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NEP: New Economics Papers
Agricultural Economics
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Edited by: Angelo Zago
http://ideas.repec.org/e/pza49.html
Universita degli Studi di Verona
Date: 2005-12-09
Papers: 26
This document is in the public domain, feel free to circulate it.
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In this issue we have:
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1. Do Global Trade Distortions Still Harm Developing Country
Farmers?
Anderson, Kym; Valenzuela, Ernesto
2. Poverty Alleviation Through Agriculture and Rural Development
in Bangladesh
Mahabub Hossain
3. Resurrection of Rural Credit Delivery System in Maharashtra,
India
Deepak Shah
4. Business Organization and Coordination in Marketing Specialty
Hogs: A Comparative Analysis of Two Firms from Iowa
Hueth, Brent; Ibarburu, Maro; Kliebenstein, James
5. Agriculture in WTO July Package: Issues and Concerns for
Bangladesh
Uttam Kumar Deb
6. Multi-Product Crops for Agricultural and Energy Production
? an AGE Analysis for Poland
Adriana Ignaciuk; Rob B. Dellink
7. Liberalization and Horticultural Exports of Developing
Countries: Issues for Future Growth and Realities
Deepak Shah
8. Bargaining Coalitions in the Agricultural Negotiations of the
Doha Round: Similarity of Interests or Strategic Choices? An
Empirical Assessment
Fabrizio De Filippis; Valeria Costantini; Riccardo
Crescenzi; Luca Salvatici
9. Water resources assessment, irrigation and agricultural
developments in Tajikistan
Kristina Toderich; Munimjon Abbdusamatov; Tsuneo Tsukatani
10. Rural Non-Farm Economy in Bangladesh: A View from Household
Surveys
Mahabub Hossain
11. Rural Windfall or a New Resource Curse? Coca, Income and
Civil Conflict in Colombia
Angrist, Joshua; Kugler, Adriana D.
12. Mapping Strategies for Efficient Rural Credit Delivery
System through Cooperatives in Maharashtra
Deepak Shah
13. RURAL CREDIT DELIVERY IN MAHARASHTRA: EXPERIENCES WITH
FORMAL AND INFORMAL LENDING INSTITUTIONS
Deepak Shah
14. Assessing Climate Change Impacts: Agriculture
Francesco Bosello; Jian Zhang
15. A survey of land, vegetation and irrigation systems in North
Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan
Kristina Toderich; Tsuneo Tsukatani
16. Rice Biotechnology: Opportunity, Perceived Risks and
Potential Benefits to Bangladesh
Mahabub Hossain; Muazzam Husain; S.K Datta
17. Dams
Duflo, Esther; Pande, Rohini
18. Estimating the Pass-Through of Agricultural Policy Reforms:
An Application to Brazilian Commodity Markets
Jonathan Brooks; Olga Melyukhina
19. Geographical Concentration of Rural Poverty in Bangladesh
Suan Pheng Kam; Manik Lal Bose; Tahmina Latif; M A H
Chowdhury; S Ghulam Hussain; Mahbub Ahmed; Anwar Iqbal; L
Villano; Mahabub Hossain
20. The Value of Cultural Heritage Sites in Armenia: Evidence
from a Travel Cost Method Study
Anna Alberini; Alberto Longo
21. The Price and Quantity of Residential Land in the United
States
Davis, Morris; Heathcote, Jonathan
22. Trade and Development in a Labor Surplus Economy
Edward B. Barbier; Michael Rauscher
23. Dependence on Primary Commodities and Poverty Traps in Sub-
Saharan Africa: Devising strategies and building capabilities
for diversification
Habiyaremye, Alexis
24. Sustainability of Urban Sprawl: Environmental-Economic
Indicators for the Analysis of Mobility Impact in Italy
Chiara M. Travisi; Roberto Camagni
25. Economie de l'adaptation au changement climatique et<br
/>agriculture dans le Bassin M?diterran?en
Nathalie Rousset; Ren? Arrus
26. Negotiation processes for the protection of biodiversity
St?phanie Aulong; Charles Figui?res; Robert Lifran
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1. Do Global Trade Distortions Still Harm Developing Country
Farmers?
