An error correction almost ideal demand system for meat in Greece

This paper represents a dynamic specification of the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) based on recent developments on cointegration techniques and error correction models. Based on Greek meat consumption data over the period 1958–1993, it was found that the proposed formulation performs well on both theoretical and statistical grounds, as the theoretical properties of homogeneity and symmetry are supported by the data and the LeChatelier principle holds. Regardless of the time horizon, beef and chicken may be considered as luxuries while mutton‐lamb and pork as necessities. In the short‐run, beef was found to have price elastic demand, pork an almost unitary elasticity, whereas mutton‐lamb, chicken and sausages had inelastic demands; in the long‐run, beef, and pork were found to have a demand elasticity greater than one, whereas mutton‐lamb, chicken, and sausages still had inelastic demands. All meat items are found to be substitutes to each other except chicken and mutton‐lamb, and pork and chicken.     

Biodiversity crime and economic crisis: Hidden mechanisms of misuse of ecosystem goods in Greece

The paper presents the case of biodiversity misuse in urban and rural areas of Greece during the years of economic recession (2008–2019). The hypothesis addressed is that if fiscal crisis and economic recession lead to biodiversity misuse, then, even strong conservation strategies such as those allegedly implemented in developed countries may not be resilient to macro-economic shocks. Empirical data and official statistics are combined in an interpretive way. Mechanisms that enable criminal misuse of biotic resources in protected areas, forests and coastal areas of the country are defined and quantified through specific examples of illegal hunting, logging and fishing. They are defined as the Active Sampling effect, the Market De-concentration effect and the Underground Market effect of crisis. Such crime enablers are not, most likely, country-level singularities; they can be generalized both through their trans-boundary effects and in view of their interference with international conservation strategy and Law.     

Defining agri-environmental schemes in the buffer areas of a natural regional park: An application of choice experiment using the latent class approach

Buffer areas can be created for improving the sustainable management of Protected Areas (PAs). These areas differ in their governance both from the park and from the rest of the territory.In the present study, we used choice experiments for identifying a set of political environmental measures to be applied in the buffer areas of the Trasimeno Regional Park (Region of Umbria). Particularly, we focused our attention on the role played by the farmers in those areas. We used choice experiments in a planning context, highlighting their ability to elicit the preferences of a group of producers and to identify several classes with different orientations, through the Latent Class Approach. We individuated classes of farmers with very different preferences about the possible measures to be applied in the contiguous areas. Our work provides two interesting indications for park management: the interest of some farmers in creating contiguous areas for the Trasimeno Park and the opportunity for policy makers to propose very different measures because farmers’ interests are not uniform.     

Food Demand in Mexico: An Application of the Amemiya-Tobin Approach to the Estimation of a Censored Food System

The modeling of micro-level food demand patterns requires not only allowing for household heterogeneity, but also addressing the problem of censoring. In this article, we present a variation of the Amemiya-Tobin framework for estimating a censored demand system that allows for household heterogeneity. The unique aspect of our approach is the use of a procedure that ensures the adding up of both latent and observed expenditure shares and also imposes expenditure share nonnegativity. This system is applied to an analysis of food demand based on a random sample of urban Mexican households.     

Agricultural decline and sustainable development on mountain areas in Greece: Sustainability assessment of future scenarios

Agricultural decline may pose an important threat to mountain biodiversity but it also constitutes a driving force of socio-economic transformation. The aim of this study is to investigate the implications of alternative agricultural policy scenarios on the sustainable development of Greek mountain areas using a case study approach (Zagori region, Greece). Two agricultural policy scenarios were explored and assessed against a list of sustainability objectives. Causal relationships among drivers of changes and sustainability objectives were explored using Network Analysis. Our analysis has shown that agricultural liberalisation is expected to have devastating effects on the development of the area and it was strongly opposed as an alternative future by the local stakeholders. The analysis of the driver's causal relationship has also revealed that in order to ensure the sustainable development of the area it is necessary to sustain low input extensive farming, to promote mild tourism development and to enhance the operational efficiency of the National Park. Moreover, in order to reconcile agricultural decline, biodiversity and sustainable development, policy-management recommendations must be drawn at multiple administrative levels and complementary policy interventions within and between levels are required. It is thus, important that EU agricultural policies are complemented by national-regional interventions in order to regulate the fragile balance between agriculture and tourism. Finally, this study has shown that the combination of scenario analysis and sustainability assessment can provide an efficient tool to inform management strategies for sustainable development.     

Effects of consumer cohorts and age on meat expenditures in the United States

Meat demand is likely influenced by the birth cohort and age of the individual. In this study, we examine the demand for beef, pork, poultry, and other meat in the United States using the 1984–2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey and the almost ideal demand system with the incorporation of age, period, and cohort (APC) effects. We find that the model with APC effects performs better than the models without APC effects. The results indicate that cohorts born in earlier time periods are expected to purchase significantly less poultry compared to cohorts born in later time periods, when they are measured at the same age. Over the life cycle, purchase of poultry is expected to increase with age while the opposite is true for red meat. We also find that the own-price elasticity for beef is highest among the products examined, while the own-price elasticity for other meat is lowest and the inclusion of APC effects increases the absolute value of the own-price elasticities for beef, pork, and poultry, but reduces the own-price elasticity for other meat. Our forecasts indicate that the aggregate poultry purchase will continue to increase until 2022, while the aggregate purchase of red meat will slightly increase until 2017, but will either decrease or stay at same level from year 2017 to 2022.     

