bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Changes needed in agricultural policy for female‐headed farm families in tropical Africa
Authors: Due Jean M. , Magayane F. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTThe decline in per‐capita agricultural production has been reversed somewhat in tropical Africa by the structural adjustment programs which have increased producer prices, liberalized marketing and devalued currencies. But the 30% of smallholder farm households which are female‐headed will not be assited much due to their special constraints of shortages of labor and credit, lack of extension visits and appropriate labor‐saving technologies. For these households, the authors argue, improved extension services, credit for agricultural inputs, small ruminant animals and poultry, labor‐saving devices and craft inputs will be necessary to increase their incomes and levels of living.
An application of optimal control theory to agricultural policy analysis
Authors: Ennew C.T. , Rayner A.J. , Reed G.V. , White B. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTSince the early 1970s there has been interest in the application of optimal control theory to the management of economic systems. Specifically, optimal control theory prescribes policy strategies which optimise a quantifiable policy preference function subject to market equilibrium conditions. Problems of this kind have been identified among agricultural markets and this paper aims to illustrate the application of optimal control theory to the British potato market. The paper takes evidence from policy makers to derive target values for the producer price, imports, and the changes in the quota area from year to year. The constraints on optimisation are specified in terms of a partial equilibrium econometric model which specifies, demand, supply and trade relationships. The policy preference function is specified as a quadratic and a ‘revealed preference approach’ is employed to estimate the parameters which penalise market equilibria which over or under‐shoot policy targets. The resulting optimal control problem is minimised by a dynamic programming routine. The results suggest that policy makers may benefit from taking dynamic effects directly into account when formulating policy strategies.
An Analysis of U.S. Aggregate Output Response by Farm Size
Authors: Henneberry Shida Rastegari , Tweeten Luther , Nainggolan Kaman 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTPast empirical evidence on supply response by size of farm in the U.S.A. provides no clear basis to conclude that supply elasticities vary systematically with farm size. In this paper, the central hypothesis that no systematic relationship exists between production response to price and size of farm is rejected. U.S. farms are disaggregated into nine economic size categories and own‐price supply elasticities are measured for per farm and total agricultural output. Empirical results from this study suggest that supply response does vary systematically by farm size, with smaller farms exhibiting greater elasticities than midsized farms.
Production and uses of subject‐matter research in federal service: observations from research on Farmer Mac
Authors: Hiemstra Stephen W. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTRapid institutional innovation in the 1980's has led to problems that exceed the scope of research normally assumed by individual researchers. During such periods of rapid change, subject‐matter research may be particularly useful. This paper reviews research on the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) and examines its role in the policy debate.
The zip (postal) code difference: methods to improve identification of rural subgroups
Authors: de la Torre Adela , Fickenscher Kevin , Luft Harold 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTOver the past decade national policymakers have grappled with the increasingly difficult issue of implementing programs which sustain the viability of the rural health care system. The set of problems that are of major concern to these decisionmakers include: (1) the shifts in the utilization patterns away from the rural health care delivery system; (2) the impact of modification in the health care reimbursement system which disproportionately favors urban health systems; and, (3) the continuing difficulty in affecting the disproportionate supply of health providers in urban areas compared to rural settings.The complex nature of health services research demands a multidisciplinary approach especially on sociocultural problems such as rural health delivery. Effective analysis in health care crosses many disciplinary boundaries such as medicine, nutrition, economics, sociology, and public health among others disciplines. A major concern to many of these rural health research analysts is the ad hoc treatment of the rural populace in federal and state health policy decisionmaking. The key to understanding the variance in treatment of rural health can be appreciated by reviewing the accuracy of rural definitions.In the present study, a refined rural definition is proposed which will assist research analysts in providing greater information on the distribution of rural health care services. A preliminary analysis of the proposed definitions indicates that a more precise measurement of rural provides greater accuracy in determining the medical needs of rural areas.Adaptation of the concept will benefit the decisionmaking process through improvements in the methodological approach to rural health research. State legislators, regional and state planning agencies, federal funding agencies, foundations, and other programs involved in support of rural life program will be better able to assess the impact of programs through use of the new definition. Finally, a refined typology for rural will also effect other research endeavors and appears to be generalizable to research on other pertinent rural delivery issues such as transportation, education, and regional planning.
