Spatial dependence in agricultural land prices: does it exist?

Trade-offs arise between spatial dependence and choice of functional form in agricultural land price hedonic models. We discuss these trade-offs and how they can create spurious spatial dependence. Using a land sales dataset with apparent spatial dependence, we implement a semiparametric approach avoiding potential problems with the functional form. The results show that in addition to being nonlinear, the impacts are also characterized by significance thresholds that are difficult to capture in a parametric model. More importantly, we fail to detect any spatial dependence demonstrating that inappropriate functional form can indeed be responsible for finding spatial dependence in hedonic models.     

How do institutional market players matter in farmland pricing?

In this paper we analyse how institutional sellers within the privatisation process shape price formation in agricultural land markets by taking the German reunification as an example. These institutions sell the formerly state owned land within first-price sealed bid auctions, publish calls and obtained prices, and are hypothesised to exploit their market power. Based on the conceptual framework of hedonic pricing models, we use a spatio-temporal modelling approach to empirically quantify these impacts. We thereby control for land productivity characteristics, potential buyers and whether farmers purchase the land. We find that privatisation agencies sell at significantly higher prices, while one agency sells at lower prices to farmers.     

Valuing public and private urban tree canopy cover

In this paper, we estimate the effect of tree canopy cover on sales price of urban residential properties in Perth, Western Australia. Using a data set of 5606 single family homes sold in 2009 and a spatial hedonic model with three spatial effects – spatial‐temporal lag on dependent variable, spatial error, and spatially lagged independent variables – we estimated the location‐specific effect of tree canopy cover. Tree canopy cover increases the property value when located on adjacent public space, but decreases the value when it is on own property and on the adjacent property within 20 m of property boundary. The results are suggestive that council urban tree planting programs provide significant private benefits to homeowners.     

Revisiting the relationship between land price and parcel size in agriculture

Hedonic land price models often use parcel size as an explanatory variable. Empirical analyses, however, are rather ambiguous regarding the direction and the size of the effect of this variable on farmland values. The objective of this paper is to investigate this size–price relation for agricultural land use in detail and to derive recommendations for an appropriate specification of hedonic land price models. Our analysis consists of three steps. First, we conduct a meta-analysis based on a comprehensive literature review. Second, we analyze a dataset of more than 80,000 agricultural land transactions in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, using the nonparametric locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) estimator. This unconditional smoothing algorithm identifies negative size–price relations for very small and large plots, whereas it finds a positive relation for medium plots. We use this finding in our third step, a hedonic land price model, in which the size–price relation is modeled conditional on land and buyer characteristics. From these steps, we conclude that the complex relationship between land price and plot size cannot be captured by a simple functional form since it is affected by several economic factors, such as economies of size, transaction costs, and financial constraints.     

A Hedonic Analysis of Nutrition and Health Claims on Fruit Beverage Products

This paper investigates the effects on prices of nutrition and health claims for foodstuffs, in addition to other attributes, using fruit beverages as a case study. The model estimation is based on revealed purchasing behaviour for fruit beverages in the north‐east of Italy. Applying an hedonic price model, the price of a product is explained as a function of product attributes. The model estimate identifies the implicit retail‐market‐level price of specific attributes such as nutrition and health claims, ceteris paribus. Nutrition and health claims significantly affect retail prices. Our findings suggest that retail price response to nutrition and health claims differs in relation to other product attributes, showing a strong reduction of price variation among flavours when such benefits are claimed on the label.     

Noncash Income Transfers and Agricultural Land Values

Several studies have considered the impact of government cash income transfers to agricultural producers on agricultural land prices. This study examines the effects of a noncash income transfer on agricultural land prices. The impact of the U.S. sugar program on irrigated land prices in Montana is evaluated using a hedonic regression model. The model considers the impacts of sugar beet price and land characteristics on land prices. The results indicate that noncash income transfers generated by the U.S. sugar program have been capitalized into cropland prices.     

Analysing the Agricultural Costs and Non‐market Benefits of Implementing the Water Framework Directive

Implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) represents a fundamental change in the management of water in Europe with a requirement that member states ensure ‘good ecological status’ for all water bodies by 2015. Agriculture is expected to bear a major share of WFD implementation costs as it is compelled to reduce the emission of diffuse water pollutants. The research outlined here comprises interdisciplinary modelling of agricultural land use, hydrology and consequent water quality effects to consider both agricultural costs and the non‐market recreational use (and potentially non‐use) values that implementation of the Directive may generate. A theme throughout the research is the spatial distribution of the costs and benefits of WFD implementation, which is addressed through the use of GIS techniques in the modelling of agricultural land use, the integration of land use and hydrological models, and the estimation, aggregation and transfer of the economic value of the benefits.     

