ETHICS AND EXTERNALITIES: AGRICULTURAL STEWARDSHIP AND OTHER BEHAVIOUR: PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

Neo classical micro-economic theory of the firm and household rests on the foundations of profit maximising and utility maximising behaviour respectively. This paper explores the issue of whether market efficiency can be improved when economic agents' behaviour is motivated by ethical objectives such as fairness and altruism. In particular the paper examines agricultural stewardship as an ethically motivated form of behaviour, which is profit sacrificing, but which improves economic efficiency by reducing environmental externalities. The paper also reiterates the limitations of Pareto optimality as a criterion of economic welfare because its rejection of interpersonal welfare comparisons rules out ethical considerations of income and wealth distribution.     

Short supply chain participation and market performance for vegetable farmers in China

The fresh food supply chain in China has begun to reduce the number of intermediaries that connect producers and consumers. Using farm‐level data, this paper investigates the impacts of short supply chain participation on vegetable farmers’ market performance, including profits, productivity, production cost, price and price risk. The results show that the participation in a short supply chain is a profit‐maximising strategy and risk management tool for farmers. The increase in profit is attributed to productivity advantages, farm size expansion, and risk reduction rather than because of price premiums or cost savings. A policy implication is that short supply chain promotion has many benefits, but the government should be more concerned about the sustainability of short supply chains.     

Climate change impacts on investment in crop sowing machinery*

A model of investment in crop sowing machinery is applied to wheat production under current and projected climatic conditions at several locations in south‐western Australia. The model includes yield responses to time of sowing at each location given current and projected climatic conditions. These yield relationships are based on wheat growth simulation modelling that in turn draws on data from a down‐scaled global circulation model. Wheat price distributions and cost of production data at each location, in combination with the time of sowing yield relationships are used to determine a farmer's optimal investment in crop sowing work rate under each climate regime. The key finding is that the impacts of climate change on profit distributions are often marked, yet mostly modest changes in investment in work rate form part of the profit‐maximising response to climate change. The investment response at high versus low rainfall locations mostly involves increases and decreases in work rates, respectively. However, changes to investment in work rate within a broadly similar rainfall region are not always uniform. The impacts of climate change on investments in work rate at a particular location are shown to require knowledge of several factors, especially how climate change alters the pattern of yield response to the time of sowing at that location.     

Input Controls,Input Substitution and Profit Maximisation in the English Channel Beam Trawl Fishery

Studies of input substitution in fisheries have tended to focus on substitution between physical inputs and/or time fished. However, input controls may create incentives for substitution of other inputs into the production process. For example, fishers faced with constraints on access to particular areas of the fishery may substitute physical inputs for fishing location. This was the case with the UK beam trawl fishery in the English Channel. Constraints were imposed on access to particular areas of the fishery through restrictions on engine power. This created incentives for a number of fishers to reduce their engine power to meet the conditions of the input control. The relative contribution of the boat inputs and location in the production process and the potential for substitution were examined using a translog production function. The results suggested that the apparent input substitution was consistent with profit maximising behaviour.     

The changing landscape of Indian agriculture

In tracking the revolutionary changes in the Indian agricultural sector, it is quite clear that technology, institutions, and markets have had a very important role to play. Of course, the public sector played a pivotal and catalytic role when India ushered in the Green Revolution in late 1960s and early 1970s. The public sector imported new seeds, organized their distribution and demonstration, and provided price and market support, all “not‐for‐profit.” The cooperative sector, supported and facilitated by the government, again with the spirit of “not‐for‐profit,” helped bring in the White Revolution in milk through Operation Flood in 1970s and 1980s. This spirit is now being gradually replaced by “for‐profit” objective driven by the private sector, as is demonstrated in the revolutionary changes brought about by the introduction of Bacillus thuringiensis technology in the cotton sector during 2002–2007. On top of this, the corporate sector is also changing the complexion of the Indian agrisystem through notable changes in organized food processing and retailing. This change in spirit from “not‐for‐profit” to “for‐profit” in the growth process of Indian agriculture has significant implications for the concept of CISS, i.e., competitiveness, inclusiveness, sustainability, and scalability, which needs to be studied carefully and in detail. Accordingly, this article traces some of these dynamic changes and their likely implications.     

