PRIVATISING THE PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE: PROMISE AND PITFALLS FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

In the absence of some form of government intervention, knowledge is a classic public good which will be under-produced because of lack of price excludability. Government intervention may take the form of establishing intellectual property rights, or other means of shielding knowledge-based innovations from imitation or copying. Such intervention offers the prospect of 'privatising' the production of knowledge in the sense that a certain level of private knowledge production may become profitable if producers can appropriate at least part of the benefits of R&D. However, publicly funded R&D or extension still can 'crowd out' private knowledge production by charging lower prices. The principal finding of this study is that such 'crowding out' behaviour may be efficient in the sense of being potentially Pareto superior even if it is at the expense of public funding for so called 'orphan' areas of knowledge production which are privately unprofitable. The reason why conventional conclusions about privatisation and 'crowding out' of private goods need not apply to rural research and extension is that private goods are both rival in consumption and price excludable, while knowledge is intrinsically non rival in consumption even if it can be made price excludable.     

环境规制、能源消费结构与雾霾——基于省际面板数据的实证检验

采用我国30省(市、区)2003—2012年面板数据,分析环境规制强度、能源消费结构与雾霾之间的关系。首先,以PM10浓度指标进行聚类,把30省(市、区)划分为高、中、轻三大污染地区。其次,面板单位根检验结果显示各变量是一阶单整I(1);Pedroni和Kao协整检验表明变量之间存在协整关系;FMOLS回归发现,全国总体环境规制强度与PM10浓度呈反方向变动,能源消费结构与PM10浓度呈同方向变动;高污染地区能源消费结构对PM10浓度产生正的影响,中、轻污染地区环境规制强度对PM10浓度产生负的影响。最后,提出了使用法律、经济手段加强环境规制,降低煤炭消耗比例、发展清洁能源等建议。     

Importing terrestrial biocapacity: The U.S. case and global implications

Human societies depend for their survival on goods and services provided by both local and global ecosystems. For most of history, people used mainly local resources. Increasingly, however, globalization and trade enable consuming populations everywhere to support themselves on the output of distant ecosystems. This is potentially problematic because of global change and because the spatial separation of material production (including resource exploitation) from consumption eliminates the direct negative feedback that normally occurs when people dependent on local ecosystems degrade those ecosystems. With spatial separation comes psychological separation. Modern consumers remain generally unconscious of their growing reliance on biophysical goods and services produced half a world away and see no connection between their consumer lifestyles and distant ecological consequences. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to raise a cautionary flag about unfettered trade and to show the value of accounting for trade-related physical flows and their impacts on natural capital in sustainability analyses. Using the United States as an example, we present an analytical method that can locate and measure the ecosystem area embodied in any population's imports of renewable resources. We quantify U.S. imports from specific countries around the world; we estimate the area of terrestrial ecosystems in those countries devoted to consumers in the U.S. and we highlight both increasing U.S. imports and their potential impact on extra-territorial ecosystems. This method creates indirect (conceptual) feedback between consumption and ecosystems integrity which we hope will partially replace the physical feedback neutralized by globalization. Such analyses can help generate public and decision makers’ awareness of both their dependence and their impacts on, distant natural capital stocks. This in turn should increase interest in establishing improved co-management regimes to maintain the stability and reliability of such now obligatory relationships.     

基于水权交易和面源污染控制的农户灌溉施肥行为模型

将水权交易和面源污染控制有机结合,以种植面积、农业用水定额、污染物浓度为约束条件,运用边际分析方法建立农户灌溉施肥行为模型,分析水权交易和排污控制对农户行为的影响。结果表明:灌溉用水量与农作物价格成正相关,与交易水价和边际灌溉成本成负相关;一定范围内肥料施用量与农作物价格成正相关,与边际施肥成本或边际环境成本成负相关。模型证明,当农业用水定额内水权可交易时,水市场的存在和水价政策将激励农户减少灌水量,节约用水。     

面源污染防治视角下农村土地经营方式选择的博弈分析

随着点源污染逐步得到有效控制和治理,农村面源污染上升为影响环境尤其是水环境的重要污染源。分析农业面源污染现状及成因,建立村集体与农户间土地生产方式博弈模型,博弈分析表明:农村面源污染受多方面因素影响,地方政府的监管对农民的经营方式选择有着重要影响;政府除了要加大对污染物末端的技术治理外,更应该重视源头控制,即由地方政府运用适当的治理政策对农户行为进行调节,从而将农户高消耗、高投入的传统经营方式转为更加注重环保的生态型经营方式。     

Evaluating willingness to pay for the temporal distribution of different air quality improvements: Is China's clean air target adequate to ensure welfare maximization?

