The Role of Political Institutions in the Resolution of Economic Crises: The Case of Argentina 2001–05

Many financial crises during the last decade have derived more directly from political than purely economic problems. When democratic institutions, government transparency, regulatory oversight or the rule of law break down, the likelihood that politicians will implement unsustainable economic policies rises. The economics literature analyses the role of poorly functioning government institutions in allowing a nation to slip into financial crisis. However, the literature on the effectiveness of post-crisis reforms focuses almost exclusively on whether the stated post-crisis policies are appropriate from an economic viewpoint. Oddly, that literature fails to examine the status of the underlying governmental deficiencies, assuming implicitly that they have been remedied. Because economic reforms are feasible only with wide political and social consensus, two important post-crisis issues are essential to the success of such reforms; namely, the political situation and politicians' management of economic policy. Political failures are particularly relevant to the Argentine financial crisis that began in December 2001. This paper identifies those political issues, which derived from an unstable political structure characterized by corruption and fragmented power between provinces and the federal government. Critically, the rule of law had been undermined in 1991. Interestingly, these same shortcomings still pervaded Argentina in 2004. The resultant lack of political consensus continues to delay implementation of the structural reforms necessary to return to sustainable economic growth. Social confidence in the government is low; the independence of the Supreme Court has been shattered; and the rule of law continues to be eroded, as the government tramples on the property rights of private firms and public debt-holders. Because it seems unlikely that Argentina can overcome its political deficiencies in the near future, its prospects for full economic recovery are limited, regardless of which economic reforms it implements.     

A discussion of the market and policy failures associated with the adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops

Weed control in the U.S. Midwest has become increasingly herbicide-centric due to the adoption of herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops in the 1990s. That integrated weed management (IWM) practices, including ecological and mechanical controls, are scarcely used is concerning. IWM would be a more sustainable form of farming for two reasons. First, it would reduce the negative health and environmental externalities associated with herbicide use. Second, it would reduce the selection pressure on weed populations and the development of weed resistance to some herbicides, thereby reducing the uncertainty of the long-term effectiveness of herbicidal weed control. In this context, we develop an economic framework to clarify the interplay among the different market failures that either contribute to the herbicidal ‘lock-in’ or make it problematic. We then analyse the evidence for and perceptions of these market failures based on twenty-four semi-structured interviews with farmers and experts conducted in 2017, as well as on discussions in the academic literature. To this end, we put into perspective the possible self-reinforcing effects in the adoption path of HT crops, such as increasing farm size, changes in farm equipment, increasing incentives for simplified crop rotations, and the loss of practical knowledge of IWM practices.     

中国建设用地配置中政府失灵的理论解析及其改良框架设计

研究目的:剖析中国建设用地配置中不同政府失灵的成因、影响与相互关系,探索相适宜的综合性改良框架及实现路径,为国家建设用地配置优化改革提供参考。研究方法:文献研究、逻辑分析与框架设计。研究结果:中国当前的建设用地配置存在两种政府失灵,并且这两种政府失灵涉及不同类别的政策问题,因而单一的技术性对策无法达到理想的解决效果,故需要依据不同的问题特征,设计构建综合性的政府失灵改良框架进行指导作用。研究结论:中国建设用地配置同时存在政府失灵Ⅰ与政府失灵Ⅱ。前者发生于政府内部,以央地关系失衡下建设用地计划管理机制失效为特征;后者发生于政府外部,以政府过度干预市场机制、扭曲土地资源配置为特征。对应于这两种政府失灵,本文设计涵盖6类调控工具的综合性改良框架。其中,针对政府失灵Ⅰ,主要有观念性调控、规划性调控和经济性调控3类,其可行路径包括转变形成目标相容的管控理念、构建国土空间规划体系、引入指标交易与管理平台等;针对政府失灵Ⅱ,主要有规则性调控、探索性调控和产权性调控3类,其可行路径包括健全土地市场运行规则、探索创新存量土地开发模式、构建现代土地产权体系等。     

Poverty, Risk Aversion, and Path Dependence in Low-Income Countries: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia

In most low-income countries, rural households depend on mixed rain-fed agriculture/livestock production, which is very risky. Due to numerous market failures, there are few ways to shift risks to third parties. The literature has focused on what determines the responses of households in such environments. Of special concern are path dependencies in which households experiencing failure are prone to further failure and potential poverty traps. This paper estimates levels and determinants of risk aversion in the highlands of Ethiopia. We find high risk aversion and evidence that constraints have important impacts on risk-averting behavior with perhaps significant implications for long-term poverty. The results also suggest the possibility of path dependence and offer insights into links between risk aversion and poverty traps.     

