bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modernization of a peasant crop in Colombia: evidence and implications
Authors: Janssen Willem , de Londoño Norha Ruiz
Published: January 2020

The survival of the small‐farm sector in the process of agricultural modernization in Latin America has been a concern for many authors and institutions. It is generally believed that the small‐farm sector is bypassed in the process of agricultural development. The authors analyze modernization of bean/maize cropping systems in Southern Colombia. Prices, production practices and profitability are compared for 1975 and 1989. By means of a production function, the effects of allocative efficiency, technical efficiency and technical change on productivity and profitability are analyzed. The observed changes reflect very well the price trends over the period. Between 1975 and 1989, total factor productivity increased by 50%. Bean/maize producers almost doubled returns to land and labor. Increased technical efficiency had most effect on profitability, followed by technical change. Allocative efficiency had more impact on yields than on profitability because it was associated with high input costs. Considerable opportunities for further productivity increases were identified. Conclusions on the nature of the modernization process are drawn. Implications for agricultural policy, research and the role of the small farm in agricultural development are derived.
Impacts of the training and visit extension system on farmers' knowledge and adoption of technology: Evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Hussain Syed Sajidin , Byerlee Derek , Heisey Paul W.
Published: January 2020

This paper provides quantitative evidence on the impact of the Training and Visit (T&V) extension system in the irrigated Punjab of Pakistan. Three models are analyzed using limited dependent variable regressions: the impact of T&V on the number of extension contacts with farmers; the effect of extension contact on farmers' knowledge of wheat technology; and the impact of T&V on the adoption of improved wheat technology. The first model analyzes the impact of T&V on the quantity of extension contact and the latter two models analyze the effect on the quantity and quality of extension contact. It is concluded that T&V has increased the quantity but not the quality of extension contact and this, in turn, has increased farmers' knowledge and adoption of technology. However, the overall impacts have been small relative to those observed in a similar area in India.
Gendered impacts of fertilizer subsidy removal programs in Malawi and Cameroon
Authors: Smale Melinda , Heisey Paul W.
Published: January 2020

Gladwin's** main contention is that women provide most of the agricultural labor in sub‐Saharan Africa and because much of this labor is oriented to food production for home consumption, the effects of structural adjustment programs on them and the children they work to feed are likely to be different than on men who produce crops for commercial and export production. Her specific hypothesis for Malawi is that the removal of the fertilizer subsidy affects women farmers more than men farmers because it reduces fertilizer use on local maize. As part of the structural adjustment program, a major purpose of removing the fertilizer subsidy is to reallocate resources from food production for domestic consumption to cash crop production for export. In Gladwin's analysis, men farmers produce hybrid maize and tobacco for export and women produce the subsistence food crop, local maize. Gladwin's main contention is probably correct. For the Malawi case, the presentation does not support the hypothesis because two of the major underlying assumptions are inappropriate and the evidence provided is inconclusive. This comment proceeds by discussing the two assumptions and corresponding evidence. The purpose of this comment is not to contradict the hypothesis, but to clarify the Malawi situation and to suggest that a different analytical approach is needed in that context.
Separability in farm‐household economics: an experiment with linear programming
Authors: Delforce Julie C.
Published: January 2020

The assumption of separability between farm‐household production and consumption facilitates analysis, but entails several important restrictions. The implications of assuming separability are discussed here in relation to the modelling of a representative Tongan farm‐household. Econometric estimation of household demand is coupled with a linear programming (LP) model of farm‐household production. When analysing consumer demand, separable farm‐household economics is undoubtedly preferable to ignoring the production/consumption linkages entirely. However, the restrictions which must be imposed on the production side of the separable model are such that a realistic LP solution is unlikely to be obtained. This is likely to be a major deterrent to adopting the separable approach for studies in which the main focus is on production rather than consumption.
Value of information on crop response function to soil salinity in a farm‐level optimization model
Authors: Feinerman Eli
Published: January 2020

The study investigates the value of additional information on the response function to soil salinity of a given crop (potatoes), with regard to a stochastic long‐run optimization model for utilization of saline water in a single‐farm framework. The analysis provides a conceptual and methodological framework for investigating the expected value of sample information (evsi), as well as an efficient tool for empirical application. Although a few approximations have been used, the results provide an estimate of evsi and indicate the need for additional information.
From weed to wealth? Prospects for medic pastures in the Mediterranean farming system of north‐west Syria
Authors: Nordblom Thomas L. , Pannell David J. , Christiansen Scott , Nersoyan Nerses , Bahhady Faik
Published: January 2020