Anderson, Kym
Valenzuela, Ernesto
We estimate the impact of global merchandise trade distortions
and services regulations on agricultural value added in various
countries. Using the latest versions of the GTAP database and the
GTAP-AGR model of the global economy, our results suggest real
net farm incomes would rise in developing countries with a move
to free trade, thereby alleviating rural poverty - despite a
terms of trade deterioration for developing countries that are
net food importers or are enjoying preferential access to
agricultural markets of high-income countries. We also show, for
several large developing countries, the contribution of their own
versus other countries' trade policies
Keywords: agricultural value added; CGE modeling; economic
welfare; trade policy reform
JEL: C68 D58 F17 Q17
Date: 2005-11
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5337&r=agr
2. Poverty Alleviation Through Agriculture and Rural Development
in Bangladesh
Mahabub Hossain
This paper was prepared as part of CPD's ongoing agricultural
policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI under the
PETRRA project. It provides an overview of the progress made so
far in agricultural, rural development and poverty reduction. It
discusses the role of agriculture in poverty reduction in
Bangladesh. It documents major challenges in further reduction of
poverty in Bangladesh and opportunities for addressing the
challenges.
Keywords: Poverty, Poverty alleviation, Agriculture, Rural
Development, Bangladesh
JEL: I3 Q25
Date: 2004-07
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:39&r=agr
3. Resurrection of Rural Credit Delivery System in Maharashtra,
India
Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, B.M.
C.C. Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India)
The RFIs operating in Maharashtra have not only shown slower
growth in their loan advances and other operational indicators
during the period between 1991 and 2000 but also poor performance
thereafter. The credit cooperatives in particular have shown
significantly high NPAs in Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, Vidarbha
region not only shows very low magnitudes of credit flow through
cooperatives but also decline in share of loan for cotton crop
vis-?-vis other field crops. One of the adverse effects of
slowing down in loan advances for cotton crop is seen on the
farming community of this region where a significant number of
cotton growers have committed suicide either due to lack of loan
advances to them or because of pressure created by various
financial institutions in terms of recovery of loan despite crop
failure. With a view to revive the agricultural credit delivery
system, there is need to tackle twin problems facing the system,
viz., growing NPAs with falling CD ratios and poor recovery
performance of RFIs, aside from adopting innovative approaches
like linking of SHGs and NGOs with mainstream financial
institutions. In brief, the focus of rural credit delivery system
should be on strategies that are required for tackling issues
such as sustainability and viability, operational efficiency,
recovery performance, small farmer coverage and balanced sectoral
development.
Keywords: Resurrection of Credit Delivery in India
JEL: G
Date: 2005-12-02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0512003&r=agr
4. Business Organization and Coordination in Marketing Specialty
Hogs: A Comparative Analysis of Two Firms from Iowa
Hueth, Brent
Ibarburu, Maro
Kliebenstein, James
We study business organization and coordination of specialty-
market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa
pork niche-marketing firms. We describe and analyze each firm's
management of five key organizational challenges: planning and
logistics, quality assurance, process verification and management
of ?credence attributes,? business structure, and profit
sharing. Although each firm is engaged in essentially the same
activity, there are substantial differences across the two firms
in the way production and marketing are coordinated. These
differences are partly explained by the relative size and age of
each firm, thus highlighting the importance of organizational
evolution in agricultural markets, but are also partly the result
of a formal organizational separation between marketing and
production activities in one of the firms.
Keywords: Specialty hogs; coordination; contracting;
organizational design; niche markets
Date: 2005-11-28
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12479&r=agr
5. Agriculture in WTO July Package: Issues and Concerns for
Bangladesh
Uttam Kumar Deb
This paper reviews the state of negotiations as regards
agriculture and the developments in the context of the July
Package. The paper also brings out the major points of
contentions and analyses possible impacts of various negotiating
proposals for Bangladesh?s agricultural sector and its economy.
Moreover, the paper comes up with possible strategies for
Bangladesh in view of the ongoing negotiations on agriculture in
the WTO.
Keywords: WTO-General Council, Agriculture, July Package,
Bangladesh
JEL: F10 Q17
Date: 2005-09
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:53&r=agr
6. Multi-Product Crops for Agricultural and Energy Production
? an AGE Analysis for Poland
Adriana Ignaciuk (Wageningen University)
Rob B. Dellink (Wageningen University)
By-products from agriculture and forestry can contribute to
production of clean and cheap (bio)electricity. To assess the
role of such multi-product crops in the response to climate
policies, we present an applied general equilibrium model with
special attention to biomass and multi-product crops for Poland.
