Structure of Public Support for National Agricultural Research Systems: A Political Economy Perspective

This paper initiates development of a set of stylized facts concerning the structure of public support for national agricultural research systems (NARS) within a neoclassical political economy framework. The aim is to place public funding of NARS in the broader context of the overall level of direct government assistance to agriculture. Using a newly constructed data set on NARS expenditures over the 1970-85 period, we observe a growing disparity in agricultural research intensity ratios, which measure the level of public support for NARS in relation to agricultural gross domestic production (Aggdp ) between low and high-income countries. This growing disparity appears to be driven by much larger increases in support for agricultural research by high-income countries, coupled with a significantly slower growth in the size of their agricultural sector, despite the propensity of low and middle-income countries to increase real support to agricultural research. As per-capita incomes rise the public agricultural expenditure ratio, which measures public expenditures on agriculture relative to the size of the agricultural sector, Aggdp , increases substantially. Public expenditures on agriculture were indexed on agricultural and non-agricultural populations to give a rough indication of the increasing incentives for rural 'distributional coalitions' to seek a redistribution of public expenditures in their favor. A relative research expenditure (rre ) ratio is developed, which measures the proportion of total public expenditure on agriculture spent on agricultural research. It provides an indication of the relative importance given to research on agriculture within the constraints imposed by overall public spending on agriculture. In contrast to the agricultural research intensity ratios, the rre ratios suggest that agricultural research appears to command as large a share of the public purse devoted to agriculture in low and middle-income countries as it does in high-income countries. Expectations derived from the neoclassical political economy literature that research may have fared relatively better in high compared with low-income countries were not supported by the data.     

Macrorelationship between average life expectancy and prevalence of obesity: Theory and evidence from global data

A large body of literature assesses the impact of obesity on health at the microlevel and finds that obesity is a risk to health and longevity of life. We develop a macrolevel analytical framework to investigate the impact of obesity prevalence on average life expectancy, the trade-off between health expenditure and obesity prevalence, and the differential effect of obesity prevalence by gender, and apply this framework to cross country national data using a panel data of 183 countries for the years 2007 to 2014.  The empirical analysis shows that the average life expectancy is a concave function of obesity prevalence, and an increase in obesity prevalence increases average expected life expectancy with low obesity levels.  While obesity is a significant problem in developed countries, its impact on average life expectancy is partially mitigated by health expenditure. Underweight and lack of health expenditure in developing countries are even more severe problems. The marginal benefit of health expenditure in a low obesity country (highly correlated with underweight) has a larger impact on life expectancy relative to that in a high obesity country. A part of the longer life expectancy of women is related to better average nutritional state and less vulnerability to obesity. The results are consistent over three macromeasures of the longevity of life—average life expectancy, adult mortality rate, and healthy life expectancy.     

Explaining agricultural productivity growth: an international perspective

This article presents multi-output, multi-input total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates in agriculture for 88 countries over the 1970–2001 period, estimated with both stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and the more commonly employed data envelopment analysis (DEA). We find results with SFA to be more plausible than with DEA, and use them to analyze trends across countries and the determinants of TFP growth in developing countries. The central finding is that policy and institutional variables, including public agricultural expenditure and proagricultural price policy reforms, are significant correlates of TFP growth. The most significant geographic correlate of TFP growth is distance to the nearest OECD country.     

Research and productivity in Thai agriculture

This paper examines the impact that publicly funded agricultural research has on productivity in crop production within Thailand. It tests empirically the two hypotheses that, first, publicly funded research and development (R&D) in crop production is a significant determinant of total factor productivity (TFP) in the crop sector and, second, that its social rate of return is high. The statistical analysis applies error correction methods to national level time series data for Thailand, covering the period 1970–2006. Emphasis is given to public research in crop production, where most publicly funded agricultural R&D has occurred. The role of international research spillovers and other possible determinants of TFP are also taken into account. The results demonstrate that public investment in research has a positive and significant impact on TFP. International research spillovers have also contributed to TFP. The results support the finding of earlier studies that returns on public research investment have been high. This result holds even after controlling for possible sources of upward biases present in most such studies, due to the omission of alternative determinants of measured TFP. The findings raise a concern over declining public expenditure on crop research, in Thailand and many other developing countries.     

Productivity in Indonesian agriculture: Impacts of domestic and international research

Total factor productivity growth contributed 38% of Indonesia's agricultural output growth from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s. This study uses time series data analysed with an error correction mechanism to examine the contribution that Indonesian publicly funded agricultural research made to this outcome, allowing for other possible determinants of productivity growth, including international agricultural research, extension, government price policy and weather. The results imply a 27% real annual rate of return from a marginal increase in Indonesian agricultural research expenditure. Indonesia's public agricultural research explains virtually all of its agricultural total factor productivity growth between 1975 and 2006.     

