THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF SOIL SURVEY INFORMATION

Claims for the general economic benefits of soil maps as planning tools have remained largely unsubstantiated. This study offers a method of assessing the value of the information provided by a soil map. Its value depends on the quality of the map, and on the difference in payoffs between alternative management practices. Using only data normally available to agricultural planners, the value of a map may be calculated before its survey. The problem is one of decision-taking under uncertainty. A computer programme has been compiled to calculate the benefit from soil surveys of differing quality and is applied to data from a peach-growing area in Australia.     

ECONOMICS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL FOR LIVESTOCK

Probability techniques, when combined with climatological records and known responses of domestic animals to environment permit prediction of production losses during periods of adverse environment. These predictions plus the additional costs and returns associated with an environmental control system provide the necessary information to determine its profitability. The "present value" method is utilized to determine the profitability of a summer environmental control system, using production responses of dairy cows and climatological records for Columbia, Missouri, as a specific example .
LE COÛT ET LES AVANTAGES D'UN CONTRÔLE DES CONDITIONS DE MILIEU POUR LE BÉTAIL: Les rapports climatologiques combinés avec les reactions connues des animaux de ferme à une certain milieu permettront la prédiction des pertes dans la production, sous des conditions de milieu variées. Ces prédictions en plus des renseignements sur le coût d'un contrôle des conditions de milieu fourniront l'information nécessaire afin de déterminer l'efficacité d'une telle méthode. Cette dissertation évalue l'efficacité d'une méthode de ce genre duranl l'été, en employant comme exemple le rendement dans la production des vaches laitières et les rapports climatologiques dans la région de Columbia, Missouri .     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS PROFESSION IN ENGLAND

An historical sketch of the professionalisation of agricultural economics since the mid-1920s placing special emphasis on the close links between government and universities, the pioneering role of the Ministry of Agriculture's economists during the inter-war years, and their changing post-war status and functions as compared with other economists in Whitehall. Other topics considered include the composition and functions of the Agricultural Economics Society, recent academic trends in agricultural economics, and the implications of the current crisis in economics for the future of the discipline.     

THE PROBLEM OF AGRICULTURE IN A EUROPEAN ECONOMIC UNION

A revaluation of the German Mark has been hindered by the effects that this would have on German farm prices, given the E.E.C. agricultural policy. The article therefore examines the implications of (a) a common agricultural price level, and (b) fixed or adjustable exchange rates within a customs union such as the E.E.C. It concludes that a change in relative price levels between countries couldbe tackled by means of exchange rate changes, while retaining a common agricultural price level; but even with adjustable exchange rates, a common price level may give rise to diBculties unless agricultural productivity in the member countries grows in a particular way. It finally suggests that a wider European economic union would require niorejexible arrangements than those at present in force in the E. E.C.     

渔业可持续发展的利益关系研究

利益关系是经济学研究的一个核心问题。本文以此为出发点,探索渔业可持续发展中内在的、本质的经济利益关系,提出如何调整利益关系,促进渔业的可持续发展。     

THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF ECONOMICS IN FISHERIES REGULATION

In the past, management of marine fisheries has concentrated largely on biological matters, but a cursory glance at any major fishery reveals that such an approach has not been successful. This article considers the fundamentally economic control techniques which might be used to improve the economic (and biological) condition of the world's fisheries. The principal alternatives are regulation by taxation, licensing or some kind of property rights system, and the merits and demerits of each measure are analysed. It is concluded that a property rights system appears to hold the most promise for improved fisheries management in the future.     

THE ECONOMICS OF - WHEAT PRODUCTION IN MOROCCO

A representative farm policy impact model was developed using linear programming and primary survey data. The model was used to estimate farm-level effects of proposed national government policies aimed at increasing food security through greater bread wheat production. The four policy options analysed included the introduction of a bread wheat variety resistant to an insect pest, an increase in the official bread wheat support price, potentially unlimited availability of nitrogen fertiliser, and rationing of nitrogen fertiliser at 500 kg per farm. The various policies increased farm income between 2.45 and 18 percent, as farmers made trade-offs between the production of bread wheat and the more profitable durum wheat. Adjustments were made by farmers in the model to meet government-targeted levels of bread wheat production in order to support national food self-sufficiency at minimum cost. Simultaneously, the resources freed were used to produce more durum wheat. The results suggest a need to analyse interregional and international comparative advantages in wheat production prior to implementing proposed policies aimed at increasing bread wheat output.     

可持续发展中的人口问题

我国人口众多,给经济社会带来很大压力;人口素质又比较低,成为制约发展的主要问题,为促进我国走上可持续发展的道路,须使人力资本由数量向素质转化,增加教育投入,通过市场去引导人力资本投资和人力资源配置。     

环境与自然资源经济学研究的新趋势

在总结欧美发达国家环境与自然资源经济学研究成果的基础上,系统地论述了本学科研究的新课题和发展趋势。不确定性问题研究及新理论工具的引入将是本学科理论创新的焦点：环境与资源价值评估主要集中于发展新的方法和检验假设;资源经济学研究,将把生态效益、环境效益、政策法规引入资源开发模型;经济增长与环境、资源的相互关系,将成为重要的研究课题;应用研究与交叉学科研究将成为本学科未来发展的主题。     

A REVIEW OF THREE RESEARCH PROGRAMS IN QUANTITATIVE MODELLING IN THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS*

Elements of three of the BAE's research programs in economic modelling of the rural sector, namely, the modelling of agricultural production systems, rural commodity markets and agriculture within a general equilibrium framework, are reviewed with emphasis on the use of such models in policy work. Suggestions are made for further modelling in these areas.     

西部资源开发与可持续发展对策

加了加快西部地区的经济发展,国家赋予西部更多的优惠政策,西部各省区要变潜力优势为现实优势,积极合理地开发各种资源如矿产资源和旅游资源等,发展各自的特色产业,加强生态环境的整治和基础设施建设,实施清洁生产,利用清洁能源,以实现西部地区的可持续发展。     

THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE OF LONGEVITY IN THE DAIRY COW

An adaptive stochastic dynamic programming model is described which solves the optimum replacement decision problem for the dairy cow under physical and financial assumptions currently typical for the UK. By expressing the expected net present value of the replacement heifer as an annuity equivalent under various assumptions with and without enforced (involuntary) culling an estimate of the value of longevity was obtained and an assessment made of its sensitivity to key assumptions. Increased longevity added about $20 per extra lactation per year on to the investment potential of the replacement dairy heifer under the assumptions made. This figure is sensitive to replacement cost, but could be used to provide economic values for longevity as part of an economic breeding objective for dairy cattle in the UK.