The potential to boost production of bioelectricity through the
use of multi-product crops turns out to be limited to only 2-3%
of total electricity production. Further expansion of the
bioelectricity sector will have to be based on biomass crops
explicitly grown for energy purposes. The competition between
agriculture and biomass for scarce land remains limited, given
the availability of relatively poor land types and substitution
possibilities. The importance of indirect effects illustrates
that the AGE framework is appropriate.
Keywords: Applied general equilibrium (AGE), Biomass, Energy
policy, Renewable energy
JEL: D58 H23 Q28 Q42
Date: 2005-10
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.133&r=agr
7. Liberalization and Horticultural Exports of Developing
Countries: Issues for Future Growth and Realities
Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics
Deemed to be a University , Deccan Gymkhana, Pune ? 411
004 Maharashtra , India)
This paper seeks to evaluate the present and future prospects of
developing and developed countries in agricultural exports in
general and in horticultural exports in particular. The study
also evaluates the behaviour of international export prices for
agricultural commodities, both for developing and developed
nations. In general, this study provides an insight into the
direction in which various developed and developing countries are
heading for insofar as their agricultural and horticultural
exports are concerned in the changed market conditions. The study
has made a few major observations. First, the study shows decline
in market share of developing countries? in world agricultural
exports in the face of marginal increase in their market share in
world fruits and vegetable (F&V) exports during the period
between 1981 and 1997. Second, although the study shows lower
market share of developing countries? in world F&V exports
during the period between 1981 and 1997, the growth in F&V
exports as proportion of total agricultural exports is noticed to
be much faster for developing countries? as against the
developed countries? during the same period. Third, though
agricultural exports of Least Developed Countries (LDC) have
grown only marginally between 1981 and 1997, the growth in their
F&V exports is seen to have been tremendous, especially after the
late eighties period. Similarly, Socialist Countries of Asia (SCA)
and developing countries of Oceania have also shown sharp
increases in their F&V exports after the late eighties period.
Fourth, while except America, other Africa and Oceania, all the
developing countries have shown decline in their market share in
total F&V exports of Developing Market Economies (DME), Asia
shows rise in its market share not only in agriculture but also
in F&V exports of DME. Another major observation of this study is
in terms of instabilities in export prices. The instabilities in
export prices of agricultural commodities, including
horticultural ones, are noticed to be more sharp for developing
world as compared to developed world. The study, therefore, has
categorically emphasized upon the fact that the future growth in
horticulture production and trade, especially of developing world,
will mainly depend on future price mechanism and also on the
import demand of these high value crops in various regions of the
world.
Keywords: Liberalization and Horticultural Exports of Developing
Countries
JEL: F1 F2
Date: 2005-12-02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpit:0512001&r=agr
8. Bargaining Coalitions in the Agricultural Negotiations of the
Doha Round: Similarity of Interests or Strategic Choices? An
Empirical Assessment
Fabrizio De Filippis (University ?Roma Tre?)
Valeria Costantini (University ?Roma Tre?)
Riccardo Crescenzi (University ?Roma Tre?)
Luca Salvatici (University of Molise)
The paper aims at understanding the structural features of the
bargaining coalitions in the Doha Round of the WTO. We provide an
empirical assessment of the preferences of each negotiating actor
looking at general economics indicators, development levels,
structure of the agricultural sectors, and trade policies for
agricultural products. Bargaining coalitions are analyzed by
grouping countries through a cluster analysis procedure. The
clusters are compared with existing coalitions, in order to
assess their degree of internal homogeneity as well as their
common interests. Such a comparison allows the detection of
possible ?defectors?, i.e. countries that according to their
economic conditions and policies seem to be relatively less
committed to the positions of the coalition they join.
