环境适应性视角下的农民合作社治理结构重塑研究

[目的]结合对农民合作社发展所面临的内外部环境分析,探索基于环境适应性的农民合作社治理结构重塑方式。[方法]运用制度分析方法,对传统农民合作社治理所面临的"环境适应性"挑战进行分析,并构建基于环境适应性的农民合作社治理结构重塑的理论框架。[结果]农民合作社发展所面临的内外部环境正发生深刻变化,表现在市场竞争、消费需求、政策法律和技术、合作社内部管理等诸多方面。传统合作社的治理结构已无法适应内外部环境的变化,必须要进行产权结构重塑才能应对变化的环境,更好地履行合作社的职能和提升市场竞争力。[结论]农民合作社的治理结构重塑应以产权制度设计为核心。(1)明晰所有权,设计合理的合作社规模和有条件的社员资格,允许合作社股权交易;(2)明晰控制权,针对不同类型的决策事项设置不同的投票制度;(3)明晰收益权,设计兼顾效率与公平的剩余分配制度。     

Corruption in agricultural processing firms: A comparison of cooperatives and investor-owned firms

This paper examines managerial corruption in cooperatives (co-ops) and investor-owned firms (IOFs), including its impact on prices and farmer welfare. Even when co-op managers have greater incentives to engage in corruption because of the co-op's larger production, the resulting corruption is not sufficient to offset the competitive effect that co-ops exert vis-à-vis IOFs. This conclusion holds regardless of the functional form of the production function, the farm input supply curve, and the demand curve for the processed product. In addition to showing the robustness of the competition effect, the paper provides a highly flexible modeling framework that can be used to examine other co-op behavior questions.     

Cooperatives, regulation and competition in Norwegian agriculture

This article analyses the efficiency of current market regulations and market structure in Norwegian agriculture. Based on their potential to coordinate farmers' supplies, large marketing cooperatives are assigned a market regulation role. However, market prices frequently tend to fall below target prices, spurring costly additional market regulations. This is not necessarily a result of inefficient coordination by the cooperative. Using a mixed market model, the study shows that over production may be explained by the competition between marketing cooperatives and investor-owned wholesalers (IOW), typically weakening the cooperatives' ability to coordinate market supply. This conclusion is robust over a variety of IOW contracts. However, to what extent competition is to blame, depends on the target price level and the contract structure of the IOW. Moreover, it is shown that current market interventions to remove excess supplies may induce further incentives to increase production.     

Melitz Meets Milk: The Impact of Quota Abolition on EU Dairy Export Competitiveness

Previous studies of EU milk quota abolition usually assume perfect competition (PC) in the dairy industry, despite evidence to the contrary. We use a global computable general equilibrium framework with an imperfectly competitive (IC) model variant, which offers insights into structural change (i.e. scale of output, firm entry/exit) and varietal diversity in the dairy industry. A heterogeneous‐firm Melitz extension enriches our analysis by endogenising the decision‐making process of domestic firms when exporting (or not) to specific foreign markets. The results from a PC CGE model variant are found to be consistent with respected market outlooks and official data. Furthermore, PC and IC variants generate broadly similar trends – a result corroborated in a previous study of Italian dairy firms. Our IC model prediction of a ‘shakeout’ among EU dairy firms is tentatively supported by actual observations. Finally, as an industry characterised by significant product innovation, increased extra‐EU export orientation by remaining dairy firms increases varietal choice, which further boosts EU dairy exports compared with the PC model variant.     

Spatial determinants of productivity growth on agri‐food Spanish firms: a comparison between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms

This study analyses the effect of the spatial factor, location, and interaction effects among peer companies, on the productivity growth of agri‐food companies in Spain. With this aim, we build a productivity growth index and apply a multiequational Seemingly Unrelated Regression on a sample of 344 Spanish cooperatives and investor‐owned firms for the period 2010–2012. Our findings show that agri‐food firms are influenced by spatial factors finding interesting differences between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms. With regard to the geographical location, cooperatives in the western of Spain show higher productivity growth rates, whereas investor‐owned firms in the northeast of Spain present better results. The interaction effect among closer peer companies is also a relevant factor to determine the productivity growth in agri‐food companies. This factor is more relevant for cooperatives than for investor‐owned firms.     

