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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: 2006-09-03
Papers: 13
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. External Costs of Agricultural Production in the United States
Tegtmeier, Erin M; Duffy, Michael
2. Pharmaceutical and Industrial Traits in Genetically Modified
Crops: Co-existence with Conventional Agriculture
Moschini, GianCarlo
3. Agricultural Production Clubs: Viability and Welfare
Implications
Langinier, Corinne; Babcock, Bruce A.
4. Chinese Agricultural Reform the WTO and FTA Negotiations
Shunli Yao
5. Global Prospects for Dairy in Argentina and Chile: Evidence
from Field Visits and Model Simulations
Fuller, Frank H.; Beghin, John C.; Boland, Michael; Babcock,
Bruce A.; Foster, William
6. Water Policy Briefing: Breaking the Cycles of Land
Degradation: A case study from Ban Lak Sip, Laos
International Water Management Institute
7. Global Prospects for Dairy in Argentina and Chile: Evidence
from Field Visits and Model Simulations
Frank H. Fuller; John C. Beghin; Michael Boland; Bruce A.
Babcock; William E. Foster
8. Water Quality Modeling for the Raccoon River Watershed Using
SWAT
Jha, Manoj; Arnold, Jeffrey G.; Gassman, Philip W.
9. The Many Paths of Cotton Sector Reform in Eastern and
Southern Africa: Lessons from a Decade of Experience
David Tschirley; Colin Poulton; Duncan Boughton
10. Water Policy Briefing: Choosing Appropriate Responses to
Groundwater Depletion
International Water Management Institute
11. Water Policy Briefing: Taking a multiple-use approach to
meeting the water needs of poor communities brings multiple
benefits
International Water Management Institute
12. Water Policy Briefing: Recycling Realities: Managing health
risks to make wastewater an asset
International Water Management Institute
13. Voluntary Environmental Agreements when Regulatory Capacity
Is Weak
Blackman, Allen; Lyon, Thomas P.; Sisto, Nicholas
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1. External Costs of Agricultural Production in the United States
Tegtmeier, Erin M
Duffy, Michael
Agricultural production affects environmental and human health.
Many consequences are borne involuntarily rather than chosen
because no formal market trading takes place for ecosystem
functions or health attributes. These impacts, or externalities,
may be quantified indirectly by assigning dollar values through a
process called valuation, which informs agricultural production
and policy decisions. This study estimates external costs of
agricultural production in the United States in the areas of
natural resources, wildlife and ecosystem biodiversity and human
health. Valuation studies are reviewed and revised to compile
aggregate figures. External costs are estimated at $5.7 to $16.9
billion (?3.3 to ?9.7 billion) annually. Impacts due to crop
production are figured to be $4969 to $16,151 million per year.
Livestock production contributes $714 to $739 million to external
costs. Using 168.8 million hectares of cropland in the United
States, external cost per cropland hectare is calculated at $29.
44 to $95.68 (?16.87 to ?54.82). Further research is needed to
refine these estimates and include categories not covered in this
study. The societal burden of these costs calls for a
restructuring of agricultural policy that shifts production
towards methods that lessen external impacts.
Keywords: adverse effects, agriculture, externalities, valuation
Date: 2006-08-23
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12659&r=agr
2. Pharmaceutical and Industrial Traits in Genetically Modified
Crops: Co-existence with Conventional Agriculture
Moschini, GianCarlo
This paper discusses the implications of using genetically
modified crops to biomanufacture pharmaceuticals and industrial
compounds from the perspective of their co-existence with
conventional agriculture. Such plant-made pharmaceuticals and
plant-made industrial products rely on exciting scientific and
technological breakthroughs and promise new opportunities for the
agricultural sector, but they also entail novel risks. The
management of the externalities and of the possible unintended
economic effects that arise in this context is critical and poses
difficult questions for regulators.
Keywords: agriculture, biopharming, co-existence, externalities,
genetically modified products, liability, molecular
farming, regulation.
Date: 2006-08-25
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12666&r=agr
3. Agricultural Production Clubs: Viability and Welfare
Implications
Langinier, Corinne
Babcock, Bruce A.