Keywords: Agricultural trade negotiations, Bargaining coalitions,
WTO, Cluster analysis
JEL: F13 Q17
Date: 2005-07
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.99&r=agr
9. Water resources assessment, irrigation and agricultural
developments in Tajikistan
Kristina Toderich (Samarkand Academy of Sciences, Uzbekistan)
Munimjon Abbdusamatov (State Control on Water Use and
Preservation of Water Resources, Ministry of Nature
Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan)
Tsuneo Tsukatani (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto
University)
This paper provides a description of current state of water
resources assessment in Tajikistan, their use for the agriculture
development and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures. The
Vakhsh and Pyandzh River Basins and its tributaries in Tajikistan
were directly surveyed during an expedition within the framework
of a Joint Research Project: Investigation of natural resources
of Central Asia and reconstruction of agriculture in Afghanistan,
that is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of
Japan Grant in Aid for Scientific Joint Research, 2003, No.
15252002), that is represented by professor Dr. Tsuneo Tsukatani,
Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Kyoto
Institute of Economics, Kyoto University, Japan. The field
expedition was carried out in September 2003 according to the
Joint Project Research Program to study the natural resources and
contemporary state of irrigation in Pyandzh River basin.
Keywords: water resources, cropping system, irrigation
infrastructure, Tajikistan, Subsurface drip irrigation,
SDI, Pyandzh, AmuDarya, Kumsangir, Vakhsh
Date: 2004-03
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:585&r=agr
10. Rural Non-Farm Economy in Bangladesh: A View from Household
Surveys
Mahabub Hossain
This paper was presented at the dialogue on Promoting Rural Non-
farm Economy: Is Bangladesh Doing Enough? The paper presents the
findings of the surveys, conducted in 1987 and 2000, on the
importance of the rural non-farm activities as a source of rural
development and factors affecting participation in it. It
estimates the duration of employment and the level of
productivity, to examine whether the expansion of the rural non-
farm economy (RFNE) is caused by "push" or "pull" factors. It
also assesses whether access to capital is a constraint to
expansion of RFNE. It analyzes the expenditure pattern of rural
and urban households to assess the demand for nonfarm goods and
services. It provides an overview of strategies and policies for
the development of the rural non-farm sector. Finally, the study
highlights the actions required for promotion of the rural non-
farm economy of Bangladesh. Nature and Impact of Women's
Participation in Economic Activities in Rural Bangladesh:
Insights from Household Surveys.
Keywords: Economy Bangladesh
JEL: A14
Date: 2004-07
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:40&r=agr
11. Rural Windfall or a New Resource Curse? Coca, Income and
Civil Conflict in Colombia
Angrist, Joshua
Kugler, Adriana D.
Natural and agricultural resources for which there is a
substantial black market, such as coca, opium, and diamonds,
appear especially likely to be exploited by the parties to a
civil conflict. On the other hand, these resources may also
provide one of the few reliable sources of income in the
countryside. In this paper, we study the economic and social
consequences of a major shift in the production of coca paste
from Peru and Bolivia to Colombia, where most coca leaf is now
harvested. This shift, which arose in response to the disruption
of the 'air bridge' that previously ferried coca paste into
Colombia, provided an exogenous boost in the demand for Colombian
coca leaf. Our analysis shows this shift generated economic gains
in rural areas, primarily in the form of increased self-
employment earnings and increased labour supply by teenage boys.
There is little evidence of widespread economic spillovers,
however. The results also suggest that the rural areas which saw
accelerated coca production subsequently became much more violent.
Taken together, these findings support the view that the
Colombian civil conflict is fuelled by the financial
opportunities that coca provides. This is in line with a recent
literature that attributes the extension of civil conflicts to
economic rewards and an environment that favours insurgency more
than to the persistence of economic or political grievances.
Keywords: civil war; resource curse; rural development
JEL: J20 J43 O13 O18 O54
Date: 2005-10
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5324&r=agr
12. Mapping Strategies for Efficient Rural Credit Delivery
System through Cooperatives in Maharashtra
Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, B.M.
C.C. Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India)
This paper attempts to assess the performance of various credit
cooperatives operating in different districts and regions of
Maharashtra with the extension to evaluating the viability of
these institutions in forward and backward regions of the state.
In this study, the credit cooperatives operating in Maharashtra
have not only shown slower growth in their institutional finance
coupled with much slower growth in their membership but also
faster growth in outstanding loans as against their loan advances
during the reform period. The reason for this dismal scenario is
traced in adverse environment created by the financial sector
reforms, which have reduced the entire rural credit delivery
through cooperatives to a moribund state. Since the financial
sector reforms accorded greater flexibility to cooperatives to
invest in non- target avenues like shares and debentures of
corporates, units of mutual funds, bonds of public sector
undertakings, etc., this has adversely affected credit flow from
these major institutions operating in rural Maharashtra as most
of their loans meant for farm finance are diverted to investments.