福建省县域乡村旅游竞争力评价

[目的]乡村旅游是现代旅游业发展的重要组成部分,县域单元是乡村旅游业的主要空间载体。以福建省84个县域单元为研究对象,在参考旅游竞争力相关研究的基础上,构建乡村旅游竞争力评价指标体系。[方法]采用主成分分析法进行定量分析,并在此基础上利用Geoda软件进行空间可视化和探索性空间分析。[结果]研究显示:福建省县域乡村旅游竞争力空间近邻效应十分明显,竞争力水平相似的县在空间上呈集聚分布态势;乡村旅游竞争力空间分布极不平衡,沿海地区明显高于内陆地区,二元结构明显;市场潜力竞争力空间分布与综合竞争力空间分布高度耦合,说明市场区位条件在乡村旅游开发中的作用显著;自身开发能力、农业资源特色、人文旅游资源、旅游知名度竞争力的优势区和劣势区呈零星分散分布。[结论]如何扬长避短,以县域为单元打造各具特色的乡村旅游产业集群、塑造乡村旅游整体品牌和客源市场的共享是提升整体竞争力的有效途径。     

中国木浆造纸产业国际竞争力评价与发展对策研究

分析了中国木浆造纸产业国际竞争力发展条件以及进出口贸易基本现状,以产品国际贸易竞争指数、产品平均贸易价格、产业和企业平均利润率水平为指标体系,定量评价中国制浆造纸行业连续11年的国际贸易竞争能力及变化趋势。研究认为,中国木浆造纸业产品国际贸易竞争能力较弱。在评价基础上,从体制、技术、管理等方面,提出了发展中国木浆造纸产业国际竞争力的对策建议。     

传统村落旅游竞争力的可视化模拟与分析——以古徽州为例

目的 全面评估传统村落旅游发展的基础及阶段性特征，是有效引导农旅融合、农民创收和农居焕新的重要路径。方法 文章以古徽州4批次124个国家级传统村落为研究对象，从5个维度构建传统村落旅游竞争力评价指标体系，运用AHP法和EVM法对旅游竞争力进行综合评价。并在此基础上，对传统村落的旅游竞争力进行可视化模拟，全面探讨不同视角、不同方向下传统村落旅游竞争力的空间差异性特征。结果 基于非参数空间统计方法，既能较好地刻画旅游竞争力整体分布的规律性和局部空间异质性，又能优化样点数据的评估误差。结论 总体上看古徽州传统村落旅游竞争力总体处于中等水平，其旅游市场环境、相关配套设施、文化物质环境较好；传统村落旅游竞争力呈现出圈层化的分布格局，北部以徽州区为主、南部以婺源东部地区为主的两大核心区已然形成；各侧视图的空间形态以及典型方向的剖切线，均呈现出明显的“中心—边缘”的空间梯度分布态势，同时也表现出空间上的跳跃和突变。     

Efficiency estimation in a profit maximising model using flexible production function

This paper uses a flexible (translog) production function to estimate efficiency of 227 farms from West Bengal, India. We consider estimation of technical and allocative inefficiencies using a profit maximising framework which accommodates both endogenous and exogenous inputs. The maximum likelihood method of estimation developed in this paper is based on the production function and the first-order conditions of profit maximisation. Farm-specific technical and allocative inefficiencies are also estimated. Empirical results show that the mean level of technical efficiency is 75.46% while the best farm is 85.87% efficient (technically). So far as allocative efficiency is concerned the majority of the farms are found to be under-users of the endogenous inputs, viz., fertiliser, manure, human and bullock labour.     

MARKETING COOPERATIVES IN MIXED DUOPOLIES

This paper analyses a market in which agents with different ownership structures compete with each other by simultaneously choosing quantities. In the first part of the paper, the government can choose to support the formation of a marketing cooperative by a group of farmers, or to establish a public marketing firm. The resulting market structures will thus be a duopoly of one marketing cooperative and one private wholesaler, or a mixed duopoly including a public firm. The equilibrium outcomes of the two market arrangements are analysed and the welfare implications compared. It is shown that both consumers' surplus and total welfare are higher in a mixed duopoly with public firm than in a mixed duopoly with cooperative, which is in turn socially superior to a pure private duopoly. In the second part, agents' incentives with regard to choice of ownership structure are discussed and analysed in a two-stage game.     