Consumers are in general less informed than producers about the
quality of agricultural goods. To reduce he information gap,
consumers can rely on standards (e.g., certification) that ensure
quality and origin of the goods. These costly standards can be
adopted by a group of producers of high-quality goods. We study
the formation of such a group that we model as a club. We first
investigate under what circumstances a club of a given size is
desirable for producers, and for society. We then analyze the
optimal size of the club when there exists a direct barrier to
entry, and when there is no barrier. We find that for
intermediate values of certification costs, the industry and a
club of a given size of certified producers have divergent
incentives. Furthermore, if barriers to entry are allowed, an
optimal size of club exists, which allows some revelation of
information. In the absence of barrier to entry, it is less
likely that a club will emerge.
Keywords: Asymmetric information, certification, clubs, quality.
Date: 2006-08-28
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12670&r=agr
4. Chinese Agricultural Reform the WTO and FTA Negotiations
Shunli Yao (Beijing Agricultural Trade Policy Dialogue)
China's early industrialization created distortions.This paper
identifies major distortions in the Chinese economy in the pre-
reform era and brings agricultural distortions into perspective.
Keywords: Agricultural Reform,China, Liberalization,WTO, FTA
JEL: F1
Date: 2006-06
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esc:wpaper:1506&r=agr
5. Global Prospects for Dairy in Argentina and Chile: Evidence
from Field Visits and Model Simulations
Fuller, Frank H.
Beghin, John C.
Boland, Michael
Babcock, Bruce A.
Foster, William
We assess the international competitiveness of the dairy
industries in Argentina and Chile, combining recent market
intelligence gathered from field visits with quantitative
simulations of global policy reform scenarios. Both countries
exhibit strong potential for export growth but face significant
internal and external barriers to expanding their dairy
industries. Global policy reforms would resolve some of the
international obstacles to their expansion. Argentina has great
potential, but it is handicapped by its current macroeconomic
policies, trade policy distortions, and the uncertainty
associated with policy implementation. Chile is more limited in
terms of natural capacity for expansion, but it has a positive
trade and investment environment.
Keywords: Argentina, agricultural trade policy, Chile,
comparative advantage, competitiveness, dairy
processing, exports, milk production.
Date: 2006-08-23
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12658&r=agr
6. Water Policy Briefing: Breaking the Cycles of Land
Degradation: A case study from Ban Lak Sip, Laos
International Water Management Institute (International
Water Management Institute)
Keywords: water resource management / water policy / water
resources development / land development / land
management / land degradation /
Date: 2005
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:polbrs:p04&r=agr
7. Global Prospects for Dairy in Argentina and Chile: Evidence
from Field Visits and Model Simulations
Frank H. Fuller (Center for Agricultural and Rural
Development (CARD)) (Food and Agricultural Policy Research
Institute (FAPRI)) (Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and
Information Center (MATRIC))
John C. Beghin (Center for Agricultural and Rural
Development (CARD)) (Food and Agricultural Policy Research
Institute (FAPRI))
Michael Boland
Bruce A. Babcock (Center for Agricultural and Rural
Development (CARD)) (Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research
and Information Center (MATRIC))
William E. Foster
We assess the international competitiveness of the dairy
industries in Argentina and Chile, combining recent market
intelligence gathered from field visits with quantitative
simulations of global policy reform scenarios. Both countries
exhibit strong potential for export growth but face significant
internal and external barriers to expanding their dairy
industries. Global policy reforms would resolve some of the
international obstacles to their expansion. Argentina has great
potential, but it is handicapped by its current macroeconomic
policies, trade policy distortions, and the uncertainty
associated with policy implementation. Chile is more limited in
terms of natural capacity for expansion, but it has a positive
trade and investment environment.
Keywords: Argentina, agricultural trade policy, Chile,
comparative advantage, competitiveness, dairy
processing, exports, milk production.
Date: 2006-08
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:06-mbp11&r=agr
8. Water Quality Modeling for the Raccoon River Watershed Using
SWAT
Jha, Manoj
Arnold, Jeffrey G.
Gassman, Philip W.
