国际粮食价格危机的农业政策根源

2007～2008年世界粮食作物价格的急剧上涨的原因很大程度上要归结于各国长期的农业政策。从农业贸易看,农业贸易限制程度远远高于工业贸易,这不利于粮食作物产量在全球的分配;从农业生产看,发达国家和发展中国家完全不同的政策导向,导致了全球农业生产的低效率。应对世界粮食价格飙升最有效的长远机制是全球粮食贸易自由化,减少甚至取消贸易扭曲的农业生产和贸易政策。     

金融集聚、国内市场一体化与经济增长

本文构建了金融集聚、市场一体化与区域经济增长的分析框架,利用1995～2010年省际面板数,采用广义最小二乘法（FGLS ）,对金融集聚、市场一体化与区域经济增长进行了实证分析。结果表明,市场一体化对区域经济增长并不具有显著的正效应。然而,在金融集聚不断深化的制度条件下,市场一体化对经济增长的驱动作用得以显现,金融集聚程度越高的地方,能从市场一体化获得更多的收益。市场一体化程度高的地方,金融集聚对经济增长的推动作用也越明显,二者在推动经济增长过程中的协同效应已显现。值得注意的是,金融集聚对区域经济增长的促进作用主要体现在银行业的集聚。本文的研究结果对市场一体化改革和金融集聚政策制定具有借鉴意义。     

金融集聚、国内市场一体化与经济增长

本文构建了金融集聚、市场一体化与区域经济增长的分析框架,利用1995～2010年省际面板数,采用广义最小二乘法（FGLS）,对金融集聚、市场一体化与区域经济增长进行了实证分析。结果表明,市场一体化对区域经济增长并不具有显著的正效应。然而,在金融集聚不断深化的制度条件下,市场一体化对经济增长的驱动作用得以显现,金融集聚程度越高的地方,能从市场一体化获得更多的收益。市场一体化程度高的地方,金融集聚对经济增长的推动作用也越明显,二者在推动经济增长过程中的协同效应已显现。值得注意的是,金融集聚对区域经济增长的促进作用主要体现在银行业的集聚。本文的研究结果对市场一体化改革和金融集聚政策制定具有借鉴意义。     

培育农业发展新优势 推进农业现代化进程

培育农业发展新优势,是推进农业现代化的强大动力引擎,在目前加快构建城乡发展一体化,培育新型农业经营主体,加快农业现代化进程中,深入学习贯彻、落实十八届三中全会《决定》,加快培育新型农业经营主体,打造更多更好的农业品牌,大力推广农业科技,是实现目标的良好途径。     

农业补贴政策的有效性研究及其政策改革分析——基于顺序logistic模型的分析

本文通过对全国的农村地区做随机性的抽样调查,将所获得的样本数据作顺序logistic计童分析以验证农业补贴政策的有效性,得出如下的结论:虽然农业补贴提高了农户的生活水平,但农业物资价格的上涨和部门间的比较利益的存在,在一定程度上抑制了农业补贴的产出水平.最后就所得到的结论对农业补贴的补贴范围、补贴方式和补贴额度提出了相关的政策改革建议.     

强化农村发展制度保障 搞好农业政策性保险

我国农业弱质,农民收入增长缓慢,成为实现农村现代化建设、全面小康社会的重大课题。国家必须制定和执行保护农业的政策,强化农村发展制度保障。农业政策性保险是促进农业更快更好发展的绿色保障。要科学分析我省农业保险的现状和问题,以科学发展观为指导,正确理清农业保险的特点和内在要求,有针对性地制定出切实可行的农业保险政策,给农业、农民真正的政策保护,更好地实现农村发展战略目标。     

基于PMC指数模型的黑龙江省煤炭资源型城市农业低碳政策可视化分析

农业低碳政策的引领是黑龙江省煤炭资源型城市农业现代化转型的核心。基于Omnia Mobilis假说,运用ROSTCM-6技术挖掘其农业低碳政策的关键词社会网络知识图谱,构建9个一级变量与38个二级变量的PMC指数模型,对黑龙江省煤炭资源型城市农业低碳政策进行可视化量化分析。结果表明:黑龙江省煤炭资源型城市农业低碳政策的PMC曲面图整体形较为平整,其整体政策效果较为良好,但不同政策之间在政策性质、政策重点和政策时效方面存在一定的差距。均值比较角度,9项一级变量中大部分政策在政策时效和政策工具方面得分较低。结合各项政策的PMC综合指数结果来看,各城市的政策仍有较大的优化空间。     