Stated preference analyses seeking to determine the public's value for air quality improvements often estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for days at a specified minimum quality threshold (e.g., days with clean air), but do not consider the temporal distribution of pollution levels below this threshold. This paper develops a choice experiment designed to evaluate WTP for a more complete distribution of air quality improvements, including the number of days per year at multiple air quality levels. The model is applied to a case study of air quality improvement in the core districts of Xi'an City, China. Results from a linearly constrained mixed logit model demonstrate that average household WTP for improving a lightly polluted, moderately polluted, heavily polluted, or severely polluted day to a clean air day is 7.42, 8.90, 13.06, and 24.28 RMB per year, respectively. These results show that WTP depends not only on the total number of clean air days, but on the total distribution of pollution levels across all days of the year. Results are directly relevant to the development of clean air policies in China, for which benefit estimates are currently unavailable.     

农村公共产品供给中的政府责任担当:基于扩大内需视角

扩大农村消费需求对于拉动经济增长具有重要作用,增加农村公共产品供给又是扩大农村消费需求的关键。增加农村公共产品供给不仅能够缓解农村贫困、提高农民收入,而且能够直接提高农村消费能力。总量不足是我国农村公共产品供给中存在的主要问题,体现为农村基础设施建设落后,农村教育、医疗卫生及社会保障事业城乡差距明显。农村公共产品供给不足的原因主要在于政府责任的缺失。增加农村公共产品供给,政府应切实统筹城乡发展,加大对农业、农村的投入力度,合理界定纵向间政府职责、建立政府间责任分担机制,建立体现农民偏好的决策机制、提高供给效率,强化农村公共产品市场化改革中的政府责任。     

居民收入增长对乳制品消费影响及作用机制研究

目的 优化乳制品消费结构、推动消费方式多元化发展,能够在保持消费总量稳定增长的同时,多途径提升乳制品消费水平,加快乳制品消费转型升级,助力居民营养健康。方法 文章利用2009—2018年“中国健康与营养调查”面板数据,分析了我国居民收入增长对乳制品消费的影响,并着重讨论了城乡之间的因素差异。结果 （1）收入增长可显著提升城乡居民乳制品消费量,在利用IV-Hekit模型克服内生性后,结论依然稳健;（2）收入增长可通过丰富乳品消费种类加快乳品消费结构升级、增加乳品消费频次形成结构化膳食两条路径增加乳制品消费;（3）城市居民收入增长对乳制品消费量的正向作用更明显,城市居民收入增长对乳制品消费种类和消费频次的提升作用约为农村居民的两倍。结论 增加城乡居民对乳制品的消费,需引导居民形成多元化健康饮食方式,带动乳制品加工营养化高值化,推动地方特色乳业发展;强化乳制品消费引导和配送体系建设;组织实施低收入人群营养改善计划,保障弱势群体食物基本供给和营养不断改善。     

基于化肥减量化管理的农业清洁生产多方联动机制框架研究

[目的]化肥减量增效是实现农业可持续发展的关键举措和优先任务,文章首先基于环境经济学的外部性理论分析与国内外研究现状综述,提出了新形势下基于利益相关方的视角开展化肥减量化管理多方联动机制研究的必要性。[方法]为构建有效的多方联动机制,需要全面了解利益相关方参与化肥减量化管理的现状与主要问题,该文实地调研了普通农户、新型经营主体的耕地保护意识、地力改善意识、清洁生产支付意愿和对政府的主要利益诉求并对其做了对比分析,同时通过关键人物访谈了解基层农技部门、有机肥生产企业在化肥减量过程中面临的主要困难。[结果]构建了化肥减量化管理多方联动机制框架,具体包括肥料生产与使用监管机制、耕地保护责任追究机制、化肥减量化技术推广机制、农业清洁生产补贴机制和绿色农产品消费引导机制等。[结论]结合当前农业供给侧结构性改革的政策背景,强调通过综合运用规范性、激励性和市场性政策工具和手段,建立有效的化肥减量化管理多方联动机制是实现化肥减量增效和农业可持续发展的必然要求。此外,该文补充强调了当前化肥减量应坚持用地、养地相结合,化肥、有机肥配合使用,在保持和改善当前地力水平的前提下,通过提质增效来确保粮食安全、农民增收。     