The credit cooperatives in Maharashtra are also noticed to be
beset with several other deficiencies, which mainly relate to
their low operational efficiency, high incidence of overdue, low
level of recovery, distributional aspects of their loan advances,
coverage of SC/ST members, etc. The findings of this
investigation clearly show lackadaisical approach of PACS towards
SC/ST members, particularly in terms of their coverage, pattern
of loan advances to them and recovery pattern. The deficiencies
do not confine to this but extend to other concurrent issues.
Wide variation in total and crop loan advances across various
districts and regions is other important issue that need to be
taken cognizance of in ensuring effective rural credit delivery
through PACS operating in Maharashtra. Although decline in their
loan advances with rise in GCA is another issue, the most
important one among all is the mounting overdue and NPAs of
cooperatives operating in both forward and backward regions of
Maharashtra. Due to substantially high NPAs, while BDCCB
operating in backward region has shown gross inefficiency in its
functioning during the reform period, the SDCCB operating in
forward region is marked with deterioration in its financial
health during this period. In order to rejuvenate rural credit
delivery system through cooperatives, the major problems facing
the system, viz., high transaction cost, poor repayment
performance, mounting NPAs, distributional aspect of credit,
coverage of SC/ST members, etc., need to be tackled with more
fiscal jurisprudence reserving exemplary punishment for willful
defaults, particularly large farmers.
Keywords: Strategies For Efficient Rural Credit Delivery
JEL: G
Date: 2005-12-02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0512002&r=agr
13. RURAL CREDIT DELIVERY IN MAHARASHTRA: EXPERIENCES WITH
FORMAL AND INFORMAL LENDING INSTITUTIONS
Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, B.M.
C.C. Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India)
The rural lending institutions in Maharashtra not only encompass
traditional formal sector credit but also new generation credit
organizations. The present study specifically focuses on credit
experiences of various categories of farmers, including landless
households, with these lending institutions with the overall
objective of suggesting policy measures relating to ensuring
smooth flow of credit to them. The study provides two differing
views insofar as the functioning of various lending institutions
in Maharashtra is concerned. While new generation lending
institutions such as SHGs have shown high rate of interest on
loan advances, the traditional lending institutions such as
cooperatives and commercial banks are seen to beset with other
deficiencies, viz., absence of human capital investment and
consumption loans, especially for illness, marriage, and other
contingencies. These credit institutions have also shown high
transaction cost and delay in delivery of credit, besides showing
other deficiencies. The study has emphasized upon the need for
both formal and informal credit agencies to have simplified
loaning procedures with major focus on extension of credit
facilities to poorer sections of the rural community, balanced
sectoral development, sustainability and viability, operational
efficiency and small farmer coverage. Other suggestions of this
study encompass efficient use of ?Kisan Credit Cards?, group
lending through SHGs, etc. Further, as the credit delivery
through commercial and cooperative banks invariably depended on
ownership of land, the landless households are adversely affected
in terms of access to credit and are noticed to be neglected
section of rural community. It is, therefore, felt in this study
that ownership of land as the criterion for the distribution of
credit should be relaxed and group responsibility be introduced
by formal credit institutions to safeguard the interest of
overall rural community. Identification of poorer groups within
the landholding categories is another suggestion of this study
with a view to help them to rise above the poverty line by
providing them access to credit.
Keywords: Credit Delivery in India: Experiences with Formal and
Informal Lenders
JEL: G
Date: 2005-12-02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0512004&r=agr
14. Assessing Climate Change Impacts: Agriculture
Francesco Bosello (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Jian Zhang (EEE Program, Abdus Salam International Center of
Theoretical Physics)
The economy-wide implications of climate change on agricultural
sectors in 2050 are estimated using a static computable general
equilibrium model. Peculiar to this exercise is the coupling of
the economic model with a climatic model forecasting temperature
increase in the relevant year and with a crop-growth model
estimating climate change impact on cereal productivity. The main
results of the study point out on the one hand the limited
influence of climate change on world food supply and welfare; on
the other hand its important distributional consequences as the
stronger negative effects are concentrated on developing
countries. The simulation exercise is introduced by a survey of
the relevant literature.
