bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
International trade and agricultural development in developing countries: Significance of the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations
Authors: Koester Ulrich 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTLiberalization of world trade in agricultural products ranks high on the agenda of the Uruguay Round. After a period of more than six years, however, the negotiations have not been concluded. Nevertheless, an outcome seems to be in sight. The agreement will most likely not result in a move to freer trade. It seems that domestic policies will become even more regulative than in the past in an attempt to cut exportable surpluses and to ease trade tensions among the main exporting nations. This paper explores possible impacts of the GATT Round on agricultural development in developing countries. Agricultural development is more than only growth in agricultural production or productivity. However, it is argued in the paper that other variables which also indicate agricultural development are often closely correlated with growth in production and productivity. Trade in agricultural products is not always an engine for agricultural development. If internal divergences are not accounted for by appropriate domestic policies, trade may be even harmful to agricultural development. Hence, empirical research based on cross‐country analysis does not provide a clear answer about the role of trade for development.Past policies in industrialized countries have most likely had a negative effect on developing countries as a group; however, the effects differ widely across countries. Liberalization policies in industrialized countries would not just reverse these negative effects for developing countries. Price reduction in industrialized countries may not result in the often‐cited production decline in the short term. Present X‐inefficiency in agriculture will be reduced by liberalization, leading to an outward shift of the supply curve. Hence, liberalization may not lead to higher world market prices for temperate‐zone products in the short and medium term. Apart from this, empirical models differ widely in the price effects they predict.The expected outcome of the Uruguay Round – increased regulation of domestic policies – is likely both more negative for developing countries than past protectionist policies and worse than an overall liberalization. World market prices will increase, uncertainty and instability can be expected to grow, and food aid may become less available. There will be a need to react to these challenges with measures on the international and national level. Initiatives to deal with food crises in developing countries and to stimulate liberalization in developing countries should be considered. Finally, developing countries should be made aware that their own domestic policies have a much greater economic impact than policies in other countries, even if the latter are as protectionist as current agricultural policies in the industrialized world.
Mix and sequencing of economywide and agricultural reforms: Chile and New Zealand
Authors: Valdés Alberto 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTOnce committed to economywide and sectoral reforms – stabilization, structural adjustment, and trade liberalization – and companion reforms of institutions, how does government best proceed? With what reforms in response to initial conditions, and in what mix, sequence, strength, and speed? This study examines what factors were most critical to success during transition in two early reformers. The economies of Chile and New Zealand have undergone seismic reforms, starting in the mid‐1970s and 1980s, respectively. Comparative analysis of their reforms look at the prior conditions that induced drastic action and the policy choices made in each country. Though similar in many respects, differences in initial economic conditions and implementation led to dissimilar, even contrary results. For Chile, the outcome was a vigorous, recharged economy and agricultural sector; for New Zealand, the economy and the sector are lagging still. How policy choice and implementation, as well as simultaneity of reforms, affected the outcomes is the major thrust of the study. The preeminence of trade and macroeconomic policies over sectoral interventions, and in particular the strategic nature of the real exchange rate in allowing agriculture to compete domestically and internationally highlight the discussion.
Trade and agricultural development in the 1980s and the challenges for the 1990s: Latin America
Authors: Schuh G. Edward , Junguito Roberto 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTTrends in agricultural trade for South and Central America are documented and the reform process is discussed. Performance of the agricultural sector of the region is evaluated. Challenges for policy makers are reviewed, ranging from macroeconomic policy to science and technology.
Challenges of trade and agricultural development for East/Central Europe and states of the former USSR
Authors: Brooks Karen M. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTThe agricultural transition in Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR reflects a fundamental change in development strategy, and will have a profound impact on agricultural trade. The greatest impact will be indirect, through agriculture's contribution to general economic reform and acceleration of regional and global growth. The direct impact on trade in food and fiber will in aggregate consist of a fall in net imports. Most of the decline in net imports will derive from reduction in demand and improved utilization. Potential for productivity increase is substantial, but not all of the increased productivity will be reflected in the traditional supply response of increased production. Instead marginal resources will shift out of farming, and producers will restructure and adopt new technologies in pursuit of lower costs. Shifts in the commodity composition of trade will occur, and the changes in grain and livestock markets will be greatest. If the reform is successful, the former Soviet Union could become a modest net grain exporter instead of a large importer. Wheat would be the leading export grain, and levels of wheat exports and corn imports could become quite sensitive to relative prices on world markets.
