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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: 2006-10-07
Papers: 11
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In this issue we have:
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1. Distributional Effects of WTO Agricultural Reforms in Rich
and Poor Countries
Hertel, Thomas; Keeney, Roman; Ivanic, Maros; Winters, Alan
2. The role of agriculture in poverty reduction an empirical
perspective
Christiaensen, Luc; Demery, Lionel; Kuhl, Jesper
3. Klum at Gtap: Introducing Biophysical Aspects of Land-Use
Decisions Into a General Equilibrium Model A Coupling
Experiment
Kerstin Ronneberger; Maria Berrittella; Francesco Bosello;
Richard S.J. Tol
4. Water Infrastructures Facing Sustainable Development
Challenges: Integrated Evaluation of Impacts of Dams on
Regional Development in Morocco
Paola Minoia; Anna Brusarosco
5. Preserving Biodiversity: Ambiguity and Safety Rules
Giannis Vardas; Anastasios Xepapadeas
6. L'agriculture p?riurbaine, une proximit? ville agriculture
? construire
Nathalie Bertrand; Nicole Rousier
7. A Future for the Dead Sea Basin: Water Culture among Israelis,
Palestinians and Jordanians
Clive Lipchin
8. Measuring Technical Efficiency under Factor Non-Substitution:
A Stochastic von Liebig Crop Response Model
Margarita Genius; Maria Mavraki; Vangelis Tzouvelekas
9. Economic Valuation of Oceanographic Forecasting Services: A
Cost-Benefit Exercise
Aline Chiabai; Paulo A.L.D. Nunes
10. Experienced and Novice Investors: Does Environmental
Information Influence on Investment Allocation Decisions?
Holm, Claus; Rikhardsson, Pall
11. Spending Natural Resource Revenues in an Altruistic Growth
Model
Elisabeth Hermann Frederiksen
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1. Distributional Effects of WTO Agricultural Reforms in Rich
and Poor Countries
Hertel, Thomas
Keeney, Roman
Ivanic, Maros
Winters, Alan
Rich countries? agricultural trade policies are the
battleground on which the future of the WTO?s troubled Doha
Round will be determined. Subject to widespread criticism, they
nonetheless appear to be almost immune to serious reform, and one
of their most common defenses is that they protect poor farmers.
Our findings reject this claim. The analysis conducted here uses
detailed data on farm incomes to show that major commodity
programs are highly regressive in the USA, and that the only
serious losses under trade reform are among large, wealthy,
farmers in a few heavily protected subsectors. In contrast,
analysis using household data from fifteen developing countries
indicates that reforming rich countries? agricultural trade
policies would lift large numbers of developing country farm
households out of poverty. In the majority of cases these gains
are not outweighed by the poverty-increasing effects of higher
food prices among other households. Agricultural reforms that
appear feasible, even under an ambitious Doha Round, achieve only
a fraction of the benefits for developing countries that full
liberalization promises, but protects US large farms from most of
the rigors of adjustment. Finally, the analysis conducted here
indicates that maximal trade-led poverty reductions occur when
developing countries participate more fully in agricultural trade
liberalization.
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:workpp:2185&r=agr
2. The role of agriculture in poverty reduction an empirical
perspective
Christiaensen, Luc
Demery, Lionel
Kuhl, Jesper
The relative contribution of a sector to poverty reduction is
shown to depend on its direct and indirect growth effects as well
as its participation effect. The paper assesses how these effects
compare between agriculture and non-agriculture by reviewing the
literature and by analyzing cross-country national accounts and
poverty data from household surveys. Special attention is given
to Sub-Saharan Africa. While the direct growth effect of
agriculture on poverty reduction is likely to be smaller than
that of non-agriculture (though not because of inherently
inferior productivity growth), the indirect growth effect of
agriculture (through its linkages with nonagriculture) appears
substantial and at least as large as the reverse feedback effect.
The poor participate much more in growth in the agricultural
sector, especially in low-income countries, resulting in much
larger poverty reduction impact. Together, these findings support
the overall premise that enhancing agricultural productivity is
the critical entry-point in designing effective poverty reduction
strategies, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, to maximize the
poverty reducing effects, the right agricultural technology and
investments must be pursued, underscoring the need for much more
country specific analysis of the structure and institutional
organization of the rural economy in designing poverty reduction
strategies.
