Research and productivity in Thai agriculture

This paper examines the impact that publicly funded agricultural research has on productivity in crop production within Thailand. It tests empirically the two hypotheses that, first, publicly funded research and development (R&D) in crop production is a significant determinant of total factor productivity (TFP) in the crop sector and, second, that its social rate of return is high. The statistical analysis applies error correction methods to national level time series data for Thailand, covering the period 1970–2006. Emphasis is given to public research in crop production, where most publicly funded agricultural R&D has occurred. The role of international research spillovers and other possible determinants of TFP are also taken into account. The results demonstrate that public investment in research has a positive and significant impact on TFP. International research spillovers have also contributed to TFP. The results support the finding of earlier studies that returns on public research investment have been high. This result holds even after controlling for possible sources of upward biases present in most such studies, due to the omission of alternative determinants of measured TFP. The findings raise a concern over declining public expenditure on crop research, in Thailand and many other developing countries.     

“一带一路”倡议下中国农业企业“走出去”的现状、困境与对策

农业"走出去"是国家"走出去"战略的重要组成部分,也是落实"一带一路"倡议的重要抓手。总体来说,中国农业企业"走出去"是"遍地是黄金,处处是陷阱"。投资区域日趋广泛,集中于中亚地区;投资主体日趋多样,民营企业发展迅速;投资领域日趋多元,加工贸易优势突出;投资经营日趋规范,本土化特征明显;由农产品加工贸易模式向农业技术转移模式转变。但面临着国外政策环境方面的资源困境、技术困境、人才困境、舆论困境,国内政策制度方面的投资审批、种质资源、农产品检验检疫限制,企业经营管理方面的市场竞争环境较激烈、企业国际化能力不强、企业的品牌价值不高、社会责任塑造能力弱,社会服务体系方面的行业信息服务不到位、政府涉外服务不到位等问题。建议政府部门建立和完善推动农业企业"走出去"的支持服务体系,同时,引导和支持农业企业提升"走出去"的投资经营能力。     

Is public investment complementary to private investment in Indian agriculture? Evidence from NARDL approach

The issue of complementarity between public farm investment and private farm investment in Indian agriculture is an unsettled empirical question in the literature, which has not been studied adequately. Few studies analyzing the trends of both types of investments have produced contradictory results. Thus, this study attempts to bridge that gap, by examining the hypothesis of crowding‐in/crowding‐out effect of public sector investment on private investment. Time series data for a period of 45 years from 1971 to 2015 has been used. Adopting a ‘nonlinear auto‐regressive distributive lag’ (NARDL) model the study confirms a strong crowding‐in effect of public investment on private investment in short run, but relatively a weak complementarity between the two over long‐run. Moreover, the public canal intensity as a major component of public investment has been observed to have much stronger effect on private investment than the public investment itself. It is also found that private investment is constrained by its own lagged values, institutional credit and terms of trade during both short‐run and long‐run. The policy suggestion of this study calls for an immediate arrest of declining trend of public investment.     

The political economy of public research investment and commodity policies in agriculture: an empirical study

The paper tests a political economy theory of simultaneous government decision‐making on income redistribution through commodity policies and on public research investment in agriculture. We use data from 37 countries on agricultural protection and public agricultural research expenditures (PARI). The empirical results are consistent with the political economy hypotheses. The analysis suggest that structural changes in the economy have important effects on the political incentives for governments not only to subsidize or tax farmers, but also to invest in public agricultural research. Furthermore, the analysis supports the hypotheses that the impact of such structural changes on government decision‐making on PARI is non‐linear and conditional on other factors. Regarding the impact of political institutions, the results suggest that more democracy neither leads to more distortionary transfers (agricultural protection), nor to lower investment in public goods (PARI). ©2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.     

The 4% rule: Does real estate make a difference?

This paper examines the wealth maximisation and preservation effects of including commercial real estate in retirement-phase portfolio management. Prior research addresses the role of real estate during the wealth-accumulation phase of the investor lifecycle; however, little is known about the contribution of real estate during the invest-and-spend, or decumulation, phase. To address this issue, we estimate short-fall risk based on the widely known 4% Rule. We use pricing data for multiple asset classes and simulation techniques, combined with a robust correlation structure, to examine: short-fall risk sensitivity to alternative spending rules; the impact of public vs. private real estate allocations; wealth preservation as an investment objective; and the effect of real estate on upside, or wealth maximisation, potential. We find short-fall risk in a decumulation portfolio decreases with substantial allocations to real estate. This result holds for a portfolio including either public or private real estate. Additionally, and under most conditions, the best performing decumulation-phase portfolios include a real estate allocation with both public and private real estate exposure. These results have significant implications for investors, whether they be retirees, plan administrators or endowments, as well as financial economists studying the lifecycle of investment decisions.     

