bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Private irrigation investment in Colombia: effects of violence, macroeconomic policy, and environmental conditions
Authors: Dinar Ariel , Keck Andrew 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper identifies and estimates the effects of several determinant, on private investment in irrigation in Colombia. It attempts to quantify macroeconomic policy, environment, and violence variables that have been identified in previous studies as significantly affecting investment, in agriculture in genera., and in irrigation in particular. Variables such as violence, climate, and governmental price credit policies are used to explain changes in private investment in irrigation across regions and over time. Violence negatively affects private investment. Climate affects the investment such that in regions with favorable climate condition, investment in irrigation is less attractive, and appropriate government crop‐price and credit policies promote investment in irrigation.
The impact of prices and macroeconomic policies on agricultural supply: a synthesis of available results
Authors: Mamingi Nlandu 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper reviews the literature dealing with the link of agricultural prices and macroeconomic policies to agricultural supply with particular emphasis on Sub‐Saharan Africa. Although the study echoes the stylized facts on price elasticities underlined in previous literature reviews, the paper points out that our understanding of the quantitative dimensions of agricultural supply response is weak given the importance of this assumed response for growth, poverty alleviation, and the environment. Indeed, issues such as simultaneity of variables, data pooling, omission of variables, and asymmetry in supply responses to price changes have not been adequately addressed in many instances.
Demand for dairy products in Mexico
Authors: Tanyeri‐Abur Ayşen , Rosson C. Parr 
Published: January 2020

AbstractMexico is the world's largest importer of non‐fat dry milk (NFDM) and imports of cheese, fluid milk, and whey have increased rapidly in the past four years. In the wake of GATT and the NAFTA, as well as recent economic developments in Mexico, world dairy markets will be affected as a result of changes in the Mexican dairy sector.The study analyzes both domestic and import demand for dairy products in Mexico to determine price and income elasticities as well as import elasticities. The results indicate that the demand for fluid milk is the most responsive to price changes and NFDM demand is inelastic with respect to its own price. There is little subtitution between fluid milk and non‐fat dry milk, although fluid milk is relatively elastic, which suggests the existence of other substitutes for fluid milk.Estimation of import demand equations reveal similar trends in response to price changes, but income elasticity of imports was highest for fluid milk which suggests that Mexico will import possibly more fluid than dry milk as incomes rise. The exchange rate was the most significant variable influencing all dairy product imports.
The market efficiency hypothesis: the case of coffee and cocoa futures
Authors: Sabuhoro Jean Bosco , Larue Bruno 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis study tests the market efficiency hypothesis for coffee and cocoa futures using daily data for contracts with a maturity of 2 and 6 months. The hypothesis is tested sequentially. The first condition is that future spot and futures prices be cointegraled. If this condition is maintained, market efficiency requires the cointegrating vector to support a (0, 1) restriction that can be likened to an unbiasedness condition. Finally, market efficiency imposes zero restrictions on the parameters of the variables expressed in first differences in the specification of the error‐correction representation of the relationship between future spot and futures prices. Brenner and Kroner [Brenner, R., Kroner, K., 1995. Arbitrage, cointegration, and testing the unbiasedness hypothesis in financial markets. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 30, pp. 23–42] argue that the cointegration condition is rarely met in practice. They attribute this outcome to potentially non‐stationary net cost‐of‐carry which would make the parameters of the cointegration relation unstable. It is for this reason that Hansen's tests [Hansen, B.E., 1992. Tests of parameter instability in regressions with I(1) processes. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 10] about the stability of the parameters in cointegration regressions were used to supplement more traditional cointegration tests, Johansen and Juselius' cointegration tests [Johansen, S., Juselius, K., 1992. Testing structural hypotheses in a multivariate cointegration analysis of the PPP and the UIP for UK, Journal of Econometrics 53] could not reject cointegration for all four contracts while Hansen's LC test favored cointegration only for the cocoa contracts. Nested and non‐nested testing procedures were used to test the (0, 1) restriction on the cointegration vector. Unbiasedness was found to be robust across testing procedures. However, further testing about the specification of the error‐correction representation revealed the existence of important short run deviations from unbiasedness, Even though these results hold strictly for a rather limited number of contracts and commodities, they are encouraging for futures markets advocates in developing countries.