Keywords: Rural Poverty Reduction,Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality,
Economic Theory & Research,Rural Development Knowledge
& Information Systems
Date: 2006-09-01
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4013&r=agr
3. Klum at Gtap: Introducing Biophysical Aspects of Land-Use
Decisions Into a General Equilibrium Model A Coupling
Experiment
Kerstin Ronneberger (Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum GmbH)
Maria Berrittella (University of Palermo)
Francesco Bosello (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and
International Centre for Theoretical Physics)
Richard S.J. Tol (Princeton University, Vrije Universiteit
and Hamburg University)
In this paper the global agricultural land use model KLUM is
coupled to an extended version of the computable general
equilibrium model (CGE) GTAP in order to consistently assess the
integrated impacts of climate change on global cropland
allocation and its implication for economic development. The
methodology is innovative as it introduces dynamic economic land-
use decisions based also on the biophysical aspects of land into
a state-of-the-art CGE; it further allows the projection of
resulting changes in cropland patterns on a spatially more
explicit level. A convergence test and illustrative future
simulations underpin the robustness and potentials of the coupled
system. Reference simulations with the uncoupled models emphasize
the impact and relevance of the coupling; the results of coupled
and uncoupled simulations can differ by several hundred percent.
Keywords: Land-Use Change, Computable General Equilibrium
Modeling, Integrated Assessment, Climate Change
JEL: C68 Q15
Date: 2006-08
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.102&r=agr
4. Water Infrastructures Facing Sustainable Development
Challenges: Integrated Evaluation of Impacts of Dams on
Regional Development in Morocco
Paola Minoia (Universit? Ca? Foscari di Venezia)
Anna Brusarosco (Universit? Ca? Foscari di Venezia)
During the past century, large hydraulic infrastructures have
been considered as the most effective tools for increasing water
supply and rationalise water management. According to this
approach, large infrastructures are seen as catalysts for
territorial development and economic progress. More recently,
international surveys of results of water supply policies and
performances of large dams, show that these structures need to be
integrated in more comprehensive Integrated Water Resource
Management strategies at catchments? scale, to promote
equitable and sustainable regional development. The aim of this
communication is to present the role of large hydraulic
infrastructures within the regional development dynamics with
particular attention to the Sebou basin in Morocco, in order to
assess some relevant impacts on local communities and their
ecosystems. The Sebou region is one of the most important basins
in Morocco, in the context of the national strategies and
policies of management of water resources, established by the
Water Law of 1995. The development of hydraulic infrastructures
in the Sebou Basin begun in 1935, with construction of a complex
of ten large dams and nine small dams, to provide water for
agriculture, domestic and industrial use, and to generate
hydropower and control floods, in line with the national water
policies that, from the 1960s onwards, looked at large dams as
core infrastructures for regional development. A critical view
will be given about the coherence of this strategy with the
sustainability principles.
Keywords: Water Policy, Morocco, Dams, Sustainable Development,
Impacts
JEL: Q25 Q28
Date: 2006-08
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.105&r=agr
5. Preserving Biodiversity: Ambiguity and Safety Rules
Giannis Vardas (Department of Economics, University of Crete)
Anastasios Xepapadeas (Department of Economics, University
of Crete)
Safety rules are developed, for biodiversity preservation. These
rules are designed to take into account the impact of uncertainty
and worst case scenarios, which when combined with unregulated
ecosystem management decisions, might produce extinction of
species. The safety rules take the form of fixed land allocation
and fixed harvesting rules under uncertainty. We explore how
model uncertainty affects these safety rules relative to the
classic risk aversion case and how a measure of precaution
against worst case scenarios can be formulated.