The forest transition: Towards a more comprehensive theoretical framework

Building on the contributions of Mather and others, this paper offers an approach for developing a more comprehensive theory of the forest transition. We argue that long-run changes in forest cover in a country or region cannot be separated from the overall pattern of land use changes. Moreover, this pattern is determined by relative land values; forest cover changes over time as the value of one land use relative to the value of its competing use changes over time. However, the actual values that are used to allocate land may be far from optimal; that is, the presence of market, policy and institutional failures can distort economic and political incentives that can lead to bias in favour of one type of land use over the other, and may ultimately explain why a forest transition may be delayed unnecessarily in some countries and regions.     

Food and consumer behavior: why the details matter

A growing body of literature now demonstrates the importance of behavioral factors in individual food consumption. However, whether addressing hunger, nutrition, or obesity, food policies are often created to target changes at the aggregate level. These policies ignore such behavioral tools or effects and their potential heterogeneous effects on consumers. In this article, we review the most important results examining food consumption and behavioral economics and provide a thorough discussion of how such tools are now being added to the lexicon of effective policy tools. In addition, we discuss how traditional policy tools that ignore the individual behavioral effects can miss the mark or even backfire. The implication is clear: a thorough understanding of behavioral economics is necessary to create efficient food policy.     

Economic indicators of sustainable forest management: theory versus practice

There appears to be a divergence between the conceptual literature in economics on forest sustainability indicators and the practical literature on economic indicators of sustainable forest management. The former focuses on forest resource accounts and issues related to measurement of integrated natural or forest capital accounts. The latter includes some elements of capital accounts but also contains a variety of other community level economic activity indicators. The divergence between these two bodies of literature is evaluated in this paper. Some explanations for the differences are offered as are some suggestions for improvement and investigation in the area of economic sustainability indicators.     

Neighborhood socioeconomics,food environment and land use determinants of public health: Isolating the relative importance for essential policy insights

Recent literature has advocated the connection between land use policies with public health promotion. In this regard, examining the land use determinants of public health and isolating the relative importance with other influential factors should provide essential policy insights. However, very limited efforts have been made in this aspect, particularly for the developing countries. Using a case of Wuhan (China), this paper attempts to capture the land use determinants of obesity prevalence among middle-aged adults and to compare the relative importance with neighborhood socioeconomics and food environment. A conceptual framework is first proposed to guide the analysis within a land use policy context. Data are then collected during the China’s National Physical Fitness Survey in 2010 and multivariate linear regression is applied to analyze the district level determinants. Results show that neighborhood socioeconomics, food environment and land use all have significant effects on obesity prevalence among the middle-aged adults. The men obesity is associated with the occupation, education and housing, while women obesity is correlated with income and housing. Women obesity associates with healthy food environment, while men obesity correlates with unhealthy food environment. Open public space is negative to women obesity, and institutional land is negative to men obesity. Greater walkability and street connectivity associate with lower obesity risk for both genders. The variance decomposition demonstrates that food environment is the most important determinant of men obesity, while land use is the most essential determinant of women obesity. For the obesity prevalence among total population, neighborhood socioeconomics are key determinants. Based on our analysis, we finally provide some insights for land use policies that aim at addressing the obesity issue in developing countries.     

Contract Farming in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Survey of Approaches,Debates and Issues

The paper provides a selective survey of the most significant literature on the rise of contract farming in developing countries, with a focus on sub‐Saharan Africa. The review of the literature illustrates ideological debates around the meaning and significance of contract farming and whether it is good or bad for small‐scale farmers. The paper then divides the review of the literature into three key themes. First, it addresses the quantitative significance of contract farming in Africa, which may not be as important as it is often portrayed. Second, the paper highlights the substantial diversity of contract farming in Africa and problems with excessive generalizations. Third, it discusses the various drivers fuelling the spread of contract farming, which reflect new production conditions and existing constraints, tendencies and counter‐tendencies, and both economic and political responses to changes in production and market conditions in the era of liberalization and globalization. The variety of drivers is substantial and defies generalizations about the emergence of contract farming. Finally, it briefly suggests research questions that tend to be absent in most of the literature on contract farming, and which are important in order to understand the current dynamics of agrarian change and transitions to capitalism in African countries.     

Economics of household food waste

Food waste has drawn increasing public attention, and the high levels of estimated waste are largely considered to be a failure of our current food system. Recently, economists have begun to weigh in, showing food waste can emerge as the result of a complex equilibrium affected by consumers’ preferences for convenience; expectations about future food prices and availability; food safety concerns; producers’ costs of holding inventory, transportation, and storage; government regulation; and technology. If food waste is a form of inefficiency, there are either strong economic motivations to reduce waste, or unmeasured costs or preferences affecting waste decisions. If consumers have behavioral biases, suffer from information asymmetries, or do not pay the full cost of their waste, there may be a role for government intervention to reduce waste, but most empirical models in the literature have not articulated or quantified the extent of the deadweight loss from the market failures in relation to food waste. In some cases, waste reduction efforts could harm producers if overall demand for food is reduced or harm consumers if overconsumption is encouraged, quality or safety degrades, or supply disruptions occur. Technological innovations, which lower the cost of storage or extend shelf life have the potential to improve both consumer and producer welfare.     

