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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: 2007-01-02
Papers: 12
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In this issue we have:
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1. Determinants of Land Use and Land Access in Post-War Northern
Mozambique
Tilman Br?ck; Kati Schindler
2. Current WTO Negotiations on Domestic Subsidies in Agriculture:
Implications for India
Parthapratim Pal
3. Structural Shift in Demand for Food: Projections for 2020
Surabhi Mittal
4. Optimal Incentives under Moral Hazard and Heterogeneous
Agents: Evidence from Production Contracts Data
Dubois, Pierre; Vukina, Tomislav
5. Measurement and Sources of Income Inequality among Rural and
Urban Households in Nigeria
Abayomi Samuel Oyekale; Adetola Ibidunni Adeoti; Tolulope
Olayemi Oyekale
6. Heterogeneity of Preferences, Limited Commitment and
Coalitions: Empirical Evidence on the Limits to Risk Sharing
in Rural Pakistan
Dubois, Pierre
7. Is the Endangered Species Act Endangering Species?
John A. List; Michael Margolis; Daniel E. Osgood
8. A New-Growth Perspective on Non-Renewable Resources
Christian Groth
9. Rural People?s Perception of Poverty in China
Bjorn Gustafsson; Ximing Yue
10. Subjective Welfare, Isolation and Relative Consumption
Fafchamps, Marcel; Shilpi, Forhad
11. The Impact of Intra-State Conflict on Economic Welfare and
Consumption Smoothing: Empirical Evidence for the Displaced
Population in Colombia
Ana Mar?a Ib??ez; Andr?s Moya
12. Rural Income Volatility and Inequality in China
John Whalley; Ximing Yue
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1. Determinants of Land Use and Land Access in Post-War Northern
Mozambique
Tilman Br?ck (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW
Berlin))
Kati Schindler (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW
Berlin))
This paper analyzes how land access and land use are regulated
in an environment characterized by apparent land abundance, weak
institutions and a changing regulatory framework for land tenure.
Using household survey evidence from post-war northern Mozambique,
this paper demonstrates the diversity and inequality surrounding
land. A formal test of land abundance reveals that northern
Mozambique is quite land constrained at the household-level.
While some households voluntarily restrain from expanding their
land, others are involuntarily constrained in their land access.
Overcoming such a land-related development trap hence requires a
refined land legislation and targeted rural development policies.
Keywords: land access, farm households, institutions, inequality,
Africa, Mozambique
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:24&r=agr
2. Current WTO Negotiations on Domestic Subsidies in Agriculture:
Implications for India
Parthapratim Pal (Indian Council for Research on
International Economic Relations)
Date: 2005-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:icrier:177&r=agr
3. Structural Shift in Demand for Food: Projections for 2020
Surabhi Mittal (Indian Council for Research on International
Economic Relations)
Knowledge of demand structure and consumer behaviour is
essential for a wide range of development policy questions like
improvement in nutritional status, food subsidy, sectoral and
macroeconomic policy analysis, etc. An analysis of food
consumption patterns and how they are likely to shift with
changes in income and relative price is required to assess the
food security-related policy issues in the agricultural sector.
With high growth rates in the agricultural sector, the average
per capita income in the country shows an increase, accompanied
by a fall in the per capita consumption of staple food. In this
background the present study diagnoses the food basket of
households in rural and urban areas under different expenditure
groups in the last two decades and tries to investigate the
driving force for these changes by computing the demand
elasticities that explain the level of demand for the commodities
by an individual consumer given the structure of relative prices
faced, real income and a set of individual characteristics such
as age, type of household [expenditure groups] and geographical
environment [rural or urban]. The study projects the prospects of
the food demand scenario in the country in 2020. And, finally,
aims at finding answers to some of the most debatable issues
relating to the country's food security, decline in cereal
consumption and implications on poverty. The study uses data from
the consumer expenditure survey of the National Sample Survey
[NSS] rounds number 38, 43, 50 and 55
Keywords: Household Food Consumption, Demand Elasticity,
Decomposition, Demand Projections, Quadratic AIDS Model
JEL: Q11 Q18
Date: 2006-08
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:icrier:184&r=agr
4. Optimal Incentives under Moral Hazard and Heterogeneous
Agents: Evidence from Production Contracts Data
Dubois, Pierre
Vukina, Tomislav
The objective of this paper is to develop an analytical
framework for estimation of the parameters of a structural model
of an incentive contract under moral hazard, taking into account
agents heterogeneity in preferences. We show that allowing the
principal to strategically distribute the production inputs
across heterogenous agents as part of the contract design, the
principal is able to change what appears to be a uniform contract
into individualized contracts tailored to fit agents' preferences
or characteristics. Using micro level data on swine production
contract settlements, we find that contracting farmers are
heterogenous with respect to their risk aversion and that this
heterogeneity affects the principal's allocation of production
inputs across farmers. Relying on the identifying assumption that
contracts are optimal, we obtain the estimates of a lower and an
upper bound of agents' reservation utilities. We show that
farmers with higher risk aversion have lower outside
opportunities because of lower reservation utilities.