Production economics: Worthwhile investment?
Authors: Shumway C. Richard 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAgricultural production economics research is examined within a broad framework of scientific development and utilization. Recent findings in selected areas of the subdiscipline are examined and opportunities for further fruitful inquiry are identified. A few 'stylized facts' emerge from recent work and suggest the need for much careful hypothesis testing, model exploration, and empirical sensitivity analysis in the future.
Agriculture‐led growth: foodgrains versus export crops in Madagascar
Authors: Dorosh Paul , Haggblade Steven 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis article compares the growth‐generating power of alternative agricultural development strategies in Madagascar. Projections from a semi‐input–output model and a recently developed social accounting matrix suggest that both paddy and export crops stimulate strong linkages with other sectors of the Malagasy economy. But since paddy output can be increased at lower cost, investment in rehabilitating small irrigated rice perimeters generates 40% to 100% more gdp than a comparable investment in coffee production. Paddy also generates greater employment and a more equitable income distribution.
Analysis of the technical efficiency of state rubber farms in Vietnam
Authors: Son Tran Vo Hung , Coelli Tim , Fleming Euan 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis study entails an analysis of the technical efficiency of natural rubber production by state farms in Vietnam. A time‐varying stochastic frontier production function model for unbalanced data is estimated for 33 farms. Individual farm technical efficiencies are reported and discussed. One of the main results concerns the bimodal distribution of technical efficiency indices. A few farms operate near the production frontier while the bulk operate well away from the frontier. Some implications are drawn from the results as a guide to future policy research work in the rubber industry in light of recent moves by the Vietnamese government towards economic reform.
Impact of hybrid rice on input demand and productivity
Authors: Lin Justin Yifu 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper uses farm‐level data collected from a sample of 500 households in Hunan province, China, to analyze the impact of hybrid rice on input demand and productivity. Based on regression analyses, it is found that, compared with conventional modern varieties, hybrid rice uses about 4% less labor inputs, 2% less draft animal services, and 6% more chemical fertilizers. The lesser requirements for labor and draft animal services probably arise from hybrid rice's lower seeding rate. Due to heterosis and high seed costs, the use of F1 seed is economized to about one‐third to one‐fourth that of conventional varieties. Therefore, less labor and animal power is needed for seed‐bed preparation and transplanting. It is also found that, given the same level of inputs, the yield advantage of hybrid rice over the conventional modern varieties is about 19%. Because of the productivity potential, hybrid rice is a candidate for the second‐generation “Green Revolution” in other parts of Asia.
Extensification of agriculture and deforestation: empirical evidence from Sudan
Authors: Elnagheeb Abdelmoneim H. , Bromley Daniel W. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractExtensification of agriculture is one of the major factors contributing to the destruction of forests in Africa. In Sudan, such horizontal expansion comes at the expense of land devoted to trees and other vegetation, thereby inducing conditions that are inimical to sustainable agricultural production. Different factors have contributed to extensification. Although high economic returns from crop (mainly sorghum) production was an important factor encouraging extensification of rainfed mechanized farming, other factors outside agriculture have also contributed to that expansion. This paper uses data from eastern Sudan and an acreage response model, to identify the most important factors influencing acreage expansion. Different measures and forms of risk were used in the acreage response model. The paper shows how policies in the energy sector can indirectly influence acreage expansion in the agricultural sector.
The law of one price: a test based on prices for selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture
Authors: Delpachitra S.B. , Hill R.L. St 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe law of one price (LOOP) is an essential foundation of both the pure theory of trade and monetary theory. Strictly speaking, the law relates to prices of individual commodities. However, empirical tests of LOOP have often relied on aggregated data. In this paper, a model is derived and estimated using price data for 15 selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture. The results offer no support for the LOOP in the short run, and the results for the long run are mixed. It may be inappropriate, therefore, to assume that the LOOP holds generally in modelling exercises, particularly when models are used for policy purposes.
Ex ante assessment of the returns to livestock disease control in Indonesia
Authors: Patrick I.W. , Vere D.T. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAgriculture's importance in the process of economic growth highlights the role of sustained advances in farm production practices by improving the quantity and quality of farm products. In this context, investment in improved agricultural technology continues to be an important avenue of assistance to the developing countries. However, the increased resource pressures facing both aid donors and recipients have emphasised the need for the prior assessment of the potential benefits of aid projects to assist effective aid planning and management. Here, the main requirements are to establish viable project goals for translation into effective programmes, to predict the likely project impacts, and to evaluate the potential benefits and costs of adopting the project's outcomes. An ex ante assessment of assistance in controlling a major livestock disease in Indonesia's eastern islands is described in this paper. The annual net benefits from controlling this disease ranged between $A0.45 and $A2.5 million according to the mortality rate reduction achieved. The benefits were shared between beef producers and consumers according to the market elasticity conditions assumed.
