US farm policy in perspective

At the end of 1981 the US Congress passed new farm legislation which was widely hailed as a success for the Reagan administration's efforts to contain the escalation of farm supports, it now appears, however, that it has created serious problems in a situation of rapid agricultural productivity growth in the face of slower growth of domestic and foreign demand. Despite subsequent amendments to limit budget outlays, farm support costs are now estimated at $12 billion each in FY 1982 and 1983 and $7 billion in FY 1984, as compared with original projections of less than $3 billion annually.     

Food aid and food policy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has now replaced India as the most publicized large scale recipient of food aid, importing 1.67 million tons of food grains, four fifths of which were on concessional terms, in 1977/78 (July to June). Some analysts, extrapolating from the poor performance of the agricultural sector up to the mid 1970s, also project that Bangladesh will be one of the largest importers of foodgrains in a decade's time merely in order to maintain current pitifully inadequate levels of nutrition.¹ Yet so far there has been no open debate or systematic attempt to analyse the impact of food aid on the Bangladesh economy, compared with the controversy and intensive analysis of food aid to India. This article² is intended to demonstrate the seriousness of this gap in the literature. It includes a review of provisional evidence on the role of food aid in the Bangladesh economy during the first quinquennium of ‘planned’ development, 1972/3–1977/8.     

抢占先机投资孟加拉

2005年11月,孟加拉纺织厂协会(Bangladesh Textile Mills Association,BTMA)一行十余人由会长Mr.MAAwal亲自率领,来到中国,并计划考察走访多个城市.从孟加拉首都达卡出发,仅用了3个小时,他们就来到第一站昆明,参加了正在当地召开的国际棉纺织大会.     

Economics of wheat production in Bangladesh

This paper reports the results of a study undertaken to assess the economics of wheat production in Bangladesh. In financial terms, boro (winter) rice is the most profitable crop in irrigated zones, but wheat often generates the highest returns in non-irrigated zones and in areas that are unsuitable for boro rice production. When inputs and outputs are assigned economic prices, wheat production represents the most efficient use of domestic resources in most non-irrigated zones and in one irrigated zone. Should present trends continue and Bangladesh become self-sufficient in rice, wheat production would become even more attractive. In view of these findings, recent calls to scale back wheat promotion activities and curtail investment in wheat research must be questioned.     

Current constraints and future possibilities for Bangladesh fisheries

Fisheries are an important source of animal protein, foreign exchange earnings and employment generation in Bangladesh. This paper examines the current status of fisheries in Bangladesh, for each of the major sub-sectors — inland open waters, inland closed waters (aquaculture), and marine fisheries. Production has been on the increase for all types of fisheries, but the productivity of rivers and estuaries is variable, there are many constraints on expansion, and it is difficult to identify significant achievements from government policy efforts. A host of factors are responsible for the under-utilisation of fishing areas, including resource limitations, poor implementation of fisheries laws, the limited spread of fish farming technology, low financial capacities and ineffective extension practices. These constraints are discussed for the three sub-sectors, and some possibilities for future improvements are suggested.     

New perspectives on farm size and productivity

The farm size and productivity debate has been limited by the focus on land or labor productivity, generally showing respective productivity advantages to smaller or larger sized farms. Our purpose is to provide new perspectives on the debate by bringing together evidence from a set of novel case studies in both rich and poor countries. Common to them are the adoption of total factor productivity (TFP) as the comparative performance measure, and the reliance on panels of farm micro data. The present article presents a synthesis of findings from five case studies in (i) Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda; (ii) Bangladesh; (iii) Brazil; (iv) Australia; and (v) the United States. The preponderance of evidence from these studies suggests that there is no single economically optimal agrarian structure; rather, it appears to evolve with the stage of economic development. Certain farm sizes face relative productivity advantages, such as small farms in Africa. But with economic and market growth, that smallholder advantage will likely attenuate, moving toward constant and eventually increasing returns to size. Yet, importantly, small farms may be quite dynamic, and need not be a drag on agricultural growth until perhaps well into the development process.     

Food and nutrition policy in Malta

Food and nutrition policy in Malta was officially endorsed by Government in the late 1980s. The urgency stemmed from the increasingly preoccupying health situation of the Maltese population characterized by the higher rates of cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Although a small island in the central Mediterranean, Malta does not have a diet that is characteristic of the rest of the Mediterranean region. The main aim of this paper is to outline the main characteristics of Maltese food consumption and the constraints encountered in the process of implementing the food and nutrition policy. The final section provides some recommendations that could also be considered in other Mediterranean countries that are in the process of designing or implementing similar policies. On the eve of the 21st century and in light of Malta's eventual accession in the European Union, several fundamental measures still need to be introduced and enforced, the most important being those concerning food safety and quality.     

