Modeling Farm Households' Price Responses in the Presence of Transaction Costs and Heterogeneity in Labor Markets

We develop a farm household model to analyze price responses of farm households. This model incorporates various types of transaction costs as well as labor heterogeneity. Nonproportional variable transaction costs or labor heterogeneity imply that production and consumption decisions become nonseparable, even when the household buys or sells labor. An empirical model is estimated using data from Midwest Poland. The results show that nonproportional variable transaction costs and labor heterogeneity significantly influence household behavior. Not all price elasticities, however, change significantly if these are neglected.     

林业产权制度与交易费用

从林业资源的多效用性、生长周期与经营风险、稀缺性、外部性四个方面分析林业资源的特征。引入产权制度与交易费用理论,论述林业产权制度的重要作用。运用新制度经济学的交易费用理论和产权学理论对个人林业产权、国有林业产权和集体林业产权三种林业产权形式进行解析。在分析林业产权制度安排的费用与效率问题的基础上,指出中国目前还处于经济发展转轨时期,林业产权制度的安排首先要服从于国家的战略需要,中国林业产权的改革也是一个渐进的过程,随着中国市场经济的逐渐成熟,林业产权制度将会不断完善。     

Urban Sprawl and Farmland Prices

A theoretical model of farmland valuation is developed to explicitly account for three effects of urban sprawl: conversion of farmland to urban uses, effect on agricultural returns, and speculative effect as represented by farmland conversion risk. This model is estimated using county-level data in the continental United States. Evidence is found for all three effects of urban sprawl on farmland values. Counties more accessible to major urban centers have higher net agricultural returns. Subsidiary evidence supports that the latter effect may be attributed to survival of (or conversion to) high-valued agriculture around urban centers.     

土地入股合作社:交易成本、价值攫取与绩效增长——以吉林省F县双胜村为例

研究目的:分析土地入股合作社从自愿组合到合作瓦解,再到村集体组织主导的合作社的强制性演化的内在机制,揭示合作社价值攫取及绩效增长的规律性问题。研究方法:博弈分析法、个案分析法和归纳总结法。研究结果:(1)合作社公共物品供给不足导致自愿合作瓦解,村集体组织为获得攫取土地价值的机会进而推行合作社的强制性演化;(2)当土地发展性价值尚未凸显时,农户愿意放弃土地发展性价值而获取农业绩效增长;(3)当土地发展性价值超过绩效增长量时,合作社强制性演化将瓦解。研究结论:(1)村集体组织与农户的价值攫取关系,即农户获取的绩效增长能够弥补其放弃的土地发展性价值是强制性演化的前提条件;(2)强制性演化一旦瓦解,村集体组织与农户会围绕土地发展性价值展开争夺,产生高昂的谈判成本,因此,需尽快界定土地剩余产权。     

The Effect of Farmland Preservation Programs on Farmland Prices

Government agencies in urbanizing areas are increasingly utilizing purchase and transfer of development rights programs to preserve farmland and protect local farm economies. This paper tests the effect of development restrictions imposed by permanent easement sales on farmland sales prices, using Maryland data. We correct for selectivity bias due to the voluntary nature of these programs in estimating hedonic sales equations. Although preserved parcels' actual land values are lower, the effect of the restrictions is not statistically significant. These findings may encourage additional participation in preservation programs or justify reductions in the easement prices paid by agencies.     

Tracing the Effects of Agricultural Commodity Prices and Food Costs

We estimate a system of product and input-demand equations for food-processing industries to trace the links among farm commodity prices, food-processing costs, and food prices. Disembodied technical change, which likely reflects increasing consumer demand for convenience and product variety, has sharply reduced agricultural materials demand relative to most other food-processing inputs. This implies weakening impacts of farm price shocks on food prices. But improving quality and falling relative prices for agricultural inputs, in combination with increasing factor substitution, has counteracted these forces to encourage greater usage of agricultural inputs in food processing, and limit these trends.     

