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NEP - New Economics Papers
Issue: nep-agr-2004-10-21
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NEP report on Agricultural Economics
Edited by Angelo Zago (angelo.zago@univr.it)
This document is in the public domain, please circulate to any.
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+ Warning: Access to full +
+ contents may be restricted+
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In this issue:
*( 1 ) Valuing the Recreational Benefits From the Creation of Nature
Reserves in Irish Forests
Riccardo Scarpa & Susan M. Chilton & W. George Hutchinson &
Joseph Buongiorno
*( 2 ) A Meta-Analysis of the Willingness to Pay for Reductions in
Pesticide Risk Exposure
Chiara M. Travisi & Peter Nijkamp & Raymond J. G. M. Florax
*( 3 ) Disaster Insurance or a Disastrous Insurance - Natural Disaster
Insurance in France
Mario JAMETTI & Thomas VON UNGERN-STERNBERG
*( 4 ) Global Agricultural Liberalization: An In-Depth Assessment of
What Is At Stake
van der Mensbrugghe, Dominique & Beghin, John C.
*( 5 ) National brands and store brands : competition through public
quality labels
Hassan, D. & Monier Dilhan, S.
*( 6 ) Trade, Standards, and the Political Economy of Genetically
Modified Food
Kym Anderson & Richard Damania & Lee Ann Jackson
*( 7 ) Agricultural Trade Reform and Poverty Reduction in Developing
Countries
Kym Anderson
*( 8 ) Environmental Effects Of Agricultural Trade Liberalization And
Domestic Agricultural Policy Reforms
Jussi LANKOSKI
*( 9 ) Traditional Agricultural Exports, External Dependency And
Domestic Price Policies. African Coffee Exports In A
Comparative Perspective
M. Branchi & G. Gabriele & V. Spiezia
*( 10 ) Risk Modeling Concepts Relating to the Design and Rating of
Agricultural Insurance Contracts
Barry K. Goodwin & Olivier Mahul
*( 11 ) Willingness to pay for Agricultural Environmental Safety
Chiara M. Travisi & Peter Nijkamp
*( 12 ) The Role of Agriculture and Human Capital in Economic Growth:
Farmers, Schooling, and Health
Huffman, Wallace & Orazem, Peter
*( 13) On Monoculture and the Structure of Crop Rotations
Hennessy, David A.
*( 14 ) Incentive contract, production of an environmental public good
and the use of a climatic variable
Loisel, P. & Elyakime, B.
*( 15 ) Environmental regulation of livestock production contracts
Bontems, P. & Dubois, P. & Vukina, T.
( 16 ) Land Allocation in Vietnams Agrarian Transition
Martin Ravallion & Dominique van de Walle
*( 17 ) Rural Extension Services
Jock R. Anderson & Gershon Feder
*( 18 ) Tenure Security and Land-Related Investment: Evidence from
Ethiopia
Klaus Deininger & Songqing Jin & Berhanu Adenew & Samuel
Gebre-Selassie & Berhanu Nega
*( 19 ) Commodity Market Reform in Africa: Some Recent Experience
Takamasa Akiyama & John Baffes & Donald F. Larson & Panos
Varangis
*( 20 ) Agriculture in the Doha Agenda
Patrick Messerlin
*( 21 ) Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition: Evidence from Rural
Vietnam
Klaus Deininger & Songqing Jin
*( 22 ) Causes and Consequences of Civil Strife: Micro-Level Evidence
from Uganda
Klaus Deininger
*( 23 ) Measuring Up: New Directions for Environmental Programs at the
World Bank
Piet Buys & Susmita Dasgupta & Craig Meisner & Kiran Pandey &
David Wheeler & Katharine Bolt & Kirk Hamilton & Limin Wang
*( 24 ) Comparing Land Reform and Land Markets in Colombia: Impacts on
Equity and Efficiency
Klaus Deininger & Raffaella Castagnini & Maria A. Gonzalez
*( 25 ) The Environment as a Factor of Production
Timothy J. Considine & Donald F. Larson
*( 26 ) Export Commodity Production and Broad-based Rural Development:
Coffee and Cocoa in the Dominican Republic
Paul Siegel & Jeff Alwang
*( 27 ) Standards and Agro-Food Exports from Developing Countries:
Rebalancing the Debate
Steven Jaffee & Spencer Henson
*( 28 ) Land Allocation in Vietnams Agrarian Transition
Martin Ravallion & Dominique van de Walle
*( 29 ) The Impact of Coffee Market Reforms on Producer Prices and Price
Transmission
Ekaterina Krivonos
*( 30 ) Marketing of Fruits and Vegetables in India: A Study Covering the
Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata Markets
Gandhi Vasant P & Namboodiri N V
*( 31 ) Agricultural Biotechnology in India: Ethics, Business and
Politics
Gupta Anil K & Chandak Vikas
*( 32 ) Agricultural Trade Reforms in the Doha Round: A Developing
Country Perspective
Prema-chandra Athukorala
*( 33 ) Optimal Afforestation Contracts with Asymmetric information on
Private Environmental Benefits
Signe Anthon & Bo Jellesmark Thorsen
*( 34 ) Agri-Environmental Policies in a Transition Economy: Using a
Choice Experiment to Value Agricultural Biodiversity on
Hungarian Small Farms
Ekin Birol & Agnes Gyovai & Melinda Smale
*( 35 ) Optimal Disease Eradication
Michael Hoel & Scott Barrett
*( 36 ) Willingness to Pay for Mortality Risk Reductions: Does Latency
Matter?
Anna Alberini & Maureen Cropper & Alan Krupnick & Nathalie B.
Simon
*( 37 ) Biodiversity Conservation on Private Lands: Information Problems
and Regulatory Choices
Tun Lin & Timo Goeschl
*( 38 ) Using Data Envelopment Analysis to Evaluate Environmentally
Conscious Tourism Management
Valentina Bosetti & Mariaester Cassinelli & Alessandro Lanza
*( 39 ) Economic and Environmental Effectiveness of a Technology-based
Climate Protocol
Carlo Carraro & Barbara Buchner
*( 40 ) Conserving Crop Genetic Resources on Smallholder Farms in
Hungary: Institutional Analysis
Gyorgyi Bela & Gyorgy Pataki & Melinda Smale & Mariann Hajdu
*( 41 ) Infectious Disease, Productivity, and Scale in Open and Closed
Animal Production Systems
Hennessy, David A. & Roosen, Jutta & Jensen, Helen H.
*( 42 ) Environmental questions within Bordeaux area wine growing (In
French)
Marie-Claude BELIS-BERGOUIGNAN (E3i, IFReDE-GRES) & Veronique
SAINT-GES (INRA & E3i, IFReDE-GRES)
*( 43 ) The Economic Importance of the Iowa Dairy Industry
Ginder, Roger & Otto, Daniel
*( 44 ) Cost of Organic Pork Production: A Seasonal Analysis and Needed
Price Premium for Continuous Production
Kliebenstein, James & Hurley, Sean & Larson, Ben & Honeyman,
Mark
*( 45 ) Agricultural Biotechnology: Issues for Biosafety Governance in
Asian Countries
Gehl Sampath, Padmashree
*( 46 ) Impact of Biotech Grains on Market Structure and Societal Welfare
Lence, Sergio H. & Hayes, Dermot J.
