Economic development and farmland protection: An assessment of rewarded land conversion quotas trading in Zhejiang,China

Facing a substantial loss of farmland in the reform era, the Chinese central government established a highly centralized land management system in 1998 to guarantee its capacity to meet the domestic food needs. In order to maintain high-speed economic growth, local governments in China made great efforts to circumvent the stringent constraint on land use by launching various innovative land management schemes, among which Zhejiang's rewarded land conversion quotas (RLCQ) trading scheme, a program similar to the transfer of development rights (TDR) in Western countries, has attracted a lot of policy and scholarly attention. In this research, we first provide an overview of China's farmland protection policy and the RLCQ trading scheme in Zhejiang Province. Then, using the system GMM estimator for economic growth models and a panel dataset of 69 local jurisdictions in Zhejiang Province covering the period of 1989–2008, we assess the impacts of RLCQ trading on local economic growth. The empirical results corroborate our hypotheses that participation in land quota trading in general led to faster local economic growth, and that the trading had a stronger and more lasting impact on the economic growth of the quota buyers than on that of the sellers. The analysis suggests that in order to balance the competing goals of economic development and farmland protection, market-based land management tools have a good potential for further development in China and other countries confronting similar challenges.     

Water and growth in an agricultural economy

We present a model of economic growth of an agricultural household that is faced with an exogenous water availability constraint. We examine the long‐run investment and consumption choices under two scenarios: (i) when the water availability constraint is binding and (ii) when it is not binding. We then compare the two scenarios to derive conditional convergence hypotheses regarding the impact of water availability on long‐run agricultural growth. Panel data from Wyoming are used to test these conditional convergence hypotheses. We find that Wyoming counties exhibit strong conditional convergence in agricultural growth. Our theoretical and empirical results demonstrate that water availability is not a determinant but can be a constraint on long‐run agricultural growth. Higher water use leads to higher growth in agricultural yield per capita but when water rights constrain water use in a county, as we found in southeastern Wyoming, there are significant losses in agricultural growth.     

四川省经济增长中土地资源的“阻力”研究

经济增长不仅是人们生活水平提高的保证,也是衡量社会发展的一个重要标志。目前资源对经济增长束缚越来越突出,经济能否实现稳定、可持续增长是各国普遍关注焦点。本文基于经典的索洛模型和Romer(2001)的经济增长模型,考虑土地资源的限制对经济增长产生一定影响,通过建立模型测算我国四川省经济增长的土地资源"阻力",计算出的阻力值大约每年0.0143,也就是说因为土地资源的限制,四川省经济增长平均每年降低了1.43%,并对这一结果进行对比分析,在此基础上提出对策建议,这对于掌握四川省经济增长中的资源约束影响,合理预测四川经济增长态势,促进土地资源的节约集约利用,具有重要现实意义。     

Drivers of vertical intra‐industry trade: the case of the Hungarian agri‐food sector

This article investigates the drivers of vertical intra‐industry trade (VIIT) in Hungarian agri‐food trade with the European Union (EU). It identifies three possible ways to measure intra‐industry trade (IIT) flows (GHM, FF, and N methods) and defines six hypotheses to test for the drivers of VIIT with three panel data models (static, dynamic, and FEVD). The results suggest that factor endowments are negatively, while economic size is positively and significantly related to VIIT. Distance and VIIT were found to be negatively related as is commonly the case in the standard gravity model. It was also found that VIIT is greater if a New Member State (NMS) is exporting agri‐food produce to an NMS, while EU accession has ambiguously influenced the share of VIIT. In general, it seems that our results are independent from model estimations and interestingly they do not differ considerably as we a priori expected. Moreover, our results seem surprisingly robust across various measurements of ITT.     

Structural transformation away from agriculture in growing open economies

Understanding how and why economies structurally transform away from agriculture as they grow is crucial for developing sensible growth strategies and farm and food policies. Typically, analysts who study this and related structural change issues focus on sectoral shares of gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. This article draws on trade theory to focus as well on exports. It also notes that the trade costs of some products are too high at early stages of development to make international trade profitable, so a nontradables sector is recognized. The general equilibrium model presented in the theory section provides hypotheses about structural transformation in differently endowed open economies as they grow. Those hypotheses are tested econometrically with a new annual endowments dataset covering 1995–2018 for more than 130 countries. The results are consistent with long run de-agriculturalization in the course of national economic growth in terms not only of sectoral shares of GDP and employment but also of exports. We find those shares are not significantly affected by either differences across countries in relative factor endowments or relative rates of sectoral assistance from government; but the agricultural GDP and employment shares are higher the higher is the share of agriculture in national exports.     