Keywords: agency contracts; heterogeneity; moral hazard; optimal
incentives; risk aversion
JEL: D82 K32 L24
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6011&r=agr
5. Measurement and Sources of Income Inequality among Rural and
Urban Households in Nigeria
Abayomi Samuel Oyekale
Adetola Ibidunni Adeoti
Tolulope Olayemi Oyekale
Income inequality and poverty are closely related. This study
decomposed income inequality in Nigeria using the Gini-
decomposition, regression-based and Shapley approaches. Results
show that in 2004, income inequality is higher in rural areas
than in urban areas. The study also noted that employment income
increases inequality while agricultural income decreases
inequality. Factors suchs as urbanization, residence in the
southwest zone, household size, the house head's formal education,
number of time suffered from illness, engagement in a paid job,
involvement in a non-farm business, formal credit and informal
credit contributed to the increased income inequality. Between
1998 and 2004, income redistribution and income growth increased
poverty. The study recommended that welfare enhancing programs
that will benefit urban/rural poor should be identified, while
better economic opportunities should be created for those in
rural areas.
Keywords: Income inequality, poverty, decomposition, economic
opportunities, Nigeria
JEL: D3 O15 O55
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:pmmacr:2006-20&r=agr
6. Heterogeneity of Preferences, Limited Commitment and
Coalitions: Empirical Evidence on the Limits to Risk Sharing
in Rural Pakistan
Dubois, Pierre
In this paper, we study the determinants of the value of
informal risk sharing groups. In particular, we look at the
effects of heterogeneity of preferences and of limited commitment
constraints that restrict feasible allocations differently if
individuals can deviate form risk sharing agreements in
coalitions or not. We test empirically several predictable
implications in rural Pakistan taking into account the
heterogeneity of households' preferences. Our results show that
exogenous size of risk sharing groups can be rejected or that
only imperfect risk sharing is obtained within the village
because of limited commitment and because of the risk of
coalition formation that needs to be deterred.
Keywords: coalitions; insurance; limited commitment; Pakistan;
risk; risk aversion
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6004&r=agr
7. Is the Endangered Species Act Endangering Species?
John A. List
Michael Margolis
Daniel E. Osgood
We develop theory and present a suite of theoretically
consistent empirical measures to explore the extent to which
market intervention inadvertently alters resource allocation in a
sequentialmove principal/agent game. We showcase our approach
empirically by exploring the extent to which the U.S. Endangered
Species Act has altered land development patterns. We report
evidence indicating significant acceleration of development
directly after each of several events deemed likely to raise
fears among owners of habitat land. Our preferred estimate
suggests an overall acceleration of land development by roughly
one year. We also find from complementary hedonic regression
models that habitat parcels declined in value when the habitat
map was published, which is consistent with our estimates of the
degree of preemption. These results have clear implications for
policymakers, who continue to discuss alternative regulatory
frameworks for species preservation. More generally, our modeling
strategies can be widely applied -- from any particular economic
environment that has a sequential-move nature to the narrower
case of the political economy of regulation.
JEL: H23 H41
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12777&r=agr
8. A New-Growth Perspective on Non-Renewable Resources
Christian Groth (Department of Economics, University of
Copenhagen)
This article reviews issues related to the incorporation of non-
renewable resources in the theory of economic growth and
development. As an offshoot of the new growth theory of the last
two decades a series of contributions have studied endogenous
technical change in relation to resource scarcity. We discuss the
main approaches within this literature and consider questions
like: How is the new literature related to the wave of resource
economics of the 1970s? What light is thrown on the limits-to-
growth issue? Does the existence of non-renewable resources have
implications for the controversies within new growth theory?