*( 47 ) Marketizing U.S. Production in the Post-War Era: Implications for
Estimating CPI Bias and Real Income from a Complete-
Household-Demand System
Huffman, Wallace
*( 48 ) Grader Bias in Cattle Markets? Evidence from Iowa
Hueth, Brent & Lawrence, John D. & Marcoul, Philippe
*( 49 ) Value Added Agriculture Policies Across the 50 States
Kilkenny, Maureen & Schluter, Gerald
*( 50 ) Green Subsidies in Agriculture: Estimating the Adoption Costs of
Conservation Tillage from Observed Behavior
Kurkalova, Lyubov & Kling, Catherine L. & Zhao, Jinhua
---------
*(1)
Valuing the Recreational Benefits From the Creation of Nature Reserves
in Irish Forests
Riccardo Scarpa (Universita' degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo,
Italy and Centre for Research on Environmental Appraisal and Management
(CREAM), University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom)
Susan M. Chilton (CASPER, Department of Economics, University of
Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom)
W. George Hutchinson (Department of Agricultural and Food Economics,
Queens University Belfast, United Kingdom)
Joseph Buongiorno (Department of Forest Ecology and Management,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States of America)
Abstract: Data from a large-scale contingent valuation study are
used to investigate the effects of forest attributes on willingness
to pay for forest recreation in Ireland. In particular, the presence
of a nature reserve in the forest is found to significantly increase
the visitors' willingness to pay. A random utility model is used to
estimate the welfare change associated with the creation of nature
reserves in all the Irish forests currently without one. The yearly
impact on visitors' economic welfare of new nature reserves
approaches half a million pounds per annum, exclusive of non
recreational values.
JEL Codes: Q23 Q26
Keywords: Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation, Forest attributes
analysis, Nature reserves.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:1999.11&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(2)
A Meta-Analysis of the Willingness to Pay for Reductions in Pesticide
Risk Exposure
Chiara M. Travisi (Department of Management Economics and Industrial
Engineering, Polytechnic of Milan)
Peter Nijkamp (Department of Spatial Economics, Free University and
Tinbergen Institute)
Raymond J. G. M. Florax (Department of Spatial Economics, Free
University and Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University)
Abstract: The use of environmental policy instruments such as
eco-labelling and pesticide taxes should preferably be based on
disaggregate estimates of the individuals willingness to pay (WTP)
for pesticide risk reductions. We review the empirical valuation
literature dealing with pesticide risk exposure and develop a
taxonomy of environmental and human health risks associated with
pesticide usage. Subsequently, we use meta-analysis to investigate
the variation in WTP estimates for reduced pesticide risk exposure.
Our findings show that the WTP for reduced risk exposure is
approximately 15% greater for medium, and 80% greater for high risk-
levels, as compared to low risk levels. The income elasticity of
pesticide risk exposure is generally positive, although not overly
robust. Most results indicate that the demand for human health and
environmental safety is highly elastic. We also show that
geographical differences, characteristics of the survey, and the type
safety device (eco-labelling, integrated management, or bans) are
important drivers of the valuation results.
JEL Codes: D18 H23 I12 Q25
Keywords: Pesticide risk, Willingness to pay, Meta-analysis
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.101&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(3)
Disaster Insurance or a Disastrous Insurance - Natural Disaster
Insurance in France
Mario JAMETTI
Thomas VON UNGERN-STERNBERG
Abstract: We model natural disaster insurance in France. We
explicitly take into account the main institutional features of the
system, such as the uniform premium rate in both high and low risk
regions and the existence of a state reinsurance company. Our model
indicates that the institutional set-up is fundamentally flawed. We
find that the market is likely to lead to "specialist" equilibria,
where insurers specialize in serving either high or low risk regions.
As a result the reinsurance company, which offers cover to all
insurers at the same price, is likely to suffer from a portfolio with
mainly "bad" risks. We show that increasing the premium rate
customers have to pay, a policy undertaken by the French authorities,
will not necessarily solve these problems and comes at a high cost to
the final consumer (and taxpayer).
JEL Codes: L11 G22 D78
Keywords: property insurance; reinsurance; risk selection
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lau:crdeep:04.12&r=agr
Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du D?partement d'Econom?trie et
d'Economie politique (DEEP) / Universit? de Lausanne, Ecole des HEC,
DEEP
*(4)
Global Agricultural Liberalization: An In-Depth Assessment of What Is
At Stake
van der Mensbrugghe, Dominique
Beghin, John C.
Abstract: We use the global Linkage model to assess the impact
of trade and support policies in agriculture on income, trade, and
output patterns. We provide order-of-magnitude estimates of the
impacts of policy changes rather than point estimates. Two sets of
simulations are used to identify key drivers in the results. One set
decomposes the aggregate results by looking at the impacts of partial
reforms, regionally and across instruments, to identify the relative
contribution to global gains of reforms in industrialized and
developing countries and of border protection versus domestic
support. The second set responds to critics of trade reform (inflated
gains for developing countries, no transition costs for industrial
country farmers, uncertain supply response in developing countries).
Reform of agriculture and food provides 70 percent of the global
gains from merchandise trade reform of $385 billion. The global gains
are shared equally among industrial and developing countries.
Developing countries gain more as a share of initial income, and
income gains occur in developing country agriculture, reducing
poverty. Both groups of countries gain more from their own reforms
than from the other groups reforms. Productivity and supply
assumptions affect impact assessment, but their influence is small
and does not alter the main aggregate findings. Trade elasticities,
however, are key in determining the overall level of the income
gains. Higher elasticities dampen terms-of-trade effects and increase
trade and real income gains more than proportionally and the converse
is true for smaller elasticities. These effects can be very large for
individual countries. Keywords: agricultural trade liberalization,
developing countries, Doha Round, farm policy, WTO.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12033&r=agr
Staff General Research Papers / Iowa State University, Department of
Economics
*(5)
National brands and store brands : competition through public quality
labels
Hassan, D.
Monier Dilhan, S.
Abstract: In this article we study one aspect of the
proliferation of quality labels in the agro-food sector : the
coexistence of two signs on one same product and its consequences on
the value of each sign. The context is that of the competition
between national brands and private labels on a certain number of
products carrying a public quality label. We show that the value of a
sign decreases when it is combined with another one-a manufacturer's
brand and a national quality label-on the same product. This result
is verified for six products involving four quality labels. It
enables us to interpret retailers' strategy as regards private
labels. ...French Abstract : Les auteurs etudient une des formes de
la proliferation des signes de qualite dans l'agro-alimentaire : la
superposition de deux signes pour un meme produit et ses consequences
sur la valorisation de chacun d'eux. Le contexte est celui de la
concurrence entre les marques nationales et les marques de
distributeurs sur le segment des produits beneficiant d'un signe
public de qualite. Ils montrent que la valorisation de deux signes,
une marque nationale de fabricant et un signe public de qualite,
lorsqu'ils sont associes sur un meme bien, se fait a rendements
decroissants. Ce resultat est etabli pour six produits impliquant
quatre signes publics de qualite. Ce resultat permet d'interpreter la
strategie des detaillants.