Food subsidies and market interdependence: the case of the Moroccan soft wheat subsidy
Authors: Azzam Azzeddine M. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTAmong the several propositions advanced to explain the rising cost of subsidizing soft wheat production and consumption in Morocco are the indirect effects emanating from related markets, namely the hard wheat and barley markets. A three‐sector supply‐demand model, described in this paper, was used to estimate the direct and indirect (induced) effects on government cost of changes in the soft wheat subsidy. The results show that virtually all the indirect effects come from the soft wheat market itself. The indirect effects emanating from the related markets are negligible.
Pests and pesticides, risk and risk aversion
Authors: Pannell David J. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTTheoretical and applied literature on risk in decision making for agricultural pest control is reviewed. Risk can affect pesticide decision making either because of risk aversion or because of its influence on expected profit. It is concluded that risk does not necessarily lead to increased pesticide use by individual farmers. Uncertainty about some variables, such as pest density and pest mortality, does lead to higher optimal pesticide use under risk aversion. However, uncertainty about other important variables, such as output price and yield, leads to lower optimal levels of pesticide use. Neglect of these variables in most studies has led to the false assumption that pesticides are always risk‐reducing inputs. Furthermore, there is evidence that, in general, the pesticide dosage which maximises expected profit is lower under risk than under certainty. Depending on the balance of forces to increase and decrease pesticide use under risk, in many circumstances the net effect of risk on optimal decision making for pest control may be minimal. The effect on risk of information about pest density and other variables (as in integrated pest management programmes) is discussed. Evidence on this issue is mixed. A range of analytical techniques for analysing risk in pest control is reviewed. Throughout the paper, gaps in the existing literature are identified.
Size and industry effects in the performance of agricultural cooperatives
Authors: Lerman Zvi , Parliament Claudia 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study is to determine if there are important size and industry effects on financial performance of agricultural cooperatives. The performance of 43 dairy, food, grain, and farm supply cooperatives in the U.S. was analyzed over the period 1970‐1987 using financial ratios derived from accounting data. The analysis revealed significant size and industry effects. Large regional cooperatives are more efficient in utilizing their assets to generate sales, while small regional cooperatives have higher profitability. The findings suggest that the emphasis on growth may not always produce beneficial results among agricultural cooperatives. Among the four industries studied, the dairy regional cooperatives appear to be the strongest performers, while the food marketing cooperatives are characterized by the lowest performance measures. Since both dairy and food cooperatives engage in value‐added processing, this difference in performance makes it difficult to reach clear conclusions about possible advantages of disadvantages or vertical integration relative to traditional cooperative activities. Trend analysis indicates that the profitability of the agricultural cooperatives in all industry and size categories declined in response to the downturn in U.S. agriculture after 1980. While the decline in profitability was at similar rates for both large and small cooperatives, the variation of efficiency and leverage was in opposite directions. Large cooperatives may be expected to continue improving their asset utilization without relative improvement in profitability, and increasing the level of their debt in relation to equity.
An econometric analysis of rice consumption in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Peterson E. Wesley F. , Jin Lan , Ito Shoichi 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTRice is the most important staple food in the People's Republic of China (PRO. In many Asian countries rice appears to have become an inferior good, with income increases leading to declines in per capita consumption as other food products are substituted for rice. In this study, human rice consumption is analyzed with a model that allows income elasticities to vary with income levels. An additional equation accounting for rice disappearance as seed, livestock feed, industrial uses and exports is also estimated. The results of the analysis indicate that rice has become an inferior good in China and per capita consumption is likely to decline in the future. Population growth and the growing use of rice for other purposes means that total rice disappearance will continue to increase although at a rate that is slower than has historically been the case. The predicted changes in rice consumption will create pressures to adjust production and trade patterns for rice as well as other agricultural products.
A stochastic dynamic programming framework for weed control decision making: an application to Avena fatua L.
Authors: Pandey Sushil , Medd R.W. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper develops a stochastic multi‐period decision model to analyse a continuous wheat cropping system infested by wild oats (Avena fatua L.), in southern Australia. The multi‐period solutions is obtained by employing a dynamic programming model in conjunction with a bioeconomic simulation model. An empirically estimated dose response function is used to derive the optimal herbicide rate. Uncertainties due to environmental effects on the performance of herbicide and crop yields are modelled and optimal decision rules derived. The results indicate that substantial economic gains can be realised if herbicide dose decisions are taken by considering future profit effects of current decisions, as opposed to the more common approach of only considering the current‐period effect.