Consumption of Economic Information in Agriculture

We develop a model of decision makers' demand for agricultural economic information services. This model treats choice of external decision-support services as a function of actors' assessment of how alternative investments in information complement their internal competencies. Data from a survey in four commodity systems are used to evaluate hypotheses as to how human capital, and functional role of actors in commodity systems affect demand for variously formatted information. By focusing on three axes of heterogeneity—diversity among decision makers, information service providers, and information—we are able to identify key structural and functional relationships in agricultural economic information systems.     

食用菌出口结构与产业增长的互进关系——基于VAR模型的分析

[目的]中国食用菌产业作为节地节水、促进生态循环的特色产业,与其他园艺产品相比,具有明显的出口竞争优势,其不同的出口结构对产业拉动的力度有所不同,理清其出口结构和产业增长的互动关系,将有利于引导中国食用菌出口发展方向以及产业结构的优化。[方法]基于VAR模型的计量方法,通过协整检验、格兰杰因果检验、脉冲响应及方差分解等对1978~2013年中国食用菌初级品及加工品的出口结构、食用菌产业规模及农业经济增长之间的关系进行实证研究。[结果]食用菌出口、产业规模和经济增长之间存在长期稳定的协整关系;相对食用菌初级品出口而言,农业经济增长与产业规模对食用菌加工品出口的拉动效果比中长期更明显、持续性更强;食用菌加工品出口更能带动农业经济增长,对产业规模的拉动期更长、拉动力更强。[结论]食用菌出口和产业增长有良好的互动性,发展食用菌精深加工、优化食用菌出口结构、注重品质及品牌发展,将有利于继续提高食用菌出口竞争力,对调整和优化产业结构,进而推动食用菌产业平稳快速发展具有重要意义。     

Adaptive farm management in the context of the expansion of industrial tree plantations in northern Argentina

Landscape reconversion by plantation-oriented forestry is associated with transformations in regional economic systems. Under such change, rural communities develop different environmental and economic management strategies. Due to forest plantation growth since the 1970's in Misiones, Argentina, different areas of production can be identified according to the intensity of the forestry management model carried out. Each area defines a forestry productive landscape in which local rural populations are immersed. In this study, we describe and analyse the agricultural production strategies of Colonos (settlers) according to the size of industrial tree plantations. We offer insights into the construction of an adaptive, agrobiodiverse strategy in the context of the dominant forestry industry. Considering historical processes and current land use, we expected to find less diversity and overall development of the family productive system among rural families living in more homogenized, plantation-dominated landscapes. Qualitative and quantitative data was gathered to assess the agricultural richness and producers´ related production management. Departing from the idea that the homogenization of the landscape diminishes the diversification of the family productive system, we found that families have been able to shape the components of their subsistence in complex environments. In other words, in the face of change and instability, Colono farmers were able to reconfigure and incorporate diverse agricultural strategies. Also, they engage in biologically diverse farming systems and provide ecological heterogeneity to a regional landscape deeply transformed by tree plantations.     

科技成果转化与林业经济增长方式转变

中国林业经济增长方式是典型粗放型的,应尽快加以转变。科技进步是促进我国林业经济增长方式转变的第一推动力。文章认为,实现我国林业经济增长方式转变的关键是要加快现有林业科技成果向现实生产力转化,提高科技进步对林业经济增长的贡献率。     

长江中下游地区农业经济增长中隐含虚拟耕地资源“尾效”对比研究*

[目的]为进一步科学、系统地评估长江中下游地区主要农产品隐含的虚拟耕地资源对农业经济增长的约束或促进作用,进而为国家正确制定和执行合理的土地管理政策提供参考依据。[方法]基于新古典经济增长理论构建农业经济增长中隐含的虚拟耕地资源"尾效"模型,以长江中下游地区7省、市为例进行实证对比分析,并尝试探索虚拟耕地资源"尾效"存在区域差异的原因。[结果]长江中下游地区主要农产品虚拟耕地资源与农业经济增长存在显著相关,虚拟耕地资源的投入进一步加速了浙江、上海和江苏的经济发展,对安徽、湖南、湖北、江西经济发展的促进和约束程度变化不一;虚拟耕地资源增长率、虚拟耕地资源弹性系数、资本弹性系数是虚拟耕地资源"尾效"存在区域差异的主要原因。[结论]长江中下游地区主要农产品虚拟耕地资源"尾效"整体差异明显,对农业经济增长的影响显著。     

Modelling guanxi with a games network approach

Rapid economic growth in East Asia has often been attributed to cultural preconditions. In the case of China, high economic growth has been attributed to Confucian emphases on loyalty, reciprocal social obligations, and the pre-eminence of the group over the individual. These cultural attributes are said to be manifested especially in the practice of guanxi, a distinctive style of inter-firm networking based on trust and mutual obligations. We suggest that cultural explanations of guanxi networking behaviour appear to conflict with standard economic assumptions of rationality and utility maximisation. We argue that guanxi networks can be better understood if modelled on these standard economic assumptions. For this purpose we use a network games approach. We find that guanxi-type behaviour can be generated by the model, such that culture-based explanations appear unnecessary. Thus, we argue, guanxi behaviour can be explained in a way more consistent with rational agents and maximising behaviour.     