Keywords: Climate change, Computable general equilibrium models,
Agriculture
JEL: D58 C68 N50 Q54
Date: 2005-07
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.94&r=agr
15. A survey of land, vegetation and irrigation systems in North
Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan
Kristina Toderich (Department of Desert Ecology and Water
Resources ResearchCSamarkand Division of the Academy of
Sciences)
Tsuneo Tsukatani (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto
University)
This paper describes the results of a field expedition work
along the rivers Vakhsh and Pyandzh in Tajikistan and Afghanistan
within the framework of a Joint Research Project: Investigation
of natural resources of Central Asia and reconstruction of
agriculture in Afghanistan, supported by the Ministry of
Education and Culture in Japan and represented by professor
Tsuneo Tsukatani, Department of Natural Resources and the
Environment, Kyoto Institute of Economics, Kyoto University,
Japan; also supported by a Grant in Aid for Scientific Research,
The Ministry of Education and Culture of Japan, 2003 (Monbusho
International Scientific Joint Research Program, No. 15252002),
represented again by professor Tsuneo Tsukatani. The field
expedition was carried out in September 2003 according to the
Joint Project Research Program to study the natural resources and
the contemporary state of irrigation systems in the Pyandzh River
basin.
Keywords: Agriculture, Desertification, Environmental policy,
Farming system, Irrigation system, North Afghanistan,
Pyandzh River, Rangelands improvement, Subsurface Drip
Irrigation (SDI), Water quality
Date: 2004-02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:584&r=agr
16. Rice Biotechnology: Opportunity, Perceived Risks and
Potential Benefits to Bangladesh
Mahabub Hossain
Muazzam Husain
S.K Datta
This paper has been prepared as part of CPD's ongoing
agricultural policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI
under the PETRRA project. It discusses the benefits and risks of
rice biotechnology research and genetically engineered varieties
developed from such research. It assesses the potential benefits
of biotechnology for rice improvement in the context of
Bangladesh. The paper collated perceived risk of biotechnology.
It reports the findings of a survey on knowledge, perceptions and
attitude of civil society to identify the constraints to adoption
of rice biotechnology in Bangladesh. It also raises some issues
for debate that may assist the government to take up positions on
this issue vital to achieving and sustaining food and nutrition
security in Bangladesh.
Keywords: Rice, Biotechnology, Bangladesh
JEL: Q25
Date: 2004-07
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:37&r=agr
17. Dams
Duflo, Esther
Pande, Rohini
The construction of large dams is one of the most costly and
controversial forms of public infrastructure investment in
developing countries, but little is known about their impact.
This paper studies the productivity and distributional effects of
large dams in India. To account for endogenous placement of dams
we use GIS data and the fact that river gradient affects a
district's suitability for dams to provide instrumental variable
estimates of their impact. We find that, in a district where a
dam is built, agricultural production does not increase but
poverty does. In contrast, districts located downstream from the
dam benefit from increased irrigation and see agricultural
production increase and poverty fall. Overall, our estimates
suggest that large dam construction in India is a marginally cost-
effective investment with significant distributional implications,
and has, in aggregate, increased poverty.
Keywords: dams; development planning; program evaluation
JEL: H23 H43 O12 O21
Date: 2005-10
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5325&r=agr
18. Estimating the Pass-Through of Agricultural Policy Reforms:
An Application to Brazilian Commodity Markets
Jonathan Brooks
Olga Melyukhina
The ultimate impact of multilateral and own-country agricultural
policy reforms will depend on the extent to which those reforms
?pass-through? across national borders, within countries, and
from local markets down to the household level. At the heart of
policy pass-through is the question of ?price transmission?,
i.e. the extent to which price changes in one market lead to
price changes in another market...