林业投资项目与工业投资项目可行性研究方法比较

林业具有寿命周期不确定性、产品多样性和效益目标多重性等特点。因此,对林业项目进行可行性研究也体现出与一般工业项目不同的特点和要求。只有根据林业项目特点选择合适的可行性研究方法,才能对项目做出客观科学的评价,为科学投资决策提供可靠的依据。     

外资水务企业在华直接投资浅析

对外资水务企业在我国直接投资的发展阶段进行研究,认为外资水务企业在我国的直接投资大致经历了初期、扩张与撤退并存、停滞与渗透并存3个阶段;探讨了外资水务企业进入我国市场带来的主要问题,即:水务产业安全、与我国水务企业的竞争加剧、公众利益保护等。最后提出解决以上问题的方案:根据水务产业的特征将水务产业链细分成自然垄断环节和非自然垄断环节,对自然垄断环节进行严格的管制,而非自然垄断环节,可以适度引入竞争机制;通过示范效应和人才流动学习外资水务企业先进的管理经营和技术,构建我国水务企业的竞争优势;提高公众和企业的参与度,加强对外资水务企业的监督管理。     

The Crowding Effects of Basic and Applied Research: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of an Agricultural Biotech Industry

Game theory is used to examine the incentives for private firms to fund applied research to improve differentiated crop varieties sold to compete with a public generic variety. We distinguish between applied research, modeled as a stochastic search process, and basic research, which improves applied research productivity. Propositions derived from the theoretical model are tested using empirical evidence from the canola crop research industry. The results show consistency between the analytical findings and the econometric results, supporting the validity of the framework and underlining the need to disaggregate the crowding effects of basic and applied public research.     

Innovation and University‐Firm R&D Collaboration in the European Food and Drink Industry

In the National Innovation System (NIS), knowledge is produced and accumulated through interactive innovation processes that are embedded in a national context, which in turn may help determine innovation. This paper investigates how product and process innovations in the European food and drink industry are affected by: (i) NIS structure; (ii) NIS output in terms of scientific publications and the supply of graduates; (iii) NIS cohesion and coordination; (iv) NIS scientific impact and specialisation. The main source of data on innovation by firms is the EU‐EFIGE/Bruegel‐UniCredit dataset. This is supplemented by information from the International Handbook of Universities, Eurostat and a bibliometric analysis of academic research output. Our results suggest that large research institutions in the public sector may well be detrimental to interaction between university and industry and to process innovation. The indicators used for public research assessment are not necessarily the most appropriate proxies of local knowledge spillovers.     

Public Research Policy for Today's Agricultural Biotech Research Industry

While the public sector has historically played a very significant role in the direct provision of agricultural research, the appropriate role of government in the future is no longer apparent in a world with intellectual property rights (IPRs) and a concentrated privatized biotech research industry. This study develops a search/imperfect competition framework to examine the public role. The analysis shows that private firms have inadequate incentives to invest in research for varietal improvement relative to the social optimum even with completely enforceable IPRs. A government subsidy on research output can efficiently increase the amount of applied research to the socially optimal point. Government subsidy of the research cost can have the same effect on research and development expenditure. Expanding direct applied public research increases social welfare but cannot achieve a social optimum, as it reduces the already limited incentives for private firms to invest. Finally, in situations where basic research is underprovided, government should address these market failures as part of an optimal research policy. Overall, the analysis suggests that there is a role for public support of applied research, but this role is no longer direct public involvement in applied research where IPRs are well established.     

黄河流域生态补偿政策对企业环保投资的影响——基于重污染行业民营企业的经验数据

采用黄河流域九省区重污染上市企业2006—2015年的面板数据,通过构建多期双重差分模型,研究黄河流域生态补偿政策对民营企业环保投资的影响。实证结果表明,黄河流域生态补偿政策的实施推动了民营企业环保投资的增长。进一步分析表明,在经济竞争力强的地区、存在政企关系的民企中,黄河流域生态补偿政策对民营企业环保投资的促进作用更大。黄河流域生态补偿政策的实施要充分考虑政企互动在其中的作用,不断推动各地区协同共治,切实保障黄河流域高质量发展。     

外商直接投资影响中国人造板产业国际竞争力的分析

以"波特—邓宁的钻石模型"为分析框架,从生产要素、需求条件、相关及支持性产业和企业结构、战略与同业竞争4个方面分析外商直接投资对人造板产业国际竞争力的作用机制;然后,通过对外商直接投资对中国人造板产业国际竞争力影响的实证分析发现,外商投资企业对中国人造板出口具有重要贡献,外商直接投资提升了中国人造板产业的国际竞争力。     

The Impact of Seed Policy Reforms and Intellectual Property Rights on Crop Productivity in India

The growth of private investment in developing‐country agriculture, new advances in the biological sciences, and rapid integration of developing countries into the global trading system has heightened interest in the topic of seed market and intellectual property rights’ (IPRs) policies among public policy‐makers, corporate decision‐makers and other actors in the agricultural sector. But there are still unanswered questions about whether emerging and evolving seed policy reforms and IPR regimes in developing countries will contribute to increasing crop productivity and improving food security. This paper attempts to answer some of these questions by focusing specifically on the case of India, the regional leader in implementing seed policy reforms and IPRs in agriculture. Findings indicate that maize and pearl millet yields grew significantly during the last two decades due partly to the combination of (1) public policies that encouraged private investment in India’s seed industry during the 1980s, and (2) biological IPRs conferred by hybridisation that conveniently married the private sector’s need for appropriability with the nation’s need for productivity growth. Although past lessons are not an indication of future success, this convergence of policy solutions and technology opportunities can be replicated for other crops that are vital to India’s food security.     