Keywords: Biodiversity Preservation, Model Uncertainty, Safety
Rules
JEL: Q57
Date: 2006-03-11
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crt:wpaper:0607&r=agr
6. L'agriculture p?riurbaine, une proximit? ville agriculture
? construire
Nathalie Bertrand (DTGR - D?veloppement des territoires
montagnards - [CEMAGREF])
Nicole Rousier (LEPII - Laboratoire d'Economie de la
Production et de l'Int?gration Internationale - [CNRS :
FRE2664] - [Universit? Pierre Mend?s-France - Grenoble
II])
Cette communication qui s'appuie sur l'analyse de la R?gion
Urbaine Grenobloise s'interroge dans un premier temps sur la
sp?cificit? ?ventuelle de l'agriculture p?riurbaine, en
termes de productions et de commercialisation (circuits courts),
c'est-?-dire sur l'impact de la proximit? g?ographique de la
ville dans le rapport secteur agricole-territoires. La tr?s
grande diversit? des strat?gies des exploitants, les
strat?gies de niches, l'?clatement sur l'espace de ceux qui
pratiquent les nouvelles fonctionnalit?s, rendent difficiles les
actions collectives au niveau local sur des probl?mes productifs
agricoles. De telles dynamiques semblent plus relever d'une
mobilisation du milieu professionnel agricole sur des projets de
d?veloppement urbain. L'?mergence de nouvelles organisations et
les proximit?s institutionnelles entre agriculteurs et ?lus
seront analys?es dans un deuxi?me temps.
Keywords: agriculture p?riurbaine ; ville ; territoire ;
agriculture ; d?veloppement urbain ; d?veloppement
territorial ; France ; Grenoble
Date: 2006-10-02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00102574_v1&r=agr
7. A Future for the Dead Sea Basin: Water Culture among Israelis,
Palestinians and Jordanians
Clive Lipchin (Arava Institute For Environmental Studies)
The Dead Sea basin plays a major role for regional economic
development (industry, tourism and agriculture) in the Middle
East. This potential is threatened by the steady disappearance of
the Dead Sea. Since around 1930 the water level of the Dead Sea
has fallen by about 25 m, about half of this alone in the last 20
years. The Dead Sea is a transboundary resource shared by Israel,
the Palestinian Authority and Jordan. The Dead Sea is the
terminal point of the Jordan River watershed and as such, it
serves as a barometer for the health of the overall system. Its
rapid decline reflects the present water management strategies of
the riparian and upstream countries. This includes the different
water cultures of the three countries. Throughout history, the
Dead Sea basin has served as a source of refuge and inspiration
for followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Today, the
religious significance of the Dead Sea is being overshadowed by
its rapid disappearance. This may be explained in part by the
water cultures of the three countries that influence water policy
in the region. Ideology, together with culture and tradition,
such as that of Zionism in Israel, has played a central role in
water development in the region. In many cases, this has been at
the expense of the environment. Elements pertaining to
environmental security and water culture and tradition, whereby a
sustainably managed environment provides for social, economic as
well as environmental benefits are evident with regards the Dead
Sea. The decline for example, undermines its potential as a
tourist destination, despite the enormous investment in hotel and
resort infrastructures in Israel and in Jordan. The decline also
raises ethical issues about the exploitation of water resources
by present generations at the expense of this natural heritage to
future generations. This paper provides an analysis of a European
Union funded project whose aims are to synthesize and assess
existing physical and socio-economic data and to assess options
for a better future for the Dead Sea. It will identify the
patterns of water supply and use in the region, and the factors
that control these patterns, including those of water culture.
The underlying assumption is that solutions for a more
sustainable development than today?s scenario will not come
from simply providing "more water for more development", but from
a new land and water management system, indeed ethic, that is
sensitive to social, cultural and ecological resources thereby
providing security and stability across cultures, economic
sectors and nations.
Keywords: Water Culture, Dead Sea, Stakeholder Analysis
JEL: Q25 Q56 Q58
Date: 2006-09
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.115&r=agr
8. Measuring Technical Efficiency under Factor Non-Substitution:
A Stochastic von Liebig Crop Response Model
Margarita Genius (Department of Economics, University of
Crete)
Maria Mavraki (Department of Economics, University of Crete)
Vangelis Tzouvelekas (Department of Economics, University of
Crete)
The present paper develops an econometric model for measuring
input-oriented technical efficiency when the underlying
technology is characterized by the lack of substitution between
inputs. In this instances, Farrell?s radial measure of
technical inefficiency is inappropriate as it may be possible to
identify a technical inefficient bundle as technical efficient.
Instead Russell?s non-radial indices can adequately measure
technical inefficiency in factor limitation models. To this end,
a disequilibrium model augmented with a regime specific technical
inefficiency term is proposed and its likelihood function derived
together with the computation of technical efficiency under
specific distributional assumptions. The framework under which
the model is proposed is the well known von Liebig hypothesis
that analyses crop response to different levels of fertilizer
nutrients. Application of the proposed stochastic von Liebig crop
response model to the experimental data of Heady and Pesek (1954)
points out to the fact that technical inefficiency can arise for
a subset of the nutrients considered.