Market interdependence and volatility transmission among major crops

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of volatility across major agricultural commodities in the United States. Volatility interactions across markets may lower the effectiveness of diversification strategies to mitigate price risks and should be taken into account when analyzing the pricing behavior of different agricultural commodities. We follow a multivariate GARCH approach to evaluate the time evolution of conditional correlations and volatility transmission across corn, wheat, and soybeans price returns on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The period of analysis is from 1998 to 2012. The estimation results indicate a lack of lead‐lag relationships between corn, wheat, and soybeans price returns at the mean level. We find, however, important volatility spillovers across commodities, particularly at the weekly and monthly level. Wheat and corn seem to play a major role in terms of volatility transmission. Despite the supposed higher financial market integration of agricultural commodities, we do not observe that agricultural markets have become more interdependent in recent years.     

Influence of purchaser perceptions and intentions on price for forest land parcels: A hedonic pricing approach

A hedonic model was developed to analyze the market for undeveloped forest land in Minnesota. Variables describing in situ conditions, locational characteristics, buyer perceptions and intentions, and transactional terms were tested for their influence on sale price. The independent variables explained 67% of the per hectare sale price variation. Water frontage, road access and density, absentee ownership, future intentions, and financing arrangements had large, positive influences on price. Lack of a real-estate agent and agricultural land in the vicinity of the parcel had negative influences. A parcel's merchantable timber volume was not a significant predictor of price.     

Prediction of the purchase cost of agricultural land: The example of Côte-d’Or,France

The goal of this study is to develop an estimation procedure for the purchase cost of agricultural lands that are not necessarily on the market. To do so, we implement the first stage of the hedonic price method to estimate the price of agricultural lands that have been the object of real estate transactions. We work at the original scale of the parcel. The estimation results are then employed to predict the price for agricultural lands that have not been the object of transactions. This stage needs the construction of explanatory variables at the level of entire parcels. To reduce the acquisition cost of information, we focus on the French administrative department of Côte-d’Or (8,763 km² and 983,116 cadastral parcels). We show that the predictor proposed by Meulenberg (1965) best suits our dataset.     

The many dimensions of historic preservation value: national and local designation,internal and external policy effects

This analysis examines the internal and external policy effects of national and local register programmes for historic preservation. Robust hedonic pricing models are crucial to informing policy proposals and understanding how property markets relate to urban heritage. Estimating a repeat-sales hedonic model with neighbourhood trends and spatial mixed models, novel to this literature, offers a marked improvement in terms of jointly identifying internal and external policy effects, comparing national and local designations, separating policy from heritage effects and estimating models robust to spatial dependence and trends in hedonic prices. Historic designation variables, while often individually insignificant in the model, are always jointly significant in explaining varying appreciation rates. Local districts exhibit no consistent price impacts across the models. Being located inside a national district confers a price premium that increases over time in the preferred model specification, while prices fall in national districts’ buffers after designation. The sensitivity of results to model specification raises questions about alternative approaches to spatial dependence in the data in the urban historic preservation context. Evidence of the influence of historic district designation on property turnover and renovation investments is also examined.     

Hedonic wine price functions with different prices

This study examines the impact that recommended retail prices, actual market prices and the release of a prominent wine guide have on Australian wine hedonic price estimates, for attributes such as sensory quality, winery reputation and grape region. In general, hedonic price estimates appear to be independent of prices employed. The main identified differences in estimates relate to the size of the producer and some regional impacts. For market prices only, increases in producer size are estimated to reduce prices. This implies the existence of supply chain quantity discounting price practices. The impact of an authoritative wine guide appears to have a negligible influence on prices in Australia. In the absence of market transaction prices, the common practice of employing recommended prices for hedonic wine price estimation is defendable.     

Segmenting the Wine Market Based on Price: Hedonic Regression when Different Prices mean Different Products

Many economists have estimated hedonic price functions for red and white wine. However, estimating a single hedonic price function imposes the assumption that the implicit prices of the attributes are the same for any red or white wine. We argue that even within these two categories, wines are differentiated, and disregarding this heterogeneity causes an aggregation bias in the estimated implicit prices. By estimating hedonic functions specific to price ranges, we show that the wine market is segmented into several product classes or market segments. We find that a model accounting for the existence of wine classes has greater ability to explain the variability in the data and produces more accurate and interpretable results regarding the implicit prices of the attributes.     

Testing for regional convergence of agricultural land prices

The focus of this paper is on spatial market integration in agricultural land markets. We scrutinize the applicability of the law of one price to land markets and distinguish between absolute and relative versions of this “law”. Panel data unit root and stationarity tests are applied to land sale prices in the German state Lower Saxony. Three main clusters with different price developments are detected. Our results indicate that the law of one price holds only locally due to structural differences among regions.     

