Land rights,gender equality and household food security: Exploring the conceptual links in the case of India

This paper seeks to critically examine the conceptual linkages between the issue of land rights for women, with household food security on the one hand and gender equality on the other. After a brief analysis of shifts in both international and national policy discourse and practice in terms of control over land as vital for food security, it seeks to analyse the implications of this for gender relations. The paper argues that in a context of diversified rural livelihoods, the contribution of agricultural production to household subsistence has been declining. This trend has been reinforced by a decline in public investment, stagnant growth and fluctuating prices for agricultural products. Men have been able to access the better paid, non-farm jobs, while leaving women behind to manage agricultural production. The renewed link between production and food security in agricultural policy has however meant allowing men not to have responsibility for household food security. While a right to land for women is a positive development, it appears also to be leading to an enhancement of work burdens, without much change in terms of status or decision-making authority.     

河南省特色农业产业集群发展的系统性分析

农业产业集群这一新的农业发展模式已经成为农业产业化向纵深方向发展的重要路径,对一个地区经济的发展起到了重要的推动作用。目前国内的许多省市和地区都在积极推动本地农业产业集群的发展。本文对河南农业产业集群的现状进行了分析,并针对存在的问题提出了自己的对策建议。     

新疆发展农业产业集群的现状与对策研究

农业产业集群这一新的农业发展模式已经成为农业产业化向纵深方向发展的重要路径,对一个地区经济的发展起到了重要的推动作用。目前国内的许多省市和地区都在积极推动本地农业产业集群的发展。本文对新疆农业产业集群的现状进行了分析,并针对存在的问题提出自己的对策建议。     

农村劳动力流转、粮食商品化程度对粮食主产区农户的农机购置行为的影响分析——基于全国587户粮农数据

利用全国587户粮农数据,通过单因素相对影响比率与Logit模型研究了粮食种植户农机购置行为的影响因素。研究结果表明,外出劳动力数与粮食收入比重对农户购置农机具具有显著的负向激励;粮食生产商品化程度以及粮食直补政策对农户购置农机具有显著的正向激励;耕地面积越大、耕地细碎化程度越低则农户购置农机具的倾向越强;粮食主产区农户的农机购置程度显著较高,而粮食主销区则显著较低;小麦种植户的农机购置程度显著较高,而水稻种植户则显著较低。     

政策偏向、省会首位度与城市规模分布

2010年后,部分省份强化了提升省内中心城市首位度的政策导向,这种以行政手段提升首位度的做法,会对城镇格局以及居民福利产生怎样的影响?本文基于量化空间模型,将影响城市规模的因素分解为生产率、用地指标、用地结构、就业机会、外生舒适度与住房有效供给率等维度,利用反事实方法评估了提升首位度的相关政策对居民福利、GDP以及城市规模分布的影响。研究发现:①当省级层面给予省会及副省级城市更多用地指标时,可以在提高这些城市首位度的同时提升总体GDP水平,但会导致均衡时居民福利水平有所降低;②GDP与福利的非同步变动,源于户籍制度影响下人口要素与土地要素的空间错配,即省会及副省级城市人口集聚不足而一般地级市用地约束加强;③若降低落户门槛或消除省内城市间住房有效供给率的差异,均能使GDP与福利水平同时提高,且城市规模分布向Zipf定律收敛。为此,以提升经济密度为导向,以渐进的户籍改革为手段推动人口向省会及副省级城市集聚,多管齐下提高省会及副省级城市住房有效供给水平,是优化城市规模分布、实现新型城镇化高质量发展的关键。     

The impact of biofuel growth on agriculture: Why is the range of estimates so wide?

The rapid expansion of biofuel production has generated considerable interest within the body of empirical economic literature that has sought to understand the impact of biofuel growth on the global food economy. While the consensus within the literature is that biofuel emergence is likely to have some effect on future world agricultural market, there is a considerable range in the estimated size of the impact. Despite the importance of this topic to policy makers, there has been no study that has tried to reconcile the differences among various outlook studies. This paper undertakes an in-depth review of some key outlook studies which quantify the impacts of biofuels on agricultural commodities, and which are based on either general-equilibrium (GE) or partial-equilibrium (PE) modeling approaches. We attempt to reconcile the systematic differences in the estimated impacts of biofuel production growth on the prospective prices and production of three major feedstock commodities, maize, sugar cane, and oilseeds across these studies. Despite the fact that all models predict positive impacts on prices and production, there are large differences among the studies. Our findings point to a number of key assumptions and structural differences that seem to jointly drive the variations we observe, across these studies. The differences among the PE models are mainly due to differences in the design of scenarios, the presence or absence of biofuel trade, and the structural way in which agricultural and energy market linkages are modeled. The differences among the GE models are likely to be driven by model assumptions on agricultural land supply, the inclusion of the byproducts, and assumptions on crude oil prices and the elasticity of substitution between petroleum and biofuels.     