水利投资的战略管理研究

水利投资项目属于“公共项目”,提供的是“公共产品”,可以推动项目所在地区的经济发展,且社会效益巨大。因此,水利投资对于国民经济发展的意义十分重大,由于战略管理在水利投资管理中具有不可替代的作用,开展水利投资的战略管理研究,有利于改善投资机制,提高投资效率,有利于水利行业的可持续发展,实现和谐的水利投资机制。     

The roles of public sector versus private sector in R&D and technology generation: the case of maize in Asia

This paper reports the findings of a study whose objectives were to compare and contrast the public and private sectors in Asia in terms of their (1) estimated level of investment in maize breeding research; (2) germplasm outputs; and (3) nature and extent of roles played in the maize seed industry. Since the 1960s, yield gains, rather than area expansion, have fuelled increases in maize production in Asia. Yield gains, in turn, have been due to the shift in maize cultivation from mostly open‐pollinated varieties (OPVs) to mostly hybrids. This transition also shifted the locus of modern maize breeding research from government research organisations to private national and multinational seed companies. In countries where both the public and private sectors participated in maize research, private sector research investment far exceeded that of the public sector. With more aggressive marketing programmes, the private sector captured 89% of the Asian maize seed market in the late 1990s. National public seed research agencies (including universities and cooperatives) developed and produced more maize OPVs than hybrids, mass‐produced and distributed seed cheaply, addressed location‐specific production problems, and provided agricultural extension services. The private seed companies developed, produced, sold and promoted their own proprietary hybrids. The reluctance of the private sector, however, to address the needs of marginal maize farmers should encourage the public sector to continue playing an active role in maize research and development (R&D), seed production and modern maize technology dissemination, especially with adequate support from appropriate government policies.     

Institutional Arrangements and Public Agricultural Research in Canada

Over the last three decades, public investment in agricultural research and development has made an invaluable contribution to the economic and social well-being of Canadian society. However, in the 1990s, public research agencies were reorganized due to budgetary considerations and changes in research agendas. It is evident that since then, private sector contributions have increased and novel ways of funding research and providing financial incentives have been developed. We present quantitative data to show how research expenditure patterns have evolved in response to institutional and organizational changes in research policy. Data are also presented to show how the federal Department of Agriculture has benefitted from inventive activity. Implications of recent changes in research policy for new funding and financing arrangements are also discussed.     

我国水利科技投入态势研究与评析

R＆D的投入水平是衡量科技投入水平的唯一可比指标，根据这一指标对我国的水利科技投入态势进行了分析研究，认为水利科技投入不足是制约水利事业持续发展的重要因素，提出加强水利科技投入的几点想法。     

公益性地质调查工作的经济学分析

对公益性地质调查工作进行经济学分析,需要满足经济学研究的前提条件或假设。在市场经济体制下,地质调查工作成果(产品)属性与生产、使用、管理问题,以及国家地质行业的产业政策等是经济学研究的重要内容。如何才能有效利用公益性地质调查工作投资,使公益性地质调查工作成果(产品)社会福利最大化,是公共产品生产与管理的关键问题。     

BOT模式运作下乡村生态旅游项目的发展路径研究——以重庆市为例

乡村生态旅游是农业和旅游业发展相结合的产业,其作为农村经济发展的重要引擎,已然成为解决"三农"问题的重要渠道。重庆位于我国西南地区,农业历史悠久,旅游资源发达,乡村生态旅游发展已经初现规模。但由于重庆整体经济水平在全国处于中游,加上城市基础设施投入占去政府财政支出的大部分,因此发展乡村生态旅游项目面临资金短缺和管理不善的困境。BOT模式是私营企业参与基础设施建设,向社会提供公共服务的一种方式,在我国又被称为"特许经营权",是指政府将"特许经营权"下放给私营企业,允许其参与建设和运营公共设施项目,并通过经营和管理获得利润回报的一种营销运作模式。BOT形式适用于我国当前乡村生态旅游项目的开发和发展,对改善乡村旅游项目资金不足问题及提高项目管理水平具有明显的促进作用。但BOT模式也存在诸如规划风险、道德风险和圈地风险等现实问题,需要从政府和企业等2个角度分别采取有效措施,包括加强立法工作、加大政府监管力度和制定严格的BOT协议等。     

当前国际上海外耕地投资状况及其评析

研究目的:梳理当前国际上海外耕地投资的基本状况,为中国粮食安全与耕地保护战略提供参考。研究方法:文献资料法。研究结果:海外耕地投资的主要驱动因素是保障粮食安全及获得丰厚利润;政府是海外耕地投资的主要推动者;通过政府与政府、私有部门与政府或私有部门与私有部门的模式参与直接投资;投资者以购买、租赁或优惠经营的方式获取耕地。研究结论:当前的海外耕地投资存在投资项目缺乏透明度、土地产权存在争议及合同履行难以保障等问题。