Understanding the health and nutritional status of children in Ghana
Authors: Asenso‐Okyere W.K. , Asante F.A. , Nubé M. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe data set of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS, round 1, 1987/1988) was utilized to analyse the principal determinants (publicly and privately) of health and nutrition of children under five in Ghana. While in most health and nutrition studies the emphasis is either on health‐related factors such as occurrence of illness, immunization, accessibility to light (electricity), the role of breastfeeding, or on food availability and food‐consumption‐related factors, in the present study, an attempt has been made to incorporate both aspects simultaneously. On the basis of the GLSS, Ghanaian households spend at the average approximately 60% of total expenses on food. Changes in relative prices of the various food commodities differently affect household food availability. Lowering prices of relatively cheap foods (e.g., millet, cassava) tends to have a strong positive effect on total household kcal availability. At the level of the household, the absolute number of nondependents, presumed to represent the available labour force, is positively correlated with household food availability. There is also a positive correlation between the mothers' level of education (10 yrs of schooling and above) and the nutrition level of children. Occurrence of illness in children could be shown to negatively affect their health and nutrition status. Finally, a specific finding in the analysis was a rather strong negative effect of prolonged breastfeeding on the nutritional status of children. Among the policy recommendations emanating from the research are: (1) promotion of efficient production and marketing of cassava, (2) efforts to achieve slowing down of rural‐urban migration to prevent labour shortages in rural households, (3) improving water and sanitation conditions, (4) expanding immunization programmes in particular in rural areas, and (5) promoting better weaning practices when children are no longer fully breastfed.
Returns to smallholder dairying in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania
Authors: Mdoe Ntengua , Wiggins Steve 
Published: January 2020

AbstractTanzania is a net importer of dairy products despite its large cattle herd and successive government efforts to promote dairying. This paper draws on survey data to examine the financial attractiveness of dairying to smallholders in an area of high dairy potential on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. On mixed farms in which coffee and bananas are the other main enterprises, producers keep small herds of mainly crossbred and grade cattle, mostly fed in stalls on cut forage and crop residues. Using a herd model, a benefit‐cost analysis of dairying was carried out. This showed that at prevailing prices, returns to dairying were around 20%. There was, however, no difference in the returns gained by the larger scale farmers who had more of the grade cows and managed them intensively, compared to those using a less intensive system with lower potential stock. Moreover, the profitability of dairying for the former was underwritten by subsidies on inputs and fuel which are difficult to justify. Policy has apparently over‐emphasised improving yields and the development of intensive dairying, and has not been sufficiently concerned with keeping down the costs of dairying.
Economic reform and aggregate cropping patterns for Egypt
Authors: Shousha Fawaz M. , Pantsch Gregory R. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBeginning in the early 1980s, the government of Egypt embarked on an aggressive initiative to progressively change its centrally planned economy to a system more dependent on domestic and international markets. The agriculture and food sectors have taken the lead in the economic reforms. This paper investigates changes in Egyptian cropping patterns as an indicator of the 'success' of the transition toward a more market‐oriented economy. First, trends in cultivated area and gross margins during the economic reforms are described. Responses of cropping patterns to changes in gross margins are then evaluated. A random effect distributed lag model with pooled cross‐sectional time‐series methods is used to examine the relationship for individual crops. Canonical correlation analysis provides a more general assessment of responsiveness of the overall cropping pattern.
Valuing soil conservation benefits of agroforestry: contour hedgerows in the Eastern Visayas, Philippines
Authors: Pattanayak Subhrendu , Mercer D. Evan 
Published: January 2020

AbstractTrees can be considered as investments made by economic agents to prevent depreciation of natural assets such as stocks of top soil and water In agroforestry systems farmers use trees in this manner by deliberately combining them with agricultural crops on the same unit of land. Although advocates of agroforestry have asserted that soil conservation is one of its primary benefits, empirical estimates of these benefits have been lacking due to temporal and spatial complexity of agroforestry systems and the nonmarket aspect of soil capital assets. This study designs and applies a bio‐economic framework for valuing the soil conservation benefits of agroforestry. The framework is tested with econometric analysis of data from surveys of households in Eastern Visayas. Philippines, where USAID/Government of Philippines introduced contour hedgerow agroforestry in 1983. By constructing a weighted soil quality index that also incorporates measures of soil fertility, texture and color in addition to erosion, we extend previous economic studies of soil resources. This index is regressed on a variety of farming and site specific bio‐physical variables. Next, we use a Cobb‐Douglas profit function to directly relate agricultural profits and soil quality. Thus, the value of soil conservation is measured as a quasi‐rent differential or the share of producer surplus associated with a change in soil quality. Because this framework assumes the existence of markets, the assumption is tested by analysing the statistical significance of consumption side variables, e.g., number of household members, on production side variables, e.g., profits. Instrumental variables are used to handle the endogeneity of the soil index in the profit equation. Seemingly unrelatedregression (SUR) analysis is used to accommodate correlation of errors across the soil and profit equations. Regression results reveal the importance of agroforestry intensity, private ownership, land fragmentation, and familiarity with soil conservation as positive covariates of soil quality. Analysis of production data indicate the importance of market prices, education, farming experience, farm size, topography, and soil quality as positive covariates of household profits Investments in agroforestry to improve or maintain soil capital can increased annual agricultural profits by US$53 for the typical household, which is 6% of total income. However, there are significant up‐front costs. Given that small farmers in tropical uplands are important players in the management of deteriorating soil and forest resources, policy makers may want to consider supporting farmers in the early years of agroforestry adoption.