Fertiliser and food policy in LDCs

At a time of fertiliser scarcity and high prices it is important to know more about the poorly understood relationships between fertiliser and food production. Fertiliser price increases are reflected in increased prices for food which poses a dilemma for governments attempting to increase food production and minimise rising prices. Through the use of a simple macro-model these relationships are discussed and the policy insights they offer. Impact of price receives special attention because of its frequent use as a policy instrument.     

Non-farm work and food security among farm households in Northern Ghana

This paper examines the impact of non-farm work on household income and food security among farm households in the Northern Region of Ghana. We analyze the impact by employing propensity score matching method that accounts for self-selection bias. The matching results show that participation in non-farm work exerts a positive and statistically significant effect on household income and food security status, supporting the widely held view that income from non-farm work is crucial to food security and poverty alleviation in rural areas of developing countries.     

Assessing the sustainability of rice production growth in Bangladesh

This paper identifies the sources of growth in rice production in Bangladesh over the 1973–99 period. The main contributor was found to be the conversion of rice growing areas from local to modern varieties. The most important conclusion, based on simulations, is that the current level of per capita production can be sustained only through increased yields of modern rice varieties. Population control is found to have significant long-run benefits, while faster conversion of remaining area to modern varieties has important short-run payoffs. The latter two actions, however, can only complement but not substitute efforts to increase the yields of modern varieties.     

Economic Reforms and Productive Capacity Realisation in Bangladesh: an Empirical Analysis

Using firm level data from the Bangladesh food manufacturing sector, this paper examines the impact of economic reform on productive capacity realisation in the eighties. The results suggest that although improvement occurred in the realisation of productive capacities after the implementation of economic reforms, there is, however, room for significant further improvement in increasing output by realising the unrealised capacity.     

The influence of policy networks on policy output. A comparison of organic farming policy in the Czech Republic and Poland

Although, at the time of accession to the EU, organic farming policies formally were equally developed in the Czech Republic and Poland, a closer investigation reveals some variation. This paper takes a policy network perspective to explore the policy differences between these two countries. Common network themes are used to link networks with policy output. It is argued that the capacity of the organic sector and its structural organization, its cohesion, and the relationship between organic interest groups and the government affect the political discourse, and, in consequence, how organic farming policy is elaborated.     

Norwegian nutrition and food policy: Consumer information and price policy aspects

In 1975 the Norwegian government approved a formal national nutrition and food supply policy. The author examines two aspects of the policy, consumer information and food prices, by discussing what actions have been taken to achieve the goals set out. Some reasons why they have not been fully reached, including conflicting interests with food producers and political trade-offs, as well as the implications for the future of the policy are also discussed.     

Telecommunications and energy policy

As the energy problems of the West continue, an increasing amount of attention is focused on methods of energy conservation. The authors develop an ‘activist’ view of the role of telecommunications as a component of energy-conservation policy. Advanced telecommunications offer an alternative to many forms of travel. The results of research aimed at quantifying and comparing the direct energy consumption of travel and telecommunications are presented. Telecommunications developments can induce changes in business organisation, transport, urban development, and environmental quality, as well as increased freedom of location. The authors consider whether such changes are feasible and desirable.     

Cable television and government policy in Japan

The development of the cable industry in Japan has been steady but slow. The Japanese cable penetration rate is not as high as in the USA and Canada for several reasons, and in this article the focus is on how broadcasting policy in Japan has affected the cable television market. Nevertheless the number of cable television systems has increased every year, and the future of the cable business in Japan is also discussed.     

Farm structure and rural policy in Japan

Japanese agriculture, by US standards, is highly fragmented and inefficient. Not only is farm size small but also most farmers pursue non-farm employment and are engaged in farming only on a part-time basis. These structural factors, which are either static or changing slowly, inevitably influence the making and implementation of agricultural and rural policies in Japan. Due to the rapid transformation of Japanese society, from the agrarian basis of early years to a highly industrialized and post-industrial society, a new farm policy agenda has arisen along with the need for structural adjustment of agriculture to meet changing economic conditions.     

Redirecting research in business policy and strategy

Because business policy research has primarily been a series of inductive generalizations of case studies; theories have been typically ambiguous and untested, and have not progressed swiftly. Deductive theorizing, by contrast, yields clear, often non-obvious conclusions that can be debated effectively and generalized slowly; so realism of current models can be sacrificed for progress towards realistic future models. Deductive theorizing, with more attention to a game-theoretic definition of equilibrium and to recent ideas from economics, should be one new direction for policy research. Of course, these deductive models will inevitably draw their inspiration from the richness of careful observation and exhaustive checklist-making that are the hallmarks of induction. Specific avenues for new research are described, and the importance of teaching non-obvious theories is defended.