Medic (Medicago spp.) pastures are widely grown in rotation with dryland cereal crops in Mediterranean climate zones of Australia. Attempts since the 1960's to introduce this system to Mediterranean west Asia and north Africa (the native region of medic) have not lead to significant adoption; farmers in the region recognize medic, but as a weed and natural pasture plant. This first detailed economic evaluation of the rotational medic system was conducted using a whole‐farm linear programming model based on the agricultural system of north‐west Syria. The model represents in detail impacts of rotation on yields, labor requirements of alternative farm activities, availability of family and hired labor, subsistence income requirements, livestock feed sources and uses at different times and a choice of sheep stocking rates. Biological data for the analysis are based on a large six‐year cropping and grazing experiment near Aleppo on terra‐rossa soil with rainfall mainly in winter and averaging about 330 mm annually. The trial compared a dryland medic‐wheat system and traditional two‐year rotations of wheat with: fallow, watermelon, lentil and vetch. Results indicate that, given current prices and yields from the trial, medic is less profitable than traditional rotations. The model was used to investigate situations in which medic would be economically preferred. Selection of a medic rotation by the model was found to be particularly sensitive to the area of the farm and the price of labor. On small farms, labor availability per hectare is high, favouring the production of labor intensive crops such as lentil and watermelon. On larger farms, labor costs of these enterprises are substantial, increasing the relative profitability of medic, especially if labor prices increase. Interestingly, the relative desirability of medic is more sensitive to its impact on subsequent wheat crops than to the level of pasture production. We also found that modest increases in the prices of sheep products (especially milk) have a major impact on the economic performance of medic. These insights will allow improved focusing and targeting of future research and extension activities.
Impacts of official development assistance on agricultural growth, savings and agricultural imports
Authors: Kherallah Mylène W. , Beghin John C. , Peterson E. Wesley F. , Ruppel Fred J.
Published: January 2020

This paper explores the links between development assistance, agricultural output growth and imports in 56 developing economies over the period 1974–1990. The empirical model treats agricultural growth and imports, savings and aid as endogenous. The analysis also accounts for differences in macroeconomic policies. The results show that aid had a positive impact on agricultural growth. A robust relationship exits between aid and agricultural imports consistent with the argument that aid helps industrialized countries through market expansion and strengthened trade ties.
Farmers and the U.S. Congress: rethinking basic institutional assumptions about agricultural policy
Authors: Browne William P. , Paik Won K.
Published: January 2020

An assumption shared by most agricultural economists is that, as farm numbers decline in a democratic government, farm policy attention from rule‐makers will decline as well. This assumption – despite important work to the contrary in institutional economics – is often voiced in federated governing units, especially the U.S., where constituents are locally organized and the commitment of rule‐makers to nationwide policy is limited. While significant theoretical literature challenges that majoritarian view from the perspective of interest‐group theory, this is the first empirical test and explanation of the behavior of rule‐makers.

The findings of this analysis indicate that classic majoritarian expectations are not met in the U.S. Congress. Instead, unexpectedly large numbers of legislators seek favorable policy action for farmers as distinct minorities within their districts. However, these same legislators balance their attention to farmers by also taking policy action in agriculture on behalf of other types of constituents. Legislators explain these actions as the result of their own electoral needs to satisfy vocal minorities from their political districts plus the ease with which they can marginally adjust a large base of U.S. farm programs. Thus, a kind of neo‐majoritarianism emerges.

These results are especially important given the growing attention to federated governance in the European Union, East Europe, in North America through free trade agreements, and with the GATT. They indicate that farmers will continue, despite shrinking numbers, to be influential in those governing structures that have historically strong farm programs and the capacity to diversify from that policy base.
Impacts of FFW on nutrition in rural Kenya
Authors: Athanasios Athanasenas , Bezuneh Mesfin , Deaton Brady J.
Published: January 2020

Assessing the impacts of Food‐for‐Work (FFW) on human capital formation depends on understanding the specific nutritional contributions of FFW to the overall diet of FFW participant households. However, empirical studies in this area are very scant. This paper is an attempt to fill such gap. The primary objectives are to measure the magnitude of the FFW contribution to participants' nutritional status. Primary data collected from a random sample of 300 farm‐households in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya are used. A linear programming model is used to estimate the shadow prices of nutrients. These prices are then entered into an econometric model of consumer demand for nutrients in order to estimate own and cross‐price elasticities for each nutrient component.