东北粮食主产区农村土地承包经营权规模化流转定价机制研究—— 以黑龙江省克山县为例

研究目的:通过建立农村土地承包经营权规模化流转定价机制,促进农村土地承包经营权流转市场完善,为合理确定农村土地承包经营权规模流转价格提供科学依据。研究方法:区间价格模型,Hurwicz准则,层次分析法,收益现值法。研究结果 :克山县农村土地承包经营权规模流转的价格区间为6380元/hm~2到9155元/hm~2;通过对比供需双方土地流转意愿的影响因素,计算得土地流转价格系数为0.498;在价格区间内引入Hurwicz准则,测算土地承包经营权规模流转价格是可行的。研究结论:以村集体经济组织为中介代理人、以维护流转双方利益为准则的土地承包经营权规模化流转定价机制不仅体现利润分享原则,也丰富了马克思地租地价理论的实践应用,符合赋予农民更多财产权利、拓宽农民财产性收入的政策改革方向。     

杭州市住宅价格空间分异:基于特征价格的两维度分析

研究目的:从特征价格的视角,构建城市住宅价格空间分异的两维度分析框架,并对杭州市住宅市场进行实证研究。研究方法:文献资料法和计量分析法。研究结果:住宅特征对住宅价格影响程度的差异性以及住宅特征空间分布的不均匀性,导致了住宅价格的空间分异。研究结论:基于特征价格模型的分析框架是有效且合理的。     

Market‐orientated Positioning of On‐farm Processed Foods as a Condition for Successful Farm Diversification

Farm diversification is stimulated within the reform of the common agricultural policy. On‐farm processing and direct marketing are options, but farmers often lack a marketoriented approach. This paper illustrates the problem by presenting a consumer survey regarding on‐farm processed yoghurt. Conjoint analysis is used to define the most preferred yoghurt in different market segments. Results of the price sensitivity meter are similar to the conjoint analysis. Farmers' price setting is not always adequate, which means that opportunities and additional income are lost. Providing the necessary assistance in collecting market information and commercial training is essential in obtaining sustainable benefits from on‐farm processing and direct marketing.     

Pricing to market behaviour of India's high value agri‐food exporters: an empirical analysis of major destination markets

The pricing behaviour of India's high value agricultural and food exporters in their major destination markets is examined using a pricing‐to‐market (PTM) model for noncompetitive and exchange rate related pricing behaviour. The analysis was undertaken in a context where India is showing high commodity concentration in agricultural trade. The econometric analysis employed is panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) estimation technique. The results indicated evidence of a greater degree of imperfect competition either through price discrimination across destinations or through imperfect exchange rate pass‐through. The analysis of exchange rate effects showed that the local currency price stabilization by the Indian exporters were more prominent than the amplification of exchange rates. The analysis of the asymmetric effects of exchange rates on export prices showed that in most cases the depreciation of Indian rupee had a greater impact than the appreciation. Moreover the results showed that the exchange rate pass‐through is sensitive to the kind of exchange rate index utilised. In our analysis we found that the commodity specific exchange rate better predicts the pricing to market behaviour in most cases.     

Shadow pricing diversity in U. S. national forests

Tobit estimation of the market value of timber sales in national forests of North Carolina demonstrates the important effect of stand diversity on the formulation of bid prices for mixed-species timber tracts. The hedonic model generates a shadow price for diversity according to changes in bid prices, an effective shift in the demand curve for auctioned tracts due to stand diversity attributes. This approach contrasts with traditional shadow price analyses that focus on the supply effects of environmental constraints. Results are corrected for the effects of bidder participation, market conditions, production costs, and other stand attributes. Econometric results demonstrate that stand heterogeneity is a highly significant factor influencing the market value of timber sales from national forests of the Appalachian region. Greater heterogeneity results in lower bid prices for timber sales, indicating a positive shadow price for maintenance of stand diversity.     

Property price effects of a national wildlife refuge: Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts

The amenity value of proximity to a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in central Middlesex County, Massachusetts is estimated and compared to the values of proximity to five other open space types, including agricultural land, cemeteries, conservation land, golf courses, and sport/recreation parks. A hedonic model is used to explore the relationships among residential property values and proximity to these distinct types of open space. Open space characteristics in the empirical model include measures of continuous distance from each property to the nearest open space of each type and an index describing the diversity of open space types within neighborhoods of 100 and 1000 meters around a home. Results reveal that a property located 100 meters closer to the NWR than a neighboring property has a price premium of $984. Further, proximity to the NWR is valued more than proximity to agricultural land, cemeteries, and conservation land. No significant differences are found among the values of proximity to the NWR, golf courses, and sport/recreation parks.