Management of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites in Nigeria: Current challenges and future direction

Sites affected by petroleum hydrocarbons from oil exploitation activities have been identified as a major environmental and socio-economic problem in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The current Nigerian regulatory instruments to manage these contaminated sites are fragmented and the roles and responsibilities of government agencies, such as the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR), and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), are not well defined. This lack of coordination has led to ineffective land contamination policy and poor enforcement more generally. Appropriate, risk-based policy instruments are needed to improve regulatory capacity, and to enhance the regulator's ability to manage new and existing petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated sites. Lessons can be learned from countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States America (USA) that have experience with the management and clean up of historically contaminated land. In this paper, we review the status of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites management in Nigeria and identify the gaps in existing policy and regulation. We review the contaminated land policies and regulation from the UK and the USA, and identify lessons that could be transferred to the Nigerian system. Finally, we provide a series of recommendations (e.g. source – pathway-receptor approach, soil screening criteria, clean-up funding, liability) that could enhance contaminated land legislation in Nigeria.     

Preferences, Technology, and the Environment: Understanding the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis

We derive a simple expression for the income-pollution path using the standard static model of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). This expression makes it straightforward to identify the general characteristics of utility and pollution functions that lead to such a curve. We show that suitable preferences can always lead to an EKC while there is no technology that yields an EKC for all types of preferences, and we derive a sufficient condition for technology that leads to an EKC for almost all types of preferences. Our results hold for a model with multiple goods with different pollution intensities and for a production economy with nonconstant relative price of consumption and environmental effort. We derive our results without assuming specific functional forms and we encompass several other models as special cases.     

农村居民幸福感与绿色炊事能源消费选择基于中国家庭追踪调查数据的实证分析

目的 目前关于幸福感的文献,多以研究产生幸福感的前置因素为主,但是对幸福感的逆向效应的研究常常被忽视。幸福感和生态环境之间存在着相互促进的作用。文章通过对中国农村居民炊事能源消费的微观数据调查和分析,探讨农村居民的幸福感水平对绿色炊事能源消费选择因素的影响,有助于理解农村居民绿色炊事能源消费背后的驱动因素,以期对农村绿色能源消费引导政策提供指导。方法 该文基于2016年CFPS的数据,运用描述分析和Binary Logistic 回归,并采用变异系数赋权法对个人幸福感的主观幸福感和客观幸福感进行赋权分析,重点分析农村居民的主观幸福感和客观幸福感对绿色炊事能源消费选择的影响。结果 （1）农村居民的主观、客观幸福感在选择绿色炊事能源消费决策中发挥着重要的促进作用。（2）客观幸福感对男性组和女性组选择绿色炊事能源消费均表现出显著正效应。而主观幸福感只对女性组选择绿色炊事消费有显著正效应。（3）幸福感对农村居民预测绿色炊事能源消费有显著的地域差异。主观幸福感只对东北地区的农村居民绿色炊事消费有显著正效应。（4）年龄小的女性群体更容易实施绿色炊事消费行为。结论 农村居民的幸福感水平的提升对于预测绿色炊事能源消费有显著的影响。     