The nutrition transition to 2030. Why developing countries are likely to bear the major burden

Considerable increases in food consumption, shifts in consumption patterns and changes in the entire food system have occurred globally. These changes, initially limited to the industrialized world, are now being experienced at an even faster pace in many of the advanced economies of the developing world. The past evolution of this transition in nutrition and lifestyles is by now well documented. Based on FAO's outlook for global food and agriculture, this paper outlines the likely future changes in food consumption patterns and the global trajectory of the nutrition transition over the next 30 years. It presents the main drivers of the nutrition transition and examines their influence on the prospective changes in consumption patterns. The paper illustrates how the current burden of undernourishment and malnutrition in developing countries is likely to compound the adverse effects of the nutrition transition, notably the increasing prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs); it shows how and where the current problem of undernutrition could create a growing future burden of overweight, obesity and NCDs and that both undernourishment and overnutrition are likely to co-exist for a long time in the vast majority of developing countries, creating a widespread double burden of malnutrition.     

Does Zero Tillage Improve the Livelihoods of Smallholder Cropping Farmers?

The biophysical benefits of zero tillage (ZT) are well documented in the literature. However, the literature on its economic benefits, especially in the context of small and medium‐scale farmers in the temperate developing world is scanty. Using a study of 621 wheat farmers in Syria, we provide empirical evidence on the impacts of adoption of ZT on farm income and wheat consumption. We use propensity score matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression (ESR) approaches to account for potential selection biases. After controlling for confounding factors, we find that adoption of the ZT technology leads to a US$ 189/ha (33%) increase in net crop income and a 26 kg (34%) gain in per capita wheat consumption per year (adult equivalent) – an indication of meaningful changes in the livelihoods of the farm households. Besides the biophysical and environmental benefits documented elsewhere, our results suggest that adoption of ZT can also be justified on economic and food security grounds. Therefore, ZT can have sizeable impacts in transforming the agricultural sector in the temperate developing world provided that the technology is well promoted and adopted.     

Building up collective actions to qualify GIs

The paper deals with the analysis of behind the procedures for the recognition of a geographical indication (GI). More precisely, by applying a new theoretical perspective, based on structure-conduct-performance paradigm and on seven variables of collective action recently provided in literature, the article tries to explain possible failures of strategies of valorization of agricultural products based on GIs. The application of the selected methodology to a case-study in Italy is effective in showing the specific variables affecting the failure of collective action. Therefore, this methodology permits limits and obstacles to implement the virtuous circle of collective action to emerge. Moreover, it addresses possible normative solution aiming at acquiring a more prudential approach before applying for a GI recognition, in order to avoid possible failures.     

武汉市征地过程中的土地增值测算

研究目的：分析征地过程中土地增值及其来源，为合理分配土地增值收益，保障农民权益提供理论依据。研究方法：实证研究。研究结果：在征地过程中，武汉市各区域的土地增值及分配差异明显，主城区的土地增值额、自然增值额和人工增值额均高于近郊区；除江夏区，其他区域的农民和农村集体经济组织参与了土地增值的收益分配，而江夏区农民和农村集体经济组织仅得到原农业用途的补偿。研究结论：规范的土地市场与完善的政府职能有利于消除市场失灵和政府失灵导致的扭曲土地价值增值；明确土地增值来源，有利于土地增值收益在农民、农村集体经济组织、各级政府和开发商中的合理分配。     

Land market regulation: market versus policy failures

This paper reviews the role of market failures in land markets, evidence as to their quantitative significance and the impact of land use policies designed to offset for such failures. Policies of containment and densification limit the supply of land for all urban uses. When applied as stringently as in Britain, a full net welfare evaluation shows the increased costs of space for housing substantially exceed the value of amenities generated. There is also evidence that constraints on land supply impose costs on productive uses of land in both office and retail use. Although the estimates are that these costs are considerable they relate only to the gross costs. Three possible policy changes are identified which could preserve the role of regulation in offsetting for problems of market failure while greatly relieving the costs of policy-imposed supply restrictions.     