Development of township enterprise and alleviation of the employment problem in rural China
Authors: Zhou Zhang Y. , Dillon John L. , Wan Guang H. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn contrast to the situation in western countries at the time of their industrialization, it has been and still is impossible for rural labour in China to move to the urban sector for employment. For this and other reasons, including shortage of arable land and population growth, lack of employment opportunities continues to be a serious problem in rural China. This article discusses the development of township enterprise in rural areas and its role in the alleviation of China's rural employment problem. It is suggested that the further development of township enterprise should be an important element of China's development strategy.
Allocable fixed inputs as a cause of joint production: an empirical investigation
Authors: Leathers Howard D. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractLeathers (1991) shows that while the existence of allocable fixed inputs can cause joint production (as in Shumway, Pope and Nash, 1984), it will not necessarily lead to joint production. The extent to which allocable fixed inputs cause joint production in agriculture is an empirical question. This paper offers an empirical answer. By estimating a short‐run joint cost function, it is possible to identify levels of outputs for which joint production may be optimal in the short run but not in the long run. Only in these output regions will there be jointness caused by allocable fixed inputs. For the data in this paper (160 Wisconsin farms), these output regions are very small; thus allocable fixed inputs do not appear to be an important cause of jointness for these farms. Technical causes of jointness appear to be a significant cause of joint production.
A critical assessment of the political preference function approach in agricultural economics
Authors: von Cramon‐Taubadel Stephan 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTThe policy preference function (ppf) approach has become popular with economists seeking to explain the origin of government policies. In this paper, a distinction between positive and normative work with the ppf concept is made. Positive work is shown to suffer from a variety of shortcomings including the misspecification of traditional ppfs and the failure to consider the importance of institutions, constraints and the interaction between different commodity policies. These weaknesses are reflected in the counter‐intuitive results of a simple ppf model designed to reflect the interaction between the EC's wheat and barley policies. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that ppf weights change as a result of both political preferences and market parameters. Hence, changes in ppf weights cannot be attributed to changes in preferences alone. Tests of the axioms of revealed preference theory are used to demonstrate that even though ppf weights derived for the EC's wheat and barley markets have fluctuated considerably since the early 1970s, we are not able to conclude that there has been a shift in political preferences. The paper concludes with some comments about the use of ppfs in a normative framework. The underlying assumption that policy‐makers optimise seems, not surprisingly, often to lead practitioners to the conclusion that observed policies are not so bad after all. Economists should also beware of the tendency to overlook possible differences between the ppf and the social welfare function.
Nearly optimal linear programming as a guide to agricultural planning
Authors: Jeffrey Scott R. , Gibson Ron R. , Faminow Merle D. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTLinear programming has long been used as a tool in agricultural planning. This paper presents and discusses a technique that can be used in conjunction with linear programming to evaluate ‘nearly optimal’ solutions. This technique is referred to as Nearly Optimal Linear Programming or Modelling to Generate Alternatives (MGA). MGA allows planners to incorporate important objectives that are difficult to include in a mathematical model by identifying and evaluating alternative ‘nearly optimal’ solutions. Some of these alternative solutions may be consistent with the goals or objectives of decision makers.To date, MGA has received little use in addressing agricultural planning problems. A micro‐level application of MGA, concerning a dairy ration formulation problem, is presented to demonstrate the relevance of MGA to agricultural planning by decision makers. Within this application, the use of MGA to complement and enhance normal linear programming analysis is also discussed.
Demand for cereal grains in Asia: the effect of urbanization
Authors: Huang Jikun , David Cristina C. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the effects of urbanization on demand for cereal grains – rice, wheat, and coarse grains – in nine Asian countries. A complete demand system (Almost Ideal Demand System in linear form) is estimated in two stages based on aggregate time series data from 1960 to 1988.In the high‐income countries, i.e. Japan and South Korea, urbanization was observed to significantly reduce demand for cereal grains. In the lower‐income countries, demand for cereal grains cither increased or remained the same with urbanization.Among cereal grains, urbanization has had negative effects on demand for rice and coarse grains, but consistently positive effects on demand for wheat. Only Japan and Thailand among the countries studied have negative income elasticities of demand for total cereal grains and for rice in particular. Hence, rice remains a necessity and a normal good in most Asian countries.Previous estimates of income elasticities of rice based on time‐series aggregate data tend to be lower than those based on cross‐section household level data. When urbanization is explicitly specified in the demand model, the estimates of income elasticities from time‐series data turn out to be consistent with those from cross‐section data.