The Raccoon River Watershed (RRW) in West-Central Iowa has been
recognized as exporting some of the highest nitrate-nitrogen
loadings in the United States and is a major source of sediment
and other nutrient loadings. An integrated modeling framework has
been constructed for the RRW that consists of the Soil and Water
Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, the interactive SWAT (i_SWAT)
software package, Load Estimator (LOADEST) computer program, and
other supporting software and databases. The simulation framework
includes detailed land use and management data such as different
crop rotations and an array of nutrient and tillage management
schemes, derived from the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s
National Resources Inventory databases and other sources. This
paper presents the calibration and validation of SWAT for the
streamflow, sediment losses, and nutrient loadings in the
watershed and an assessment of land use and management practice
shifts in controlling pollution. Streamflow, sediment yield, and
nitrate loadings were calibrated for the 1981-1992 period and
validated for the 1993-2003 period. Limited field data on organic
nitrogen, organic phosphorus, and mineral phosphorus allowed
model validation for the 2001-2003 period. Model predictions
generally performed very well on both an annual and monthly basis
during the calibration and validation periods, as indicated by
coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash-Sutcliffe simulation
efficiency (E) values that exceeded 0.7 in most cases. A set of
land use change scenarios based on taking cropland out of
production indicated a significant benefit in reducing sediment
yield at the watershed outlet. A second scenario set found that
relatively small reductions in nutrient applications resulted in
significant reductions in nitrate loadings at the watershed
outlet, without affecting crop yields significantly.
Keywords: calibration, management practices, Raccoon River
Watershed, SWAT.
Date: 2006-08-22
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12656&r=agr
9. The Many Paths of Cotton Sector Reform in Eastern and
Southern Africa: Lessons from a Decade of Experience
David Tschirley (Department of Agricultural Economics,
Michigan State University)
Colin Poulton
Duncan Boughton
This paper assesses the record of five countries in southern and
eastern Africa: Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and
Mozambique. The paper focuses on the course of reform in each ?
initial conditions, key elements of the reform, and institutional
response to it ? and draws lessons for policy makers, donors,
and researchers.
Keywords: food security, food policy, cotton reform
JEL: Q18
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msu:idpwrk:088&r=agr
10. Water Policy Briefing: Choosing Appropriate Responses to
Groundwater Depletion
International Water Management Institute (International
Water Management Institute)
Keywords: water resource management / groundwater /
institutional development / water policy / water
resources development / case studies / water shortage /
river basins / water conservation / irrigation
management / water law / drinking water / cost recovery
/ water pollution / national planning / Asia / China/
Indonesia / Philippines / Sri Lanka / Thailand /
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:polbrs:p01&r=agr
11. Water Policy Briefing: Taking a multiple-use approach to
meeting the water needs of poor communities brings multiple
benefits
International Water Management Institute (International
Water Management Institute)
Keywords: water resource management / groundwater /
institutional development / water policy / water
resources development / case studies / water shortage /
river basins / water conservation / irrigation
management / water law / drinking water
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:polbrs:p02&r=agr
12. Water Policy Briefing: Recycling Realities: Managing health
risks to make wastewater an asset
International Water Management Institute (International
Water Management Institute)
Keywords: water resource management / water policy / water
resources development / case studies / water shortage /
irrigation management / water law / drinking water /
wastewater/water pollution
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:polbrs:p03&r=agr
13. Voluntary Environmental Agreements when Regulatory Capacity
Is Weak
Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future)
Lyon, Thomas P.
Sisto, Nicholas
Voluntary agreements (VAs) negotiated between environmental
regulators and industry are increasingly popular. However, little
is known about whether they are likely to be effective in
developing and transition countries, where local and federal
environmental regulatory capacity is typically weak. We develop a
dynamic theoretical model to examine the effect of VAs on
investment in regulatory infrastructure and pollution abatement
in such countries. We find that under certain conditions, VAs can
improve welfare by generating more private-sector investment in
pollution control and more public-sector investment in regulatory
capacity than the status quo.
Keywords: voluntary environmental regulation, developing country
JEL: Q28 O13 C72
Date: 2006-07-03
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-06-30&r=agr
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