财政支出结构的国际比较及借鉴

公共财政是市场经济国家财政运行模式。现阶段我国要建立与市场机制相适应的公共财政，就必须科学界定公共财政支出范围，优化财政支出结构，这样才能提高财政支出效率，降低政府运作成本，减少对竞争性领域的财政投资，增加基础设施和基础产业的投入力度，强化和公益事业支出，实现支出结构的优化调整。根据有关国家支出项目的分类，对市场经济国家的财政支出结构进行比较分析，以期对建立我国的支出框架有所借鉴。     

农业绿色发展的内涵与评价研究

[目的]推进农业绿色发展是农业发展观的一场深刻革命,关键在体制机制创新,建立一套适用于全国不同地区农业绿色发展评价的指标体系与评价办法,从而增强各地农业绿色发展责任意识,为推进农业绿色发展提供方向指导和决策参考。[方法]通过对国内外相关研究的梳理分析,对新时代我国农业绿色发展的内涵进行界定,进一步明确农业绿色发展的评价思路。[结果]在此基础上,构建包括4个一级指标、19个二级指标的农业绿色发展定量评价体系与由6个一级指标、15个二级指标构成的农业绿色发展定性评价指标体系,提出了归一化法和标准化系数法等评价方法。[结论]政府要加快建立完善农业绿色发展组织体系、领导干部农业生态资源离任审计以及农业绿色发展考核奖惩制度等制度体系,进一步强化农业生态资源数据采集与统计体系建设,加快更新农业资源环境统计条目,为农业绿色发展评价提供数据支撑。     

An Economic Evaluation of Public Wheat Research and Extension Expenditures in Canada*

The widespread commitment of public funds to agricultural research is being questioned by administrators in governments and by the Canadian public. Questions relating to the level of public expenditure on agricultural research, the efficiency with which the resources are being allocated, and the manner in which the benefits are distributed among members of society art being asked. This study addresses these and related questions as they pertain to publicly funded wheat research activities conducted over the period 1946 to 1979- Two research scenarios were examined - one dealing with the development of new varieties of wheat and the other dealing with all research applicable to the production of wheat. The results revealed that society has indeed benefitted substantially from public investment in wheat research. The level of social benefits averaged $49 and $143 million (measured in 1971 dollars) annually for the wheat breeding and all-wheat research scenarios, respectively. The average annual internal rates of return earned from these public investments ranged between 30 and 39 percent. Furthermore, some evidence was presented that suggests society may, in fact, be underin-vesting in agricultural research in the aggregate. Finally, analyses of the distribution of the benefits showed that both producers and consumers are major beneficiaries.     

Convergence of Romanian and Europe Union agriculture – evolution and prospective assessment

This paper presents forecasts related to the evolution of agricultural production in Romania, relative to the European Union average and to other countries (France, Germany, and Hungary) while taking into consideration the production potential of Romanian agriculture and opportunities to mobilize certain additional financial sources intended for the growth of intermediate consumption and implicitly of the value of agricultural production. This undertaking is designed to identify the degree to which over the next 20 years, Romania can come closer to agricultural performance, standard of living and food quality levels of developed European countries. Current disparities are significant, and there is no promise that they will be eliminated or at least not for all indicators, as structural problems related to Romanian agriculture at this time can be addressed only over the long term. We use historical data drawn from national and international statistical databases and forecast of their evolution using power regression functions. For French, German, Hungarian and European Union-27 average values, the historical growth rate has been preserved, and we develop three scenarios (pessimistic, realistic and optimistic) for Romania based on annual growth rates of 3%, 3.5% and 4%. On the basis of these work assumptions, we forecast agricultural production value, gross added value and intermediate consumption per hectare of agricultural area utilized. From these indicators we find that by maintaining the same historical development rate for all countries, Romania cannot reach the average European Union-27 level or levels for the other countries studied (France, Germany and Hungary) until 2038. A realistic scenario that takes into account an annual growth rate of 3.5% would allow for the elimination of disparities while taking into account a new evolutionary perspective on agricultural production with new production structures based on the following factors: amalgamation of land, expansion of irrigated surfaces, growth of animal production shares, development of agricultural research, expansion of financing opportunities.     