Price floors and technical inefficiency in India's sugar processing industry

In India, cane is processed into sugar by cooperatives, public enterprises, and private (for‐profit) firms. The Indian government sets a unique floor price for each processor that is increasing in the firm's effectiveness in converting cane into sugar. The floor price binds for public and private firms but not for cooperatives, which rebate profits to members. We argue that this price floor policy creates a disincentive for private and public firms to be technically efficient in converting cane to sugar. In support of this hypothesis an analysis of 593 Indian sugar factories from 1992 to 2007 reveals statistically significant differences in technical efficiency, with cooperatives being the most efficient and public firms least efficient. We estimate welfare losses due to the technical inefficiency attributable to the price‐floor policy and argue that it can be eliminated by enacting policy to base price floors upon quality of the cane input received by a factory.     

Efficiency of Cooperatives and Investor Owned Firms Revisited

The objectives of dairy processing cooperatives differ from those of investor‐owned firms (IOFs). However, the literature usually assumes the same performance measures for cooperatives vis‐a‐vis IOFs. This study compares the performance of dairy cooperatives and IOFs in major European dairy producing countries. A traditional input oriented approach is used and two alternative approaches are used to account for the differential objectives of cooperatives. Cooperatives’ performance differs across the two approaches from being outperformed by IOFs using the input oriented approach to outperforming them when using an approach that is more in line with cooperatives’ objectives.     

Persistence of firm‐level profitability in the European dairy processing industry

Based on autoregressive (AR) models and Arellano‐Bond dynamic panel estimation, this article analyses profit persistence in the European dairy processing industry. The sample comprises 590 dairy processors from the following five countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The AR models indicate that cooperatives which account for around 20% of all firms in the dairy processing sector are not primarily profit oriented. In addition, the results point toward a high level of competition as profit persistence is rather low even if cooperatives are excluded. The panel model reveals that short‐ as well as long‐run profit persistence is influenced by firm and industry characteristics.     

Agency costs of vertical integration—the case of family firms,investor‐owned firms and cooperatives in the French wine industry

Vertical integration theory has long suggested internal costs related to changes in incentives due to vertical integration, which means that vertical integration may lead to agency costs. In this work, we specify the notion of agency costs of vertical integration and extend Ang et al. (2000)'s measurement of agency costs to provide an empirical assessment of these costs in the French wine industry. Our econometric analysis finds that the agency costs of vertical integration may reach 2–3% of sales. It also showed that operating expenses of vertical integration are lower for cooperatives than for other firms, while vertical integration is less rewarding for them. This raises questions on the relation between agency costs in cooperatives and their performance.     

Performance Measurement of the Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives: The Gap between Theory and Practice

The performance of agricultural cooperatives depends on their business objectives, which are defined in different ways in the literature. We review the theoretical literature on the performance of agricultural marketing cooperatives. Studies can be divided into two classes, those that assume a single objective and those that assume multiple objectives. This classification integrates three views of the cooperatives: ( a ) vertical integration of firms, ( b ) independent enterprise, and ( c ) coalition of firms. Empirical studies on the financial performance of cooperatives are classified into two categories, studies based on the economic theory of the firm and studies that emphasize accounting techniques. Empirical studies have failed to address the cooperatives' objectives as represented by the theoretical literature on cooperative performance.     

