Dragon Head Enterprises and the State of Agribusiness in China

This paper examines the political trajectory of agribusiness firms called ‘dragon head enterprises’ in China's ongoing agri‐food transformations. It starts from the premise that state and private elites in China are working together to consolidate a robust domestic agribusiness sector, as both an arena for national‐level rural and economic development, and a new frontier for access to resources and markets abroad. Through analyses of policy documents, market share data and ethnographic materials, I explore the organization and operation of dragon heads in the pork sector. My findings reveal that agribusiness development in China's pork sector is largely domestic, has a mixed state–private form and tends to marginalize the foreign‐based TNCs that have been the most powerful actors in the global agri‐food system to date. I argue that China is not only a destination for ‘external’ transnational capital, but also a site of agribusiness development in its own right. This has important implications for analysing capitalist transformations and for engaging global agri‐food politics.     

农村生活垃圾分类治理：模式比较与政策启示——以北京市4个生态涵养区的治理案例为例

探索农村生活垃圾分类治理的有效模式对推进中国农村生活垃圾分类具有重要意义。本文依据集体行动逻辑理论、公共选择理论、委托代理理论和多中心治理理论,按照服务供给主体的不同,将农村生活垃圾分类治理分为村民自主供给、政府供给、市场供给和多元共治4种主要模式,通过对北京市生态涵养区生活垃圾分类工作的实地调查,深入剖析和比较了4种农村生活垃圾分类治理的实践模式。研究发现,4种模式各有利弊,适用条件也不尽相同。村"两委"群众基础好、有资金支持的村庄适宜推行村民自主供给模式;政府治理能力较强的乡镇适宜推行政府供给模式;政府治理能力较强、市场竞争相对充分的乡镇适宜推行市场供给模式;各相关主体有较高的资源禀赋,且有完善联动机制的乡镇适宜推行多元共治模式。     

国内外玉米价格传导关系影响研究——基于收购政策市场化改革背景

[目的]玉米在国家粮食安全中占有重要地位,是国内外市场联系最为紧密的大宗农产品之一。文章旨在探讨收购政策市场化改革前后,国内外玉米价格传导关系是否发生变化,为政府推进玉米供给侧改革提供理论依据。[方法]该文选取2009—2018年国内外玉米价格周度数据,利用向量误差修正模型和门限向量误差修正模型分别对收购政策市场化改革前后国内外玉米市场间价格传导关系进行实证分析。[结果]长期内,国内外玉米价格存在长期稳定的均衡关系,国际玉米价格对国内玉米价格具有持续稳定的正向传导关系;短期内,收购政策市场化改革前,国内外玉米价格间存在线性调整关系,具体表现为国际玉米价格向国内玉米价格单向传导关系;而收购政策市场化改革后,国内外玉米价格短期非均衡误差调整动态存在门限非对称调整关系,且改革后未来国内玉米价格受到当期国内玉米价格影响较大。[结论]这些结论对推进玉米供给侧改革,维护国内玉米市场的健康有序发展有一定的参考作用。     

Rice Production,Trade and the Poor: Regional Effects of Rice Export Policy on Households in Vietnam

Analysing Vietnam's rice export policy and recent export ban in the context of rising food prices, this study combines insights from a regionally‐disaggregated or ‘bottom‐up’ CGE model and a micro‐simulation using household data. Three main conclusions are drawn. First, although there is little impact on GDP, there are substantial distributional impacts across regions and households from different export policies and market conditions. Second, both rural and urban households, including poor households, benefit from free trade, even though domestic rice prices are higher. Finally, under free trade, relatively large gains accrue to rural households, where poverty is most pervasive in Vietnam.     

The Effects of Maize Market and Policy Reforms on Price Discovery and Competitiveness in Zimbabwe, 1991–1997

Abstract

Maize is Zimbabwe's staple food. An adequate supply of maize is essential to food security and domestic stability. A series of droughts and government mismanagement of the economy led to a maize production and food security problem in the 1980s. Zimbabwe's maize marketing system was transformed dramatically from a government monopoly to a competitive market system in which prices are determined by market forces in the 1990s. This paper examines the steps that Zimbabwe took towards maize market reform and the benefits of that reform. The movement to a competitive market led to formation of a commodity exchange to improve price discovery and increase price transparency. De-regulation has increased entry and competitiveness from new private sector hammer millers and traders. Farmers, millers, and traders face new profit opportunities and new price and financial risks that have increased management responsibilities. Consumers enjoy lower cost maize meal products and more convenient service. The benefits of the 1991–1997 reforms indicate what could be achieved in the long run if prices are determined by the market, rather than by the government.     