Modeling differentiated quality standards in the agri-food sector: the case of meat trade in the enlarged EU

Quality standards play an increasingly important role in international agri-food trade, and their functioning as nontariff barriers to trade is widely discussed. We argue that food quality standards imposed by importing countries are more than just border measures and can have profound effects on the market structure of the exporting industry, thereby significantly influencing the supply response. We develop a stylized oligopoly model that accounts for compliance costs (fixed and variable) and investigate alternative policy options to explore different mechanisms an importing county may use to enhance the quality of its imports. The model explicitly recognizes the coexistence of complying and noncomplying firms, which is a situation often found in low-income countries where a small modern export-oriented segment invests in meeting foreign quality standards. We use the adjustment of the Polish meat sector to the tight EU food quality standards as an empirical example. The simulations show that a subsidy scheme can promote compliance with standards and can contribute to an upgrade of the industry in the exporting country, but its marginal effectiveness is diminishing.     

On the origins of tourist urbanisation in Greece: Land speculation and property market (in)efficiency

This paper places issues of land speculation and property market efficiency within the limited geographical context of a tourist-agglomeration development process in the island of Rhodes, Greece. The study is based mainly on the elaboration of diachronic cadastral data, covering the period from the very beginning of the tourism development in what as of a formerly an agricultural area, until its establishment as an international mass tourist destination. The economic and financial dimensions of land speculation on market efficiency are explored, through a socio-economic perspective. Land property ownership structures, state policies and bank financing practices have produced synergies that encouraged land speculation, with ambivalent effects on space, property markets and tourist activities. Finally, it is argued that land speculation may be regarded as a socially embedded rational action, which leads to an overall inefficient land market.     

基于人口统计变量的林业专业合作组织成员满意度差异性研究

通过对云南省263个林业专业合作组织成员的问卷调查,应用T值检验和单因素方差分析等方法,分析了人口统计变量对林业专业合作组织成员满意度的影响。实证研究结果表明:⑴人口统计变量是影响林业专业合作组织成员满意度的重要变量,但对满意度各维度的影响存在差异性;⑵林业专业合作组织成员年龄与民主满意度呈正相关关系;⑶与组织领导、专业大户和村干部相比,无论是民主满意度、服务满意度还是分配满意度,一般农户的满意度最低;⑷社龄与服务满意度显著负相关,与分配满意度显著正相关。     

Valuing the benefits of an urban park project: A contingent valuation study in Thessaloniki,Greece

This paper aims to estimate the non-market benefits derived from the potential development of a new urban park in the city of Thessaloniki (Greece). The city of Thessaloniki has up to now a very low rate of proportional green space per capita. On this context a large metropolitan park was announced, as part of a large-scale redevelopment project, but the final decision has not been made yet. In order to help policy makers to their final decision, an ex-ante valuation of the potential benefits of the park is carried out in this study. A contingent valuation survey was designed and implemented aiming to estimate the willingness to pay of local residents for the provision of this park, as well as to determine the spatial scale at which these values are assessed. The main finding of this study is that people living within 20 min from the reference site are willing to contribute a significant amount of money to support this project. Another interesting outcome is that the willingness to pay for this project was not considerably modified during a period of economic recession (2010–2013), which is mainly due to the growing public awareness of the importance of green spaces, as well as of the benefits of the planned park.     

A study on the influence of land institution on state-building in South Korea: Human resources

Since Korea was divided, conflict has continued between South and North Korea. However, preparation for the reunification of Korea needs to be considered consistently. Prior to this reunification, it is advisable to analyse the process of state-building in South Korea immediately following the liberation from Japanese colonial rule because this could be the foundation of the reunification of Korea. Meanwhile, land institution seems to have an influence on the process of state-building. Land institution appears to be connected to state-building economically, socially and politically, and, as this is the case, the German government also executed land reform for state-building following its unification in 1990. Regarding land institution, human resources (HR) seems to play a pivotal role. HR is in charge of the operation of land management organisations and acts to improve the related laws and systems, which seems to have a considerable impact on land institution. In light of the above, poor HR could have a negative influence on not only land institution, but also societal, economic and political aspects of state-building. Hence, this study reviews the influence of HR on land management in the process of state-building in South Korea immediately following the liberation from Japanese colonial rule; furthermore, related problems and their fundamental reasons are analysed.     