新疆W县村民参与塑料污染源头减量化治理意愿研究

[目的]塑料污染治理对我国生态文明建设、美丽乡村建设以及乡村振兴均具有至关重要的作用,源头减量化治理则是解决塑料污染的有力举措,村民参与能保证治理的有效性。[方法]文章为探究新疆村民参与塑料污染源头减量化治理的意愿,基于对W县506户村民的调查,通过对计划行为理论进行补充拓展并架构起新的理论分析框架,运用结构方程模型对村民参与塑料污染源头减量化治理意愿的影响因素进行实证分析。[结果]（1）村民的态度、主观规范、政策宣传、知觉行为控制和道德规范在不同水平下对村民的参与意愿具有促进作用;（2）主观规范、知觉行为控制和道德规范会通过影响村民的态度间接对其参与的意愿产生正向影响;（3）回收便利程度对村民的参与意愿不具有任何作用。[结论]为不断推进农村地区塑料污染源头减量化治理的进程,需要每一位村民的积极参与和监督。在此基础上提出加强宣传教育、加大表彰力度、构建各级政府和村民之间良好的对话机制等建议。     

宅基地整治对农村耐用消费品购买影响分析

研究目的：在宅基地整治内涵分析的基础上,以农村家庭为单位,分析了宅基地整治对农村耐用消费品购买的影响。研究方法：建立多元线性回归模型,测算宅基地整治对农村家庭耐用消费品的影响因素及其显著性关系。研究结果：新房面积、社保覆盖情况、人均纯收入和家庭生命周期对家庭耐用消费品购买具有正向影响,宅基地置换剩余金额对家庭耐用消费品购买具有负向影响;其中新房面积和家庭人均纯收入的影响最为显著。研究结论：宅基地整治对增加家庭耐用消费品投资、改变农村消费结构和扩大国内消费需求具有显著作用。     

The citizen versus consumer hypothesis: Evidence from a contingent valuation survey

This paper examines the criticism of contingent valuation put forth by Blamey, Common and Quiggin ( Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics , 1995, vol. 39, pp. 264–288). They argue that households have consistent preferences over private goods but not jointly consistent preferences over public and private goods and, hence, contingent valuation cannot uncover meaningful responses for the valuation of public goods. In this paper we argue that the motives that are manifested in choices for public goods can be explained in two ways. One is the model of the citizen, proposed by Blamey et al . (1995). The second is a model of neoclassical preferences with altruism. Given these alternative and competing explanations of choices for public goods, what matters is whether they imply differences in willingness to pay for public goods. We provide statistical evidence from a contingent valuation study of the control of deer in the USA that there is no difference in willingness to pay between those who profess 'citizen' or altruistic preferences and the rest of the presumably purely private respondents.     

Household Consumption Distribution in Rural China: A Consistent Two‐Step Estimation

As China continues to experience rapid urbanization, understanding the distribution of rural household consumption presents important policy implications. We take a sample of 15,606 households from the National Rural Fixed Observation Point Survey conducted by China's Ministry of Agriculture in 2010. A consistent two‐step estimation based on the quadratic almost ideal demand system model is used to assess the distribution of living expenses across eight categories of goods and services. Results show that the price elasticity of food, clothing, and transportation and communication is relatively low, whereas that of durable goods, fuel, health and medicine, culture and education, and others is high. Demographic and regional variables also considerably affect living expenses. Our conclusions can serve as significant reference for evaluating changes in consumption structure and farmers’ welfare during the course of modernization in China. This type of analysis may also be conducted in other developing countries in general. En raison de la forte accélération de l'urbanisation en Chine, une meilleure compréhension de la distribution des dépenses de consommation des ménages ruraux permettra d’élaborer de meilleures politiques. Dans la présente étude, nous avons constitué un échantillon de 15 606 ménages à partir de l'enquête National rural Fixed Observation Point réalisée par le ministère de l'Agriculture de la Chine en 2010. Nous avons appliqué une méthode d'estimation en deux étapes, fondée sur le modèle QUAIDS (système de demande presque parfait quadratique), pour évaluer la distribution des frais de subsistance dans huit catégories de biens et services. Les résultats de notre étude ont montré que l’élasticité‐prix des aliments, de l'habillement, du transport et des communications est relativement faible, tandis que celle des biens durables, du carburant, des soins de santé et des médicaments, de la culture et de l’éducation, entre autres, est élevée. Les variables démographiques et régionales ont également un impact considérable sur le niveau des dépenses. Les conclusions de notre étude peuvent servir de référence pour évaluer les changements qui touchent la structure de la consommation et le bien‐être des agriculteurs durant la modernisation de la Chine. Ce genre d'analyse peut également être appliqué à d'autres pays en développement.     