The demand for food and beverages in Norway
Authors: Rickertsen Kyrre 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe demand for food and beverages is estimated within a three‐stage demand model. The separability structure of the model is checked by nonparametric tests. Some generalized axiom of revealed preference (GARP) violations are detected in one of the subsystems. However, they are removed by small adjustments in the quantities of fish, and the violations are interpreted as results of measurement errors. The almost ideal demand system is used in the static and a dynamic version. The results of various specification and misspccification tests suggest that the static version performs poorly as compared with the dynamic version. Norwegian demand elasticities for disaggregate food commodities have rarely been estimated within a system framework, so the results are of intrinsic interest. The elasticities estimated by using the dynamic model are of the expected signs and reasonable magnitudes. The values are stable over time for most commodities. Elasticities estimated within a subsystem are conditional on the goods included in that system, and they may differ from the more policy relevant unconditional elasticities estimated within a system including all goods. Adjustment formulas are used to approximate the unconditional elasticities from the estimated conditional elasticities. There are considerable differences between the numerical values of the conditional and unconditional elasticities for several of the foods. The unconditional own‐price elasticities are in the interval‐0.20 to‐0.89. The own‐price elasticities for hot drinks and for milk are most inelastic. The unconditional expenditure elasticities for food‐away‐from‐home, fish, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages are above one, while the expenditure elasticity for hot drinks is about zero.
Competition in the US meatpacking industry: is it history?
Authors: Azzam Azzeddine M. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe US meatpacking industry has become concentrated to a degree not experienced since the days of the ‘Beef trust’ a century ago. A number of mainstream studies have investigated if such concentration has been detrimental to competition. Just as earlier studies may have helped shape competition policy towards meatpacking a century ago, contemporary studies have made their way into current discussions and may shape competition policy at the turn of this century. This paper asks whether or not contemporary studies are useful in informing competition policy. After comparing how competition looks from the econometric vantage point with how it looks from the vantage point of the industry's 300‐yr history, this article concludes that mainstream studies are more useful for a competition policy targeting conduct rather than structure.
Environinental and economic consequences of technology adoption: IPM in viticulture
Authors: Fernandez‐Cornejo Jorge 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe impact of integrated pest management (IPM) on pesticide use, toxicity and other environmental characteristics, yields, and farm profits is examined for grape growers. The method is generally applicable for technology adoption and accounts for self‐selectivity, simultaneity, and theoretical consistency. IPM adopters apply significantly less insecticides and fungicides than nonadopters among grape producers in six states, accounting for most of the U.S. production. Both the average toxicity and the Environmental Impact Quotient decrease slightly with adoption of insect IPM, but remain about the same for adopters and nonadopters of IPM for diseases. The effect of IPM adoption on yields and variable profits is positive but only significant for the case of IPM for diseases, i.e., the adoption of IPM for diseases increases yields and profits significantly.
Advertising, concentration and profitability in Greek food manufacturing industries
Authors: Vlachvei A. , Oustapassidis K. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe conventional framework for cross‐sectional studies of industrial organisation focuses on the hypothesised relations among structure, conduct and performance (SCP). This paper investigates these relationships for the food and beverage manufacturing industries in a European country, i.e., Greece. 3SLS method is used to estimate the parameters of the profitability, concentration and advertising model for a sample of 38 four‐digit industries in 1994. The main results, which are in line with the relevant empirical work, show that profitability is determined by advertising, which, in turn, is affected by both profitability and concentration, while the latter is determined by economies of scale.
Adjustment costs and dynamic factor demands for U.S. cigarette manufacturing
Authors: Rezitis Anthony N. , Brown A. Blake , Foster William E. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractFollowing the approach of Berndt, Fuss, and Waverman, a dynamic model for U.S. cigarette manufacturing is developed and factor demands estimated. Tobacco and capital stocks are treated as quasi‐tixed inputs. The results indicate that there are significant adjustment costs associated with adjusting tobacco stocks, but not with adjusting the capital stock. Short‐run, intermediate‐run, and long‐run output constant elasticities are estimated for inputs in cigarette production. Demand for U.S. tobacco by U.S. cigarette manufacturers is found be more inelastic than shown by previous studies using static models. Cigarettes produced for export appear to differ in their marginal cost of production from cigarettes produced for the sale in the U.S. market.