村集体参与对农地规模经营模式形成与运行的 交易费用影响 ——基于案例比较分析

研究目的：基于江苏金湖、太仓和上海松江的案例,考察不同模式中村集体参与对农地规模经营形成与运行中交易费用的影响。研究方法：理论研究法、案例对比分析法。研究结果：（1）在农地规模经营的形成中,由于缔约频率与主体的差异,“农户+规模经营主体”模式的协调费用要略高于“农户+村集体+规模经营主体”和“农户+村集体”模式。（2）在农地规模经营的运行中,由于村集体对农地剩余控制权的掌握程度不同,“农户+规模经营主体” “农户+村集体+规模经营主体” “农户+村集体”三种模式的农户和规模经营主体履约风险依次降低,但是“农户+村集体+规模经营主体”和“农户+村集体”两种模式中的村集体存在侵占其他主体权益的风险。研究结论：村集体参与能够在不同程度上减少农地规模经营模式形成和运行的交易费用,但同时可能会增加不同经营模式运行中侵占其他主体权益的风险。建议引导与鼓励村集体参与到农地规模经营中,并强化农地规模经营风险的监管和防范,因地制宜地推广不同农地规模经营模式经验。     

论土地价格的本质及其来源

研究目的：论证土地价格的本质及来源,凝练土地经济学规律。研究方法：归纳与演绎法,文献研究法。研究结果：土地作为自然资源和生产要素,在人类社会出现土地私人占有以后就出现了土地价格;土地价格是在交换过程中形成的,是土地占有或放弃占有的对价;土地价格是土地利用能力的标尺,是土地财产价值量的经济表征;土地的本质属性决定了土地价格变化的特殊性;土地价格最终取决于土地利用能力,土地价格是其预期收益的购买价格。研究结论：土地价格最终来源于土地产出品价格,应遵循这一基本规律认识和解决土地经济问题。     

Graphical Illustration of Interaction Effects in Binary Choice Models: A Note

Graphing procedures for evaluating power or interaction terms in binary logit and probit models are illustrated in an application to hog producers’ decisions based on transaction cost economics’ hypothesised positive effect of the interaction of uncertainty and asset specificity on contract use. Results support the hypothesis, particularly for producers that are otherwise on the cusp (near the 50/50 probability) of choosing either contract or spot transactions based on their responses for other variables. Such insights may not be drawn without use of the demonstrated graphing procedures.     

Supermarket Promotions and Food Prices: A Note

Using a sample comprising nearly 250,000 weekly prices from the largest seven UK supermarket chains, this note investigates two pricing practices that have attracted public interest: the tendency for promotions to ‘disguise’ rises in non‐sale prices and the inflation of prices prior to sales which ‘exaggerate’ the discount. Analysing price dynamics before and after periods of promotional discounting results show post‐sale prices are typically lower than pre‐sale prices, contrary to the disguise hypothesis. We do, however, find evidence of exaggeration of the discount, which may potentially explain why prices fall after discounts, although the evidence is not sufficiently widespread for this to be the sole cause. Results parallel the competition authority's view of supermarket promotions and point to the useful contribution that retail price microdata might play in keeping prices in check in countries where highly concentrated retail sectors raise similar concerns.     

Transaction Costs and Cattle Marketing: The Information Content of Seller-Provided Presale Data at Bull Auctions

At sales of breeding bulls, prospective buyers have strong incentives to undertake presale measurement activities. To reduce these transaction costs, sellers often provide information on sale bulls. We examine the information content of two measures of the expected performance of the bulls and find that within a given herd, older, simpler measures of performance contain more information about prices (from buyers' perspectives) than newer, more sophisticated measures known as expected progeny differences, or EPDs. We also find, however, that buyers appear to pay considerable attention to annual changes in herd-average EPD values when comparing animals from different sellers.     

Market Emergence and Transition: Arbitrage, Transaction Costs, and Autarky in China's Grain Markets

Using trimonthly Chinese provincial grain prices from 1988 to 1995, we estimate a parity-bounds model of interregional trade for four subperiods to characterize how multiple aspects of market performance change during the process of economic transition. For each period, we estimate the extent to which arbitrage opportunities are realized by traders, the transaction costs between location pairs, and the likelihood that regions do not trade. Trade restrictions cannot explain the pattern of uneven market development over time. Infrastructure bottlenecks, managerial incentive reforms, and production specialization policies, all were likely important factors affecting market performance.     

农地市场交易收益效应研究 ——基于黄土高原苹果优势区苹果户的分析

研究目的:探讨农地市场交易收益效应机制及其作用边界,考察黄土高原苹果优势区农地市场的交易收益效应是否存在。研究方法:采用Probit和Tobit模型对黄土高原苹果优势区34个村庄、771个苹果户实地调研数据进行实证分析,从农地可交易性水平和交易质量两个维度评价农地市场的交易收益效应。研究结果:(1)农地投资资本化是农地市场交易收益效应存在的基础;(2)黄土高原苹果优势区苹果户农地投资难以资本化,农地可交易性水平对短期农地投资无激励效应,对长期农地投资灌溉设施投资具有显著的负向影响,即不存在基于农地可交易性水平的交易收益效应;(3)交易质量对农地投资具有显著的正向影响,即显著存在基于农地交易质量的交易收益效应。研究结论:政府应基于农地"三权分置"安排推进产权制度改革和健全农地流转市场制度,改进农地市场的有效性,发挥农地市场的交易收益效应;改进政策干预效果,矫正农地投资市场失灵状况,培育具有正向激励效应的黄土高原地区农地质量投资保护机制,促进农地可持续利用。     

