigation and risk sharing in presence of limited commitment constraints. I estimate the model to the setting of three village economies in rural India. The implied dynamics are validated by non-targeted empirical evidence and show that if access to irrigation can be regulated by villagers, the two institutions reinforce each other. However, if ir¬rigation is non-excludable (as is the case with provision by central authorities), such investments harm local co-operation. Counterfactual experiments quan¬tify mutual reinforcement between the two institutions and gains attainable by replacing the government-owned irrigation. |
| Keywords: | Risk Sharing; Limited Commitment; Informal Institutions |
| JEL: | E20 O12 O11 O13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2020-19-02&r= |
| By: | Christopher C. Pudenz; Lee L. Schulz (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University) |
| Abstract: | U.S. beef packers openly began employing multi-plant coordination during the last decade. This paper adapts the Salop Circular City framework to demonstrate that beef packers effectively implementing multi-plant coordination can eliminate intra-firm forces causing correlation between downstream beef prices and upstream fed cattle prices. Taken together with market concentration, geography and transportation cost effects, alternative marketing arrangements, and cattle cycles and related beef packer capacity utilization, multi-plant coordination helps explain farm-to-wholesale beef price spreads that remain wide absent any obvious market shocks. Such beef price spread behavior has been observed in 2021, during which beef prices have been seemingly unhinged from fed cattle prices. We further demonstrate that adding a single strategically-located packing plant, owned by a different firm, can restore the correlation between beef prices and fed cattle prices. Overall, our results have implications for current policy and industry deliberations and also suggest avenues for future research. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:21-wp630&r= |
| By: | Zamani, Omid; Chibanda, Craig; Pelikan, Janine |
| Abstract: | Due to the Avian Influenza outbreak in Europe and Russia, Ghana has imposed an import ban on affected countries. This paper analyses the potential effects of this partial ban on Ghanaian chicken producers and agricultural trade. Due to the growing support for a total ban on poultry imports by various value chain actors, we also analyse the impact of a complete ban on Ghana's poultry imports. We apply an integrated method covering General Equilibrium and typical farm analysis. Our findings show that the partial ban has a lower effect on trade and the whole economy compared with the total ban. Nevertheless, the effect of a total ban on domestic producers is more significant. Moreover, a total import ban increases production mainly for the large-scale integrated farms in Ghana. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi21:316719&r= |
| By: | Al-Amin, A.K.M. Abdullah; Lowenberg-DeBoer, James; Franklin, Kit; Behrendt, Karl |
| Abstract: | Research shows that smaller field size favours biodiversity and it is hypothesized that autonomous arable crop equipment would make it possible to farm small fields profitably. To test this hypothesis algorithms were developed for machine time over a range of field sizes. The Hands Free Hectare (HFH) linear programming model was used to assess the economic implications of field sizes. The study considered rectangular fields in the West Midlands from 1 to 100 ha farmed with tractor sizes of 38 hp, 150 hp and 296 hp. Results showed that field times (hours/hectare) were longer for small fields with equipment of all sizes and types, but field size had the least impact for small equipment. The results showed that autonomous equipment reduces costs on farms with fields of all sizes. If temporary labour is available, conventional farms with small fields use the smaller equipment, but the extra hiring increases wheat production costs by £30-£40/ton over costs on farms with autonomous equipment. The larger 150 hp and 296 hp tractors were not profitable on the farms with small fields. The economic viability of autonomous equipment irrespective of field sizes shows that it could facilitate biodiversity gains and environment schemes, such as Environmental land management schemes (ELMS) in the United Kingdom and Agri-environment schemes (AES) in the European Union and elsewhere. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316595&r= |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaounde, Cameroon); Raufhon Salahodjaev (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) |
| Abstract: | This study explores the empowerment of women in politics on the environmental sustainability. Using data for the period 2015-2019 from 179 countries, we investigate the link between representation of women in parliament and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). To explore the causal effect, we rely on gender quotas, language intensity and land suitability for agriculture as instruments for the share of women in parliament. Our results suggest that 10 percentage points increase in instrumented proportion of women in parliament leads to 7.1 points increase in the EPI. The results remain robust to a number of robustness checks. |