JEL Codes: D12
Keywords: QUALITY LABELS; NATIONAL BRANDS; PRIVATE LABELS; WILLINGNESS
TO PAY ; SIGNE DE QUALITE; MARQUE; MARQUE DE DISTRIBUTEUR; EVALUATION
CONTINGENTE
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rea:inrawp:200409&r=agr
Economics Working Paper Archive (Toulouse) / French Institute for
Agronomy Research (INRA), Economics Laboratory in Toulouse (ESR
Toulouse)
*(6)
Trade, Standards, and the Political Economy of Genetically Modified
Food
Kym Anderson (World Bank)
Richard Damania
Lee Ann Jackson
Abstract: Anderson, Damania, and Jackson develop a common-agency
lobbying model to help understand why North America and the European
Union have adopted such different policies toward genetically
modified (GM) food. Their results show that when firms (in this case
farmers) lobby policymakers to influence standards, and consumers and
environmentalists care about the choice of standard, it is possible
that increased competition from abroad can lead to strategic
incentives to raise standards, not just lower them as shown in
earlier models. The authors show that differences in comparative
advantage in the adoption of GM crops may be sufficient to explain
the trans-Atlantic difference in GM policies. On the one hand,
farmers in a country with a comparative advantage in GM technology
can gain a strategic cost advantage by lobbying for lax controls on
GM production and use at home and abroad. On the other hand, when
faced with greater competition, the optimal response of farmers in
countries with a comparative disadvantage in GM adoption may be to
lobby for more-stringent GM standards. So it is rational for
producers in the European Union (whose relatively small farms would
enjoy less gains from the new biotechnology than broad-acre American
farms) to reject GM technology if that enables them and consumer and
environmental lobbyists to argue for restraints on imports from GM-
adopting countries. This theoretical proposition is supported by
numerical results from a global general equilibrium model of GM
adoption in America with and without an EU moratorium. This papera
product of the Trade Team, Development Research Groupis part of a
larger effort in the group to understand the economic implications of
standards and technology policies in a multilateral trading
environment.
Keywords: International Economics
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3395&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(7)
Agricultural Trade Reform and Poverty Reduction in Developing
Countries
Kym Anderson (World Bank)
Abstract: Anderson offers an economic assessment of the
opportunities and challenges provided by the World Trade
Organizations Doha Development Agenda, particularly through
agricultural trade liberalization, for low-income countries seeking
to trade their way out of poverty. After discussing links between
poverty, economic growth, and trade, he reports modelling results
showing that farm product markets remain the most costly of all goods
market distortions in world trade. The author focuses on what such
reform might mean for developing countries both with and without
their involvement in the multilateral trade negotiations. What
becomes clear is that if those countries want to maximize their
benefits from the Doha round, they need also to free up their own
domestic product and factor markets so their farmers are better able
to take advantage of new market opportunities abroad. The author also
addresses other concerns of low-income countries about farm trade
reform: whether there would be losses associated with tariff
preference erosion, whether food-importing countries would suffer
from higher food prices in international markets, whether Chinas WTO
accession will provide an example of trade reform aggravating poverty
by way of cuts in prices received by Chinese farmers, and the impact
on food security and poverty alleviation. This papera product of the
Trade Team, Development Research Groupis part of a larger effort in
the group to understand the poverty implication of trade policy
reforms.
Keywords: Agriculture; International Economics; Poverty; Rural
Development; Globalization
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3396&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(8)
Environmental Effects Of Agricultural Trade Liberalization And
Domestic Agricultural Policy Reforms
Jussi LANKOSKI
Abstract: The paper reviews existing studies on linkages between
agricultural policies, trade liberalization and the environment.
Since the price and production changes induced by the Uruguay Round
Agreement on Agriculture seem likely to be quite modest for most
countries, this partial trade liberalization may not cause major
changes, positive or negative, in the environmental impacts of
agricultural production. Instead, the environmental impacts of
domestic agricultural policy reforms will probably be more
significant than impacts induced by the Uruguay Round Agreement on
Agriculture. This is largely due to the fact that agricultural trade
liberalization, partial or complete, can alleviate some policy
failures which have adverse environmental impacts, but does not
correct environmental market failures. By contrast, domestic
agricultural policy reforms, while alleviating policy failures, could
also tackle environmental market failures through, for example,
agroenvironmental programmes.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unc:dispap:126&r=agr
UNCTAD Discussion Papers / United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development
*(9)
Traditional Agricultural Exports, External Dependency And Domestic
Price Policies. African Coffee Exports In A Comparative Perspective
M. BRANCHI
G. GABRIELE
V. SPIEZIA
Abstract: The paper analyses the impact of price variables on
coffee production and exports in a selected group of developing
countries, with particular focus on a subgroup of Sub-Saharan
countries. Due to the dependency of coffee producers on the vagaries
of the international market, direct crop taxation and exchange rate
policies in these countries are found to be only partially
endogenous. The long-run impact of policies on producers behaviour is
then tested by means of a cross-country linear regression model.
About one third of cross-country variability in planted areas is
found to be attributable to exchange rate and, to a lesser extent,
taxation policies. However, price policies do not appear to exert any
significant impact on yields. No parametrically significant
difference between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world
emerges from the analysis. The results show that, in the case of
coffee, the weight of domestic price policies in determining
production and exports is relevant, but should not be exaggerated, as
most of the cross-country variability in performance in the coffee
sector is in fact related to non-price factors, some of which can be
modified by strategic non-price policy interventions.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unc:dispap:140&r=agr
UNCTAD Discussion Papers / United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development
*(10)
Risk Modeling Concepts Relating to the Design and Rating of
Agricultural Insurance Contracts
Barry K. Goodwin
Olivier Mahul
Abstract: Goodwin and Mahul identify the key issues and concerns
that arise in the design and rating of crop yield insurance plans,
with a particular emphasis on production risk modeling. The authors
show how the availability of data shapes the insurance scheme and the
ratemaking procedures. Relying on the U.S. experience and recent
developments in statistics and econometrics, they review risk
modeling concepts and provide technical guidelines in the development
of crop insurance plans. Finally, they show how these risk modeling
techniques can be extended to price risk in order to develop crop
revenue insurance schemes. This papera product of the Financial
Sector Operations and Policy Departmentis part of a larger effort in
the department to develop effective risk management and financial
products for agriculture.
Keywords: Agriculture
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3392&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(11)
Willingness to pay for Agricultural Environmental Safety
Chiara M. Travisi (Department of Management Economics and Industrial
Engineering, Polytechnic of Milan)
Peter Nijkamp (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Abstract: The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture
provides a particularly complex pattern of multidimensional negative
side-effects, ranging from food safety related effects to the
deterioratian of farmland ecosystems. The assessment of the economic
implications of such negative processes is fraught with many
uncertainties. This paper presents results of an empirical study
recently conducted in the North of Italy aimed at estimating the
value of reducing the multiple impacts of pesticide use. A
statistical technique known as conjoint choice experiment is used
here in combination with contingent valuation techniques. The
experimental design of choice modelling provides a natural tool to
attach a monetary value to negative environmental effects associated
with agrochemicals use, In particular, the paper addresses the
reduction of farmland biodiversity, groundwater contamination and
human intoxicatian. The resulting estimates show that, on average,
respondents are prone to accept substantial willingness to pay premia
for agricultural goods (in particular, foodstuff) produced in
environmentally benign ways.
JEL Codes: C42 H23 I12 Q24
Keywords: pesticide risks; food safety; willingness-to-pay; choice
modeling; contingent valuation
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20040070&r=agr
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers / Tinbergen Institute
*(12)
The Role of Agriculture and Human Capital in Economic Growth: Farmers,
Schooling, and Health
Huffman, Wallace
Orazem, Peter
Abstract: Forthcoming, no abstract available at this time.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12003&r=agr
Staff General Research Papers / Iowa State University, Department of
Economics
*(13)
On Monoculture and the Structure of Crop Rotations
Hennessy, David A.
Abstract: While rotation strategies are important in determining
agricultural commodity supply and environmental benefits from land
use, little has been said about the economics of crop rotation. An
issue when seeking to identify rotation dominance is whether yield
and input-saving carry-over effects persist for one or more years.