The results indicate that FFW significantly improves the nutritional status of FFW participant households. More specifically, participants experienced an implicit income gain, which resulted in a significant nutritional improvement. The poorest FFW participant households exhibited even higher nutritional gains (32.46%) than those participants from relatively higher income groups. FFW participant households showed a 90% higher propensity to spend on nutrients than the non‐FFW participants. The findings of this study are expected to assist in the design of future ‘targeted’ food aid projects.
Equity and efficiency considerations in area versus individual yield insurance
Authors: Turvey Calum G. , Islam Zahirul
Published: January 2020

Equity and efficiency considerations in area versus individual crop insurance are investigated for 609 Ontario cash crop farms. Results show that the relationship between individual and area premiums and risk reduction are explained by systematic and non‐systematic yield risk relationships. On average, area insurance premiums are much lower than individual yield insurance premiums, and in terms of efficiency in risk‐reduction individual plans are superior to area plans. As it turns out arguments of asymmetric information which has lead some researchers to investigate area vs. individual yield insurance is not totally resolved. Inequities in the benefits of area plans across farmers are not equitably distributed, favouring high‐risk producers. Adverse selection causes instability in the pooled contracts which will ultimately cause area insurance plans to fail.
Returns from research in economies with policy distortions: hybrid sorghum in Sudan
Authors: Ahmed Mohamed M. , Masters William A. , Sanders John H.
Published: January 2020

Conventional estimates of the economic return to agricultural research use market prices for the values of products and inputs; on this basis, economic rates of return are typically well above the cost of capital, suggesting that more investment in research would be socially desirable. But these estimates may be incorrect if, as is often the case, market prices are distorted by market failures or government policies and hence do not reflect social values.

This paper presents a simple, partial‐equilibrium methodology with which to improve the measurement of social returns to research by taking account of multiple distortions in the market prices of products, inputs and foreign exchange. The method also takes account of variation in domestic and world prices, making a product tradable in some years and nontradable in others. The method is applied to the case of Hageen‐Dura 1 (HD‐1), Sub‐Saharan Africa's first commercially successful hybrid sorghum.

HD‐1 was released in the Sudan in 1983. From the start of research in 1979 to 1992, the HD‐1 breeding program had an estimated IRR of 97% when all major policies in the sorghum market, the fertilizer market, and the exchange rate are taken into account. The high rate of return to HD‐1 research was due to the program's low cost and rapid payoff, pointing to the potential value of small adaptive research programs, taking full advantage of foreign technology and genetic material to produce locally‐appropriate crosses in a short period of time. Even in the highly distorted economies of Africa, such programs can yield very high payoffs.
Are piglet prices rational hog price forecasts?
Authors: Gjølberg Ole
Published: January 2020

In this paper a simple model is developed in which the piglet price serves as a forecast for the hog price 3 months ahead. The model is tested on data from Northern Europe, viz. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland during the period 1982‐1992. The empirical results lend strong support to the hypothesis that hog producers hold rational expectations when pricing the piglets. Thus, the weight adjusted piglet price typically represents an unbiased (conditional) forecast with unsystematic errors for the hog price one quarter later.
A study of economic efficiency of Iranian farmers in Ramjerd district: an application of stochastic programming
Authors: Torkamani Javad , Hardaker J. Brian
Published: January 2020

An extension of utility‐efficient programming to the non‐linear discrete stochastic programming method was developed and used in the analysis of the economic efficiency of a sample of farmers in Iran. The results indicate that it would be feasible to increase substantially farmers' total net revenue by increasing their economic efficiency in terms of technical and allocative efficiencies. The study further suggested that risk aversion plays an important role in farmers' behaviour. The sample farmers are risk averse and hence are likely to trade higher expected profits for lower risk. Understanding this characteristic is important for interventions intended to raise farm productivity and efficiency.
Farmers' time allocation between farm work and off‐farm work and the importance of unobserved group effects: evidence from Israeli cooperatives
Authors: Kimhi Ayal
Published: January 2020

Agricultural cooperatives differ in many attributes which affect members' farm and off‐farm earnings in different ways. As a result, time allocation patterns between farm work and off‐farm work will vary significantly across cooperatives. Participation equations in farm work and off‐farm work of farmers who are members of Israeli moshavim are estimated jointly, including a cooperative‐specific factor in each equation. The fixed effects are found to be significant and important, but can be only partly explained by observed cooperative attributes. This provides another support to the Monte Carlo results of Borjas and Sueyoshi, that controlling for group effects is superior to alternative models. The results also imply that unobserved factors have considerable effects on farmers' time allocation, and hence should be controlled for whenever possible.
Analysis of USA‐European Community oilseeds agreements
Authors: Ames Glenn C.W. , Gunter Lewell , Davis Claudia D.
Published: January 2020

In 1986, the American Soybean Association filed a Section 301 petition under the Trade Act of 1974, alleging that European Community oilseed subsidies nullified and impaired benefits of previous trade concessions, specifically the tariff binding of 1962. Two bilateral trade agreements were negotiated to remedy the dispute, the Blair House Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding on Oilseeds. The impacts of these trade agreements were simulated using a three‐region trade model. Results indicated that neither supply constraints nor penalties for overproduction will contribute to a recovery of USA soybean exports to the EC.