An exploration of livestock-development policies in western China

Limited agricultural land potential, poorly integrated markets and low rural incomes are all interrelated problems for agricultural households in western China. Within the wide range of development options available, this paper focuses on the impact of forage-growing subsidies and reducing livestock feed trade barriers on agricultural household incomes and enterprise mixes in the Qingyang Prefecture of Gansu Province, China. A heterogeneous-agent model is used to assess the local consequences of these two policies. Data from a survey conducted in 2009 are used as inputs into the model. The results indicate that a simultaneous reduction in livestock feed trade barriers and an introduction of forage-growing subsidies lifts net household incomes by approximately 10%. Different scenarios have different impacts on incomes, land allocation decisions and grain purchases, with heterogeneity also found among household income responses. Livestock-development policies have the potential to lift household incomes however there are tradeoffs between income and grain self-sufficiency.     

The effects of trust and land administration on economic outcomes: Evidence from Vietnam

This paper examines how the interaction of social trust and institutions, such as land administration, affects household economic decisions in Viet Nam. Using a panel dataset of rural households from 2008 to 2014, we show that negative consequences of the duration of land administration on agricultural investment have been lower in rural households with higher level of trust. Higher-trust households, when facing higher barrier from land administration, tend to invest more on agricultural land compared to low-trust households where household heads are male. We also find that high-trust households enhance land property rights when facing obstacles from land administration.     

Agricultural inputs and nutrition in South Asia

There are a number of potential pathways leading from agricultural input decisions to nutrition outcomes of farm households. These have special resonance in less developed areas of South Asia given widespread undernutrition problems, market failures and restricted access to land and other key assets and inputs, as well as ongoing debates around the implications that the green revolution has held for nutritional outcomes. A number of initiatives, including the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) project have been undertaking research that addresses these linkages. The objectives of this paper are to systematically review the recent evidence on linkages between agricultural inputs and diet and nutrition outcomes of farm households in South Asia, place relevant LANSA research within the context of this review, and draw implications for policy, practice and the future research agenda. We focus on land and livestock assets and the set of productivity enhancing inputs in the form of irrigation, seed and agrochemicals. We report on a systematic review of recent evidence based on observational data on the links between these agricultural inputs and assets and diet and nutrition outcomes of farm households in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal. We find that the literature has slowly but steadily grown since previous reviews conducted in the early 2010s, but that there is still a long way to go. Review results suggest that while there is no indication that land ownership or size by themselves have clear associations with farm household dietary or nutrition outcomes, land productivity is more clearly associated with improved outcomes. Yet the literature linking specific inputs such as improved seeds or irrigation with nutrition remains very thin. The literature appears strongest for the case of links between livestock keeping and dietary and nutrition outcomes. This is particularly the case with animals reared for milk, with the evidence indicating milch animal ownership improves household milk intakes and thereby influences the growth of children. Priorities for future research include the formulation and testing of more specific hypotheses relating to input-nutrition linkages and more strenuous efforts to improve causal identification in this literature.     

政府土地供应政策、行政调控政策对房价波动的影响——基于中国35个城市的证据

2016年中国面临了新一轮的房价上涨,政府调控对房价调节起着重要的作用。本文从中国35个城市2010～2016年的土地供应政策（土地竞拍过程中的额外规定）和行政调控政策（“限贷”、“限购”和住房规划政策）的变化来研究其对房价波动的影响,得出土地供应调控和“限购”政策对房价的显著正向作用,但“限贷”和住房规划政策对房的作用与预期相反并做了相应的分析,最后提出3个稳定房价的建议：（1）在供给侧的调控仍以增加土地供应为核心,各大城市统筹兼顾,突出重点。（2）在需求侧的调控则以“限贷”、“限购”为抑制房价上涨的短期有效的政策工具。（3）土地制度改革是稳定房价根本措施。     