Focusing on length of carry-over, expected profit maximization, and
the monoculture decision, this paper develops principles concerning
choice of rotation structure. For some rules that we develop,
rotations may be discarded without reference to price levels while
other rules require price data. We also show how risk aversion in the
presence of price uncertainty can alter preferences over rotations. A
further consideration in rotation choice is the allocation of time.
The problem of crop choice to manage time commitments through the
crop year is formally similar to that of crop choice to manage profit
risk. Keywords: dominance, jointness, quasiconvexity, rotation
algebra, specialization, time rationing.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12004&r=agr
Staff General Research Papers / Iowa State University, Department of
Economics
*(14)
Incentive contract, production of an environmental public good and the
use of a climatic variable
Loisel, P.
Elyakime, B.
Abstract: Focus of this work is on the contract known as
actions-incentive. We suppose it applies to a group of producing
farmers of a positive externality. This externality is perceived as a
public asset which the society wishes to remunerate. We study next
the pros and cons and the conditions related to the use of such a
contract for a consortium of contracting farmers. In the last
section, an example of this incitive contract on the actions is
calculated, in the event of a single contracting as well as two
contractors bound in an organization aimed at producing and managing
a public asset. ...French Abstract : Les auteurs centrent leur
demarche sur le contrat dit incitatif sur les actions qui permet de
remunerer un ou plusieurs agriculteurs pour qu'ils produisent une
externalite positive desiree et remuneree par la societe. Cette
production est collective, interactive, globale et dependante de
conditions climatiques. Ils supposent d'abord un tel contrat applique
a deux agriculteurs producteurs d'une externalite positive. Ils
etudient ensuite un tel contrat sur les actions d'un agriculteur dans
lequel le principal dispose, en plus de la loi de densite de
probabilite sur la production indicee par les actions, d'un signal
sur le niveau de production : le principal connait la loi d'une
variable climatique qui influence le resultat des actions de
l'agriculteur. Si les auteurs mettent en evidence qu'il n'existe pas
de difficultes a considerer deux contractants dans le cas etudie, ils
montrent aussi qu'il peut ou non etre possible de tenir compte d'une
information par le principal sur une variable climatique qui
influence le resultat global. Si ceci est possible, l'efficacite du
contrat incitatif sur les actions est amelioree.
JEL Codes: D8 H4
Keywords: ENVIRONNEMENT; AMELIORATION DU MILIEU; GESTION DES
RESSOURCES; EFFET EXTERNE; RISQUE; CONTRAT; BIEN COLLECTIF
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rea:inrawp:53&r=agr
Economics Working Paper Archive (Toulouse) / French Institute for
Agronomy Research (INRA), Economics Laboratory in Toulouse (ESR
Toulouse)
*(15)
Environmental regulation of livestock production contracts
Bontems, P.
Dubois, P.
Vukina, T.
Abstract: In this paper we address the problem of the optimal
regulation of a vertically integrated industry where the production
of an environmentally polluting output is contracted with independent
agents. The provision of production inputs is divided between the
principal and the agents such that the resulting production
externality is the consequence of their joint actions. The stylized
facts of the model are reflective of the swine and poultry industries
in the US. The main result shows that in a three-tier hierarchy
(regulator-firm-agent) involving either a single-sided or a double-
sided moral hazard problem, a principle of equivalence across
regulatory schemes gererally obtains. The only task for the
regulatory agency is to determine the optimal total fiscal revenue in
each state because any sharing of the regulatory buden between the
firm and the agent would result in the same optimal solution. The
equivalence result is upset only when the effects of regulation on
the endogenous organizational choices of the industry are explicitly
taken into account. ...French Abstract : Dans cet article, les
auteurs etudient le probleme de la regulation optimale d'une
industrie verticalement ingegree ou la production d'un bien polluant
est sous contrat avec des agents independants. La fourniture des
inputs de production est divisee entre le principal et les agents de
telle sorte que l'externalite polluante resulte de l'action conjointe
de ces partie. Les faits stylises du module refletent ceux de
l'industrie porcine americaine. Le resultat principal montre que dans
une hierarchie a trois niveaux (regulateur-principal-agent)
impliquant une probleme d'alea moral, un principe d'equivalence entre
schemas de regulation est generalement obtenu. La seule tache de
l'agence de regulation de determiner le revenu fiscal total dans
chaque etat car tout partage de cette charge fiscale entre le
principal et l'agent resulte en la meme solution optimale. Ce
resultat d'equivalence ne tient plus, des lors que les choix
organisationnels endogenes de cette industrie, sont explicitement
pris en compte.
JEL Codes: L51 K32 D82
Keywords: REGULATION; POLLUTION; LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION; PRINCIPAL-AGENT
RELATIONSHIPS; MORAL HAZARD ; POLLUTION AGRICOLE; ELEVAGE PORCIN;
ELEVAGE DE VOLAILLES; CONTRAT; PROTECTION DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT;
ECONOMETRIE
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rea:inrawp:200406&r=agr
Economics Working Paper Archive (Toulouse) / French Institute for
Agronomy Research (INRA), Economics Laboratory in Toulouse (ESR
Toulouse)
*(16)
Land Allocation in Vietnams Agrarian Transition
Martin Ravallion (World Bank)
Dominique van de Walle (World Bank)
Abstract: While liberalizing key factor markets is a crucial
step in the transition from a socialist control-economy to a market
economy, the process can be stalled by imperfect information, high
transaction costs, and covert resistance from entrenched interests.
Ravallion and van de Walle study land-market adjustment in the wake
of Vietnams reforms aiming to establish a free market in land-use
rights following de-collectivization. Inefficiencies in the initial
administrative allocation are measured against an explicit
counterfactual market solution. The authors tests using a farm-
household panel data set spanning the reforms suggest that land
allocation responded positively but slowly to the inefficiencies of
the administrative allocation. They find no sign that the transition
favored the land rich or that it was thwarted by the continuing power
over land held by local officials. This papera joint product of the
Poverty Team and the Public Services Team, Development Research
Groupis part of a larger effort in the group to understand the
welfare impacts of major policy reforms.
Keywords: Agriculture; Poverty; Rural Development; Transition Economies
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2951&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(17)
Rural Extension Services
Jock R. Anderson
Gershon Feder (World Bank)
Abstract: Anderson and Feder analyze the considerations that
lead policymakers to undertake extension investments as a key public
responsibility, as well as the complex set of factors and intra-
agency incentives that explain why different extension systems
performance vary. The authors provide a conceptual framework
outlining farmers demand for information, the welfare economic
characterizations of extension services, and the organizational and
political attributes that govern the performance of extension
systems. They use the conceptual framework to examine several
extension modalities and to analyze their likely and actual
effectiveness. Specifically, the modalities reviewed include training
and visit extension, decentralized systems, fee-for-service and
privatized extension, and farmer-field-schools. The authors also
discuss methodological issues pertaining to the assessment of
extension outcomes and review the empirical literature on extension
impact. They emphasize the efficiency gains that can come from
locally decentralized delivery systems with incentive structures
based largely on private provision that in most poorer countries is
still publicly-funded. In wealthier countries, and for particular
higher income farmer groups, extension systems will likely evolve
into fee-for-service organizations. This papera joint product of the
Agriculture and Rural Development Department and Rural Development,
Development Research Groupis part of a larger effort in the Bank to
study the opportunities and challenges facing agricultural extension.