Technical efficiency and farm size: a conditional analysis

The relationship between technical efficiency and size might be affected by farm heterogeneity. We analyse this relationship conditional on a set of control variables. These control variables are chosen using a production model where technical efficiency is introduced as a parameter. As a result, technical efficiency affects both the input demand and the output supply of a profit maximising producer. The empirical application explores these issues using panel data of dairy farms in Spain.     

THE DETERMINATION OF OPTIMAL RATIONS FOR PIGS FED SEPARATED MILK AND GRAIN*

This paper demonstrates a procedure for determining economically optimal rations which avoids problems that arise in conventional analysis of experimental results. It consists of maximising a suitably constrained profit per unit time objective function, itself formed from functions obtained from pig fattening experiments under special Australian conditions. The relevant functions-for consumption of milk and wheat, time to slaughter and percentage lean meatare first demonstrated, followed by a brief discussion of results obtained. Specifcally, it is noted that optimal diets differ according to whether the criterion adopted is profit per pig or profit per pig per week, that dairy farmers fattening pigs should feed substantial quantities of grain, and that the optimal diets are very stable to changing prices. More generally, the procedure avoids the statistical difficulties of conventional analysis of experiments arising from the estimation of weight-gain functions based on actual quantities of food consumed.     

发展新疆农牧民专业合作经济组织的思考

新疆农牧民专业合作经济组织的发展可以提高农牧民组织化程度,增强新疆农产品的市场竞争力,加快农业产业化进程,促进新疆农村经济社会全面协调发展,对于建设社会主义新农村具有重要意义。它是建设现代农业、改善农村金融服务、落实支农惠农政策、维护农民合法权益、增强农业竞争力、加强民族团结,稳定与发展边疆的需要。     

杭州都市圈县域旅游竞争力的空间格局分析

县域旅游是区域经济发展的重要组成部分。本文通过构建县域旅游竞争力评价指标体系,运用层次分析法确定各指标权重,对杭州都市圈20个县(市、区)旅游竞争力水平进行定量评价。结果表明:杭州都市圈各县(市、区)旅游竞争力存在较大差距,在空间上呈现出旅游竞争力从杭州主城区周边向外逐渐减弱的趋势。从子系统来看,旅游市场竞争力较强的县(市、区)主要分布在各主城区周边;旅游要素竞争力在杭州都市圈的分布比较均衡;旅游环境竞争力集聚程度比较高,主要集中于杭州主城区周边;旅游发展潜力较强的县(市、区)主要集中于杭州都市圈的西北部地区以及淳安县和诸暨市。     

国土空间规划管制、地方政府竞争与区域经济发展——来自湖北省县（市、区）域的经验研究

研究目的:实证检验国土空间规划管制对区域经济发展的影响及其作用机制。研究方法:在对国土空间规划管制影响区域经济发展机理分析的基础上,提出本文的研究假说,并基于湖北省82个县(市、区)域单元2002—2015年的统计数据,运用中介效应模型加以检验。研究结果:国土空间被管制强度越高的区域,其地方政府可以运作的土地要素就越少,则该地区地方政府在发展区域经济竞赛中的竞争力就越弱,进而其经济发展水平就相应较低,与国土空间被管制强度较弱区域的经济发展差距逐渐拉大。研究结论:在中国把国土空间规划上升为国家战略的时代背景下,为协调区域经济的均衡发展,应建立起管制弱化区域和管制强化区域之间的横向财政转移支付机制和土地发展权交易市场,使不同区域均能享受到国土空间优化带来的福利提升。     

THE OPTIMAL CHOICE OF A VARIETY OF A SPECIES FOR VARIABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

When yields of a variety are a non-linear function of a relevant environmental condition, variability of this condition affects the average level of yields, and may favour one variety in comparison to another. When the yield function is strictly concave (exhibits diminishing marginal yield as a function of the environmental condition), heightened environmental variability increases the likelihood of the variety with the smallest change in marginal yield, the more tolerant one, maximising yield on average. However, if the yield function is strictly convex (increasing marginal yields are the case) increased environmental variability raises the likelihood of the variety with the greatest change in marginal yield, the less tolerant one, maximising yields on average. Examples are given, and simple rules are stated for choosing the variety that maximises average yields when yield functions are quadratic. The analysis can be adapted to decision-making in which average profit or expected utility, rather than average yield, is to be maximised.     

