江苏省农村金融发展与农民收入结构分析

基于江苏1988-2010年的数据,本文实证分析了江苏省农村金融发展与农民收入结构的关系:从长期来看,江苏农村金融发展规模、效率对农民家庭各项收入的增加都起到了正作用,农村金融发展效率对农民家庭经营性收入的贡献比较突出,而农村金融发展结构对农民家庭各项收入的增加起着较大的负作用;农民工资性收入、转移性及财产性收入的增长在短期内有利于农村金融发展结构的改善,但长期却相反。     

捐赠行为、政府干预与代理效率

本文分析了公司捐赠行为对代理效率的作用机理,发现捐赠支出越多越能缓解现金流用于管理者利己效用支出,代理效率越高、政府干预越少则市场化进程更高、代理效率越高;比较而言,政府干预少的地区企业捐赠支出更能提高代理效率,衰退期行业中同样的捐赠支出提升代理效率的功效有限;规模较小组中捐赠行为更容易被市场识别,规模较大组中捐赠行为更多地被视为一种社会责任。因此,捐赠支出有助于缓解自由现金流代理成本,有助于公司代理效率的改善;现实中捐赠减少现金流的同时提高了公司的代理效率和声誉,利于当前或未来公司价值的提升。     

Business Students' Choice of Short-Term or Long-Term Study Abroad Opportunities

Recent years have seen a proliferation of short-term study abroad opportunities. Although they are both supplementing and replacing semester-long study abroad programs, research has focused primarily on semester (long-term) programs. We draw on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explore factors that predict why students choose long-term and short-term programs. Results indicate that students perceive more social pressure to engage in short-term programs, and higher barriers limiting participation in long-term programs. All TPB factors significantly predicted students' intentions to study abroad in both short-term and long-term programs with one exception; perceived behavioral control did not significantly predict intentions to participate in short-term programs. These findings can be used to improve marketing of short-term and long-term programs by addressing student concerns specific to each type of program, potentially increasing the number of students choosing to study abroad.     

Consumer-Defined Attributes and Choice Methods for Fresh Produce Purchases in Australia

The aim of this research is to identify ways of increasing sales by understanding how household food buyers choose fresh produce items. Three hundred responses were obtained from a questionnaire randomly distributed in one city in Australia. Fresh produce items are frequent, low-value purchases. Their most important attributes are taste, price, and freshness, and the buyer choice method used for individual products varies from occasional “impulse” purchases to regular “planned” purchases of staples. With planned purchases some are seen as “destination” products whereas for others “substitutes” are available. In order to optimize sales, retail outlets should avoid becoming out-of-stock for destination products and co-locate substitute products. Sales may also be increased by displaying impulse products in prominent positions.     

Guanxi Networks,Buyer-Seller Relationships,and Farmers' Participation in Modern Vegetable Markets in China

The aim of this study is to investigate the joint effects of small-scale farmers’ guanxi networks and buyer-seller relationships on their marketing behavior in China. A survey of 167 vegetable farmers shows that farmers' guanxi networks have significant effect on trusting relationship building with buyers and on their investment behavior for transactional specific assets. Guanxi networks also help to improve farmers’ participation in modern high-value markets (e.g., supermarkets and international markets) and encourage relational transactions. Farmers’ modern market participation will be further enhanced by trusting buyer-seller relationships with buyers and complying with buyers' quality requirements. The application of formal contracts, on the other hand, is closely related to farmers’ trusting relationships with buyers and transactional specific assets for vegetable transactions. Some policy implications are discussed.     

两类农村居民点整治模式下农户整治意愿影响因素比较研究

研究目的：比较在宅基地置换和村庄归并两类农村居民点整治模式下农户整治意愿影响因素的异同,为制定差别化的农村居民点整治政策提供支持。研究方法：比较分析法,农户调查法,Logistic回归分析法。研究结果：宅基地置换模式下,年龄、人口数、房屋建筑年代、喜好房屋类型、政策认知状况以及对生活成本的接受程度是显著影响农户整治意愿的因素;村庄归并模式下,农业收入占比、宅基地面积、生态环境满意度、补偿方式和对生活成本的接受程度是显著影响农户整治意愿的因素;两类模式下,除对生活成本的接受程度是共同显著影响因素外,其他影响因素存在着较大的差别。研究结论：不同区域、不同经济发展水平下,不同农户的居民点整治意愿影响因素存在差异,新时期农村居民点整治的政策应着眼于各区域的客观实际,分区、分类推进,体现出差别化。     