Date: 2005-11
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:2-en&r=agr
19. Geographical Concentration of Rural Poverty in Bangladesh
Suan Pheng Kam
Manik Lal Bose
Tahmina Latif
M A H Chowdhury
S Ghulam Hussain
Mahbub Ahmed
Anwar Iqbal
L Villano
Mahabub Hossain
This paper was presented at the dialogue on Mapping Poverty for
Rural Bangladesh: Implications for Pro-poor Development. The
dialogue was organised as part of CPD's ongoing agricultural
policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI under the
PETRRA project. The study reported geographical concentration of
rural poverty in Bangladesh for 425 upazilas in 2000-01. The
study measured and mapped incidence of poverty (using Headcount
Index), intensity of poverty (using Poverty Gap Index) and
severity of poverty (using Squared Poverty Gap Index). It has
analyzed factors contributing to the spatial concentration of
poverty. It is hoped that the findings of the study would be
helpful in identifying target areas and priorities for
agricultural R&D interventions and poverty reduction programmes.
Keywords: Poverty, Rural Poverty, Bangladesh
JEL: I3
Date: 2004-07
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:38&r=agr
20. The Value of Cultural Heritage Sites in Armenia: Evidence
from a Travel Cost Method Study
Anna Alberini (University of Maryland)
Alberto Longo (University of Bath)
This paper applies the travel cost method to visits to cultural
sites in Armenia by domestic visitors. Respondents intercepted at
four cultural monuments provided information on their visitation
patterns, experience at the site, perception of the state of
conservation of the monuments, and rating of the quality of the
services and infrastructures. We combine actual trips with stated
trips under hypothetical programs that would enhance the
conservation of the monuments and improve one of (i) the cultural
experience at the site, (ii) the quality of the infrastructure,
or (iii) the quality of the services, and use the combined actual
and stated trips to fit a panel data model. Our investigation
shows that that there are significant use values associated with
the four study monuments, and that conservation programs and
initiatives that improve the cultural experience, or simply make
it easier for the respondent to reach and spend time at the
monument, are valued by domestic visitors and would encourage
higher visitation rates.
Keywords: Valuation of cultural heritage sites, Non-market
valuation, Travel cost, Consumer surplus, Contingent
behavior
JEL: Z10
Date: 2005-09
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.112&r=agr
21. The Price and Quantity of Residential Land in the United
States
Davis, Morris
Heathcote, Jonathan
A house is a bundle comprising a physical structure and the plot
of land upon which the house is built. Thus changes in house
prices reflect changes in the cost of structures and value of
land. In this paper we apply this insight to construct the first
constant-quality price and quantity indexes for the aggregate
stock of residential land in the United States. We document that
the value of residential land exceeds annual GDP, and that the
dynamics for the prices of residential land and residential
structures are quite different. For example, the real price index
for residential land almost tripled between 1975 and 2005, while
the real price of structures increased by only 24 percent.
Fluctuations in house prices at business cycle frequencies,
including the recent boom, are primarily driven by changes in the
price of land.
Keywords: housing; land prices
JEL: R14 R21 R31
Date: 2005-11
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5333&r=agr
22. Trade and Development in a Labor Surplus Economy
Edward B. Barbier
Michael Rauscher (University of Rostock)
This paper looks at a model in which two countries trade
agricultural and manufactured commodities. The manufactured-goods
sector produces with increasing returns to scale under conditions
of monopolistic competition. It is shown that an increase in land
endowment (or an increase in agricultural productivity) can have
negative welfare implications for both countries. This outcome
can result under three different scenarios: asymmetries across
countries, i.e. a North-South model, a neoclassical labor market
in the home country's instead of a Lewisian market, and
alternative utility functions.
Keywords: international trade, labor surplus economy, land
expansion, monopolistic competition, North-South model.
JEL: F12 J61 O15 O18
Date: 2005
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ros:wpaper:53&r=agr
23. Dependence on Primary Commodities and Poverty Traps in Sub-
Saharan Africa: Devising strategies and building capabilities
for diversification
Habiyaremye, Alexis (United Nations University, Institute
for New Technologies)
This paper analyses the poverty traps problem of Sub-Saharan
African (SSA) countries and their dependence on a few primary
export commodities in their trade relationships with the rest of
the world. We argue that traditional approaches to development
and industrialization have failed to take account of the
necessity of building appropriate technological capability for
SSA countries to acquire, master and effectively apply modern
technologies. Taking lessons from the failure of these
traditional approaches, w e place the national systems of
innovation (NSI) approach and the adequate technological
capability building (TCB) at the source of economic
diversification needed to reduce dependence on primary
commodities and disentangle poverty traps in SSA countries.