经济发展与收入分配对社会保障支出的影响——基于安徽省面板数据的门槛模型研究

经济的高质量发展需要社会保障体系的进一步完善,收入分配制度是影响经济发展水平与质量的重要因素,因此研究其三者之间关系对社会发展具有重要意义。文章基于2008—2018年安徽省面板数据,从收入分配的角度,采用非线性门槛模型研究经济发展对社会保障支出的影响机制。研究发现:经济发展水平与社会保障支出之间并不是简单的线性关系,收入分配程度使得经济发展水平对政府社会保障支出规模的作用路径呈现出非线性特征,即存在单门槛效应,且城乡收入不平等差距的缩小将有利于社会保障支出规模的提升。因此,政府应大力缩小收入差距,保障经济的高质量发展,扩大社会保障支出规模,完善社会保障制度。     

生态移民对农户收入支出的影响分析——以内蒙古多伦县为例

采用描述性统计分析方法,对多伦县生态移民农户的收入支出总量和结构的变化情况进行了详细分析,得出基本结论:生态移民实施以后,农户的收入状况有一定程度的改善,产业结构得到根本性调整,促进了农村劳动力的转移。建议:要进一步拓宽移民的增收渠道,完善针对移民村主导产业的后续配套政策和措施,同时需要当地政府和社会各界的进一步支持和关注。     

农用地整理对区域景观动态与生态风险影响研究——以福建省建溪流域为例

研究目的:以福建省建溪流域为例,基于2010—2016年的景观类型数据和农用地整理数据,分析农用地整理对区域景观动态和生态风险的影响。研究方法:单一变量法,景观格局指数,生态风险指数。研究结果:(1)2010—2016年间通过农用地整理工程增加的耕地主要在海拔高于300 m的区域;(2)农用地整理工程中的新增耕地主要来源于草地、园地和林地,也有部分城镇村及工矿用地、交通用地等由于村庄合并或矿区土地复垦等原因被整理为耕地;(3)每一种农用地整理工程类型都是一种风险源,其释放的风险压力主要有景观单一化和景观破碎化两种;(4)2010—2016年建溪流域的生态风险值介于2 386.11～2 394.76,2010年后生态风险指数逐年降低。研究结论:本文对大尺度上关于农用地整理对景观生态的影响研究有借鉴意义,可以为区域尺度的土地利用优化设计和农用地整理设计规划提供科学依据。     

The tilling of land in a changing climate: Empirical evidence from the Nile Basin of Ethiopia

Empirical studies point to reduced tillage as a means to increase yields and reverse land degradation. A relatively neglected avenue of research concerns why farmers increase tillage frequencies. Using household-plot level panel data from the Nile Basin of Ethiopia, this article applies a random effects ordered probit endogenous switching regression model to empirically investigate the impact of weather events and other conditioning factors on farmers’ choice of tillage intensity and the effect of changing tillage frequencies on differences in farm returns. Results indicate that, while low frequency tillage is more likely in drier areas, plot-level shocks (such as pests and diseases) are key variables in the choice of high-frequency tillage. Adoption of a low-till approach leads to increasing farm returns in low-moisture areas but high-frequency tillage provides higher returns in high-rainfall areas. Understanding how farmers’ tillage options correlate with climatic conditions and farm economies is salient for developing effective adaptation and mitigation plans.     

Willingness to contribute to the management of recreational quality on private lands in Finland

In Finland, privately owned nature areas are widely used for recreation due to open public access. However, since landowners are not obligated to take everyman's rights into consideration when making management decisions, the recreational quality of nature areas is not guaranteed for users. We examined whether individual recreationists on private lands would be willing purchase management actions from landowners that influence recreational quality. In addition to willingness to pay, we assessed willingness to contribute labor to such actions. The results demonstrated that about half of the recreationists who participated in our survey were willing to contribute labor and about 10% were willing to pay to direct the management of their typical recreation site on private lands. The mean willingness to pay was 92 euros per year and the mean willingness to contribute labor 3.5 days per year. A latent class regression model revealed that recreationists were not, however, completely homogeneous in their preferences for the actions or in their preferred contribution forms. On the basis of the results, there is moderate demand from recreationists for management to improve recreational quality and the potential for local landscape management arrangements that allow individual recreationists to contribute labor.     

Adaptive society in a changing environment: Insight into the social resilience of a rural region of Taiwan

Taiwan has abundant biological resources that provide a quality living environment; however, industrial land use may change that environment through urban sprawl and thus have impacts on rural society. This study examined the experience of a Taiwanese rural region that has been exposed to industrial wastewater discharge specifying the relationship of industrial development to rural society and its role in policy. We addressed the societal adaptation to environmental degradation from risk perception perspectives about land use. Drawing on social vulnerability concept, semi-structured interviews were conducted in five communities that use irrigation water exposed to wastewater discharge. The interviews were designed using the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) causal framework to examine residents’ risk perceptions highlighting both built-environmental sensitivity (degradation) and residents’ adaptability (capacity). In addition, remote sensing technology was used to identify the urban sprawl that led to industrial land use and exposed the rural region to water pollution risks. As a result, we present a social resilience cycle to introduce adaptive responses underlining social amplification of risk. Both local knowledge of the locals (the Hakka people) and their societal response to environmental change reflect the role of culture in influencing land use policy. It is underlined that individual and community responses shape the social experience of risk and are related to both the ethnicity of the locals and the land use policy of the government. We indicated further that a large-scale survey that would really quantity this exploratory study to support land use decision-making is expected.