Alternative models of input allocation in multicrop systems: Irrigation water in the Central Plains, United States
Authors: Moore Michael R. , Gollehon Noel R. , Carey Marc B. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper compares three models of input allocation in multicrop systems. In addition to the variable input and satisficing models analyzed in previous research, an allocatable fixed input model of short‐run input use is derived. The empirical application studies irrigation water use in the Central Plains region of the United States. Based on results from model specification tests and prediction accuracy measures, the allocatable fixed input model dominates both other models in explaining multicrop water allocation. In addition, the paper presents an alternative approach to the study of deficient data on multicrop production. By transferring econometric results from analysis of ‘non‐deficient’ crop‐level data, input allocations in deficient data sets can be predicted.
Role of information in the adoption of best management practices for water quality improvement
Authors: Feather Peter M. , Amacher Gregory S. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis study investigates the role of information in influencing the adoption of improved farm management practices. A lack of producer information regarding both the profitability and the environmental benefits of adopting improved practices may be a reason why widespread adoption of these practices has not occurred. Compared to direct regulation or financial incentives, raising producer information levels may be a more cost‐effective method of increasing adoption. The United States Department of Agriculture has recently established and begun implementing a program based on this idea. To test the validity of the program, a two‐stage adoption model is specified and estimated using data from a survey of producers in the program area. The results indicate that producer perceptions Play an important role in the decision to adopt. Changing these perceptions by means of an educational program may be a reasonable alternative to financial incentives in encouraging BMP adoption.
Measurement of cost inefficiency with safety first measure of risk
Authors: Parikh Ashok , Shah Mir Kalan 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe objectives of this paper are to incorporate a measure of risk aversion in the translog frontier cost function to estimate cost inefficiency. Risk‐averse behaviour of farmers is hypothesised to reduce efficiency by leading to a situation in which the marginal value product of an input is less than price. In developing agriculture, farmers are aware of their subsistence needs and seek to minimize the probability of their incomes falling below a disaster level of income. Using such a safety first principle, a measure of risk‐taking is developed and explained by socio‐economic characteristics. This measure is used in the translog cost function as a fixed input and, using the frontier approach (with half normal distribution of inefficiency disturbance), a measure of cost inefficiency is obtained. This is related to socio‐economic characteristics such as education, assets and holding size. A survey data of 436 farmers for the North‐West Frontier Province of Pakistan is used to reach policy conclusions for reducing cost inefficiency.
Demand for food in Myanmar (Burma)
Authors: Soe T. , Batterham R.L. , Drynan R.G. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAggregate quarterly time series data from 1975 to 1987 on government procurement prices and open (black) market prices were used in estimating an almost ideal demand system (AIDS) and double‐log models for consumption of foodstuffs in Myanmar. The results from the AIDS model were superior to those from the double‐log models.The estimated income elasticity of demand for non‐meat foodstuffs was high, even for low‐quality rice, which has been shown to be an inferior good in other Asian countries. The income elasticities for the non‐cereals (groundnut oil, sesame oil, pulses, potato and onion) are positive and less than one. Contrary to expectation, the income elasticities for all meat items are low. Own‐price elasticities for most foodstuffs were less than one. The estimated cross‐price elasticities indicate the complementary nature of the basic food items to rice.A brief analysis of the effects of taxing Myanmarese rice exports and subsidising consumers indicated that there are net costs to government, unevenly distributed welfare gains to consumers and welfare losses to farmers.