En 1986, la Société Américaine de Soya avait envoyé une petition de la Section 301 d'Accord de Commerce de 1974, alléguant que les subventions pour les graines d'huile de la Communauté Europeénne avail empéche de faire des bénéfices sur les anciennes concessions commerciales, surtout le tarif limitant de 1962. Deux accords bilatéraux avaient été négociés pour arranger la dispute, l'Agreement du Blair House et le Memorandum sur la Compréhension des graines d'huile. Les effets de ces accords ont été simulés en utilisant un modéle commercial de trois regions. Les resultats indiquent que ni les contraintes d'offre, ni les penalités de surplus de production aideront a la récupération des exportations américaines vers la Communauté Europeenne.
Framing the Allais paradox as a daily farm decision problem: tests and explanations
Authors: Finkelshtain Israel , Feinerman Eli
Published: January 2020

The well‐known Allais paradox is reformulated as a daily farm decision problem. Only 26% of the farmers exhibit violations of the expected utility hypothesis. Moreover, the tendency for violation decreases with the farm operator's education, experience and family size. No effects of the farm main crop or its scale were detected. Finally, when taking into account the possibility of choice errors, we find that the violation rate is statistically insignificant.
The economic and financial gains from water markets in Chile
Authors: Hearne Robert R. , Easter K. William
Published: January 2020

Chile is one of the few countries that has encouraged the use of markets in water resource management. In order to assess the impact of water markets and transactions costs in Chile, four river valleys, the Maipo, Elqui, Limarí, and the Azapa were selected as case studies. Transactions from the Elqui and Limarí valleys, during the years 1986 to 1993, were analyzed to determine the gains‐from‐trade from market transfers.

In the economic and financial analysis of water markets, crop budgets were used to estimate the value of water in agricultural production. The value of water‐use rights to urban water‐supply companies was estimated using the avoided cost of an alternative investment in a water‐storage reservoir. The analysis demonstrated that the market transfer of water‐use rights does produce substantial economic gains‐from‐trade in both the Elqui and Limarí Valleys. These economic gains produce rents for both buyers and sellers. But buyers, especially farmers growing profitable crops who buy water‐use rights and individuals buying water‐use rights for potable water supply, receive higher rents then sellers. Large table‐grape producers in the Limarí Valley and individuals buying water for human consumption in the Elqui Valley received the highest rents. In the Elqui Valley net gains‐from‐trade per share were within the range of recent transfer prices of US$1000. In the Limarí Valley, gains‐from‐trade per share are 3.4 times the recent prices of US$3000 for a share of water from the Cogotí Reservoir.

Where trading was active, especially in the Limarí Valley, transactions costs have not presented an appreciable barrier to trading. Nonetheless, in the large canal systems with fixed flow dividers in the Elqui and Maipo Valley there have been very few transactions. Various factors contribute to the lack of trading, but the absence of trading in these large canal systems highlights the costs of modifying fixed infrastructure, especially for trades between farmers.
Stochastic dominance analysis of on‐farm‐trial data: The riskiness of alternative phosphate sources in Burkina Faso
Authors: Hien Victor , Kaboré Daniel , Youl Sansan , Lowenberg‐DeBoer J.
Published: January 2020

Stochastic dominance was used to determine the risk characteristics of phosphate fertilization of millet, sorghum and maize with commercial NPK fertilizer, rock phosphate and partially acidulated rock phosphate in Burkina Faso. On‐farm‐trial data from 1989, 1990 and 1991 in three rainfall zones was used.

The analysis shows that among the four treatments tested, commercial NPK fertilizer has the most desirable risk characteristics. It is acceptable to risk averse decision makers for all three crops in all rainfall zones. The no‐fertilizer control is dominated by the fertilizer treatments. The rock phosphate treatments have higher yields and in certain cases higher returns than the no fertilizer control, but those benefits are less sure than for the soluble commercial fertilizer. The distributions of cash returns to rock phosphate treatments are rarely significantly different from those of the control. Rock phosphate treatments never dominate the commercial fertilizer treatment. If farmers have a choice between commercial fertilizer, rock phosphate and partially acidulated rock phosphate, at current prices most of those who use fertilizer would choose the soluble commercial product. If the availability of commercial fertilizer were limited (e.g. by lack of hard currency), some farmers would use rock phosphate—especially the partially acidulated product.