农业空间匹配及其经济增长效应研究——以长三角为例

[目的]产业空间匹配是产业发展的重要影响因素,产业发展与区域优势要素相匹配有助于缩小地区间经济水平差距,达到均衡发展状态。[方法]文章从水土资源匹配和产业相对优势匹配两个角度定义了农业空间匹配质量,以长三角为例量化该地区41个地级市的匹配质量,随后采用空间滞后模型对农业空间匹配质量的经济增长效应进行了实证分析。[结果]结果显示农业水土资源匹配度对长三角农业经济增长效应为-0.146 4,空间计量模型的空间滞后影响力为0.27。长三角各地区农业水土资源匹配状况总体趋势上表现出先提高后降低的趋势,2011—2015年达到最大值。[结论]水土资源匹配度对长三角农业经济增长具有显著的负向影响,而相对优势匹配度对农业经济增长的影响不显著。增长模型中体现了空间的适应性,形成了良好的产业空间集聚。科技、劳动力和城市化都是其主要的驱动力,推动着水土资源匹配度在不同时期的变化。     

FACTOR SHARES IN AGRICULTURE: THE CANADA-U.S. EXPERIENCE

The class shares of income in the Canadian economy and public policy developments are closely related. A comparison of the levels and trends in functional income shares with those in the United States economy generates a number of testable hypotheses. In this paper, the functional shares in all Canadian agriculture and agricultural regions are also observed and compared to US. agriculture and adjacent type of fanning regions.
The analysis indicates a marked similarity in the total economy income shares despite dissimilar factor supply functions. In both countries there has been a slight upward trend in the labor share over time. The rate and pattern of growth has also been similar in the two countries; however, a serious divergence has developed in recent years. In contrast to the total economies, declining farm labor income shares characterize both agricultures. Real estate shares also have followed a similar pattern in the two countries, with the past two decades witnessing a reversal in the historical decline. Nevertheless, there are a number of differences between factor shares in Canadian and United States agriculture. In part, these can be explained by comparing adjacent regions. It is clear, however, that the different impact of technological change and economic growth has bad a great impact on regional shares. The operation of capital and labor markets within Canadian agriculture also contribute to the differences in agricultural factor shares between the two countries.     

Market-oriented reforms,globalization and the recent transformation of Latin American innovation systems

Market-oriented structural reforms were implemented in Latin America under the expectation that the transition from an "inward-oriented", "state-led" growth strategy to one which was more "market-led" and "outward-oriented" was going to be rewarded by a sustainable long-term improvement in the region's rate of economic expansion and productivity growth. The competitive discipline imposed by a more open and deregulated economic regime was expected to induce faster innovation and technological modernization efforts from firms and individuals and, thereafter, a gradual but steady "convergence" to world-wide income and productivity standards. A global look at the region's performance throughout the 1980s and 1990s tells us that such a priori expectation was far from realistic. The paper examines why this has been so.     

经济增长、碳交易与环境污染:基于省级空间面板数据的证据

基于2003—2014年中国31个省级行政区域的面板数据,运用空间杜宾模型(SDM)和空间自回归模型(SAR),实证分析了碳排放权交易、经济增长与环境污染的关系。研究结果发现:各地区的环境污染存在显著的空间相关性;经济增长对环境污染的影响为"N"型效应,预示着经济增长并不能解决环境问题,还需要从其他方面加以应对。碳排放交易市场的建立有利于环境保护,降低环境污染;此外,因单纯为了引资,对环保要求的门槛过低,外商直接投资加重了环境污染;资本密集程度越高,环境污染越低;相对于第三产业,第二产业规模越大,环境污染越低。     

Technical efficiency,herd size,and exit intentions in U.S. dairy farms

The U.S. dairy industry has seen major restructuring in recent decades. A sharp decline in the number of U.S. dairy farms and an increase in average herd sizes have accompanied exits, which have been concentrated among smaller herds. Given that more productive farms are better positioned to increase operation size and to continue operation, we hypothesize that the more technically efficient farms are better able to expand and also have stronger incentives to continue production. Using data from the USDA's 2010 ARMS Phase III, Dairy Production Practices and Costs and Returns Report, we estimate technical efficiency using stochastic production frontier analysis with endogenous inputs. The efficiency estimate is then incorporated into the analysis of exit intention and herd size. The results confirm our hypotheses that smaller and less efficient farms are more likely to exit and that more efficient dairy farms tend to expand herd size. Moreover, farms without successors but with older and more educated operators are more likely to exit.     