Keywords: Agriculture
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2976&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(18)
Tenure Security and Land-Related Investment: Evidence from Ethiopia
Klaus Deininger
Songqing Jin
Berhanu Adenew
Samuel Gebre-Selassie
Berhanu Nega
Abstract: The authors use a large data set from Ethiopia that
differentiates tenure security and transferability to explore
determinants of different types of land-related investment and its
possible impact on productivity. While they find some support for
endogeneity of investment in trees, this is not the case for
terraces. Transfer rights are unambiguously investment-enhancing. The
large productivity effect of terracing implies that, even where
households undertake investments to increase their tenure security,
this may not be socially efficient. In Ethiopia, government action to
increase tenure security and transferability of land rights can
significantly enhance rural investment and productivity. This papera
product of Rural Development, Development Research Groupis part of a
larger effort in the group to assess the impact of land policy on
equity and productive development.
Keywords: Agriculture; Poverty; Private Sector Development; Rural
Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2991&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(19)
Commodity Market Reform in Africa: Some Recent Experience
Takamasa Akiyama
John Baffes
Donald F. Larson
Panos Varangis
Abstract: Since the early 1980s, dramatic changes in export
commodity markets, shocks associated with resulting price declines,
and changing views on the role of the state have ushered in
widespread reforms to agricultural commodity markets in Africa. The
reforms significantly reduced government participation in the
marketing and pricing of commodities. Akiyama, Baffes, Larson, and
Varangis examine the background, causes, process, and consequences of
these reforms and derive lessons for successful reforms from
experiences in markets for four commodities important to Africacocoa,
coffee, cotton, and sugar. The authors commodity focus highlights the
special features associated with these markets that affect the reform
process. They complement the current literature on market reforms in
Africa, where grain-market studies are more common. The authors
suggest that the types of market interventions prior to reform are
more easily classified by crop than by country. Consequently, there
are significant commodity-specific differences in the initial
conditions and in the outcomes of reforms related to these markets.
But there are general lessons as well. The authors find that the key
consequences of reform have been significant changes in or emergence
of marketing institutions and a significant shift of political and
economic power from the public to the private sector. In cases where
interventions were greatest and reforms most complete, producers have
benefited from receiving a larger share of export prices.
Additionally, the authors conclude that the adjustment costs of
reform can be reduced in most cases by better understanding the
detailed and idiosyncratic relationships between the commodity
subsector, private markets, and public services. Finally, while there
are significant costs to market-dependent reforms, experiences
suggest that they are a necessary step toward a dynamic commodity
sector based on private initiative. This is particularly true in
countries and sectors where interventions were greatest and market-
supporting institutions the weakest. This papera product of Rural
Development, Development Research Groupis part of a larger effort in
the group to examine the consequences of agricultural policies.
Keywords: Agriculture; Governance; International Economics; Rural
Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2995&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(20)
Agriculture in the Doha Agenda
Patrick Messerlin
Abstract: Messerlin looks at the OECD domestic political economy
associated with ongoing WTO farm negotiations, focusing on the OECD-
based coalitions which could be helpful for WTO negotiators. Support
from individual final consumers and taxpayers is far from guaranteed
because consumers are spending less and less on food, and because
taxpayers support, more or less willingly, nontrade concerns, such as
environment or food safety, that they tend (wrongly) to associate
with domestic farmers. As a result, trade negotiators should look at
other allies. A natural candidate is a powerful group of consumersthe
agribusiness industriesfor which a reduction of the still high
protection of their products under the Doha Round requires a
corresponding reduction of protection in their farm inputs. They
should also talk to farmers, hence sharpen their arguments, in
particular by focusing on the distinction between small and large
farmers, the latter being by far the main beneficiaries of the
current OECD farm protectionist policies. This papera product of
Trade, Development Research Group was prepared for the World Bank
Roundtable on Policy Research in preparation for the 5th WTO
Ministerial, Cairo, May 2021, 2002.
Keywords: Agriculture; International Economics
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3009&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(21)
Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition: Evidence from Rural
Vietnam
Klaus Deininger
Songqing Jin
Abstract: The extent to which households should be allowed to
transfer their land rights in post-socialist transition economies is
of considerable policy interest. Deininger and Jin use data from
Vietnam, a transition country that allows rental and sales of land
use rights, to identify factors conducive to the development of land
markets and to assess the extent to which land transfers enhance
productive efficiency and transfer land to the poor. They find that
activity in both rental and sales markets has increased rapidly,
enhanced by the possession of long-term use rights and off-farm
employment, and contributing to greater equity and efficiency of land
use. While there is evidence for distress sales by households that
experience a shock (death), the scope for such sales is reduced by
well-functioning credit markets. Well-defined land rights and
appropriate safety nets will thus help transition economies to
realize the benefits from the operation of land markets. This papera
product of Rural Development, Development Research Groupis part of a
larger effort in the group to assess the impact of land policy on
equity and productive development.
Keywords: Agriculture; Poverty; Private Sector Development; Rural
Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3013&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(22)
Causes and Consequences of Civil Strife: Micro-Level Evidence from
Uganda
Klaus Deininger
Abstract: To bridge the gap between case studies and highly
aggregate cross-country analyses of civil unrest, Deininger uses data
from Uganda to explore determinants of civil strife (as contrasted to
theft and physical violence) at the community level, as well as the
potentially differential impact of these variables on investment and
nonagricultural enterprise formation at the household level. He finds
that distance from infrastructure (a proxy for scarcity of economic
opportunities and government investment), asset inequality (social
tension), the presence of cash crops (expropriable wealth), and lower
levels of human capital (ability to take advantage of opportunities
in the regular economy) all increase the propensity for civil strife.
Furthermore, civil strife, in marked contrast to violence and theft,
reduces investment and nonagricultural enterprise start-ups. This
papera product of Rural Development, Development Research Groupis
part of a larger effort in the group to study factors affecting rural
development.
Keywords: Governance; Macroecon & Growth; Rural Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3045&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(23)
Measuring Up: New Directions for Environmental Programs at the World
Bank
Piet Buys (World Bank)
Susmita Dasgupta (World Bank)
Craig Meisner (World Bank)
Kiran Pandey
David Wheeler (World Bank)
Katharine Bolt
Kirk Hamilton
Limin Wang
Abstract: The World Banks new environment strategy advocates
cost-effective reduction of air and water pollutants that are most
harmful to human health. In addition, it addresses threats to the
livelihood of over one billion people who live on fragile landslands
that are steeply sloped, arid, or covered by natural forests. The new
approach will require accurate information about environmental
threats to health and livelihood, as well as an appropriate resource-
allocation strategy. Drawing on recent research at the World Bank and
elsewhere, this paper attempts to apply an optimal investment
approach. It develops a rule for optimal cross-country resource
allocation that reflects the Banks investment policy. Using this
rule, the paper estimates optimal country shares of the Banks
environmental investments from two sets of variables: threats from
outdoor air pollution, water pollution, and fragile lands; and
estimates of the likelihood that Bank projects will succeed. The
paper combines the country shares with the Banks investment data to
estimate optimal country allocations for each environmental problem.
Finally, it aggregates the country results to allocations for the
major regions in which the Bank operates. Combining optimal
investments for pollution and fragile lands, it finds that the
largest share of total investment goes to East Asia (44 percent),
followed by South Asia (21 percent) and Sub-Saharan Africa (19
percent). Other regions get significantly lower shares. This papera
joint product of Infrastructure and Environment, Development Research
Group, and the Environment Departmentis part of a larger effort to
implement the World Banks new environment strategy.