Keywords: endogenous growth; innovation; non-renewable resources;
knife-edge conditions; robustness; limits to growth
JEL: O4 Q3
Date: 2006-10
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuiedp:0626&r=agr
9. Rural People?s Perception of Poverty in China
Bjorn Gustafsson (University of G?teborg and IZA Bonn)
Ximing Yue (Renmin University of China)
Subjective Poverty Line methodology is applied to rural China
2002 using a sample from 22 provinces. Respondents were asked two
questions: one on amount of food necessary and another on amount
of cash necessary for their households. The respondent?s
perception of how much cash is needed varies profoundly and
positively by income in the county where the respondent lives.
The findings provide an argument for increasing the official
poverty line for China as average household income increases.
Poverty in rural China is disproportionally concentrated to the
western regions and to poor counties. Most of rural China?s
poverty can be attributed to households living outside classified
poor areas. People living in a household with many members, those
with a household head with a short education, and children face
higher poverty risks than other persons.
Keywords: China, poverty, poverty line
JEL: I32 O15 P36
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2486&r=agr
10. Subjective Welfare, Isolation and Relative Consumption
Fafchamps, Marcel
Shilpi, Forhad
The recent literature has shown that subjective welfare depends
on relative income. Attempts to test this relationship in poor
countries have yielded conflicting results, suggesting that the
relationship is not universal or only applies above a certain
income level. We revisit the issue using data from Nepal. We find
a relative consumption effect that is robust, strong in magnitude,
and consistent across consumption expenditure categories. We
find no evidence that poor households -- in a relative or
absolute sense -- care less about relative consumption than more
fortunate ones. Households residing far from markets care more --
not less -- about the consumption level of their neighbors,
suggesting that market interaction is not what makes people care
about relative consumption. Household heads having migrated out
of their birth district still judge the adequacy of their
consumption in comparison with households in their district of
origin.
Keywords: relative deprivation; rivalry; subjective well-being
JEL: I31 O12
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6002&r=agr
11. The Impact of Intra-State Conflict on Economic Welfare and
Consumption Smoothing: Empirical Evidence for the Displaced
Population in Colombia
Ana Mar?a Ib??ez (Universidad de los Andes)
Andr?s Moya (Universidad de los Andes)
Intra-state conflicts and forced displacement impose a heavy
burden upon the civil population, and produce severe welfare
losses. Using a household level data administered to 2.322
Colombian displaced households, we estimate welfare losses for
displaced households, as well as the determinants of labor income
and aggregate consumption in reception sites. We also asses
whether households are able to smooth consumption, and analyze
the strategies they are compelled to adopt. Our results indicate
that forced displacement entails a significant asset loss, limits
the ability of household to generate income, disrupts risk-
sharing mechanisms, and obliges households to rely on costly
strategies in order to smooth consumption. Thus, the short and
long-term consequences of forced displacement are large, and the
need to design and implement specific policies for victims of
internal conflict is evident. These policies, in particular,
should provide mechanisms to prevent substantial welfare losses
and to create conditions for sustainable income generation
processes.
Date: 2006
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:23&r=agr
12. Rural Income Volatility and Inequality in China
John Whalley
Ximing Yue
Available data indicates a growing urban-rural income gap (the
ratio of mean urban to rural incomes) with a significant increase
from around 1.8 in the late 1980's to over 3 today. These
estimates do not take into account the higher volatility of rural
incomes in China. Current literature based on analyses of rural
income volatility in China decomposes poverty into chronic and
transient components using longitudinal survey data and assesses
the fraction of the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke poverty gap
attributable to mean income over time being below the poverty
line. Resulting estimates of 40-50 % transient poverty point to
the policy conclusion that poverty may be a less serious social
problem than it appears in annual data due to rural income
volatility. Here we use a direct method instead to adjust rural
income for volatility using a certainty equivalent income measure
and recompute summary statistics for the distribution of
volatility corrected incomes, including the urban-rural income
gap on which much of current poverty debate in China focuses.
Since an uncertain income stream is worth less in utility terms
than a certain income stream we argue that heightened rural
volatility increases the effective urban-rural income gap and
intensifies not weakens poverty concerns. Using Chinese
longitudinal rural survey data for which current decompositions
can be replicated, we make adjustments for certainty equivalence
of rural household income streams which not only widen the urban-
rural income gap in China but also increases other distributional
summary statistics. Depending upon values used for the
coefficient of relative risk aversion, the measured urban-rural
income gap increases by 20-30% using a certainty equivalent
measure to adjust rural incomes for volatility. We also conduct
similar analyses using consumption data, for which slightly
larger increases occur.
JEL: O15 O20 O53
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12779&r=agr
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