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.     

How to assess the impact of hope on a change in the use of land on market value?

This article is devoted to common yet quite specific approaches to valuation practice tasks that are involved in determining the market value of real properties in areas of possible land use changes. An intrinsic element of market value in such areas is the hope value, for which an option pricing model is used quite frequently.The authors propose a specially adapted Samuelson-McKean model for this task, which allows market value indication to be determined not only with the built-in development option, but also the dynamics of its components value in the current highest and best use and hope value – depending on the location of the given property. The greatest advantage of the Samuelson-McKean model is that it can be treated as universal for analyzing the range of possible indications of market value seeing as how its main task is to find a compromise between the interests of the buyer and the seller, which is the goal of any fair transactions and decisions.     

A bioeconomic model for Hooker’s sea lion bycatch in New Zealand*

The New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries constrains the incidental capture of Hooker’s sea lions in trawl nets of the southern squid fishery by closing the season once an upper limit on sea lion deaths is reached. The regulatory measure is in fact a limit on effort because the number of sea lion deaths is calculated from an estimated mortality rate per standard unit of effort measured in tows. During recent years, vessels have been observed to increase the median time per tow, suggesting that the industry is expanding the capacity of an unregulated input in response. This paper formalises the current situation analytically by constructing a bioeconomic model that captures the idiosyncrasies of the squid fishery and the imposed regulation. Reducing the regulatory constraint to an isoperimetric problem can show how the current management regime may skew incentives leading to the observed increase in tow time. An extension to the current regulatory framework by introducing a spatial dimension to the estimated sea lion mortality rate may lead to more efficient behaviour. Despite retaining an upper limit on sea lion deaths, the profit‐maximising squid industry is given the incentive to increase effort in areas of high squid density relative to sea lion density.     

基于钻石模型的奶粉国际竞争力分析

随着经济社会发展,近年来我国乳品加工业取得较快发展,其中奶粉生产、消费均呈现出更快增长态势。但是,在奶粉贸易市场上,我国进口奶粉却逐渐扩大,出口奶粉处于低位。针对奶粉净进口量呈扩大趋势的热点问题,运用奶粉国际市场占率、贸易竞争指数及竞争优势指数进行测算,结果发现中国奶粉与新西兰、欧盟等世界主要奶业强国在国际竞争上存在较大的差距,且近年来竞争力有继续下降的趋势。新西兰在奶粉竞争力处于一家独大的优势,无论是国际市场占有率、贸易竞争指数及显示性竞争优势指数,均处于领先地位。法国、德国、澳大利亚等国在国际上还保有一定的竞争地位,但由于市场份额被新西兰等国挤占,近年来有逐步下滑态势。面对这一严峻形势,运用波特的钻石竞争理论,从资源因素、需求条件、辅助产业、企业战略及政策带来的机遇、挑战等方面进行比较,对中国奶粉不具有国际竞争力进行原因分析。总的来看,中国奶粉需求增长潜力大,但限于资源紧缺,奶源生产增长压力大,国外奶粉生产国生产成本明显低于国内,奶粉面临国际市场的竞争力较大。最后,提出挖掘奶源生产潜力,根据区域不同资源禀赋,找出适合的养殖模式,充分利用资源,提高生产效率;要重新建立消费信心,通过奶业品牌的建立与质量安全监管,增强消费信心;还要充分利用好"两个市场与两种资源",鼓励奶粉加工企业走出去引进来,从交流合作中提升自身竞争力;同时,要尊重市场规律,把握贸易政策调控等力度;最终实现提高我国奶粉的国际竞争力目的,让中国人的奶瓶子掌握在中国人自己手里。