Keywords: Environment; Health & Population; Rural Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3097&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(24)
Comparing Land Reform and Land Markets in Colombia: Impacts on Equity
and Efficiency
Klaus Deininger
Raffaella Castagnini
Maria A. Gonzalez
Abstract: Based on a large survey to compare the effectiveness
of land markets and land reform in Colombia, Deininger finds that
rental and sales markets were more effective in transferring land to
poor but productive producers than was administrative land reform.
The fact that land transactions were all of a short-term nature and
that little land was transferred from very large to small land owners
or the landless suggests that there may be scope for policies both to
improve the functioning of land markets and to facilitate greater
land access by the most disadvantaged. Analysis of the factors
associated with success in a sample of land transfers from large to
small producers helps to identify key elements for policies in both
respects. This papera product of Rural Development, Development
Research Groupis part of a larger effort in the group to analyze the
impact of land policies.
Keywords: Agriculture; Poverty; Rural Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3258&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(25)
The Environment as a Factor of Production
Timothy J. Considine
Donald F. Larson
Abstract: Considine and Larson develop a model of environmental
resource use in production with an empirical analysis of how electric
power companies consume and bank sulfur dioxide pollution permits.
The model considers emissions, fuels, and labor as variable inputs
with quasi-fixed inputs of permits and capital. Incorporating
information from permit markets allows the authors to distinguish
between user costs and asset shadow values. Their findings indicate
that firms are holding stocks of pollution permits for reasons other
than short-term cost savings. The results also reveal substantial
substitution possibilities between emissions, permits stocks, and
other factors of production. The authors speculate that anticipated
secondary markets for carbon-offset inventories related to the
flexibility mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol will have similar
effects for greenhouse-gas emitting firms. This papera product of
Infrastructure and Environment, Development Research Groupis part of
a larger effort in the group to explore how markets can be used to
reduce pollution.
Keywords: Environment
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3271&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(26)
Export Commodity Production and Broad-based Rural Development: Coffee
and Cocoa in the Dominican Republic
Paul Siegel
Jeff Alwang
Abstract: An estimated 80,000100,00 Dominican farmers produce
coffee and cocoa, nearly 40 percent of all agricultural producers.
The sectors also provide employment for tens of thousands of field
laborers and persons employed in linked economic activities. The
majority of coffee and cocoa producers are small-scale and most are
located in environmentally sensitive watersheds. Recent trends in
international commodity markets have challenged the survival of both
sectors. Production is characterized by low yields and uneven
quality, while periodic hurricanes have contributed to a lackluster
and unstable record of output and exports. Despite these conditions,
most experts acknowledge the fact that appropriate agro-ecological
conditions exist in the Dominican Republic for the production of
high-quality coffee and cocoa. To be competitive and sustainable,
some changes must take place in the coffee and cocoa sectors. The
objective of this study is to provide an overview of the coffee and
cocoa sectors, identify major problems, and suggest possible
strategies to deal with these problems. The authors conclude that if
the objectives of the government are poverty reduction, environmental
protection, and overall well-being of rural society, it is critical
to move beyond a commodity-specific approach to a broader rural
development focus on households, regions, and environments where
coffee and cocoa are currently being grown. This papera joint product
of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department and the Rural
Development Family, Latin America and the Caribbean Regionis part of
a larger effort in the Bank to examine export commodity sectors in
the broader context of sustainable rural development.
Keywords: Agriculture; Rural Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3306&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(27)
Standards and Agro-Food Exports from Developing Countries: Rebalancing
the Debate
Steven Jaffee
Spencer Henson
Abstract: The proliferation and increased stringency of food
safety and agricultural health standards is a source of concern among
many developing countries. These standards are perceived as a barrier
to the continued success of their exports of high-value agro-food
products (including fish, horticultural, and other products), either
because these countries lack the technical and administrative
capacities needed for compliance or because these standards can be
applied in a discriminatory or protectionist manner. Jaffee and
Henson draw on available literature and work in progress to examine
the underlying evidence related to the changing standards environment
and its impact on existing and potential developing country exporters
of high-value agricultural and food products. The evidence the
authors present, while only partial, suggests that the picture for
developing countries as a whole is not necessarily problematic and
certainly less pessimistic than the mainstream standards-as-barriers
perspective. Indeed, rising standards serve to accentuate underlying
supply chain strengths and weaknesses and thus impact differently on
the competitive position of individual countries and distinct market
participants. Some countries and industries are even using high
quality and safety standards to successfully (re-)position themselves
in competitive global markets. This emphasizes the importance of
considering the effects of food safety and agricultural health
measures within the context of wider capacity constraints and
underlying supply chain trends and drivers. The key question for
developing countries is how to exploit their strengths and overcome
their weaknesses such that they are gainers rather than losers in the
emerging commercial and regulatory context. This papera product of
the International Trade Department, Poverty Reduction and Economic
Management Networkis part of a larger effort in the network to
understand the challenges and opportunities facing developing
countries associated with evolving international standards for food
and other products.
Keywords: Agriculture; International Economics; Private Sector
Development; Public Sector Management
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3348&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(28)
Land Allocation in Vietnams Agrarian Transition
Martin Ravallion (World Bank)
Dominique van de Walle (World Bank)
Abstract: While liberalizing key factor markets is a crucial
step in the transition from a socialist control-economy to a market
economy, the process can be stalled by imperfect information, high
transaction costs, and covert resistance from entrenched interests.
Ravallion and van de Walle study land-market adjustment in the wake
of Vietnams reforms aiming to establish a free market in land-use
rights following de-collectivization. Inefficiencies in the initial
administrative allocation are measured against an explicit
counterfactual market solution. The authors tests using a farm-
household panel data set spanning the reforms suggest that land
allocation responded positively but slowly to the inefficiencies of
the administrative allocation. They find no sign that the transition
favored the land rich or that it was thwarted by the continuing power
over land held by local officials. This papera joint product of the
Poverty Team and the Public Services Team, Development Research
Groupis part of a larger effort in the group to understand the
welfare impacts of major policy reforms.
Keywords: Agriculture; Poverty; Rural Development; Transition Economies
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:23115&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(29)
The Impact of Coffee Market Reforms on Producer Prices and Price
Transmission
Ekaterina Krivonos
Abstract: Krivonos evaluates the impact of coffee sector reforms
during late 1980s and early 1990s on coffee growers in the main
coffee producing countries. Earlier evidence suggests that the
reforms increased the share of producer prices in the world price of
coffee. She tests this hypothesis with the help of cointegration
analysis, and the results show that in most countries the long-term
producer price share has indeed increased substantially after the
liberalization. Moreover, the results suggest that the reforms
induced a closer cointegrating relationship between grower prices and
world market prices. Finally, estimation of an error-correction model
reveals that short-run transmission of price signals from the world
market to domestic producers has improved, such that domestic prices
adjust faster today to world price fluctuations than they did prior
to the reforms. However, there is some evidence of asymmetries in the
way positive and negative world price changes are transmitted to
domestic markets. This paper is a product of the Trade Team,
Development Research Group.
