A diagrammatic analysis of the market for cruising taxis

A diagrammatic approach is used to study the characteristics of the cruising taxi market. For cost modeling, both taxi operator and passenger are taken as service producers. The former provides his vehicle operation and the latter, his waiting and travel time. Market demand is defined as a function of generalized price. It is shown that under short and long run conditions a unique equilibrium exists for a deregulated industry and it corresponds to a monopolistic competition. The relations among the free market equilibrium, social optimum and second best solution are analyzed. Regulations are studied in order to find their social convenience.     

Do Small Farmers Borrow Less When the Lending Rate Increases? Interest Rate Elasticity of Rice Farmers in the Philippines*

The new generation of credit programs directed at small borrowers emphasizes financial sustainability. Based on anecdotal information, proponents of cost recovery claim that raising formal lending rates would have a minimal impact on borrowing. However, rigorous evidence for this conjecture is sparse. The present study conducts an econometric test of this conjecture using data from a survey of small rice farmers from the Philippines. Alternative regression techniques tend to reject the conjecture; in particular, a regression that controls for selection effects shows a unitary elastic response of formal borrowing to the lending rate.     

Priority setting for research on aquatic resources: an application of modified economic surplus analysis to natural resource systems

In contrast to research on farming systems, research on natural resource systems seldom applies rigorous priority setting techniques, mainly due to difficulties associated with estimating research impact ex ante for such systems. This article presents a replicable approach to priority setting that addresses these difficulties. Assessment is based on multiple criteria, combining economic surplus analysis with subjective scoring, based on information drawn from a cross‐country survey of expert opinion. The approach is applied to the WorldFish Center, a global agricultural research organization focusing on living aquatic resources, both farmed and wild. The exercise demonstrates the relevance of conventional evaluation techniques to fisheries research based on a practical application of its impact pathways.