| Keywords: | environmental performance, women in parliament |
| JEL: | Q50 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:22/001&r= |
| By: | Ferguson, Shon (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of conventional cage bans for laying hens in the EU on exports of poultry-keeping equipment. Using detailed data on international trade in poultry-keeping equipment combined with an event study regression approach yields several new findings. The results suggest that the cage bans were associated with an increase in intra-EU trade, and also an increase in exports of poultry equipment from EU member states to non-EU countries where conventional cages are still permitted. The results suggest that some banned cages were likely exported to countries outside the EU to be used in egg production. |
| Keywords: | International trade; Policy leakage; Animal welfare |
| JEL: | F13 F15 Q17 |
| Date: | 2021–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1422&r= |
| By: | Whitt, Christine; Todd, Jessica E.; Keller, Andrew |
| Abstract: | This report provides the latest statistics on U.S. farms, including production, financial performance, pandemic assistance, and farm household characteristics by farm size. New sections of this edition explore changes in direct sales, pandemic-related off-farm job loss and furloughs, farm operating expenses, and the distribution of USDA and non-USDA pandemic assistance received in 2020. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2021–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usdami:316499&r= |
| By: | Merk, Christine; Grunau, Jonas; Riekhof, Marie-Catherine; Rickels, Wilfried |
| Abstract: | To limit global warming to 1.5êC, vast amounts of CO2 will have to be removed from the atmosphere via Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Enhancing the CO2 sequestration of ecosystems will require not just one approach but a portfolio of CDR options, including so-called nature-based approaches alongside CDR options that are perceived as more technical. Creating a CDR 'supply curve' would however imply that all CDR approaches are considered to be perfect substitutes. The various co-benefits of nature-based CDR approaches militate against this as their common-pool resource characteristics could result in undesired outcomes for CO2-only incentive schemes. We discuss this aspect of nature-based solutions in connection with the enhancement of blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) such as mangrove or seagrass habitats. Enhancing BCEs can indeed contribute to CO2 sequestration, but the value of their carbon storage is low compared to the overall contribution of their ecosystem services to wealth. Furthermore, they are de facto open-access regimes with unclear property rights. Hence, payment schemes that only compensate BCE carbon sequestration could create tradeoffs at the expense of other important ecosystem services and might not result in socially optimal outcomes. Accordingly, one chance for preserving and restoring BCEs lies in the consideration of all services in potential compensation schemes for local communities. Also, local contexts, management structures, and benefit-sharing rules are crucial factors to be taken into account when setting up international payment schemes to support the use of BCEs and other nature- or ecosystem-based CDR. However, regarding these options as the only hope of achieving more CDR will very probably not bring about the desired outcome, either for climate mitigation or for ecosystem preservation. On the other hand, unhalted degradation will make matters worse due to the large amounts of stored carbon that would be released. Hence, countries committed to climate mitigation in line with the Paris targets should not hide behind vague pledges to enhance natural sinks for removing atmospheric CO2 but commit to scaling up engineered CDR. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Dioxide Removal,nature-based solutions,blue carbon ecosystems,common pool resources,governance,property rights |
| JEL: | K33 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2201&r= |
| By: | Mr. Mehdi Raissi; Ian Parry; Koralai Kirabaeva; Mr. Simon Black; Karlygash Zhunussova |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses a comprehensive strategy for implementing Mexico’s climate mitigation commitments. Progressively increasing carbon prices from current levels of US$3 per ton to US$75 per ton by 2030 would achieve Mexico’s mitigation pledges, while raising annual revenues of 1.8 percent of GDP and cumulatively averting 11,600 deaths from local air pollution. The carbon price would raise fossil fuel and electricity prices, imposing burdens of 2.7 percent of consumption on the average Mexican household. However, recycling carbon pricing revenues would offset most of this burden, and targeted transfers could make the reform pro-poor and pro-equity. Additionally, the economic efficiency costs of carbon pricing (0.3 percent of GDP in 2030) are more than offset by local air pollution and other domestic environmental benefits (before even counting climate benefits). Mexico would need a more ambitious 2030 target if it were to follow many other countries in adopting a midcentury ‘net-zero’ emissions target. To enhance the effectiveness of the mitigation strategy, carbon pricing can be reinforced with sectoral instruments, such as feebates in the transport, power, industry, building, forestry, extractive, and agricultural sectors. Complementary policies are also needed to support public investment in the clean energy transition. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Mexico climate mitigation, carbon pricing, carbon tax, emissions trading system, feebate, natural gas, industry, buildings, transportation, agriculture, forestry.; emissions target; mitigation strategy; transition policy; distributional incidence; emission rate; emissions intensity; Greenhouse gas emissions; Carbon tax; Climate change; Natural disasters; Global; Western Hemisphere |
| Date: | 2021–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2021/246&r= |
| By: | Mr. Andrea Pescatori; Lukas Boer; Martin Stuermer |
| Abstract: | The energy transition requires substantial amounts of metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium. Are these metals a key bottleneck? We identify metal-specific demand shocks, estimate supply elasticities and pin down the price impact of the energy transition in a structural scenario analysis. Metal prices would reach historical peaks for an unprecedented, sustained period in a net-zero emissions scenario. The total value of metals production would rise more than four-fold for the period 2021 to 2040, rivaling the total value of crude oil production. Metals are a potentially important input into integrated assessments models of climate change. |
| Keywords: | Conditional forecasts, structural vector autoregressions, structual scenario analysis, energy transition, metals, fossil fuels, prices, climate change.; estimate supply elasticity; metals production; energy transition; aggregate commodity demand shock; price risk; Metals; Metal prices; Copper; Supply elasticity; Global |
| Date: | 2021–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2021/243&r= |
| By: | Álvaro Pina; Patrizio Sicari |
| Abstract: | Progress in regional convergence in the EU has been uneven over the last two decades. While Central and Eastern Europe has been catching up, Southern Europe has often lost ground, especially after the global financial crisis. Furthermore, within most countries, gaps between large cities and rural areas have widened. Some challenges to convergence have stemmed from worldwide factors – such as globalisation, digitalisation, global warming, and, more recently, COVID19 – but others are European-specific, like incomplete financial integration, less effective fiscal governance and subpar innovation performance.This paper proposes policy action to reduce regional divergence by helping regions upgrade their productive specialisation. Building on new approaches to regional and industrial policies, Europe needs to exploit the full potential of cross-country cooperation in innovation and of urban agglomeration economies. Competition and trade policies need to ensure a level playing field to enhance the benefits of open and competitive markets while responding to new challenges, such as digitalisation or foreign subsidies. Finally, Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, the two largest EU budget instruments, need to become more effective at promoting productive upgrading. |
| Keywords: | Common Agricultural Policy, competition policy, EU cohesion policy, innovation policy, regional specialisation, territorial inequalities |
| JEL: | L40 O38 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2021–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1696-en&r= |
| By: | Ali, Amjad; Audi, Marc; ŞENTÜRK, İsmail; Roussel, Yannick |
| Abstract: | This study has examined the impact of sectoral growth on CO2 emissions in the case of Pakistan from 1970 to 2019. ADF and PP unit root tests have been applied to check the stationarity of the data series, whereas the Zivot-Andrew structural break unit root test has been applied to check the existence of structural break. The results of the unit root test show there is mixed order of integration among the selected variables, Zivot-Andrew unit root test also highlights the point of a structural break in the data series. The autoregressive distributed lag model has been applied for checking the cointegration among the variables of the model. The results show that industrial growth, population density, and time trend are positively and significantly contributing to CO2 emissions in Pakistan. Whereas services sector growth is responsible for reducing CO2 emissions in Pakistan. The results show that agricultural growth and globalization are reducing CO2 emissions but this relationship is insignificant over the selected time. In the short-run industrial growth, agricultural growth, and service sector growth are reducing the level of CO2 emissions in Pakistan. Likewise long run, trend time is promoting CO2 emissions in the short run in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan can control CO2 emissions by improvement in industrial production methods, reducing population density, and promoting services sector growth. There must be some dynamic policies are required to control the time trend impact on CO2 emission in Pakistan. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, agriculture growth, industrial growth |