Keywords: Agriculture; Rural Development
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:36998&r=agr
Policy Research Working Paper Series / The World Bank
*(30)
Marketing of Fruits and Vegetables in India: A Study Covering the
Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata Markets
Gandhi Vasant P
Namboodiri N V
Abstract: There has been concern in recent years regarding the
efficiency of marketing of fruits and vegetables, and that this is
leading to high and fluctuating consumer prices and only a small
share of the consumer rupee reaching the farmers. Marketing of
horticultural crops is complex especially because of perishability,
seasonality and bulkiness. The study seeks to examine different
aspects of their marketing, focusing particularly, on the wholesale
markets for fruits and vegetables which have been established to
overcome deficiencies and improve the marketing efficiency. Results
indicate that in Ahmedabad the direct contact between commission
agents and farmers is very low. For vegetables this is 50 percent and
for fruits only 31 percent. Further, in the system of transaction,
secret bidding and simple transaction dominate and open auction is
relatively rare. In KFWVM, Chennai, the wholesalers act as commission
agents and receive consignments directly from producing centers
through agents or producers. By and large the system of transaction
remains traditional and open auction is rarely seen. This is one
major reason for poor efficiency. However, in the small AUS market in
Chennai, the farmers sell directly to consumers. The share of farmers
in the consumer rupee in Ahmedabad was 41.1 to 69.3 percent for
vegetables and 25.5 to 53.2 percent for fruits. In Chennai KFWVM, the
farmers' share was 40.4 to 61.4 percent for vegetables and, 40.7 to
67.6 percent for fruits. In the small AUS market in Chennai, where
the farmers sell directly to the consumers, the share of farmers was
as high as 85 to 95.4 percent for vegetables. This indicates that if
there are few or no middlemen, the farmers share could be much
higher. In the Kolkata market the share of farmers ranged from 45.9
to 60.94 percent for vegetables and 55.8 to 82.3 percent for fruits.
Thus, the shares are frequently very low, but somewhat better in
Chennai, lower in Kolkata and even lower in Ahmedabad. The margin as
a percentage of farmer-consumer price difference (an efficiency
measure) shows that in Ahmedabad, the margins are very high and range
from 69 to 94 percent. In Chennai they range from 15 to 69 percent,
and in Kolkata they range from 46 to 73 percent. The high percentage
of margin to farmer-consumer price difference is indicative of large
inefficiencies and relatively poor marketing efficiency. There is
great need to improve the marketing of fruits and vegetables. One
important measure would be to bring more markets under regulation and
supervision of a well-represented market committee. Another measure
would be the promotion and perhaps enforcement of open auctions in
the markets. Yet another measure could be efforts to bring more
buyers and sellers into the markets, bringing them closer to perfect
markets. The direct participation of farmers should be increased.
Market infrastructure should be improved through storage (go-down)
facilities, cold storages, loading and weighing facilities.
Improvement in the road network, and cold-chain facilities are also
of substantial importance. Greater transparency of the operations
through supervision and systems can also help substantially. The
market integration and efficiency can also be improved by making up-
to-date market information available to all participants through
various means, including a good market information systems, internet
and good telecommunications facilities at the markets.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:2004-06-09&r=agr
IIMA Working Papers / Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad,
Research and Publication Department
*(31)
Agricultural Biotechnology in India: Ethics, Business and Politics
Gupta Anil K
Chandak Vikas
Abstract: Development of sustainable pest management strategies
in agriculture has become necessary in view of increasing non-
viability of chemical based approach. Among various approaches for
the purpose, policy makers have paid far more attention to
biotechnological alternatives. The first transgenic variety was
approved for commercial trials in cotton. However, some companies
incorporate the Bt gene from the approved varieties in other
varieties and released such hybrids to the farmers. It so happened
that these hybrids though illegal and released unethically proved
more remunerative to the farmers. As if this was not enough, farmers
made crosses of this hybrid developed by NABARD seed company and
developed their own locally suited varieties. The paper describes the
ethical, business and political dimensions of agriculture
biotechnology in India with specific reference to the experience of
Bt cotton in Gujarat. The neglect of IPM, herbal pesticides and bio
control methods becomes even less justified when state not only
tolerates but also encourages widespread experimentation of Bt cotton
without any regulation or monitoring. Implications for future policy
for technological change have been outlined in the paper.
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:2004-07-01&r=agr
IIMA Working Papers / Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad,
Research and Publication Department
*(32)
Agricultural Trade Reforms in the Doha Round: A Developing Country
Perspective
Prema-chandra Athukorala
Abstract: This paper examines the reform outcome of the Uruguay
Round relating to trade in agriculture, the nature of the unfinished
reform agenda and policy choices for the Doha Round, with special
emphasis on the position of developing in trade negotiations. A key
policy inference is that, to be effective, agricultural trade
liberalisation should involve simultaneous reforms of the trade
regime and domestic production support mechanisms. Concerted
international initiatives to provide financial and institutional
support for economic adjustment and social safety programs can play
an important role in making such comprehensive reforms politically
palatable and feasible. While overloading the WTO with matters that
fall beyond its purview may be counterproductive, there is certainly
a case for a coordinated effort involving the WTO and international
development finance institutions. Developing countries should eschew
excessive reliance on 'special and differential treatments' and
instead strive to make use of multilateral liberalisation commitments
to lock in much-needed structural reforms in domestic agriculture.
JEL Codes: O13 F13 Q17
Keywords: Doha Round, World Trade Organisation, trade policy reforms
Length (pages): 26
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2004-05&r=agr
Departmental Working Papers / Australian National University, Economics
RSPAS
*(33)
Optimal Afforestation Contracts with Asymmetric information on Private
Environmental Benefits
Signe Anthon (Royal Agricultural and Veterinarian University)
Bo Jellesmark Thorsen (Danish Forest and Landscape Research Institute)
Abstract: We investigate the problem of subsidising
afforestation when private information exists with respect to the
level of private utility derived from the project. We develop a
simple model that allows for an intelligent design of contracts when
information is asymmetric. The model involves the Principal and two
groups of agents (landowners): a green group deriving high private
utility from the projects and a conventional group deriving lower
utility. Afforestation projects may be produced in different
environmental quality, and we distinguish between two cases, a high
quality and a low quality project. We find that the optimal set of
contracts under asymmetric information involves two different
contracts. One in which green landowners are somewhat overcompensated
for projects of high quality, and one where conventional landowners
are offered contracts including lower quality projects, compared to
the symmetric case, but with compensation equal to his indifference
payment. It is the ability to reduce quality requirements along with
subsidies offered that allows for revelation of the private
information. Finally, we discus how the results obtained may be used
in the implementation of incentive schemes.
JEL Codes: D82 H23 Q23
Keywords: Principal-agent theory, Incentive schemes, Revelation
principle, Environmental economics
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.46&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(34)
Agri-Environmental Policies in a Transition Economy: Using a Choice
Experiment to Value Agricultural Biodiversity on Hungarian Small Farms
Ekin Birol (University College London and International Plant
Genetic Resources Institute)
Agnes Gyovai (Institute of Environmental Management, Szent Istvan
University and Institute for Agrobotany)
Melinda Smale (International Food Policy Research Institute)
Abstract: Agricultural biodiversity is a crucial environmental
resource. Much of the agricultural biodiversity remaining today is
found on the semi-subsistence farms of poorer countries and on the
small-scale farms and home gardens of more industrialised nations.
The traditional Hungarian home gardens, which serve as small farms,
are an example. Historically, these home gardens have served
important functions related to food security, diet quality, and local
culture. Some policies related to European Union accession threaten
the survival of traditional home gardens in Hungarys transitional
economy. This paper applies the choice experiment method to estimate
the value farmers themselves attach to the agricultural biodiversity
still found in these micro-agroecosystems. One of several related
studies, its aim is to enhance policy understanding of the role of
Hungarian small farms and home gardens in the National Agri-
Environmental Programme. The analysis is based on primary data
collected in three environmentally sensitive areas of Hungary where
pilot agri-environmental programmes have been initiated. Findings
demonstrate the variation in values farmers assign to home gardens
across regions and households, with implications for the design of
efficient public conservation programmes.