Value of moving from central planning to a market system: lessons from the Israeli water sector
Authors: Becker Nir 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper explores the implications of the transformation of the system of water resources allocation to the agricultural sector in Israel from a one in which allotments are allocated to the different users without any permission to trade with water rights. A mathematical planning model is used for the entire Israeli agricultural sector, in which an ‘optimal’ allocation of the water resources is found and compared to the existing one.The results of the model are used in order to gain insight into the shadow price of the different water bodies in Israel (about eight). These prices can then be used to grant property rights to the water users themselves in order to guarantee rational behavior of water use, since now one can sell their rights at the source itself. The implication is clear with regard to any possible movement towards a market system in any other sector. From the dual prices of the primal problem we can forecast the equilibrium prices and their implications for the different users. The central government does not have to interfere with the market mechanism because, as will be shown, every farmer has the option to sell his right or to use it. As participation in the market is voluntary, every farmer makes a decision that is both individually and socially rational. However, in moving from a central planning allocation to a market mechanism, the government has another task, which is to grant the property rights in order for the market to begin to evolve. It is not guaranteed that under any initial allocation a decentralization of the system will benefit all the regions but at least part of the problem is to be resolved between the regions themselves.As the results shows, there is a potential budgetary benefit of 28 million dollars when capital cost is not included and 64 million dollars when they are included.
Labor productivity measurement in Japanese agriculture, 1956–90
Authors: Kuroda Yoshimi 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper investigates the factors responsible for a drastic decline in the growth rate of labor productivity of the agricultural sector for the 1956–90 period. This investigation is carried out by a newly devised procedure which decomposes the growth rate of labor productivity into (1) the total substitution effect which consists of the effects due to factor price changes and biased technological change, and (2) the TFP effect composed of the effects due to scale economies and technological progress. Based on empirical estimation of the translog cost function, it was found that the total substitution effect contributed to the growth of labor productivity much more than the TFP effect did for the period under question.
Soil conservation and governmental policies in tropical areas: Does aid worsen the incentives for arresting erosion?
Authors: Grepperud Sverre 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper focuses on how farmers respond with respect to the adoption of soil conservation measures to governmental agricultural policies aiming at supporting smallholders. A simple micro‐economic framework was chosen to undertake an analysis of farmer choices among three activities; farming, adoption of soil conservation measures and off‐farm work. The model shows that governments have to be cautious when designing support measures if improved resource management is a policy goal. In the design of such measures, attention has to be paid both to (1) the distribution in land quality, and (2) the distribution in the net returns from adopting soil conservation measures.
Landlords and farmers: implications of disparities in bargaining power for tenancy in agriculture
Authors: Andersson H. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe equilibrium allocation of owner operated and rental land in the agricultural sector is examined given risk averse agents, risky returns and asset price risk. The model is extended to account for disparities in bargaining power among landlords and farmers. In the absence of disparities, the competitive equilibrium allocation satisfies the general conditions for optimal risk sharing with an adjustment factor similar to the optimal hedge ratio.Differences in bargaining power result in deviations from the optimal risk sharing conditions. Numerical simulations of tenancy structure are conducted for a developed agricultural economy exposed to various forms of risk. Estimates of parameter values representing the riskiness of returns and asset prices in this study are based on vector auto regressive techniques. The simulations show that a substantial reduction of the rental ratio is obtained in a situation where farmers are equally or more risk averse than landlords. Consequently, the results indicate that the importance of the tenancy institution as a risk sharing mechanism is severely mitigated in the presence of asset price risk, risky returns, relatively risk averse farmers and disparities in bargaining power.
A partial adjustment model with rational expectations applied to the goat sector in Greece
Authors: Fotopoulos Christos V. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn this paper an attempt is made to examine the rational expectations hypothesis for the goat‐meat sector in Greece within the framework of a single equation method that describes the factors affecting demand and supply. The structural equations of the model are estimated by applying the Cochrane‐Orcutt technique. The calculated elasticities suggest that Greek goat producers should pay more attention to milk rather than meat production. Statistical indications also confirm the effects of the Chernobyl accident upon the goat sector. Moreover, the forecasting ability of the model has been tested using simulation procedures, which indicate a small deviation between theoretical and observed values. Finally, some further implications concerning the goat sector are drawn from this analysis.
Dynamic modelling of agroforestry and soil fertility interactions: implications for multi‐disciplinary research policy
Authors: Babu Suresh Chandra , Hallam Arne , Rajasekaran B. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper attempts to contribute to one of the major aspects of international research agenda in agroforestry. A general framework is developed in this paper to capture the dynamic interactions of various components of agroforestry system. Using a multi‐seasonal model of agroforestry, the competition among the system components in resource and input use and the trade‐offs between different outputs of agroforestry system are analyzed. Policy implications for multi‐disciplinary research are derived. It is argued that quantifying the potential benefits of agroforestry system requires reformulation of existing economic methods of analyzing agroforestry technology to contribute to the fuller understanding of the dynamic interactions among its various components.