| JEL: | L0 Q1 Q5 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:111215&r= |
| By: | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) |
| Abstract: | This price bulletin was developed by researchers at IFPRI Malawi with the goal of providing clear and accurate information on the weekly variation of retail prices for selected agricultural commodities that are important for food security and nutrition in Malawi. The reports are intended as a resource for those interested in agricultural markets and food security in Malawi. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI, SOUTHERN AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, livestock, prices, food prices, chickens, eggs, retail prices, goat meat, livestock products, fish |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masspb:12b&r= |
| By: | Wurm, Laura |
| Abstract: | How does futures trading affect spot price volatility? This paper uses a unique early-twentieth century natural experiment to test what happens when futures trading no longer exists. In 1903, futures trading in the Viennese grain market was banned. The permanency of this ban makes it ideal for studying its effect on volatility, using a difference-in-difference framework. Prices from Budapest, a market operating under similar conditions but unaffected by the ban, are used as a control. This paper finds increased spot price volatility and lower pricing accuracy because the information-transmission and risk-allocation functions of the futures market were no longer maintained. |
| Keywords: | futures trading,volatility,information,market regulation,speculation,commodity markets,agricultural economics,Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| JEL: | N23 G13 G14 G18 G41 E65 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qucehw:202109&r= |
| By: | Du, Qianqian; Mieno, Taro; Bullock, David; Edge, Brittani |
| Abstract: | A methodology is introduced that combines data from on-farm precision experimentation (OFPE) with remotely sensed vegetative index (VI) data to derive site-specific economically optimal side-dressing N rates (EONRs). An OFPE was conducted on a central Illinois field in the 2019 corn growing season; the trial design targeted six side-dressing N rates ranging from 0 and 177 kg ha-1 on field plots, and yields were recorded at harvest using a standard GPS-linked yield monitor. NDRE values were calculated from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery during the V10 to V12 corn growth stages of the experiment’s crop. After partitioning the field by NDRE quartile, economically N side-dressing rates were calculated after estimating each quartile’s yield response function. Consistent with agronomic expectations, results showed that the parts of the field with lower NDRE values had higher yield; but the impact of increasing NDRE levels on the side-dressing rate’s marginal product and EONR was not monotonic. Simulations predicted that compared to the side-dressing strategy the farmer would have implemented if not participating in the OFPE, net revenues could have been increased by $54 ha-1 by using the methodology presented, suggesting high potential value of combining OFPE and VI data. A key advantage of the proposed methodology is that the data’s inference space is the field to be managed. Further study is needed to improve the featured methodology. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316596&r= |
| By: | Upton, Joanna; Tennant, Elizabeth; Florella, Kathryn J.; Barrett, Christopher B. |
| Abstract: | As development and humanitarian agencies increasingly advance the objective of 'building resilience', three resilience measurement methods have come into especially widespread use: the Resilience Indicators for Measurement and Analysis approach developed by FAO, the multi-dimensional index approach developed by TANGO International, and the probabilistic approach of Cissé and Barrett. We compare performance across those three methods using nationally representative panel data from Ethiopia and Niger. We find that the three measures exhibit significantly different distributions and orderings among households, and they vary significantly in the households they identify as resilient or least resilient. All three measures exhibit only modest out-of-sample predictive accuracy, generating many false negatives and false positives relative to the food security outcome measure whose resilience they are meant to reflect. It remains unclear what these measures capture and what value they add beyond more established wellbeing measures such as the food consumption score or real expenditures. Significant room exists for improvement in resilience measurement to better guide and evaluate development resilience interventions |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2021–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cudawp:316614&r= |
| By: | Benedetto Rocchi; Gino Sturla |