Stochastic dominance permitted a timely and detailed analysis of risk inherent in phosphate fertilizer alternatives. Because on‐farm‐trails involve a modest number of alternatives, pairwise stochastic dominance comparisons are feasible. The stochastic dominance analysis permits researchers to communicate to extension staff and policymakers not only the degree of risk, but also something about the characteristics of the crop response that contribute to risk. The key to effective use of stochastic dominance is careful study of the distributions and understanding why a technology is dominated or is potentially acceptable to risk averse decisionmakers.
The estimation of marginal utility of income for application to agricultural policy analysis
Authors: Blue E. Neal , Tweeten Luther
Published: January 2020

A quality‐of‐life index (QLI), a proxy measure of utility, is constructed by factor‐weighted and simple‐summation weighted aggregation of socio‐psychological measures of well‐being. The socio‐psychological measures were constructed from quality of life domains taken from selected years of the General Social Surveys [General Social Surveys, 1972–1993: Cumulative Code Book. Principal Investigator, James A. Davis; Director and Co‐Principal Investigator, Tom W. Smith — Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, 1993. (National Data Program for the Social Sciences Series, no. 13).]. The Quality of Life Indices (QLI) indices are regressed on selected socio‐demographic variables using quadratic. Cobb‐Douglas, square root, and semilog functional forms. QLI is much influenced by income, education, and health. As measured here, QLI is not much influenced by year of measurement, sector, or by region of residence. Much variability in the QLI is unique to individuals, and our results are suited to predict group, rather than individual well being. Practitioners computing the benefit–cost ratio for a public program, project, or policy can weight dollars by income groups with marginal utilities derived from this study. That methodology will matter: even the ‘conservative’ quadratic equation indicates that the marginal utility of income (MUI) for families with very low incomes is half as large as for families with median incomes.
Agricultural trade liberalization: growth, welfare and large country effects
Authors: Parikh Kirit S. , Narayana N.S.S. , Panda Manoj , Kumar A. Ganesh
Published: January 2020

The impacts of trade liberalization for India have been examined with an applied general equilibrium model with nine agricultural actors, one non‐tradeable nonagriculture sector and one tradeable nortagriculture sector and with live rural and live urban expenditure classes. Different scenarios are generated using the model. Since comparison of GDP in two alternative scenarios can be misleading, the policy alternatives are assessed on the basis of their impact on welfare in terms of equivalent incomes of different expenditure classes. A policy is assessed preferable only when the distribution of welfare is found to be preferable in a well defined way. It demonstrates the importance of accounting for large country effects in rice trade and estimates the welfare optimal tariff/quota for rice exports for India—which is shown to be just half a million tons of net export of rice. The results also show that nonagricultural trade liberalization is even more important for agriculture than even agricultural trade liberalization, both of which help accelerate growth.
Production costs and input substitution in Zimbabwe's smallholder agriculture
Authors: Dalton Timothy J. , Masters William A. , Foster Kenneth A.
Published: January 2020

In this study, we estimate production costs and elasticities of factor substitution for Zimbabwean smallholders, using a dual (cost function) approach with detailed data on prices paid and received by each of 65 farms across six survey sites over two years. We find that 95% of observed farm choices are consistent with optimal input use, and that there is moderate substitutability between labor, biochemical inputs and capital. These results indicate that farmers can substitute between factors as relative prices change, particularly to increase labor use as the rural population grows. By stratifying our sample, we investigate the degree to which production costs differ among the socioeconomic groups, tsting for higher costs among female‐headed households (who might be subject to gender discrimination), resource‐poor farmers without their own draft animals (who might have less timely operations), and isolated farms far from paved roads (who might have less access to markets and information). We find significant support only for the paved‐roads effect, indicating the importance of rural infrastraclure in determining production costs.
Production function for wheat: a case study of Southeastern Anatolian Project (SAP) region
Authors: Ozsabuncuoglu Ismail H.
Published: January 2020

Functions for total wheat production, the major agricultural crop of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, and Mardin provinces in Southeastern Anatolian Project (SAP) region in Turkey were developed by using annual data lor the 1963‐1989 period. Regression analyses were carried out on the multiple‐linear, quadratic, and Cobb‐Douglas functional forms of total wheat production in the region effected by cultivation area, fertilizer usage, and rainfall. From the economical theories' point of view the model revealed good insight. The models were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Irrigation is valued quite substantially. Output elasticities of inputs are less than 1 and function coefficient is elastic. Thus input employment can be increased to increase wheat production. Further research based on factor analysis is recommended.
Water conveyance, return flows and technology choice
Authors: Umetsu Chieko , Chakravorty Ujjayant
Published: January 2020

This paper develops a spatial conjunctive use model of an irrigation project in which the regulatory agency determines investments in the centralized distribution system and farmers decide the level of on‐farm technology in the field. Irrigation return flows are assumed to recharge the groundwater aquifer. It is shown that there is specialization in production with upstream farmers using surface water and downstream farmers pumping from the aquifer. An empirical model suggests that the proportion of return flows has a significant effect on the level of investments in water distribution as well as in the field. For example, if return flows are relatively high, it may be optimal to allow for significant water losses from the canal and the fields. It suggests that the project pricing and technology adoption policies may need to be tempered by consideration of the basinwide impacts of water diversions.
The demand for meat and fish in Spain: Urban and rural areas
Authors: Gracia A. , Albisu L.M.
Published: January 2020