我国城乡发展一体化与财政政策思路

城乡发展一体化是中央提出的一项重大战略决策,是解决“三农”问题、破解二元结构．推进我国经济社会长期可持续发展的重要措施。公共财政是政府履行职能和宏观调控的基本手段．在推进城乡发展一体化中担负着重要使命和职责。文章从宏观和战略的高度,深入论述了城乡发展一体化的重大战略意义．系统归纳了新世纪以来国家财政支持城乡一体化的主要政策及其成效．客观揭示了当前中国城乡一体化面临的若干主要矛盾。在此基础上,进一步提出近中期运用财政政策促进城乡一体化的基本思路。主要政策建议：一是政府基础设施投资要向农村倾斜;二是着力完善农业支持政策;三是建立与完善农村剩余劳动力有效流动和转移的新型制度政策框架;四是创新城乡基本公共服务均等化的政策体系。     

农业产业化与中国农业发展

农业产业化是农业现代化的主要标志,农业产业化经营是实现农业现代化的始由之路。文章对我国农业的发展状况进行了分析,认为当前我国农业产业化经营尚处于初级阶段、农业竞争力还比较弱,未来中国农业发展的方向就是实施农业产业化经营,社会主义新农村建设的落脚点也是要实现农业的产业化,进而给出了推进我国农业产业化的政策建议。     

2006年全国农药生产回顾及2007年展望

2006年。国家“三农政策”继续深入实施，在农民收入实现较大幅度提高的同时，也给农药行业发展提供了极好的机遇，在此良好的宏观背景下，我国农药产量创历史新高、位居世界第一，主要经济指标全面增长、达到历史最好水平。2007年，随着农业种植业结构调整，保证稳定粮食种植面积，持续增长蔬果等经济作物种植面积，农业劳动力向城镇、工业转移等有利因素的拉动，农药消费将继续增长，笔者预计在50万吨以上（100％计）。     

NAFTA as a Means of Raising Rivals' Costs

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was designed to reduce tariff rates between Mexico, Canada and the U.S.A. over a period of ten years. However, lower tariff rates are only available to firms that comply with complicated and costly NAFTA filing regulations. Such regulations raise costs of small firms relative to large firms in a domestic industry which engages in trade between NAFTA countries. This implication of NAFTA regulations can lead to increased concentration in domestic industries, an hypothesis which can be tested as the transition period comes to an end. Finally, our model suggests an explanation for why the levels of trade from the U.S.A. to Mexico have been lower than general expectations.     

Apparent consumption of caloric sweeteners increased after the implementation of NAFTA in Mexico

The consumption of sugar and sweeteners have been associated with obesity and diabetes, which are public health problems in Mexico. Since 1994, imports of sweeteners for the elaboration of ultra-processed food and beverages increased in the country. This increase in imports may have increased the apparent consumption of sweeteners which could be associated with the implementation of the NAFTA that gradually eliminated tariffs on sugars. However, no study has estimated trends in apparent consumption by type of sugar, and its association with NAFTA in Mexico. Therefore, we analyzed trends in apparent consumption of sugar and sweeteners, and its contribution to energy from 1961 to 2013. We assessed if the gradual implementation of NAFTA in 1994, 1998, 2003 and 2008 was associated with changes in the consumption of sugar and sweeteners in Mexico using the Food Balance Sheet data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. We estimated an interrupted time series analysis with synthetic controls using OECD countries, to assess the association between NAFTA and changes in the type of sugar consumed. We found that between 1961 and 2013, the contribution of sugars to daily energy increased from 243 to 456 (243 to 456 kcal/capita/day). Until 1993, the consumption of sweeteners was 0.20 kg/capita/year and in 2013 reached 12.9 kg/capita/year, representing 20% of total sugar consumption. The consumption of sweeteners increased 2.93 kcal/capita/day after the NAFTA was implemented in 1994. However, there was a reduction in apparent consumption of −2.95 kcal/capita/day between 1998 and 2002, concurrent with the implementation of a 12.5% ad valorem compensatory duty to high fructose corn syrup imports from the US. Consumption increased again 7.7 kcal/capita/day between 2003 and 2007 and up to 10.4 kcal/capita/day after 2008 when the NAFTA was fully implemented. We found a significant increase in the apparent consumption of sweeteners associated with NAFTA but we did not find a conclusive evidence when we estimates total sugars and sweeteners together because we lacked an adequate control group. Sweeteners are mainly used for producing beverages and processed food, so its consumption should be discouraged by improving the existing package of interventions in Mexico, including a 20–30% increase to current taxes that have proven to be effective to reduce sugar sweetened beverages and nonessential energy dense food but whose existing rates are relatively small; improving front of package labelling, monitoring compliance in school regulations for food and beverages sold and improving marketing regulations directed to children.     