新形势下我国农民专业合作社外部监管完善的必要性

《农民专业合作社法》颁布实施以来,我国专业合作社发展迅速,但空壳合作社较多,合作社套取国家优惠政策常有发生。与国际合作社相比,我国合作社数量不少但质量亟待提升。2007年以来我国"重扶持,轻监管"的合作社法律和政策体系是否适应专业合作社由数量发展向质量提升的新形势?我国农民专业合作社外部监管需要加快完善吗?本文通过构建政府与合作社间的演化博弈模型分析合作社经营过程中二者之间的博弈行为和策略均衡,然后结合案例进一步展开分析。研究结果表明:(1)政府监管对于促进合作社规范经营至关重要;(2)缺乏长效监管机制会导致一些合作社再次采取俘获行为;(3)新的时代背景下我国应加快完善专业合作社的监管体系,形成适合国情的有效监管体系,政府应该在立法和政策上加快推进完善合作社监管体系。     

Situating community forestry enterprises within New Institutional Economic theory: What are the implications for their organization?

Community forestry enterprises (CFEs) have gained considerable traction with rural development and forestry practitioners as models for community development, poverty alleviation, and conservation. This paper uses New Institutional Economic theory to identify the key organizational features and potential inherent weaknesses of CFEs. NIE theory focuses on arguments of economic efficiency, specifically transaction cost reductions that serve as incentives for collective action by groups of owners. Examples are given to show how the organization of CFEs reduced transaction costs stemming from interactions with industrial loggers and service providers. However, the creation of these community enterprises goes beyond simple transaction cost reductions and economic justifications. Additional unquantifiable benefits, such as self-determination, control over resources that communities have historically used, application of acquired skills, political representation, and application of acquired skills to name a few, are also secured through community ownership. These benefits however do not come without a cost. As enterprises where ownership rights are incomplete or ill-defined and which do not operate with the incentives of investor-owned firms, CFEs have little to no initial capital pool and experience considerable investment limitations due to limited wealth, horizon problems, and unsolved issues with moral hazard vis-à-vis banks. CFEs also face important management and collective decision-making challenges. In spite of their institutional weaknesses, it is apparent that many societies have decided that the benefits of community ownership far outweigh their ownership costs. State intervention and policy have played an important role in building the necessary supportive framework for the development of these enterprises. NIE as a dominant model for understanding alternative entrepreneurial forms was useful for identifying some important aspects of CFEs that, in a profit-driven economy, can constitute weaknesses that place them at a disadvantage with investor-owned firms. This analysis informs where policy should be targeted if CFEs are to be supported and fostered.     

The Impact of Organizational Form on Producer Contracting Decisions

A variable that has not yet been considered in the contracting literature is the impact of agribusiness organizational form on the producer's contracting decision. Contracts with cooperatives are more complicated decisions for producers than a standard marketing contract with noncooperatives because of the requisite membership capital investment in the firm. Contracting with cooperatives requires producers to make a dual supply and investment decision. Individual membership equity holdings in all agricultural cooperatives are increasing, but they are generally most substantial in the value-added, new-generation cooperatives. Portfolio theory is used to analyze the producer's decision to contract with three alternatively structured value-added processing organizations in an uncertain environment: a traditional cooperative, a new-generation cooperative and an investor-oriented firm. In the cooperative cases, the contract requires both supply and equity investment.     

农村集体资产股份合作社发展过程中政府的角色分析——基于苏州与佛山的案例比较

在快速城市化和工业化进程中,城郊农村地区的集体土地的资产价值逐步显化。为保证集体资产保值增值,这些地区建立了由政府主导的农村集体资产股份合作社。本文以苏州市高新区和佛山市南海区为例,从政府干预的角度剖析政府主导型农村集体资产股份合作社治理的现状,并分析了政府干预其治理的内在逻辑。分析发现,政府通过为集体资产股份合作社提供政策指导、项目倾斜、财政扶持、规则制定等措施逐步实现了合作社效率与公平的双赢。然而,随着政府干预强度的不断提高,政府逐渐介入合作社内部事务,合作社被纳入政府行政体系之中,既削弱了合作社经济效率也加大了政府负担。鉴于此,建议政府把握好干预的强度及边界,逐渐退出对合作社内部经营管理事务的介入,通过激发合作社内部管理层的投资积极性,在维持社会稳定的前提下提高合作社的经营效益。     