The tragedy of the commons: property rights and markets as solutions to resource and environmental problems

In one way or another, all environmental and natural resource problems associated with overexploitation or under provision of public goods, arise from incompletely defined and enforced property rights. As a result private decision makers do not consider or internalize social benefits and costs in their production or investment actions. The gap between private and social net returns results in externalities – harmful effects on third parties: overfishing, excessive air pollution, unwarranted extraction or diversion of ground or surface water, extreme depletion of oil and gas reservoirs. These situations are all examples of the 'The Tragedy of the Commons'. In this paper, I consider options for mitigating the losses of open access: common or group property regimes, government tax and regulation policy, more formal private property rights. I briefly summarize the problems and advantages of each option and describe why there has been move toward rights-based instruments in recent years: ITQ (individual transferable quotas), tradable emission permits, and private water rights. Introductions to the papers in the special issue follow.     

劳动力转移下不同生计农户低碳用能影响因素以浙豫陕3省农户为例

目的 农户用能的低碳转型对推进我国能源消费革命、缓解能源贫困和减少环境污染具有重要意义。方法 文章利用“劳动力转移与农村生活能源”2018年专项调查数据并采用多元线性及Logit回归模型考察劳动力转移下不同生计农户低碳用能影响因素。结果 劳动力转移程度及性别对一兼户低碳用能有显著负向影响，而劳动力转移空间对其有显著正向影响；劳动力转移程度及空间对二兼户低碳用能有显著正向影响，而劳动力转移性别对其有显著负向影响；劳动力转移程度、空间及性别对非农户低碳用能均有显著正向影响；户主受教育水平对4类农户高质商品用能有显著正向影响，而能源价格对其有显著负向影响；户主年龄、耕地面积对4类农户新型可再生能源选择有显著负向影响。结论 在乡村振兴战略进程中劳动力转移能够促进农户生活用能向可持续低碳转型，户主受教育水平、户主年龄、能源价格及耕地面积的影响不容忽视；科学引导劳动力转移及低碳用能亟待加强。     

基于选择实验法的农户秸秆资源化利用政策偏好研究

目的 秸秆资源化利用是促进农业经济增长和缓解环境污染的重要措施。方法 文章基于选择实验法和山东省978个农户调研数据,对农户秸秆资源化利用政策偏好问题进行研究。结果 （1）随着农户经营规模增加,其对秸秆进行资源化利用意愿将不断增强,小规模、中规模和大规模农户选择“愿意”的比重分别为54.9%、77.7%和82.8%。（2）秸秆禁烧政策、农户直接补贴、技术培训和完善市场等政策能显著提高农户秸秆资源化利用率。（3）是否参加合作社、便利性认知、污染认知、政策认知和资源化利用意愿对农户秸秆处理行为有显著影响。（4）不同规模农户对秸秆资源化利用政策偏好优先序存在较大差异。其中,小规模农户对农户直接补贴的接受意愿最高,其次为技术培训;中规模农户对农机购置补贴的接受意愿最高,其次为技术培训;大规模农户对完善市场的接受意愿最高,其次为农机购置补贴。结论 要提升农户秸秆资源化利用积极性,必须制定多元化、综合性的秸秆资源化利用政策,同时强化对农户的技术培训和设备支持。     

Finding optimal price risk management instruments: the case of the Spanish potato sector

This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the problem of choosing between alternative market risk management instruments. We model farmers' behavior to optimize the certainty equivalent, formulated by a mean–variance model, by combining instruments with and without basis risk. Results are expressed as the demands for hedging with futures, forward contracts and insurance. Theoretical results are applied to a selection of Spanish producers of fresh potatoes, a sector that is exposed to significant market risks. Amsterdam's Euronext provides potato futures prices, and the recently launched revenue insurance in Spain provides the example for price insurance. Three conclusions summarize the article's main findings. First, we show that Spanish potato revenue insurance subsidies are a factor that determines the instrument rankings and choice. Second, the efficiency of insurance subsidies is generally low. Finally, the Amsterdam potato futures market does not provide a cost‐effective means to manage price risks for Spanish fresh potato growers.