Economic returns to cowpea research, extension, and input distribution in Senegal
Authors: Schwartz Lisa A. , Sterns James A. , Oehmke James F. 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTThis paper calculates the rate of return to a set of cowpea research, extension and distribution projects in Senegal to be between 31% and 92%. The results show that a modestly funded program on a secondary crop can be successful. They also indicate that programs may increase their effectiveness by addressing specific household needs – in this case, by focusing on short‐cycle varieties that provide food during the hunger season prior to the traditional harvest.
Estimation of stochastic frontier production functions with time‐varying parameters and technical efficiencies using panel data from Indian villages
Authors: Battese G.E. , Tessema G.A. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractA stochastic frontier production function with time‐varying technical efficiencies is estimated using panel data from ICRISAT's Village Level Studies in three Indian villages. Given the specifications of a linearized version of a Cobb–Douglas stochastic frontier production function with coefficients which are a linear function of time, the hypothesis that the traditional response function is an adequate representation of the data is accepted for only one of the three villages. The hypothesis of time‐invariant technical inefficiencies is not rejected for one of the two villages for which significant technical inefficiencies exist. The hypothesis of time‐invariant elasticities of the input variables is rejected for two of the three villages. Further, the hypothesis that hired and family labour are equally productive is accepted in only one of the three villages.The technical efficiencies of individual farms exhibited considerable variation in the two villages with either time‐invariant or time‐varying technical efficiencies.
Evaluating alternative price expectation models for multiproduct supply analysis
Authors: McIntosh Christopher S. , Shumway C. Richard 
Published: January 2020

AbstractNeoclassical economic theory provides an important conceptual framework for the analysis of agricultural production. Theory provides little guidance, however, in the actual specification of empirical models. This paper applies an integrated approach for choosing between price expectation mechanisms in a multiple‐equation model when the alternatives are non‐nested. Nine alternative specifications of market price and policy information are developed. Price forecasting accuracy, non‐nested tests of hypotheses, and out‐of‐sample predictive accuracy are examined for agricultural production in Iowa. The results call into question the reliability of using forecasting accuracy as the sole guide to selecting a price expectation proxy.
Impact of the US–EC price war on major wheat exporters' shares of the Chinese market
Authors: Ahmadi‐Esfahani Fredoun Z. , Jensen Paul H. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractChina is both the world's largest producer and consumer of wheat. In an attempt to gain a larger slice of the important Chinese market, both the European Community and the United States have offered China subsidised wheat. In addition, other exporters have offered attractive credit arrangements to China. The objective of this paper is to measure the overall impact of these policies on each exporter's share of the Chinese market. To that end, an improved version of the constant market shares model is applied to data on Chinese wheat imports in the 1980's. The results indicate that the United States has been outperforming the other exporters since subsidised US wheat sales were authorised for China in 1987. The implications of the analysis for the smaller exporters and international wheat trade are discussed.
Sustaining growth in agriculture: a quantitative review of agricultural research investments
Authors: Anderson Jock R. , Pardey Philip G. , Roseboom Johannes 
Published: January 2020

AbstractGrowth in agriculture depends on many things but one of the most important is investment in agricultural research. Decision making in the agricultural research policy area can only be aided by access to better information. This article overviews a recent endeavor to move policy dialogue beyond merely qualitative impressions towards a process that is underpinned with new and cogent data. The data used have been assembled at ISNAR in a manner designed to make comparisons both over time and between countries more valid than has been the case in the past. The comparisons thus possible reveal considerable diversity both between countries and between broad regional aggregations. Also illuminated here are issues related to the commodity orientation, capital and labor intensity, and size and scope of particular national programs.
Resource supplies and changing world agricultural comparative advantage
Authors: Tobey James A. , Chomo G.V. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper advances consideration of the Heckscher–Ohlin (H‐O) theory of comparative advantage to agriculture in a dynamic setting. The dynamic relationship among trade flows, resource supplies, and factor contents is studied. The view that special circumstances in the agricultural sector render the H‐O theory inapplicable as a guide to agricultural trade is challenged. Consistent with the H‐O theory, the results suggest that changing world patterns of resource abundance are an important explanation of the evolving structure of world trade in agriculture commodities.
International trade in a differentiated good: Trade elasticities in the world rice market
Authors: Agcaoili‐Sombilla Mercedita C. , Rosegrant Mark W. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn many previous rice trade models, the commodity has been regarded as a homogeneous product. However, homogeneity is not an appropriate assumption, given the various types of rice that are traded and consumed. Parameters estimated from these models, therefore, do not reflect the real world market for rice and, hence, may mislead decision makers who use the results for policy evaluation purposes. This study uses an Armington approach to model the world rice trade as a differential good market and to derive trade elasticity parameters.