Date: 2006-03
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crt:wpaper:0608&r=agr
9. Economic Valuation of Oceanographic Forecasting Services: A
Cost-Benefit Exercise
Aline Chiabai (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Paulo A.L.D. Nunes (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
This paper provides an assessment of the economic value of the
oceanographic services provided by the Mediterranean operational
forecasting system, MFSTEP. The main purpose of this exploratory
study is to carry out a cost-benefit analysis for different
development scenarios, by comparing the costs associated with the
project implementation with the private benefits that arise from
delivering its products on the market. As far as the costs are
concerned, a total cost assessment has been performed by
identifying, classifying and estimating the wide range of inputs
that have been allocated both to the project development and
maintenance. Against this context, a cost questionnaire has been
designed and administered to all MFSTEP partners. In addition,
the study focuses on an end-users analysis in order to examine
end-users? attitudes and interests for the forecasting products,
their needs and satisfaction. As before, we make the use of a
survey. Finally, this questionnaire is characterized by exploring
the use of the contingent valuation approach so as to address and
estimate the private benefits derived from the provision of the
MFSTEP products. Estimation results show that the mean
willingness to pay for accessing the forecasting products amounts
to 65 euro per download. Cost-benefit analysis reveals that, from
a market perspective relying on the profit maximisation, a total
of 163 downloads per day are required for total maintenance costs
recovery, whereas 90 downloads per day are required to recover
personnel maintenance costs. Finally, 33 downloads per day are
required so as to recover durable equipment maintenance costs.
Keywords: Cost-Benefit Analysis, Contingent Valuation, Survey
Design, Willingness to Pay, Cost Assessment, Observing
and Modelling Oceanographic System
JEL: D60 D61 D12
Date: 2006-08
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.104&r=agr
10. Experienced and Novice Investors: Does Environmental
Information Influence on Investment Allocation Decisions?
Holm, Claus (Department of Management Science and Logistics,
Aarhus School of Business)
Rikhardsson, Pall (Department of Management Science and
Logistics, Aarhus School of Business)
This paper examines the effect of environmental information on
the investment <p> decisions of investors. The motivation for the
experimental design <p> applied in this study is that unless
actual decision making is observed, <p> the potential usefulness
of environmental information (or lack <p> thereof) cannot be
taken for granted. The study is based on an experiment <p> where
groups of investors (varied by experience) were asked to <p> make
investment allocation decisions based on financial information
and <p> on supplementary environmental information (varied
between cases). As <p> an investment allocation decision (varied
by investment horizons) the <p> groups were asked to allocate
funds to two companies based on the available <p> information.
The findings suggest that environmental information has <p> the
potential to influence investment allocation decisions. The
findings <p> also suggest that the influence of environmental
information on investment <p> allocation decisions is mitigated
by the variables considered explicitly <p> in this study, i.e.,
the investment horizon (varied as short and long) <p> and
investor experience (varied as novice and experienced investor).
It is <p> concluded that because allocation decisions are
multifaceted problems, <p> mixed results related to the influence
of environmental information should <p> be expected
Keywords: Environmental reporting; Environmental disclosures;
Allocation; Decision making; Investment horizon;
Investors; Experiment;
Date: 2006-06-14
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhb:aarmsl:1990_002&r=agr
11. Spending Natural Resource Revenues in an Altruistic Growth
Model
Elisabeth Hermann Frederiksen (Department of Economics,
University of Copenhagen)
This paper examines how revenues from a natural resource
interact with growth and welfare in an overlapping generations
model with altruism. The revenues are allocated between public
productive services and direct transfers to members of society by
spending policies. We analyze how these policies influence the
dynamics, and how the dynamics are influenced by the abundance of
the revenue. Abundant revenues may harm growth, but growth and
welfare can be oppositely affected. We also provide the socially
optimal policy. Overall, the analysis suggests that variation in
the strength of altruism and in spending policies may be part of
the reason why natural resources seem to affect economic
performance across nations differently.
Keywords: natural resources; economic growth; welfare; altruism
JEL: D64 O41 Q33 Q38
Date: 2006-09
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:epruwp:06-09&r=agr
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