西藏高原县域尺度农业绿色发展水平综合评价——以白朗县为例

[目的]推进农业绿色发展是实现农业可持续发展的有效途径,为客观了解西藏高原农业绿色发展水平,探讨农业绿色发展的驱动因素,为高原农业绿色发展研究提供参考。[方法]文章以白朗县为典型县域案例,从农业生产、农业资源、农业环境、农业生态和农民生活五方面,选取17个指标系统构建评价体系,采用层次分析法确定评价指标的权重值,基于统计数据、遥感数据和调研数据评价2016—2020年白朗县农业绿色发展水平,并利用两阶段最小二乘法分析影响农业绿色发展水平的驱动因素。[结果]（1）2016—2020年白朗县农业绿色发展水平总体呈现上升趋势,由2016年的0.102 7提高到了2020年的0.233 9,增长约2.28倍。其中,农业生产、农业环境和农民生活水平逐年提升,但农业资源水平2018年后却持续下降。（2）多元回归模型分析驱动因素表明农林水事务性支出与农业绿色发展水平存在显著的负效应（P<0.001）,随着农林水事务性支出的降低,农业绿色发展水平会提高。[结论]白朗县农业绿色发展水平整体呈现良好的发展态势,农业生产和农民生活方面贡献较大,但农业资源方面仍是绿色发展的短板,因此今后白朗县农业绿色发...     

Measuring public agricultural research and extension and estimating their impacts on agricultural productivity: new insights from U.S. evidence

This article provides new estimates of the marginal product of public agricultural research and extension on state agricultural productivity for the U.S., using updated data and definitions, and forecasts of future agricultural productivity growth by state. The underlying rationale for a number of important decisions that underlie the data used in cost‐return estimates for public agricultural research and extension are presented. The parameters of the state productivity model are estimated from a panel of contiguous U.S. 48 states from 1970 to 2004. Public research and extension are shown to be substitutes rather than complements. The econometric model of state agricultural TFP predicts growth rates of TFP for two‐thirds of states that is less than the past trend rate. The results and data indicate a real social rate of return to public investments in agricultural research of 67% and to agricultural extension of 100+%. The article concludes with guidance for TFP analyses in other countries.     

From fork to farm: Impacts of more sustainable diets in the EU-27 on the agricultural sector

The implications of dietary changes for the environment and for human health are well documented, but the impacts on the agricultural sector are less well researched. We fill this gap by specifying scenarios in which European consumers' diets approximate the EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations to varying degrees and estimate the effects on agricultural production, incomes and emissions using an agro-economic modelling framework. The combination of different models allows for a detailed assessment of consequences for the agricultural sector from the global through European NUTS2 level to the farm level at different time scales. Shifting European consumption towards the EAT-Lancet recommendations leads to decreasing production of animal-based products, while production of fruits and vegetables increases sharply. The results indicate that the agricultural sector could benefit from a dietary shift, though the results are mixed at country, regional and farm levels. In particular, countries and regions that are highly specialised in animal farming are likely to lose income—at least in the short run—while regions with higher shares of vegetable and fruit farms can expect income gains. In Germany, pig and poultry farms may experience losses of up to 34% of their income, whereas farms with a high share of vegetables could gain more than 30% in income. Our results have implications for the policies to assist these extensive structural adjustments in response to widespread dietary changes.     

Do Formula or Competitive Grant Funds Have Greater Impacts on State Agricultural Productivity?

This article examines the impact of public agricultural research and extension on agricultural total factor productivity at the state level. The objective is to establish whether federal formula or competitive grant funding of agricultural research has a greater impact on state agricultural productivity. A pooled cross-section time-series model of agricultural productivity is fitted to annual data for forty-eight contiguous states over 1970–1999. Our results show that public agricultural research and agricultural extension have statistically significant positive impacts on state agricultural productivity. In addition, Hatch formula funding has a larger impact on agricultural productivity than federal competitive grant funding, and a reallocation of Hatch formula funds to competitive grant funding would lower agricultural productivity. This seems unlikely to be a socially optimal policy. Furthermore, from a cost–benefit perspective, our study shows that the social marginal annualized real rate of return to public resources invested in agricultural research is 49–62%, and to public agricultural extension, the rate is even larger.     