JEL Codes: Q12 Q18 Q26
Keywords: Agricultural biodiversity, Conservation, Choice experiment
method, Hungary, Home garden
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.48&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(35)
Optimal Disease Eradication
Michael Hoel (Department of Economics, University of Oslo)
Scott Barrett (School of Advanced International Studies, Johns
Hopkins University)
Abstract: Using a dynamic model of the control of an infectious
disease, we derive the conditions under which eradication will be
optimal. When eradication is feasible, the optimal program requires
either a low vaccination rate or eradication. A high vaccination rate
is never optimal. Under special conditions, the results are
especially stark: the optimal policy is either not to vaccinate at
all or to eradicate. Our analysis yields a cost-benefit rule for
eradication, which we apply to the current initiative to eradicate
polio.
JEL Codes: D61 H41 I18
Keywords: Eradication of infectious diseases, Vaccination, Control
theory, Cost-benefit analysis, Poliomyelitis
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.50&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(36)
Willingness to Pay for Mortality Risk Reductions: Does Latency Matter?
Anna Alberini (University of Maryland and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Maureen Cropper (University of Maryland and the World Bank)
Alan Krupnick (Resources for the Future)
Nathalie B. Simon (US Environmental Protection Agency)
Abstract: Using results from two contingent valuation surveys
conducted in Canada and the U.S., we explore the effect of a latency
period on willingness to pay (WTP) for reduced mortality risk using
both structural and reduced form approaches. We find that delaying
the time at which the risk reduction occurs by 10 to 30 years reduces
WTP by more than half for respondents in both samples aged 40 to 60
years. Additionally, we estimate implicit discount rates equal to 8%
for Canada and 4.5% for the U.S. both well within the range
established previously in the literature.
Keywords: Value of a statistical life, Mortality risks, Benefit-cost
analysis
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.53&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(37)
Biodiversity Conservation on Private Lands: Information Problems and
Regulatory Choices
Tun Lin (Department of Economics, University of Cambridge)
Timo Goeschl (Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge)
Abstract: This survey paper examines various information
insufficiencies in biodiversity conservation and their impact of
regulatory choices. We surveyed the literature in the field and
identified four major types of informational insufficiencies in
making efficient biodiversity conservation decisions: 1) biological
uncertainty 2) natural uncertainty 3) individual information, and 4)
monitoring problem. The consequences of these four types of
information insufficiencies on the choice of regulatory tools are
explored. We discuss in this context three types of regulatory tools:
land takings, environmental fees/charges, and contracts. The
efficiency of each type of regulatory tools is shown dependent on the
specific informational constraints that the regulatory faces.
JEL Codes: Q20 Q28 D82 D83
Keywords: Biodiversity conservation, Information, Regulatory tools
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.55&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(38)
Using Data Envelopment Analysis to Evaluate Environmentally Conscious
Tourism Management
Valentina Bosetti (DISCo, Universita di Milano Bicocca and
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Mariaester Cassinelli (DISCo, Universita di Milano Bicocca and
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Alessandro Lanza (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and CRENoS)
Abstract: This paper discusses a methodology to assess the
performances of tourism management of local governments when economic
and environmental aspects are considered as equally relevant. In
particular, the focus is on the comparison and efficiency assessment
of Italian municipalities located on the costal areas. In order to
assess the efficiency status of the considered management units, Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a methodology for evaluating the relative
efficiency of decision making units, is applied. The efficiency index
measure used in DEA analysis accounts for both environmental and
economic features correlated to the tourism industry. Further,
potential managerial improvements for those areas resulting far from
the efficiency frontier can be investigated.
JEL Codes: L83 M40 Q01
Keywords: Data envelopment analysis, Sustainable tourism
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.59&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(39)
Economic and Environmental Effectiveness of a Technology-based Climate
Protocol
Carlo Carraro (University of Venice, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei,
CEPR, CEPS, CESifo)
Barbara Buchner (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Abstract: The present stalemate in climate negotiations has led
policy analysts and economists to explore the possible emergence of
alternative climate regimes. This paper explores the idea of
replacing international cooperation on greenhouse gas emission
control with international cooperation on climate-related
technological innovation and diffusion. This idea recently proposed
among others by Barrett (2001) and Benedick (2001) is based on the
insight that incentives to free-ride are much smaller in the case of
technological cooperation than in the case of cooperation on emission
control. This paper provides a first applied game theory analysis of
a technology-based climate protocol by assessing: (i) the self-
enforcingness (namely, the absence of incentives to free ride) of the
coalition that would form when countries negotiate on climate-related
technological cooperation; (ii) the environmental effectiveness of a
technology-based climate protocol. The analysis is carried out by
using a model in which endogenous and induced technical change are
explicitly modelled and in which international technological
spillovers are also quantified. The results of our analysis partly
support Barretts and Benedicks conjecture. On the one hand, a self-
enforcing agreement is more likely to emerge when countries cooperate
on environmental technological innovation and diffusion than when
they cooperate on emission abatement. However, technological
cooperation without any commitment to emission control may not lead
to a sufficient abatement of greenhouse gas concentrations.
JEL Codes: C7 H0 H4 O3
Keywords: Agreements, Climate, Incentives, Technological change, Policy
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.61&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(40)
Conserving Crop Genetic Resources on Smallholder Farms in Hungary:
Institutional Analysis
Gyorgyi Bela (Institute of Environmental Management, St. Istvan
University)
Gyorgy Pataki (Institute of Environmental Management, St. Istvan
University and Department of Business Economics, Budapest University of
Economic Sciences)
Melinda Smale (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI))
Mariann Hajdu (Faculty of Law Eotvos, Lorand University)
Abstract: Hungary is home to a great diversity of plant and
animal species, whose preservation is of global value. This paper
focuses on the institutional aspects of the research project on on-
farm conservation of crop genetic resources in three Environmentally
Sensitive Areas of Hungary (Devavanya, Orseg-Vendvidek, Szatmar-
Bereg). Implemented by the Institute of Environmental Management, St.
Istvan University and the Institute for Agrobotany in partnership
with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, the project
consists of an interdisciplinary institutional, economic, and
scientific analysis. The main goal of the project is to develop a
scientific understanding about the current and potential socio-
economic role of agrobiodiversity maintained in home gardens. The
first aim of the institutional analysis carried out by this paper is
to identify the institutions and organisations that have significant
impact on the seed choices and seed maintenance practices of farmers,
and hence, on their access to genetic resources. The second aim is to
identify and analyse different stakeholders perceptions of the issue
at hand, as well as their interests and the values they ascribe to
them.
JEL Codes: Q18 Q28 Q38
Keywords: Crop genetic resources, Agro-biodiversity, Institutional
analysis, Stakeholder analysis, New institutional economics,
Qualitative research methods
Downloads:
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.63&r=agr
Working Papers / Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
*(41)
Infectious Disease, Productivity, and Scale in Open and Closed Animal
Production Systems
Hennessy, David A.
Roosen, Jutta
Jensen, Helen H.
Abstract: Comparative advantage motivates large trade flows in
feeder animals throughout the world. Trade creates externalities when
animal diseases can spread beyond the purchasing farm. When growers
can choose between open and closed production systems, Nash
equilibrium will likely involve socially excessive trading. Supply
response to an increase in marginal costs ma |