Welfare impacts of technological change on women in southern Mali
Authors: Lilja Nina , Sanders John H. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIt has often been hypothesized that new agricultural technologies could have an adverse impact on women because additional labor required of them reduces the time spent and therefore income earned from private‐field activities. This study shows that the expansion of cotton cultivation on the household communal fields in southern Mali associated with the introduction of new technologies results in increased payments to women for their increased labor on the cotton fields. Unfortunately, these payments are small compared to the loss of revenue from private‐plot production. Thus, the net effect of the expansion of household cotton cultivation is a reduction in incomes of women who cultivate private plots. Short‐run policy implications of this study are that improving women's income requires concern with their private‐plot earnings. For example, profitability of the private‐field crops could be increased with higher input use. In the long run, as land becomes even more constrained, emphasis needs to be placed on institutional changes to increase women's bargaining power so that they obtain larger shares of the new income streams resulting from technological change on the communal field. Institutional changes already occurring in the region, with the apparent objective of increasing women's (and non‐household head men's) bargaining power, include organized work teams and the movement toward smaller, nuclear families.
The impact of agricultural research in Africa: aggregate and case study evidence
Authors: Masters William A. , Bedingar Touba , Oehmke James F. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper presents case‐study results and aggregate data to evaluate the impact of research in African agriculture. Of 32 case studies, all but eight report annual returns over 20% and many are far higher, with most gains arising in the late 1980s and 1990s. Spurred by policy reforms and changing incentives, these innovations have led to sustained growth in aggregate cereal crop yields since 1985. Africa's belated ‘green revolution’ is based on new varieties (often with early maturation for drought escape), complemented by new management techniques (typically labor‐intensive efforts to conserve soil moisture and build soil fertility).
The interface between growth, trade, pollution and natural resource use in Chile: evidence from an economy wide model
Authors: van der Mensbrugghe Dominique , Roland‐Holst David , Dessus Sébastien , Beghin John 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWe investigate the implications of trade liberalization and pollution taxes on aggregate income, pollution, and natural resource use in Chile with a neoclassical economywide model comprising 75 sectors. The model incorporates 13 measures of pollution effluents which are linked to the use of polluting inputs and energy use. We estimate the economic and environmental impact of Chile's participation in NAFTA, MERCOSUR, of unilateral trade liberalization and effluent taxes. Unilateral trade liberalization induces substantial worsening of pollution emissions and expansion of resource‐based sectors, partly because of access to cheaper energy. NAFTA integration is environmentally benign in terms of pollution emissions.
Agricultural development with rainforest conservation: methods for seeking best bet alternatives to slash‐and‐burn, with applications to Brazil and Indonesia
Authors: Tomich Thomas P. , van Noordwijk Meine , Vosti Stephen A. , Witcover Julie 
Published: January 2020

AbstractForests continue to fall for agricultural purposes throughout the humid tropics, with immediate and potentially large consequences for climate change and biodiversity loss‐issues of key interest to the international community. Some of the actors directly responsible for forest conversion fell trees to meet food security needs and alleviate poverty‐issues of urgent interest to them and also to national policymakers. This multiplicity of groups with differing (often conflicting) interests in the multifarious goods and services produced by tropical forests complicates the search for alternative agricultural activities for forest margins since these alternatives must satisfy such divergent objectives. This paper sets out a conceptual framework for comparing the impacts of different land use systems and agricultural practices at the margins of tropical rainforests in terms of the concerns and objectives of two key interest groups: small‐scale farmers seeking livelihoods at the forest margins and the ‘international’ interests in the global public goods and services supplied by tropical rainforests. This framework should be useful to a third key group, the national and regional policymakers who must consider these and other policy objectives and then decide on courses of action. The paper identifies data needs and analytical methods capable of supplying an empirical base for this conceptual framework, based on quantifiable indicators. It then presents preliminary results of the application of this conceptual framework in Indonesia and Brazil in association with a global, collaborative, multidisciplinary research program. Even using preliminary order‐of‐magnitude estimates (to be replaced by more precise measurements as they become available), this conceptual framework presents results in ways that allow researchers and policymakers to select clear ‘best bets’ for development, when they exist, and to assess tradeoffs and options for complementary policy action and research efforts, when they do not.