中国与RCEP国家农产品进口贸易效率及潜力研究

目的 文章基于2010—2019年中国与区域全面经济伙伴关系协定国家（Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, 以下简称RCEP国家）农产品进口贸易的面板数据,从贸易规模、贸易结构和贸易国别数据切入,研究中国同RCEP国家的农产品进口贸易效率及潜力,为中国与RCEP国家农产品进口贸易的深入发展提出相关政策建议。方法 采用随机前沿引力模型进行实证分析。结果 中国自RCEP国家进口农产品的平均效率为0.54;中国与RCEP国家经济规模、班轮运输连通性指数和货币自由度等因素提升了进口贸易效率,人口规模和贸易自由度等因素阻碍了进口贸易效率的提升;从国别差异看,中国自澳大利亚和新西兰农产品进口贸易潜力和可拓展空间较大;从农产品分类看,4类农产品的进口贸易效率较高;总体而言,进口效率与潜力存在较大的国别异质性,增长拓展空间有待进一步释放。结论 中国应进一步加强同RCEP国家的海陆航基础设施建设等合作,扩大同RCEP国家,特别是贸易效率低下而未来潜力巨大的新西兰等国的农产品进口贸易。     

Efficiency of research investments in the presence of international spillovers: wheat research in developing countries⋆

Expenditures on agricultural research in the public sector, including the International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) have stagnated and in some cases, declined sharply in recent years. This has focused attention on issues of efficiency of agricultural research systems, especially the number, size, scope, type, and locations of their programs. This paper examines the issue of research efficiency through a case study of wheat improvement research in developing countries. The basic premise of this study is that the optimal level of research investment should be determined in a global model that incorporates direct research spill‐ins. An analytical framework is developed to determine the threshold levels of crop production in a country (or a region within a country) needed to justify crop improvement research programs of different sizes in the presence of spill‐ins from abroad. Spill‐in coefficients are estimated from yield performance of varieties of different origins grown across a range of environments. The model is then applied to analyze the efficiency of current investments in 69 wheat improvement research programs in 35 developing countries. A major conclusion of the paper is that given the magnitude of potential spill‐ins from the international research system, many wheat research programs could significantly increase the efficiency of resource use by reducing the size of their wheat research programs and focusing on the screening of varieties developed elsewhere. ©2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.     

Financing agricultural R&D in rich countries: what's happening and why

Governments everywhere are trimming their support for agricultural R&D, giving greater scrutiny to the support that they do provide, and reforming the public agencies that fund, oversee, and carry out the research. This represents a break from previous patterns, which had consisted of expansion in the public funds for agricultural R&D. Private-sector spending on agricultural research has slowed along with the growth of public spending in recent years, but the balance continues to shift towards the private sector. This article presents a quantitative review of these funding trends and the considerable institutional changes that have accompanied them. We discuss new data for 22 OECD countries, providing institutional details for five of these countries, and conclude with an assessment of policy developments.     

Using a Programming Approach to Measure International Agricultural Efficiency and Productivity

Multifactor agricultural productivity for seventy countries is calculated using a programming method. Productivity measures are divided into indices that measure technical efficiency and technical change. Agriculture in many developing countries is technically inefficient but technical change has had a greater impact on agricultural productivity. Multifactor productivity is declining in many developing countries where both agricultural output and the use of some agricultural inputs has rapidly grown. The level of education in a country and research services are factors which can explain differences in agricultural productivity growth between countries.     

GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE ON AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL PERFORMANCE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: AN EMPIRICAL EVALUTION

In recent years, new prominence has been assigned to the effects of non-price measures on the performance of the agricultural sector in developing countries. Nevertheless, the contribution of government expenditure to agricultural output growth has not received its due attention. This paper endeavours to estimate the impact of government expenditure (on agriculture) on the performance of the agricultural sector. An inter-country production function is estimated for a sample of thirty-five developing countries, pooling cross-section and time-series data over the 1974-84 period. The influence of instability in government expenditure on agriculture and on agricultural growth is also assessed. The results show that government expenditure policies are of vital importance in influencing the performance of the agricultural sector. It was also found that instability in government expenditure is a deterrent to agricultural output growth.     

Geography of plant breeding systems,agroclimatic similarity,and agricultural productivity: evidence from Nigeria

Agroclimatic conditions and agricultural research and development (R&D) including plant breeding activities by the public sector are some of the most significant exogenous factors in the agricultural sector. However, the effects of the interactions between these two sets of factors on agricultural productivity have not been studied widely in developing countries, despite potentially important implications on their plant breeding strategies. Using three‐wave panel data of agricultural households in Nigeria and spatial data on various agroclimatic parameters, we show that agricultural productivity and technical efficiency at the agricultural household level is significantly positively affected by the similarity of agroclimatic conditions between locations where agricultural households are located, and locations where major plant breeding institutes are located. These results hold after controlling for various socioeconomic characteristics of these households, including their physical distances to the breeding institutes. Findings are robust across parametric and nonparametric specifications such as Data Envelopment Method, and after addressing potential endogeneity of agroclimatic similarity and agricultural inputs variables in the production function. Productivity effects due to the locations of plant breeding institutes and resulting agroclimatic similarity can be potentially sizable given Nigeria's past productivity growth speed.