Childhood obesity in Mexico: the effect of international migration

This article estimates the effect of international migration from Mexico to the United States on the obesity status of children who remain in Mexico. Theory suggests that increased liquidity as well as changing time allocations resulting from migration may influence obesity outcomes. Natural disasters are used as an identification strategy. Results suggest that older boys in urban areas are more likely to become obese when either a male or female migrates from the household, while girls in urban areas are less likely to become obese. Both changes in food expenditure patterns and time use changes after migration are likely pathways that affect childhood obesity. While there are some changes in food expenditures, we find more importantly that urban girls engage in more housework and screen time after migration, whereas urban teen boys do not substitute for adult work as much as girls. These changes in strenuous activities, particularly for girls, likely explain the differential effect that migration has on boys’ and girls’ obesity outcomes in Mexico.     

IMPACTS OF TAXES TO REDUCE AGRICHEMICAL USE WHEN FARM POLICY IS ENDOGENOUS

The economic impacts of policies to reduce water pollution from agriculture have been explored in a number of studies. A standard assumption in this literature is that farm income support policies are given. However, the modern public choice view of agricultural policy suggests that significant environmental initiatives in agriculture would likely be accompanied by changes in farm income policies to protect those with a significant stake in agriculture. We explore the potential effects of such compensating adjustments on the costs and effectiveness of taxes on polluting chemical inputs in US corn production. We find that compensating farm policy adjustments can greatly increase the costs and reduce the effectiveness of the environmental protection measure. The results also indicate the potentially high costs of poor policy co-ordination.     

China’s local governments breaking the land use planning quota: A strategic interaction perspective

In China, the planning quota, i.e., the binding target of construction land (BTCL) in land use planning for 15 years (2006–2020), was exhausted within only 7 years, which represents a very serious problem. This result not only nullifies the meaning of the plan itself but also threatens China's food and ecological security and poses great challenges to sustainable development. Here, we develop an analysis framework for local governments that break the BTCL in view of the strategic interactions of transferring newly increased construction land (NCL) among local governments and perform an empirical analysis of data on 262 prefecture-level cities from 2007 to 2016. The two main conclusions are as follows. First, adjacent local governments engage in positive strategic interactions regarding the quantity of NCL transferred. Second, positive strategic interactions regarding the quantity of NCL transferred are important reasons why local governments break the planning quota. In addition, we find that better economic development corresponds to more obvious positive strategic interactions. We also find that fiscal incentives and land misallocation play a significant role in promoting the increase in NCL, while strengthening land law enforcement can effectively constrain the increase in NCL. This paper enriches the literature on the reasons for planning failures, extending the research perspective to the level of interaction effects among local governments, and this paper provides new evidence regarding the strategic interaction among Chinese local governments. Moreover, this paper provides an important new path for the central government to constrain urban land expansion and to control the behavior of local governments that break the planning quota.     

秦巴山区蜀道申遗的自然资源管理制度研究

2016年1月,四川省蜀道被联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心列入《世界遗产预备清单》,获得了正式申报世界遗产的条件。这一进展表明秦巴山区蜀道作为自然与文化的混合遗产价值开始得到了国际社会初步认可。为了满足世界遗产的申请标准,改革现有蜀道自然资源管理制度成为一个迫在眉睫的研究问题,错过这一宝贵机会将对蜀道地区的经济和社会发展起到极大妨碍作用。对蜀道进一步申请进入世界遗产正式名单中的管理制度障碍、存在问题进行了总结,并提出相应的对策研究。提出从3个方面:立法保护、机构建设、管理制度全面回顾申请世界遗产的自然资源管理制度的经验和教训。在此基础上,提出进一步解放思想和整合资源,完善四川蜀道申遗自然资源管理制度,确保四川省蜀道能够成功进入世界遗产正式名单。     

Macrorelationship between average life expectancy and prevalence of obesity: Theory and evidence from global data

A large body of literature assesses the impact of obesity on health at the microlevel and finds that obesity is a risk to health and longevity of life. We develop a macrolevel analytical framework to investigate the impact of obesity prevalence on average life expectancy, the trade-off between health expenditure and obesity prevalence, and the differential effect of obesity prevalence by gender, and apply this framework to cross country national data using a panel data of 183 countries for the years 2007 to 2014.  The empirical analysis shows that the average life expectancy is a concave function of obesity prevalence, and an increase in obesity prevalence increases average expected life expectancy with low obesity levels.  While obesity is a significant problem in developed countries, its impact on average life expectancy is partially mitigated by health expenditure. Underweight and lack of health expenditure in developing countries are even more severe problems. The marginal benefit of health expenditure in a low obesity country (highly correlated with underweight) has a larger impact on life expectancy relative to that in a high obesity country. A part of the longer life expectancy of women is related to better average nutritional state and less vulnerability to obesity. The results are consistent over three macromeasures of the longevity of life—average life expectancy, adult mortality rate, and healthy life expectancy.