农地流转中的非农化与非粮化风险及其规避

在加快农业经营体制转变的背景下,农地流转成为必然.但是,在当前农地流转中违背“三个不得”的现象时有发生,特别是农地流转中的非农化,以及虽然从事农业,但流转的土地却不是用来种粮的非粮化.农地流转中的非农化与非粮化,对我国的粮食安全构成潜在的风险.文章力图对农地流转中的非农化和非粮化及形成机理进行分析,并阐释其危害,进而从发展家庭农场、设置耕地保护金、加大对农业的扶持、提高粮食直补和设置永久性农田基本保护区等方面进行规避风险.     

Structural transformation or elite land capture? The growth of “emergent” farmers in Zambia

Over the last decade, Zambia has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of medium-scale “emergent farms” cultivating 5–20 ha of land. This study analyzes the factors underpinning this growth. We find that the growth of emergent farmers in Zambia is primarily attributable to land acquisition by salaried urbanites and by relatively privileged rural individuals. We found little evidence to support the hypothesis that the rise of emergent farmers primarily represents a process of successful accumulation by farmers who began farming with less than 5 ha of land, a situation faced by more than 95% of farming households. We argue that these outcomes are the result of Zambia’s land administration and agricultural spending policies. Rising concentration of landholdings in Zambia raises serious questions about the potential of current agricultural growth to act as a vehicle for broad based economic growth and poverty reduction.     

The state of food and agriculture in Islamic countries

This review of the state of food and agriculture in Islamic countries underlines the need for much greater public commitment to agricultural development. Within the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), 44 member nations, exibiting immense geographic and economic diversity, have come together recently to begin to cooperate on increasing food production. It is difficult to generalize about food production conditions in Islamic nations, but basically, within the OIC, total arable land increased from 159 to 167 ha in the 1970s, a small amount unevenly distributed over the group. Dry-land farming has not received enough public attention, and the dependence on cereals grown under rainfed conditions leaves the population vulnerable to fluctuation. Many of the poorer nations have not given the priority to land improvement that has been successful in Egypt, Pakistan, and some other countries. The economic burden of food imports has become lighter in some countries, although in all it continues to be serious. Net cereal imports to Islamic countries rose from 21 to 39 million tons from 1975-83. An overall increase in the per capita dietary energy supplies masks broad differences between the wealthier and poorer nations of the OIC, and between more and less priviledged populations within the societies. A small proportion of financial commitments to agriculture (15%) come from Islamic community donors; this is not a leading program priority. Often spending has been for large capital-intensive projects depending on imported skills and inputs. As a group, the OIC must plan to take advantage of their technical and environmental diversity, and work together to avoid inefficient dispersal of personnel and other resources. Tabular data show selected indicators of agricultural development (e.g. % of food imported, food production growth), average annual rate of food production change related to population growth, per capita dietary energy supplies, and external assistance commitments.     

高速铁路对沿线城市土地经济价值的影响及驱动力——以东北地区为例

高铁可达性是土地经济价值变化的重要驱动因素之一,本文以东北地区高铁地级市为对象,基于时间、经济、频次、服务的视角分析高铁影响下的沿线城市可达性,运用广义交通成本、土地价值增值模型探讨高铁通车前后沿线城市土地经济价值的变化,基于多元线性回归选取高铁可达性等相关特征变量,探讨影响高铁土地经济价值的驱动力。研究表明：高铁开通改变原有辽宁可达性向吉林、再向黑龙江递减的趋势,及原有沈阳经济区可达性优势最强、沿海经济带与吉林中部次之、哈大齐稍弱的格局,带来黑龙江可达性改善幅度最大、辽宁强于吉林,位处边缘区位的城市可达性获得较大提升、传统的经济实力超强城市及位处线路中心区位的城市可达性改善较弱的趋势;沈阳、长春、大连与哈尔滨高铁日常可达性位于东北前列,沈阳高铁特质空间范围跨越吉林、延伸至黑龙江,为东北高铁可达服务核心,长、大、哈为其副中心;高铁广义交通成本远高于普速列车广义交通成本,哈尔滨--长春、沈阳、大连等核心区是土地经济价值增值高值区;高铁土地经济价值与高铁服务中心强度指数、日常可达性、普速列车土地经济价值呈正相关,与哈夫系数呈负相关。     