U.S. Free Trade Agreements and Enforcement of Labor Law in Latin America

The paper provides difference‐in‐differences estimates suggesting that Latin American countries that signed a free trade agreement with the United States experienced an increase in the number of labor inspectors and inspections. We also find large heterogeneity across signers and no evidence that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had a positive impact on Mexico. We conclude by suggesting that the stringency of content of the accord and the resources devoted by the U.S. government to increase enforcement make a difference.     

Effects of trade and agricultural policies on the structure of the U.S. tomato industry

Over the last few decades, accelerated growth of Mexican tomato imports to the United States has caused several trade disputes with U.S. growers. A data-driven approach was used to analyze trade flows in the tomato industry from 1970 to 2015 and all structural changes to policy interventions implemented during the same period were linked. Tests for endogenous breakpoints reveal that NAFTA and trade pricing policies are two of the main factors that caused structural changes in the tomato industry in 1992 and 1999. While U.S. agricultural policies sought to protect domestic tomato producers, they did not stop Mexican tomatoes from taking an important share of the U.S. market. Mexican imports to the United States, especially post-NAFTA, have a high explanatory power for U.S. domestic production.     

NAFTA as a Means of Raising Rivals' Costs: A Comment

The purpose of this comment is toclarify and extend a recent paper entitled NAFTA as a Means of Raising Rivals Costs. The paper indicates that the complexity of complying with the rules of NAFTA may lead to a decrease in competition in the domestic market. The comment shows that thecomplexity of NAFTA is related to the rules of origin which are a part of virtually any free-tradeagreement. Since rules of origin are a necessary part of virtually any trade agreement, the conclusions of the paper are not restricted to NAFTA but can be generalized to a large part of international trade.     

Agricultural policy reforms and food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan

This paper provides an overview of agricultural policy reforms and their impact on food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Owing to increasing hostility in regional trade among the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, like their neighbors, have chosen to follow a path of food self-sufficiency, which has biased their agricultural systems towards grain production. The paper finds that the land reforms in these two countries, which have dismantled the state farms, have resulted in reduced productivity of crops and declining food availability at the household level. It argues that reversing this trend will require increased investment in rural infrastructure and agricultural research to improve crop yields, and in the short-term, food security interventions to protect the poor and vulnerable.     

Technology Adoption,Vertical Coordination in Value Chains,and FDI in Developing Countries: Panel Evidence from the Dairy Sector in India (Punjab)

Review of Industrial Organization - (Global) value chains have contributed to agricultural technology adoption in transition countries and food export commodities in developing countries through...     

Targeting agricultural research based on potential impacts on poverty reduction: Strategic program priorities by agro-ecological zone in Nigeria

Growing concern for poverty in the face of declining agricultural research budgets has increasingly required formal priority setting of public agricultural research in developing countries to ensure that scarce research resources are allocated in ways that will have the greatest impact on the poor. This paper assessed the potential impacts of alternative commodity research programs on poverty reduction in three agro-ecological zones of Nigeria and identified strategic agricultural research priorities in the three zones. The paper discusses the poverty reduction-based priorities and their role in facilitating dialogue between research managers and policymakers aimed at sharpening the focus of agricultural research to achieve poverty reduction objectives in Nigeria.     

Investigating the impacts of time delays on trade

Time delays due to inefficient customs and administrative procedures have become a leading non-tariff barrier (NTB) that restrict international trade and impair social welfare. This paper investigates how time delays affect product quality, product price, trade flow, and social welfare, using data on the days it takes to clear customs in 96 countries. We explore the impacts of time delays on product quality and price with different levels of perishability. We find that longer time delays at the border would significantly decrease highly perishable agricultural products' quality and price. We also find that for highly perishable agricultural products, improved and simplified customs delays would increase trade flows and social welfare of importing countries.     

Does nutrition have a place in agricultural research?

There are very few examples where nutritional objectives have made an effective contribution to planning agricultural research for developing countries. The complex nature of nutrition and the limitations of formal planning procedures help explain the failure. But most commentators ignore the personal, political and ideological factors that seriously limit the effectiveness of nutrition as a parameter for research planning. Three cases are discussed where nutrition has played a role in setting agricultural research directions, without evident nutritional impact. Conclusions are proposed for making agricultural research planning more relevant to nutritional concerns.