农业专业合作社的融资供求衔接问题研究

农业专业合作社融资具有一般企业所不具有的特殊性。论文从理论角度分析了农业合作社融资次序的选择,认为通过正规金融实现合作社融资供求衔接的有效途径。在供求不平衡,传统信贷供给无法满足合作社融资需求的状况下,探索了“公司＋合作社＋农户”、“农业龙头企业＋担保公司＋合作社＋农户”、“政府＋农业生产基地＋农业企业＋合作社＋农户”三种农业产业链融资模式,并分析了其主要特点、优势以及主要风险,为合作社融资提供了新思路。     

Developer behaviour and development control

Summary

Studies by the North Carolina group established the decision modelling approach to study urban growth. These studies established the central role played by developers in the process, and the rational and adaptive behaviour of developer decision‐making. Events have since changed the developer's decision environment: the growing complexity and uncertainty of the development control process and the changing structure of the development industry towards larger and more integrated firms.

This author argues that if developers are truly rational and adaptive there should be some observable and stable relationship between their structure and operation and their performance in the development control process. This paper reports the findings of a case study which examines such relationships in the subdivision approval process in Scarborough, Ontario. Thirteen developer/development variables were tested. The major finding is that firm size was the most important variable. Large firms did not do well in negotiation but they took much less time in implementing the conditions of approval and in starting the building work. It is further argued that such behaviour is compatible with the financial, production and marketing characteristics of development firms.     

Size and industry effects in the performance of agricultural cooperatives

The 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.     

Does acquisition of a cooperative generate profits for the buyer? The Dairyworld case

This article examines the takeover of a cooperative (Dairyworld) by an investor‐owned firm (Saputo) that was not previously present in the industry, determines if this takeover generates greater returns for the investor‐owned firms (IOF), and on the basis of this evidence makes some inferences about the behavior and performance of cooperatives and IOFs. The empirical evidence strongly supports the conclusion that Saputo's stock price rose with its takeover announcement. This outcome is consistent with a number of explanations, including that Saputo was unaffected by hubris, a factor often suggested as the reason that many firms overbid when they undertake acquisitions. Dairyworld's poor liquidity and capital shortage problems, as well as a limited number of suitors, may have weakened its bargaining position in its dealings with Saputo. The observed increase in Saputo's stock price is also consistent with the possibility that, by taking over a cooperative, Saputo was able to decrease competition and thus increase its profits. A fruitful area for future research would be a rigorous theoretical and empirical determination of the impact that these various factors have on acquisition profitability. Such analysis is required before inferences about the behavior and performance of cooperatives and IOFs can be fully answered.     

农民合作社的基本能力对其规范程度的影响——以内蒙古多伦县为例

[目的]文章旨在实证分析农牧交错区农民合作社的基本能力对合作社规范程度的影响,农民合作社大规模发展的同时,合作社中大量不规范现象的存在,致使合作社难以发挥组织农民互助合作的作用,也使国家对合作社的各项扶持惠农政策落空,严重影响了合作社事业的健康发展。目前对于合作社“规范性”问题的特征与成因的分析多以理论思辨和个案探讨为主,并且研究对象多是南方山地丘陵地带的农民合作社。[方法]研究以农民合作社为对象,采用内蒙古自治区多伦县系统抽样得来的77个合作社横截面数据,通过系统收集的各合作社章程、惠顾返还数据及决策权分配情况作为合作社规范程度的考核指标。[结果]合作社的股权结构、理事长身份、信用等级、政府项目支持和销售市场都会显著影响合作社的规范程度而合作社的内部社会关系和股东背景在合作社规范程度方面无显著影响,拥有更好的制度表现和更广的销售市场的合作社更可能是规范合作社。[结论]合作社的基本能力对其规范程度有显著影响,农村能人担任理事长,并且股权结构更加平均分配的合作社更大概率是规范合作社。而外部支持如政府项目、信用等级和销售市场,对合作社规范程度也有显著影响。该研究从基本能力的角度进一步丰富和解释了农民合作社规范程度的影响因素,为农民合作社管理制度的完善提供了参考案例。     

Pests and pesticides,risk and risk aversion

Theoretical 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.