我国惠农政策的成效评价及完善研究 ———以江西为例

以近5年来江西省惠农政策实施为例,系统分析各项惠农政策的具体实施过程、效果、存在问题及其原因,深入了解地方政府、农村集体、农户对惠农政策的期望,构建我国现阶段惠农政策实施成效评价的指标体系.在惠农政策的方案优化、惠农政策执行力度的强化、惠农政策的监督管理、惠农政策的评估与反馈等方面提出完善的对策与措施.     

Means-end chain analysis explains soil fertility management decisions by peri-urban vegetable growers in Kenya

Past studies of the use of soil fertility management strategies by farmers usually model input use decisions based on the neoclassical utility/profit maximization principle in which farmers use soil fertility management inputs primarily to increase revenues and profits. However, there is, to date, no study that explains exactly how this decision-making process occurs and the role which personal values play in driving the choice of soil fertility management inputs. This article systematically maps the relationship between choice of soil fertility management strategy (attributes), its outcomes (consequences) and the personal values that motivate the choice. It specifically uses the means-end chain approach to construct hierarchical value maps that relate the attributes to consequences, and ultimately to the personal values. The study finds that the use of soil fertility management strategies by peri-urban fresh vegetable growers is driven by five personal values, namely happiness, comfortable life, independence, good/healthy life and achievement of life goals. It also finds that while farmers seek to increase profit (hence incomes), profit maximization is not the end driver of the use of soil fertility management inputs. It concludes that a lot more goes into farmers’ decision-making process relating to the use of soil fertility management practices than can be explained by the neoclassical profit/utility maximization principle. The study discusses the policy implications of these findings.     

Research,development and scaling-up the adoption of fodder shrub innovations in East Africa

Smallholder farmers in developing countries face numerous limitations that hinder them from embracing improved agricultural practices and innovations with great potential for meaningful transformations of livelihoods. Consequently, farmers continue living in vicious cycles of poverty despite decades of government and donor expenditures on poverty alleviation. In the last two decades, research and development organizations collaborated in testing and validating selected fodder shrub species as reliable sources of less expensive and easily available protein feeds. With minimal interventions, the research findings have great potential to improve productivity for many smallholder farmers. Tested species include Calliandra calothyrsus, Leucaena spp., Chamaecytisus palmensis, Sesbania sesban, Morus alba and Gliricidia sepium. Dissemination and adoption surveys estimated that 205,000 smallholder farmers (40–50 per cent being women) had planted fodder shrubs by 2005. Currently, fodder shrubs contribute US$3.8 million annually to farmers' incomes and estimated potential annual income is US$81 million. Factors associated with success in fodder scaling-up include deliberate involvement of fodder technology champions, collective action in community mobilization and project implementation, pluralistic extension approaches, sustainable germplasm supply systems, broader partnerships and civil society campaigns. Constraints and challenges include: ineffective delivery of extension and research services, inhibitive policies, political interferences, frequent droughts and inadequate monitoring and evaluation systems.     

Testing assumptions underlying economic research on transgenic food crops for Third World farmers: Evidence from Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico

Transgenic crop varieties (TGVs) are being promoted as essential for improving small-scale Third World (SSTW) agriculture. Most economic research on this topic makes critical, untested assumptions, including that farmers will choose TGVs over other varieties because TGVs are economically optimal and because farmers are risk neutral profit maximizers. We tested these assumptions using data from a survey of 334 farmers in 6 communities in Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico in which farmers ranked 4 real and hypothetical maize varieties for eating and sowing. Our results did not support these assumptions. Most farmers preferred farmer varieties for sowing and especially for eating, avoiding TGVs, a preference associated with being risk averse and with non-monetary preferences. Farmers more integrated into modern agriculture were more likely to choose TGVs. These results suggest that farmers most in need of support and most important for conserving genetic diversity are least favorable toward TGVs, and that alternative ways of improving SSTW agriculture should receive more attention.