Developing the e-commerce sector for the fishery industry: What business are we really in?

In this study, we use the theory of the marketing firm to explain marketing relationships between consumers and firms selling fish in the context of developing the e-commerce sector for the fishery industry. We use a unique dataset composed of quantitative and qualitative data to provide a behavioral economic analysis and interpretation. The results reveal interdependent managerial and consumer behavioral relationships, indicating the presence of bilateral contingencies. The results also provide some indication of the theory of transaction cost, where cost-intensive activities are likely to be internalized within marketing firms selling fish.     

Policies to promote cereal intensification in Ethiopia: The search for appropriate public and private roles

Over the past decade, policymakers have been searching for an appropriate blend of public and private sector roles to accelerate the intensification of food staple production, smallholder commercialization, and sustainable market development in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, steps taken to liberalize markets in the 1990s and promote fertilizer and seed packages have yet to generate payoffs in terms of higher cereal yields, lower food prices, or reduced dependency on food aid. This raises concern about the performance of the agricultural sector, specifically in terms of the systems for providing improved seed, fertilizer, credit, and extension services. This paper examines the evolving roles of the public and private sectors in intensifying cereal production in Ethiopia. Findings suggest that while Ethiopia has an admirable record of supporting agriculture, its state-led policies has now outlived their usefulness. These findings for Ethiopia offer lessons that are potentially applicable to other sub-Saharan African countries facing similar challenges.     

Impacts of the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia on livestock and tree holdings of rural households

We evaluated the impacts of the Ethiopian Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) on rural households' holdings of livestock and forest assets/trees. We found no indication that participation in PSNP induces households to disinvest in livestock or trees. In fact, households that participated in the program increased the number of trees planted, but there was no increase in their livestock holdings. We found no strong evidence that the PSNP protects livestock in times of shock. Shocks appear to lead households to disinvest in livestock, but not in trees. Our results suggest that there is increased forestry activity as a result of PSNP, and that improved credit access encourages households to increase their livestock holdings.     

Public assistance and job search behavior of the rural poor-evidence from the mississippi delta

This study explores whether prolonged welfare experience reduces the job search commitment of the unemployed. More specifically, an attempt is made to determine whether participation in a government assistance program induces the unemployed to prolong their job search activities, either through reduced search effort or by asking a higher reservation (acceptance) wage. The data were obtained from a semistructured interview with 120 food stamp recipients participating in a pilot workfare project in Coahoma County, Mississippi. The interview questionnaire was designed to elicit the degree to which there was a relationship between welfare use and commitment to job search activities. The most important finding of the study was that in at least one economically depressed community, extended participation in a public assistance program did not appear to have a significant impact on the job search behavior of the unemployed. However, as important as this finding is, the small size of the sample and the uniqueness of the county (77 percent black) limit the applicability of the results to other rural communities across the nation. Therefore, there is a need to replicate and expand the study, utilizing a much larger sample representing a cross section of the counties in Mississippi and elsewhere in the United States.     

Does good governance matter for FDI inflows? Evidence from Asian economies

This paper examines the effects of the six components of good governance on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 15 Asian economies for the period 1996–2007 using a fixed effect model for panel data with heteroskedasticity corrected standard errors. The study also employs the feasible general least square (FGLS) and Prais-Winstein panel estimation methods in order to check the consistency of the results with the fixed effect model. The empirical results reveal that of the six components of good governance, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, rule of law, and control of corruption are the key determinants of FDI inflows, as they exhibit consistent results under different models. However, the study finds no significant evidence with voice and accountability and regulatory quality in FDI inflows. The study reveals that human capital, infrastructure, lending rate, and GDP growth rate also have a significant influence on FDI inflows. We conclude that a country which can enhance its governance environment in general is likely to attract more foreign direct investment despite offsetting deficiencies in other dimensions of good governance such as voice and accountability and regulatory quality.     

Determinants and spatial variability of after-school travel by teenagers

This research work targeted teenagers to investigate after-school travel patterns and factors affecting their modal choice characteristics in Okinawa, Japan, where teenagers are not allowed to drive. The analysis is based on the cross-sectional data collected for discrete choice modeling of students’ travel in the prefecture. In this study, high school students’ trips from school to home have been analysed using a multinomial logit model. This has revealed the impact of individual, modal, and spatial variables on the mode choice decisions and return trip patterns. A comparative analysis made of downtown and suburb schools exposed differences in travel patterns induced by spatial factors and some existing constraints in modal choice options.     

Productivity effects of land rental market operation in Ethiopia: evidence from a matched tenant–landlord sample

As countries increasingly strive to transform their economies from agriculture‐based into a diversified one, land rental will become of greater importance. It will thus be critical to complement research on the efficiency of specific land rental arrangements such as sharecropping with an inquiry into the broader productivity impacts of the land rental market. Plot‐level data for a matched landlord–tenant sample in an environment where sharecropping dominates allow us to explore both issues. We find that pure output sharing leads to significantly lower levels of efficiency that can be attenuated by monitoring while the inefficiency disappears if inputs are shared as well. Rentals transfer land to more productive producers but realization of this productivity advantage is prevented by the inefficiency of contractual arrangements, suggesting changes that would prompt adoption of different contractual arrangements could have significant benefits.     

Food versus fuel: examining tradeoffs in the allocation of biomass energy sources to domestic and productive uses in Ethiopia

Rural households in Ethiopia have limited options to meet their domestic energy needs because they lack access to modern fuels and technologies. Domestic use of certain fuel sources, such as cow dung, can hinder agricultural outcomes and productivity. This article explores the tradeoffs between domestic and productive uses of biomass energy sources in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia using a nonseparable farm household model where labor allocation to energy collection and farming are analyzed simultaneously. We estimate a system of five structural equations using three‐stage least squares and find that the use of dung as a domestic fuel source has negative implications for the value of harvested crops, while use of on‐farm fuelwood is associated with increased value of agricultural output. On‐farm production of fuelwood appears to increase the value of crop output and provide labor savings, by making fuelwood collection more convenient for households. Policy interventions to support the expansion of agroforestry and increase access to new energy‐efficient technologies are needed to ensure that agricultural productivity can be both increased and sustained.     

Linking Consumers’ Food Choice Motives to their Preferences for Insect‐based Food Products: An Application of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model in an African Context

Consumers’ attitudes, perceptions, personalities and motives play important roles in shaping their food choices. These factors are not fully observed by analysts, so they should be treated as latent variables. A number of economic studies treat such variables as direct measures of consumers’ food choice behaviour, even though this might introduce measurement error and endogeneity bias. We investigate the latent link between consumers’ preferences and food choice motives (FCMs) in an African context. We use an integrated choice and latent variable (ICLV) model specification for data analysis to recognise the latent nature of the FCMs and address the measurement and bias problems. The data originate from an incentivised discrete choice experiment conducted in Kenya to elicit consumers’ preferences for insect‐based foods. Our findings show that consumers’ preferences and choices are influenced by their latent motivational orientation. The results illustrate the benefit of the ICLV approach in accounting for consumers’ latent preference constructs in food choice and valuation research.