基于威廉姆森分析范式的农村集体建设用地市场交易费用研究——南海区1872份市场交易数据和372份调研数据供给侧分析

研究目的:应用1872份市场交易数据和372份调研数据,对南海区农村集体建设用地市场交易费用及影响因素进行实证分析。研究方法:Tobit模型。研究结果:从1872份市场交易数据归纳出市场特征:市场交易形式存在明显的偏向性,"以租代让"现状普遍存在;土地细碎化程度较强;契约期限大部分都在5年以下,交易周期较短,交易频率较高。根据372份调研数据对市场交易费用的研究结果表明,集体经济组织自组织化是市场有效交易的重要制度变迁;政府干预代表市场化程度,市场化程度越高,交易费用相对较低;交易双方信息越对称、信息透明度越高、市场越规范,市场的不确定性越低,集体经济组织将面临的市场风险越低,其交易费用将越低。研究结论:为了提高集体建设用地市场发展的有效性,交易标的产权清晰是前提,交易公开化、透明化,减少政府在市场交易过程中干预,降低交易的不确定性。     

农村土地流转的供求意愿及其流转效率的评价研究

研究目的:研究农村土地流转的农户供求意愿,定量评价土地流转的经济效率。研究方法:通过设置的土地流转意愿度指标分析农户土地流转的供给意愿,通过农户实际土地经营规模和最适土地经营规模的比较分析农户的需求意愿,利用市场供求模型估算土地流转带来的供求双方农户经济福利。研究结果:中部6省的农户供给意愿在0.18—0.52之间,农户实际土地经营规模为0.27—0.73 hm2/户,最适土地经营规模0.61—1.08 hm2/户,以100—300元/亩流转交易价实行土地流转后,中部6省中各省供给方农户的经济福利可达到1.1—9.2亿元,需求方农户的经济福利可达到2.2—12.2亿元。研究结论:从供给角度看,当前农户的土地流转意愿低;从需求角度看,农户有土地流转的意愿。土地流转交易使土地资源和劳动力资源得到重新配置,增进了土地供给者和土地需求者的福利,提高了经济效率。     

An Organisational Discussion of Incomplete Contracting and Transaction Costs in Conservation Contracts

Conservation in the agricultural sector is difficult to achieve. A primary complicating factor in achieving conservation is the large number of public good environmental services provided by large numbers of individuals acting under diverse economic and ecological conditions. The complexity of the problem implies that additional consideration must be given to transaction cost economics and the theory of incomplete contracting. Drawing on insights from organisational economics, this paper argues that conservation policy and research could be improved with explicit consideration of the effects of ‘holdup problems’, transaction costs and trust on the provision of conservation services. ‘Bottom‐up’ approaches are promising as they directly incorporate these organisational issues, and the paper concludes with an example of a ‘bottom‐up’ conservation programme, the Ontario Environmental Farm Planning programme.     

Rural Development Programmes and Transaction Effects: Reflections on Maltese and English Experience

New institutional economics, and transaction effects in particular, are highly relevant to public policy performance. The evolution of EU rural development policy has generated both increasing complexity and increased transaction costs. However, this policy evolution also creates opportunities for improvement of policy process management. The paper considers these opportunities in the case of Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) under Pillar 2 of the CAP. We examine the influence of transaction effects on RDP performance, based on direct experience of RDP review and planning in England and Malta, where qualitative evidence of ‘transaction benefits’ is identified. Benefits occur when exchange processes are designed in ways that generate positive returns beyond the immediate transaction, which can outweigh short‐term costs. We conclude that more attention to these aspects of policy design is warranted in future rural development programming and evaluation.     

A Model of Spatial Arbitrage with Transport Capacity Constraints and Endogenous Transport Prices

This article solves a high-frequency model of price arbitrage incorporating storage and trade when the amount of trade is limited by transport capacity constraints. In equilibrium there is considerable variation in transport prices because transport prices rise when the demand to ship goods exceeds the capacity limit. This variation is necessary to attract shipping capacity into the industry. In turn, prices in different locations differ by a time varying amount. Thus while the law of one price holds, it holds because of endogenous variation in transport prices.