| Abstract: | In this work, an input-output hydro-economic model based on the Guan and Hubacek (2008) methodology is applied for the Tuscany region in Italy. The model integrates the input-output table (for the year 2017) of the regional economy developed by IRPET with a satellite account, expressed in volume (cubic meters of water), accounting for the flows of water resources between the hydrological system and the economy. Two innovations are incorporated in the model: i) the reclassification of withdrawals and restitutions of water by demanding sector and ii) the creation of an indicator of pressure on water resources based on an analysis of the feasible water supply. The model is built on the basis of economic and hydrological data generated by the different national and regional institutions, also using specific methodologies that are described in this work. The developed model provides estimates of the net water demand generated by 56 economic sectors and by the ecosystem requirements, and allows to compare the net demands by extracting and demanding sectors. The indicator of economic pressure on the total water resource, groundwater and surface water supports a better understanding of the linkages existing between the economic activities and the regional hydrological system. |
| Keywords: | Input-output models, water resources, hydrology, Tuscany |
| JEL: | C67 Q25 Q50 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2021_18.rdf&r= |
| By: | Jonas Heiberg (Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland); Bernhard Truffer (Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Innovation studies is increasingly acknowledging the multi-scalar nature of the systemic contexts, in which innovations are being developed and deployed. This paper builds on and further develops a recently proposed framework for studying global innovation systems (GIS). It aims at explaining the emergence of a GIS by outlining the specific local resource-related conditions that lead to the creation of structural couplings, i.e. actors, networks and institutions that allow for multi-scalar resource flows. Deploying a qualitative case study, the paper investigates eight demonstration sites for an innovative wastewater treatment technology in North-Western Europe. It shows how resource-related deficits lead actors to draw on resources generated outside of their local context. The paper contributes to the literature on the Geography of Transitions by highlighting the importance of resource complementarities among different local contexts, as well as the crucial role of translocal systemic intermediaries in shaping emergent GIS. |
| Keywords: | Global innovation systems (GIS), multi-scalar resource flows, systemic intermediaries, geography of transitions, modular water technologies |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoe:wpaper:2109&r= |
| By: | Stewart, Hayden; Kuchler, Fred; Dong, Diansheng; Cessna, Jerry |
| Abstract: | USDA, Economic Research Service data reveal a persistent, downward trend in U.S. per capita consumption of fluid cow’s milk. Using data collected between 2003 and 2018 through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), we identify changes over time in the amounts of fluid cow’s milk consumed by children, teenagers, and adults as well as the amounts each age group drinks as a beverage, pours into cereal, and adds to other types of beverages like tea and coffee. Results reveal that U.S. consumers of all ages are drinking less milk and milk drinks. Children are also consuming less milk with cereal. These declines prevent individuals from consuming a diet more in line with Federal recommendations. They also appear to reflect a combination of demographic and generational changes in the U.S. population as well as changes in the competitiveness of fluid cow’s milk and cereal with other beverages and breakfast options. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing |
| Date: | 2021–10–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usdami:316500&r= |
| By: | Losacker, Sebastian (University Hannover); Hansmeier, Hendrik (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI); Horbach, Jens (University of Applied Sciences Augsburg); Liefner, Ingo (University Hannover) |
| Abstract: | Environmental innovations make an important contribution to solving ecological and climate crises. Although these crises are global phenomena, the regional dimension plays a crucial role, as regions both provide the conditions for the development of environmental innovations and promote widespread use and diffusion. Against this background, this article has two objectives. Firstly, we critically review the state of research on regional determinants of environmental innovation. Secondly, based on these results, we develop an agenda for further research in regional studies that will help to better understand the geography of environmental innovation and to come up with useful region-specific policy recommendations. |
| Keywords: | environmental innovation; geography of innovation; sustainability transitions; regional development; geography of transitions |
| JEL: | O31 O33 Q55 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2021_015&r= |