Relationship between urban construction land expansion and population/economic growth in Liaoning Province,China

The rapid expansion of urban construction land will lead to decoupling from the trend of economic development and population growth. A previous study have shown that there is a long-term bidirectional causal relationship between urban land expansion and economic and population growth. To further explore this relationship, we used remote sensing and statistical data combined with center-of-gravity shift index, coordination degree model, Theil index, and Tapio elastic decoupling index. The main results were as follows: (1) The urban construction land expansion in Liaoning Province has obvious geographical location characteristics, and it can be classified in three types: only along the traffic lines expansion, only along the coastline, along the rivers and traffic lines concurrently. (2) The per capita construction land area (PCCLA) is growing rapidly, and by 2015, 13 cities (all except Benxi) of the province exceeded the national standard for PCCLA (120 m²). Three of these cities (Yingkou, Dalian, and Huludao) exceeded the standard by more than 100%. The uncoordinated areas of land and population urbanization spread from coastal areas to central and western areas and finally to the entire province. (3) The correlation between urban construction land expansion and economic growth has changed from weak positive to strong negative decoupling. After 2010, the decoupling index for all cities became negative. In Huludao, Chaoyang, Panjin, Dalian, Shenyang, and Jinzhou, the construction land expansion was more than 3%, coupled with a 1% decrease in non-agricultural GDP. For other cities, the construction land expansion was less than 3% for a 1% decrease in non-agricultural GDP. These results demonstrate that the rapid growth of construction land was related to a negative economic growth. The findings also suggest that under the current pattern of economic growth, it may be difficult to control the expansion of construction land. New construction land should be reasonably planned and managed, and the dependence of economic growth on construction land and speed of population urbanization is a new challenge that should be reexamined by the local government.     

人口规模、经济增长、资源禀赋与虚拟土地进口

[目的]分析虚拟土地进口的主要影响因素,为我国合理利用"两个市场"和"两种资源"提供决策依据。[方法]以1992~2014年的经验数据为依据,建立VAR模型,对我国人口规模、经济增长、资源禀赋与虚拟土地进口之间的关系进行实证分析。[结果]人口规模增长、经济发展以及人均耕地锐减是我国虚拟土地进口持续增长的驱动因素,三者对虚拟土地进口增长的驱动作用持续时间较长,且人口和人均耕地面积对虚拟土地进口的贡献呈不断增强趋势,但人均GDP对虚拟土地进口的贡献呈不断下降趋势。[结论]在未来一段时间内,虽然我国人口和人均GDP将继续保持双增长,但对促进虚拟土地进口增长的贡献较小,而人均耕地面积的不断减少对虚拟土地进口增长的贡献作用大,且贡献率有不断上升的趋势,耕地资源紧缺将成为我国虚拟土地进口不断攀升的主要影响因素。在当前严峻的资源环境形势下,保障耕地资源数量和质量、优化耕地资源空间配置、合理进口非粮土地密集型农产品、大力支持农业"走出去"等虚拟土地战略措施需要积极落实执行。     

淮海经济区空间组织优化研究

提出以“增长三角(徐州、济宁、临沂) 双港(连云港、日照)”为空间构架的网络型的淮海经济区发展模式和包括“极点的优化、通道的优化、区域市场一体化机制的建立、区域协调管理组织的建立”的淮海经济区的空间组织优化对策。     

基于BP神经网络的城市增长边界预测——以北京市为例

研究目的:构建城市增长边界预测模型,以北京市为例,研究该模型的可行性。研究方法:尝试采用BP人工神经网络方法,结合GIS和RS技术,并选定绿地、建筑物、行政中心、主要道路、次要道路、坡度、坡向和海拔8个对城市边界扩张影响较大的因子,建立城市增长边界模型(UGBM),并应用该模型预测了北京市2020年城市增长边界,同时用面积匹配值法评估了模型的精度。研究结果:使用UGBM模型预测城市增长边界,总的面积匹配值为106%,稍微高估了城市扩张面积。研究结论:基于BP神经网络的UGB划定方法对确定城市未来扩张方向有指导作用,可为城市规划和发展政策的制定提供指导。