市场化改革背景下我国玉米供给反应实证研究基于2008—2019年东北三省省级面板数据

目的 我国玉米供需形势变化需要国内玉米供给适时作出调整，通过分析玉米供给的影响因素及其背后的农户行为，为国家制定政策并引导农户根据市场需求调整玉米种植决策提出建议。方法 文章利用2008—2019年辽宁、吉林、黑龙江三省省级玉米播种面积和出售价格的面板数据，加入替代作物比较效益和取消玉米临时收储政策虚拟变量，基于Nerlove 模型对玉米供给反应进行实证研究。结果 （1）东北地区玉米短期缺乏价格供给弹性，长期则富有弹性；（2）东北地区玉米播种面积短期内具有一定的刚性；（3）玉米与大豆、水稻的比较效益是影响东北地区农户玉米种植决策的重要因素；（4）取消玉米临时收储政策对东北地区玉米播种面积具有显著的负向影响。结论 短期内仅通过市场价格变化调整玉米供给能力有限，还需要一些配套支持政策及时引导农户调整种植决策；取消玉米临时收储政策后要加快建立优质优价机制，引导农户种植适应市场需求的玉米品种从而增加种粮收入；通过加大“两区”政策支持，将土地、资金、设备等生产要素向优势产区集中，提升优势产区产能。     

Parametric and Semiparametric Modeling of the Off-Farm Labor Supply of Agrarian Households in Transition Bulgaria

The reaction of labor markets to economic reforms is an important indicator of the progress of transition. Because of diminished government support and the breakup of state and collective enterprises, labor market adjustments in the transition economies have been particularly severe in the agricultural sector. This article evaluates the off-farm labor market for a sample of agrarian households in transition Bulgaria. We give particular attention to the distributional assumptions that underlie standard approaches to the evaluation of labor supply. A variety of specification tests are considered and support for standard maximum likelihood estimates which rely on normality as a maintained hypothesis is mixed. Alternative semiparametric (distribution-free) estimators are also considered. The empirical results indicate that, five years after the initiation of the transition, off-farm labor supply patterns for Bulgarian agricultural households are similar to what is commonly observed in developed market economies. Labor supply is positively affected by factors such as education and work experience which are hypothesized to increase off-farm wages. Social benefit programs providing monetary or in-kind support payments are shown to significantly decrease off-farm work.     

Derivatives for Development? Small‐Farmer Vulnerability and the Financialization of Climate Risk Management

While agricultural production has always been a risky endeavour, it has become even more so in the current context of climatic change and increasing market uncertainty. Meanwhile, the rollback of state protections has rendered small‐scale farmers, especially marginalized peasant producers in the Global South, particularly vulnerable to these contemporary stressors. This essay critically evaluates the contemporary roll‐out of financial derivatives that purportedly aim to mitigate smallholder vulnerability. It gives particular attention to a novel type of derivative known as index‐based agricultural insurance (IBAI) that plays an increasingly prominent role in initiatives to ‘climate proof’ agriculture. The creation of IBAI markets has required significant work, including (1) technical interventions to debundle environmental risk from agricultural production and rebundle it in novel ways that support private financial capital and agricultural input suppliers, (2) extensive state support in the creation of risk markets, and (3) the construction of an accommodating ‘insurance culture’ among small‐scale producers. In addition to mitigating weather‐based risk, a primary objective of IBAI is to spur agricultural modernization. In promoting this agenda, IBAI initiatives may have the paradoxical effect of exposing smallholders to new risks while expanding their overall vulnerability to environmental and economic stressors.     

Social welfare effects of removing multiple exchange rates: evidence from the rice trade in Iran

In order to encourage the involvement of the private sector in importing rice, the Iranian government plans to relax the system of multiple foreign exchange rates applied to importers wishing to supply the domestic market. In this article, the welfare effects of removing the current controls on the rice trade, and a domestic rice coupon program, are evaluated by applying a partial equilibrium analysis to 1961–1999 data. The results show that, as far as foreign exchange is concerned, liberalization of the rice market causes an increase in rice imports, mainly due to a decrease in domestic supply. In welfare terms, the loss in producer surplus from rice market liberalization is relatively high, but most rice consumers, and the Iranian taxpayer, would gain. Overall, gains to consumers and taxpayers are estimated to be higher than the losses incurred by domestic suppliers, and therefore net social welfare at national level can be improved by rice market liberalization in Iran. Issues for further discussion include residual food security roles for the state, and supply‐side adjustments in terms of resource use and higher‐quality production.     

An Evaluation of Indian Government Rice Policy in Tamil Nadu

The Indian government procures rice from wholesalers or producers at a price below the market price and then distributes it to low-income consumers at a subsidized price. This paper uses a simulataneous equations econometric model to evaluate the effects of this policy on supply/demand of rice in the state of Tamil Nadu, between 1956 and 1985. Results show that production is more responsive to power for irrigation and fertilizer prices than to output prices. Because supply is inelastic, producers bear the burden of the ‘tax’ imposed by procurement even though rice is procured from the wholesaler. Rice distributed by the government displaces rice demanded in the open market, and thus the government distribution of rice has not increased the total consumption of rice.     