The aim of the paper is to explain to what extent meat consumption patterns in Spain are different in rural and urban areas and which are the factors explaining differences and similarities. A demand system using cross‐section data from the latest Spanish National Survey has been estimated. Unit values have been used instead of market prices and price and quality effects have been obtained. The main conclusion is that meat consumption patterns in urban and rural areas are not really different as regards economic factors. Some small income and price effect differences have been found, specially for fresh pork and fish, Responses to changes in income and price are higher for fresh pork consumption in rural areas and for fish in urban areas.
Measuring the production efficiency of alternative land tenure contracts in a mixed crop‐livestock system in Ethiopia
Authors: Gavian Sarah , Ehui Simeon
Published: January 2020

In this paper, we test the hypothesis that land held under varying configurations of property rights will be farmed at different levels of production efficiency. Production data were collected from 477 plots in a fairly productive, mixed fanning system in the Ethiopian highlands. Interspatial measures of total factor productivity, based on the Divisia index, were used to measure the relative production efficiency of three informal and less secure land contracts (rented, share‐cropped and borrowed) relative to lands held under formal contract witli the Ethiopian government. Although the informally‐contracted lands are farmed 10‐16% less efficiently, the analysis indicates that farmers of such lands actually apply inputs more, rather than less, intensively (i.e., more inputs per unit of land). The gap in total factor productivity thus results from the inferior quality of inputs (or lack of skills in applying them) rather than a lack of incentive to allocate inputs to mixed crop‐livestock farming. For this reason we find no empirical basis to support the hypothesis that land tenure is a constraint to agricultural productivity.
The mixing ratio in the Indonesian dairy industry
Authors: Riethmuller P. , Chai J. , Smith D. , Hutabarat B. , Sayaka B. , Yusdja Y.
Published: January 2020

The Indonesian dairy industry has been viewed by the Indonesian government as an industry that has the potential to improve the welfare of low income and landless farmers through providing them with an additional source of farm income. As well, the government sees the industry as a vehicle for providing opportunities for employment in rural areas. From an economy wide viewpoint, its development is viewed as a way Indonesia might save foreign exchange since a large share of its dairy requirements have to be imported. A variety of measures have been used to assist the industry. This paper investigates one of the measures, the BUSEP scheme or mixing ratio regulation which requires domestic processors to use Indonesian produced milk before imported milk.
The microeconomics of the developmental paradox: on the political economy of food price policy
Authors: Barrett Christopher B.
Published: January 2020

A longstanding puzzle in comparative economics is the ‘developmental paradox’, the tendency for government support for agriculture to increase with national income and to decrease with the proportion of economic activity and of the population in agriculture. This paper offers a microeconomic explanation for that puzzle. It establishes analytically the microeconomic basis for coalition alignments with respect to food price policy, then numerically simulates the comparative static effects of alternative food policies on coalition structure. A parsimonious household model applied to a heterogeneously endowed society demonstrates how variation in individual welfare effects might beget distinct coalitions in the debate over food price policy and how those policies are inextricably linked to land, population, and technology policies in food agriculture. Moreover, coalition alignments on particular policy debates are path‐dependent. In particular, food price policy creates its own political support.
Income risk and farm consumption behavior
Authors: Chen Kevin Z. , Meilke Karl D. , Turvey Calum
Published: January 2020

Using panel data from Illinois grain farmers, a direct test of the relationship between income risk and farm consumption behavior is conducted. The estimation results indicate that income risk significantly affects farm consumption and the results are robust using alternative risk measures. This finding casts doubt on the relevance of the conventional life‐cycle permanent income hypothesis, which implies that risk has no effect on consumption.
The impact of agricultural and household technologies on women: a conceptual and quantitative analysis in Burkina Faso
Authors: Lawrence Pareena G. , Sanders John H. , Ramaswamy Sunder
Published: January 2020

Agricultural technologies (new cultivars, inorganic fertilizers, soil‐and water‐conservation techniques) in Sub‐Saharan Africa have been primarily introduced to male farmers by male‐dominated extension services on the family plots. These yield‐increasing, input‐intensive technologies increase the demand for farm labor. So, not only do men obtain most of the direct benefits from the introduction of technology but this labor‐intensive technology also increases the demands on women's time for additional labor. This raises the question: Are the combined effects of agricultural technologies beneficial or detrimental to women? We first develop a labor‐market model that examines the impact of agricultural and household technologies on labor allocation and income determination within the household. We then discuss the important issue of how household labor‐allocation decisions and division of income are made within the family in Sub‐Saharan Africa. We use a programming model to estimate the effects of these technologies on household incomes and the income of women. The results indicate that the impact of agricultural technologies depends on the type of decision‐making prevailing in the household. In contrast, household technologies increase the welfare of women regardless of the type of decision‐making. However, with bargaining behavior, agricultural technologies do benefit women and there is some empirical support for this type of household behavior in Sub‐Saharan African households.
Grain price stabilization in India: Evaluation of policy alternatives
Authors: Jha Shikha , Srinivasan P.V.
Published: January 2020