Keywords: systems of innovation, technology policy, economic
development, industrialization, poverty, capability
building, primary commodities, natural resources, sub-
saharan africa
Date: 2005
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unuint:200509&r=agr
24. Sustainability of Urban Sprawl: Environmental-Economic
Indicators for the Analysis of Mobility Impact in Italy
Chiara M. Travisi (DIG, Politecnico di Milano)
Roberto Camagni (DIG, Politecnico di Milano)
Sound empirical and quantitative analysis on the relationship
between different patterns of urban expansion and environmental
or social costs of mobility are still very rare in Europe and the
few studies available provide only a qualitative discussion on
this. Recently, Camagni et al. (2002) have performed an empirical
analysis on the metropolitan area of Milan, aimed at establishing
whether different patterns of urban expansion generate different
levels of land consumption and heterogeneous impacts of urban
mobility. Results confirm the expectation that higher
environmental impact of mobility is associated with more
extensive and sprawling urban development, more recent
urbanisation processes and residential specialisation. The
present paper enlarges further the empirical analysis to seven
Italian metropolitan areas (namely, Bari, Florence, Naples, Padua,
Perugia, Potenza and Turin) to corroborate previous results for
the Italian context. The novelty of the present paper is
threefold. Firstly, we are interested in exploring the changes
occurred to the intensity of the mobility impact across a ten-
year period, from 1981 to 1991, corresponding to the Italian
economic boom years. Secondly, using an econometric analysis in
cross-section, we consider several metropolitan areas at once,
being therefore able to explore whether there are significant
differences in the way the model explains variations in the
mobility impact across various Italian urban areas. Finally, we
propose a conceptual interpretation of the causal chain in the
explanation of the mobility impact intensity and we test it using
Causal Path Analysis.
Keywords: Urban mobility, Sprawl, Environmental sustainability,
Collective costs
JEL: Q56 R14 R41
Date: 2005-09
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.102&r=agr
25. Economie de l'adaptation au changement climatique et<br
/>agriculture dans le Bassin M?diterran?en
Nathalie Rousset (LEPII - Laboratoire d'?conomie de la
production et de l'int?gration internationale - http://www.
upmf-grenoble.fr/lepii/ - CNRS : FRE2664 - Universit?
Pierre Mend?s-France - Grenoble II)
Ren? Arrus (LEPII - Laboratoire d'?conomie de la
production et de l'int?gration internationale - http://www.
upmf-grenoble.fr/lepii/ - CNRS : FRE2664 - Universit?
Pierre Mend?s-France - Grenoble II)
Le changement climatique fait peser des risques ?lev?s pour
l'agriculture m?diterran?enne, qui pourrait voir ses rendements
diminuer fortement, en liaison avec la<br />rar?faction des
ressources hydriques. L'adaptation anticipative des syst?mes
agricoles ? ces changements appara?t ainsi comme un enjeu
majeur pour cette r?gion pour le 21e si?cle.
Keywords: eau ; changement climatique ; agriculture ; adaptation
Date: 2005-11-25
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00006
235_v1&r=agr
26. Negotiation processes for the protection of biodiversity
St?phanie Aulong (Station biologique de la Tour du Valat
and UMR LAMETA)
Charles Figui?res (INRA, UMR LAMETA)
Robert Lifran (INRA, UMR LAMETA)
Consider a developing country that has the potential for
biodiversity conservation, and developed countries that benefit
from biodiversity but are not in position to produce it. From the
statu quo, some incremental protections of biodiversity would be
harmful for the developing country but would benefit the
developed contries and the world as a whole; in other words,
biodiversity protection is a global public good. The negotiation
problem is then: how to organize compensation transfers from the
developed countries to the developing country to sustain a higher
Pareto optimal) level of biodiversity, given that: i) each
developed country has an incentive to free-ride on transfers
conceded by others, ii) no supranational authority exists that
has both the necessary relevant information on countries's
willingness to pay for biodiversity, and the power to impose a
socially beneficial profile of transfers? This paper investigates
how, and to what extent, the theory of resource allocation
processes can shed light into this issue, and how it can be best
tailored and qualified to cope with the problem at hand. The
focus is put on the incentive properties of the suggested
negotiation processes, and their ability to respect countries'
sovereignty.
Keywords: biodiversity, negotiation processes, voting scheme,
preferences revelation.
Date: 2005-04
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iep:wpidep:0505&r=agr
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