The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values

Cities across the United States that have considerable vacant land are debating whether to foster community gardens on that land, while cities with land shortages are debating when to replace gardens with other uses. Meanwhile, many cities are looking for new ways to finance green spaces. Little empirical evidence about the neighborhood impacts of community gardens is available, however, to inform the debate or to help cities design financing schemes. This article estimates the impact of community gardens on neighborhood property values, using rich data for New York City and a difference-in-difference specification of a hedonic regression model. We find that gardens have significant positive effects, especially in the poorest neighborhoods. Higher-quality gardens have the greatest positive impact.     

Assessing farm performance by size in Malawi,Tanzania, and Uganda

Many Sub-Sahara African countries have long endured sluggish agricultural productivity growth and a farm structure dominated by smallholders. This prevailing structure has led to public policies focusing on access to land and its distribution as ways to boost agricultural supply. Drawing on data from the Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) for three East African countries (Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda), our purpose is to: test whether smaller farms in these countries are more productive than larger ones; examine how managerial performance varies with farm size; and assess how public policy may improve farm performance. We adopt the Random Parameters Stochastic Production Frontier model to estimate and then decompose Total Factor Productivity (TFP) across different farm size classes. In doing so, we test for possible measurement errors of farmer self-reported land area using Global Positioning System (GPS) data, and explore the imperfect factor markets hypothesis. The results show that across the three countries TFP is higher for smaller farms than for larger ones. Overall, managerial performance is low suggesting that programs designed to enhance managerial capacity would promote farm productivity across all sizes. Other policies are size specific. Access to agricultural input markets improves the productivity of the small farms, while greater spending on transportation infrastructure and extension services enhances the productivity of the large.     

供给侧改革背景下我国城市建设用地最优规模分析

本文基于边际等值原理,综合城市经济效益、社会效益、环境效益以及建设效益,构建多因子城市建设用地最优规模决策模型,并结合我国城市建设用地供给实际进行分析。结果显示：2001～2015年,我国城市发展经历了从建设用地短缺到最优及至过剩的过程,对建设用地增长的强依赖逐渐转变为弱依赖。城市建设用地增长与边际建设效益弱相关;与边际经济效益之间呈库兹涅茨倒U型曲线关系;与边际社会效益呈正相关、边际环境效益呈负相关。目前我国城市建设用地已经达到最优规模,其中建设用地供给与经济发展失调,是导致净效益下降的主要动因。     

国际大城市交通拥堵社会问题处理经验借鉴——基于交通社会学的视角

交通与社会发展的关系已经成为社会各界普遍关注的重要问题。我国大城市目前处于交通拥堵社会问题普遍存在和突发的阶段,如何处理交通拥堵等社会问题,成为大城市社会经济健康发展的重要评价因素。世界发达国家和发达城市,在处理交通拥堵社会问题方面取得了较为丰富的经验,在充分借鉴国际经验的基础上,结合我国大城市的具体情况,提出我国大城市处理交通拥堵社会问题的主要方法和对策。     

Land constraints and agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: A village-level analysis of high-potential areas

Highland Ethiopia is one of the most densely populated regions of Africa and has long been associated with both Malthusian disasters and Boserupian agricultural intensification. This paper explores the race between these two countervailing forces, with the goal of inform two important policy questions. First, how do rural Ethiopians adapt to land constraints? And second, do land constraints significantly influence welfare outcomes in rural Ethiopia? To answer these questions we use a recent household survey of high-potential areas. We first show that farm sizes are generally very small in the Ethiopian highlands and declining over time, with young rural households facing particularly severe land constraints. We then ask whether smaller and declining farm sizes are inducing agricultural intensification, and if so, how. We find strong evidence in favor of the Boserupian hypothesis that land-constrained villages typically use significantly more purchased input costs per hectare and more family labor, and achieve higher maize and teff yields and higher gross income per hectare. However, although these higher inputs raise gross revenue, we find no substantial impact of greater land constraints on net farm income per hectare once family labor costs are accounted for. Moreover, farm sizes are strongly positively correlated with net farm income, suggesting that land constraints are an important cause of rural poverty. We conclude with some broad policy implications of our results.