Stabilization of prices is an important element of food policy in India as in most other countries — both developing and eveloped. However, since the magnitude of grain stocks held for this purpose as well as the costs of physical storage have become prohibitively high, there is now a need for finding cost‐effective alternatives including non interventionist and market‐oriented methods for price stabilization. In this paper we consider the case of rice and wheat which are staple foodgrains in India. We make a comparison between alternative price stabilization policies including that of holding buffer stocks in terms of their impact on domestic price stability, producer and consumer welfare and government costs. A multi‐market equilibrium framework is used where private storage, consumption, supply and prices of rice and wheat are determined simultaneously. Indian exports and imports are assumed to affect world prices. The alternative price stabilizing mechanisms are ranked according to both the criteria, welfare and price stability achieved. The main findings are as follows. The ranking of alternatives varies with the criterion used. Greater price stability need not necessarily imply greater welfare. The option of variable levies on private external trade turns out to be the most inexpensive and that of domestic buffer stocks the costliest in achieving price stability. Further, the efficacy of buffer stocks and subsidy to private storage in stabilizing prices is lower under free trade as compared to the case where the economy is closed to private external trade.
Imperfect competition, functional forms, and the size and distribution of research benefits
Authors: Alston Julian M. , Sexton Richard J. , Zhang Mingxia
Published: January 2020

The effects of functional forms for supply and demand on the size and distribution of the returns to research are examined under a range of forms of competition. Under perfect competition, the choice of functional form is relatively unimportant for the estimation of research benefits. Under imperfect competition, the combination of the choice of functional forms for supply and demand and the nature of the research‐induced supply shift can have profound implications for the results. Functional form plays a much more important role than in the competitive model. The most important contrast is between the constant elasticity model and the linear model (along with various cases of a generalized linear model). These findings are illustrated using a combination of analytical results and numerical simulations.
A structural time series analysis of US broiler exports
Authors: Kapombe Crispin M. , Colyer Dale
Published: January 2020

A structural time series model is used to determine the dynamic characteristics, forecasting properties, and policy implications of factors affecting the US broiler export market. The emphasis is on international market responsiveness. The analysis indicates that in addition to the explanatory variables a trend component has been vital in the expansion of the broiler industry during the study period. The results indicate that export markets are more price responsive than the domestic markets, that interventions in the Canadian and Mexican markets reduce their imports, and exchange rate changes have significant impacts on US exports.
Leo Breiman's “Two Cultures”
Authors: Raper Simon
Published: January 2020

Simon Raper continues his exploration of key moments in the history of statistics with a close look at Leo Breiman's 2001 critique of the data modelling and algorithmic modelling cultures. Almost 20 years on, Breiman's words are perhaps more relevant than ever
Professor Harvey Goldstein at 80
Authors: Harron Katie , Leckie George , Browne Bill , Carpenter James , Steele Fiona , Cole Tim
Published: January 2020

Goldstein's Otto Wolff Lecture was delivered on 30 October 2019, on the date of his 80th birthday. Earlier that day, his colleagues Katie Harron, George Leckie, Bill Browne, James Carpenter and Fiona Steele gave talks about their work with him. Here, Tim Cole joins them to offer a brief retrospective on Goldstein's career
Formation mechanism of Ti4O7 phase prepared by carbothermal reduction reaction
Authors: Wang Guangrui , Liu Ying , Ye Jinwen , Yang Xiaojiao , Lin Zifeng
Published: January 2020

The unique structure of Ti4O7 endows it with excellent properties such as outstanding electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance, which makes it one of the most promising electrode materials in the electrochemical field. Carbothermal reduction reaction (CRR) is widely used to synthesize Ti4O7, while thermodynamics, kinetics, and reaction mechanism are still limited. Besides, the purity of Ti4O7 powders prepared by CRR is also relatively low. It's necessary to study the reaction mechanism of CRR and synthesize single‐phase Ti4O7. In this work, the unknown thermodynamic data were firstly assessed by the rule of oxygen potential increasing with oxygen mole fraction in oxides. In addition, the isothermal thermal analysis suggested that the reduction process was composed of interfacial and diffusion‐controlled reactions. The activation energy of the two stages was 272.0 and 325.4 kJ mol−1 respectively. Based on this, single‐phase Ti4O7 was successfully synthesized, and a core‐shell model of the reaction mechanism was proposed and well verified by the TEM results. This study provided an in‐depth and systematic analysis of the CRR process, and it is significant to realize the preparation of single‐phase Ti4O7.
miR‐1254 inhibits progression of glioma in vivo and in vitro by targeting CSF‐1
Authors: Li Xin , Kong Shiqi , Cao Yingxiao
Published: January 2020