基于Nerlove模型的玉米供给反应研究*——以吉林省为例

［目的］吉林省是以玉米为主要粮食作物的产量大省，吉林省玉米生产在保障国家粮食安全方面发挥着重要的作用。2016年国家取消玉米临时收储政策，实行“价补分离”政策（既市场化收购+补贴）。在玉米价格逐步市场化的形势下，为探究吉林省玉米种植面积对价格变动的反应程度，［方法］文章利用1985—2015年吉林省玉米种植面积、玉米平均出售价格、玉米的物质成本投入、玉米与大豆的每667m2收益比值、玉米与水稻的每667m2收益比值的时间序列数据，通过运用Nerlove模型，测算吉林省玉米播种面积对价格、物质成本、与大豆和水稻的每667m2收益比值的供给反应。［结果］吉林省玉米的短期供给弹性为049，长期供给弹性为063，短期供给弹性和长期供给弹性均小于1，缺乏弹性，吉林省玉米种植面积对价格变动的反应较为迟钝。［结论］提出完善农业耕作制度，推进玉米目标价格制度改革，优化玉米收购市场结构政策建议。     

The linkage between the U.S. ethanol market and developing countries’ maize prices: a panel SVAR analysis

The major expansion of U.S. ethanol production raises concerns about the potential detrimental impacts on developing countries’ agricultural prices, farm income, and food security. To assess the sensitivity of maize prices to ethanol production, this study explores the linkage between the U.S. ethanol market and developing countries’ maize prices. The econometric approach, based on a panel structural vector autoregression model, captures market interdependencies and the likelihood that developing countries’ responses are both heterogeneous and dynamic. The results indicate that the U.S. ethanol market's impacts on maize prices in developing countries are heterogeneous and that coastal countries are more susceptible to U.S. economic shocks. The estimates also suggest that countries more dependent on food imports and/or receiving U.S. food aid are at a higher risk of being affected by such shocks. Overall, the results indicate that those countries with the greatest sensitivity and exposure to global agricultural commodity markets could benefit from domestic policies and international assistance, which reduce their exposure to impacts from the U.S. maize market.     

Decarbonisation and wholesale electricity market design

In recent decades, many power systems have introduced electricity generator competition. Market designs have varied with some countries adopting ‘energy‐only’ markets and others utilising capacity remuneration mechanisms. With increasing deployment of cost competitive renewable energy and the introduction of policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, concerns are emerging about the sustainability of these market designs. In Australia, wholesale electricity prices have increased markedly – the result of a ‘disorderly’ transition away from coal to new renewable energy. This paper critically examines the ‘energy‐only’ market in a high‐penetration renewables system, with a particular focus on the vertically and horizontally restructured National Electricity Market (NEM). We propose that the ‘energy‐only’ market can indeed work within a decarbonised energy system. But as renewables increasingly replace coal‐fired power stations, ‘unintended consequences’ will need to be addressed to facilitate an ‘orderly’ transition. It will be important that policy ensures appropriate new investment in firm capacity is forthcoming; and pricing outcomes are acceptable given political economy constraints.     

A MODEL OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY

Several efforts have been made since 1980 to estimate the costs and benefits of the European Community's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This paper summarises the approach and method adopted in developing one such effort, which aims to provide results at country, commodity and interest group level both for the CAP as a whole, and for changes in it. Economic analysis of the effects of price changes in the CAP is carried out with the use of direct and crossprice elasticities of supply and demand for sixteen major commodities, using base levels of production, consumption, and gross trade flows in each member state, along with rest-of-world data. A number of CAP instruments, such as subsidies, levies, quotas and ‘green’ exchange rates, are built into the calculations and can be varied, along with support prices, to produce new situations in domestic markets and in world price levels. Both financial (budgetary) and welfare (economic surplus) effects of such exogenous price changes can be calculated. Certain policy changes, such as a move to ‘free’ markets, involve endogenous calculation of equilibrium prices. Trend projections subject to a priori constraints are used to produce results for years beyond the extent of data currently available. The types of model run commonly carried out are discussed, along with several strategic judgments that became necessary in carrying out the research. Finally, questions concerning the future development and use of the model are addressed.     

高水平开放下我国粮食安全的非传统挑战及政策转型

当前我国粮食安全已经迈入新的发展阶段,一方面国内的粮食安全保障程度处于历史最佳时期,另一方面农业对外开放也处于全球领先水平,国际粮食市场日益成为保障国内粮食供应的重要组成部分,但同时也为维护国家粮食安全带来了一系列前所未有的非传统压力和挑战,包括以高产量、高进口、高库存为代表的过度进口冲击粮食自给率的“想挡挡不住”、粮食生产国内支持政策与WTO国际规则存在一致性纷争的“想做不能做”、世界市场风险与贸易动荡加剧国际粮源不确定性的“想进有风险”,以及在全球粮食安全治理体系中的作用仍待加强的“想为难作为”。在新一轮高水平开放下,亟需转型思维、构建“三元平衡”的开放型国家粮食安全战略保障体系,积极推动我国粮食安全目标由产量导向向竞争力导向转型,农业国内支持政策设计由国内外分轨向内外对接转型,外部粮食市场与资源利用由单方自主开合向主动风险管控转型,主动参与全球粮食安全治理与制度变革,全面升级对内与对外的粮食安全治理能力。     

Modeling the Effects of Input Market Reforms on Fertiliser Demand and Maize Production: A Case Study from Kenya

Kenya is one of the few countries in Sub‐Saharan Africa to experience an impressive rise in fertiliser use following a series of input market reforms in the early 1990s. Two major consequences of these reforms were declining fertiliser marketing margins and distances between farmers and fertiliser dealers. We quantify the effects of these changes on commercial fertiliser use and maize production in Kenya by estimating fertiliser demand and maize supply response functions using nationwide household survey data. Our results indicate that between 1997 and 2010, the estimated 27% reduction in real fertiliser prices that can be attributed to falling marketing margins associated with market reforms led to a 36% increase in nitrogen use on maize fields and a 9% increase in maize production resulting from both yield and acreage effects. On the other hand, decreasing distances to fertiliser retailers from the perspective of a given household did not appear to raise fertiliser use or maize supply, although a comparison across households using average distances over the panel indicate that those closer to retailers do apply more fertiliser on their maize fields.     

A New System of Labour Management in African Large‐Scale Agriculture?

This paper applies a convention theory (CT) approach to the analysis of labour management systems in African large‐scale farming. The reconstruction of previous analyses of high‐value crop production on large‐scale farms in Africa in terms of CT suggests that, since 1980–95, labour management has moved from a ‘domestic’ to a ‘market’ system. However, data collected by the authors from a sample of 11 large‐scale rose farms in Kenya in 2011 (covering around 20% of national output) points to the adoption of systems that, in CT terms, combine ‘industrial’ and ‘civic’ elements. The paper concludes by suggesting a series of hypotheses that might explain this trend.     

新中国70年的农村养老保障:历史演进与现实困境

基于制度变迁和福利文化的相关理论,本文对我国农村养老保障70年的历史演进与现实困境进行了讨论。分析表明,70年来,我国农村养老保障体系主要经历了"传统家庭养老-集体养老-新型家庭养老-社会化养老"等四个阶段的演化过程。尽管我国养老保障体系的"二元"架构具备一定的历史合理性,但农村养老保障产品长期供给不足,引致养老保障体系的运行成本持续增长,进行城乡统筹的所谓"转轨"成本较高。市场化参与力量相对缺失,农村养老保障的多元主体供给体系难以构建。由于可能存在的"小农意识"和短视行为以及关于养老保险产品的悲观预期,农民群体的主动参与意愿相对不足,引致这一群体广泛参与的可持续的农村养老保障体系并未有效构建。     

农村公共品供给中的“市场包干制”：运作模式与实践逻辑

建设与分散小农户有效对接的公共品供给机制是乡村善治的关键命题。国家在外部监控的前提下将公共品供给事务承包给私人主体,生成了"市场包干制",它能够实现前台治理与后台治理的分离,形成了双层治理格局。市场机制能够通过激励清晰化实现服务专业化,而村社组织的支持能够降低协调成本,二者协同实现水利体系与分散小农的高效对接。由此可见,国家是公共品供给的第一责任主体,高效的公共品供给离不开国家的引导与支持;而市场机制具有调动积极性的优势,国家在有效监控的前提下利用市场机制的优势能够提高公共品供给效率。     

保障我国石油安全供应七大战略

保障石油供应安全成为当今世界各国能源战略的核心内容。文章结合我国石油需求流程图提出了保障我国石油安全供应的七大战略 :(1)加强国内石油资源的勘探开发力度 ,尤其是西部地区和海域 ;(2 )开发我国未动用 ,即低效益、高成本的石油储量 ;(3 )加快建立国家战略石油储备体系 ;(4 )尽早开辟国内石油期货市场 ,建立有利于进入国际市场的法规体系和监管体系 ;(5 )采用多种方式利用境外石油资源 ;(6)实行石油进口的多源化和多元化 ;(7)加快国内远洋运油船队的建设 ,促进运输方式的多元化。