The role of miRNAs (microRNAs) has been implicated in glioma initiation and progression, although the inherent biochemical mechanisms still remain to be unravelled. This study strived to evaluate the association between CSF‐1 and miR‐1254 and their effect on advancement of glioma cells. The levels of miR‐1254 in glioma cells and tissues were determined by real‐time RT‐PCR. Proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, invasion and migration, were assessed by CCK‐8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, transwell assay and wound‐healing assay, respectively. The targeted relationship between miR‐1254 and CSF‐1 was confirmed by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. The effects of CSF‐1 on cellular functions were also assessed. The in vivo effect of miR‐1254 on the formation of a tumour was explored by using the mouse xenograft model. We found in both glioma tissues and glioma cells, the down‐regulated expressions of miR‐1254 while that of CSF‐1 was abnormally higher than normal level. The target relationship between CSF‐1 and miR‐1254 was validated by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. The CSF‐1 down‐regulation or miR‐1254 overexpression impeded the invasion, proliferation and migratory ability of U251 and U87 glioma cells, concurrently occluded the cell cycle and induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, in vivo tumour development was repressed due to miR‐1254 overexpression. Thus, CSF‐1 is targeted directly by miR‐1254, and the miR‐1254/CSF‐1 axis may be a potential diagnostic target for malignant glioma.
Spatial relationship between telocytes, interstitial cells of Cajal and the enteric nervous system in the human ileum and colon
Authors: Veress Béla , Ohlsson Bodil
Published: January 2020

Telocytes (TCs) are recently described interstitial cells, present in almost all human organs. Among many other functions, TCs regulate gastrointestinal motility together with the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs). TCs and ICCs have close localization in the human myenteric plexus; however, the exact spatial relationship cannot be clearly examined by previously applied double immunofluorescence/confocal microscopy. Data on TCs and submucosal ganglia and their relationship to intestinal nerves are scarce. The aim of the study was to analyse the spatial relationship among these components in the normal human ileum and colon with double CD34/CD117 and CD34/S100 immunohistochemistry and high‐resolution light microscopy. TCs were found to almost completely encompass both myenteric and submucosal ganglia in ileum and colon. An incomplete monolayer of ICCs was localized between the TCs and the longitudinal muscle cells in ileum, whereas only scattered ICCs were present on both surfaces of the colonic myenteric ganglia. TC‐telopodes were observed within colonic myenteric ganglia. TCs, but no ICCs, were present within and around the interganglionic nerve fascicles, submucosal nerves and mesenterial nerves, but were only observed along small nerves intramuscularly. These anatomic differences probably reflect the various roles of TCs and ICCs in the bowel function.
Prognostic value of the expression of chemokines and their receptors in regional lymph nodes of melanoma patients
Authors: Xiong Ting‐feng , Pan Fu‐qiang , Liang Qian , Luo Ruijin , Li Dong , Mo Haiyan , Zhou Xiang
Published: January 2020

Chemokines and their receptors have been reported to drive immune cells into tumours or to be directly involved in the promotion or inhibition of the development of tumours. However, their expression in regional lymph node (LN) tissues in melanoma patients remains unknown. The present study investigated the relationship between the expression of mRNA of chemokines and their receptors and clinicopathology of the regional LN tissues of skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) patients available in The Cancer Genome Atlas. The relationship between chemokines and their receptors and the composition of immune cells within the tumour was analysed. In SKCM regional LN tissues, the high expression of 32 types of chemokines and receptors, namely CCL2, 4‐5, 7‐8, 13, 22‐25, CCR1‐9, CXCL9‐13, 16, CXCR3, 5, 6, XCL1‐2 and XCR1 in LN was associated with favourable patient prognosis. Conversely, high expression of CXCL17 was an indicator of poor prognosis. The expression of mRNA for CXCL9‐11, 13, CXCR3, 6, CCL2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 25, CCR1, 2, 5, and XCL1, 2 in regional LN tissues was positively correlated with the fraction of CD8‐positive T cells and M1 macrophages, and was negatively correlated with M0 macrophages. CCR4, 6‐9, CCL13, 22, 23 and XCR1 were positively correlated with the fraction of memory B cells and naive T cells, and negatively correlated with M0 macrophages and resting mast cells, suggesting that chemokines and their receptors may affect the prognosis of patients by guiding immune cells into the tumour microenvironment to eliminate tumour cells.