A NEGATIVE INCOME TAX AND LOW INCOME FARM FAMILIES*

An efficient procedure is proposed for making welfare payments to low income farm families. This is a negative income tax. It uses the income tax system for linking directly transfer payments to income needs, without unduly adverse effects on resource allocation. The negative income tax proposal is considered in relation to rural adjustment and reconstruction.     

A NOTE ON OFF-FARM INCOME OF FARM FAMILIES IN AUSTRALIA*

Past studies of the farm sector have concentrated on the use of farm based resources in the farm context alone. Changes in the economic environment have widened the opportunities available to these resources and have thus tended to make this narrow definition of the farm firm less relevant. Some recognition of this situation has emerged in more recent studies. The aim of this note is to collate and examine the degree to which farm labour resources are employed in off-farm activities in Australia. The main conclusion drawn from the evidence available is that, while in aggregate part-time farming is a fairly minor activity, in some sectors it is increasing in importance and constitutes a considerable outlet for farm based labour resources.     

THE VARIABILITY OF NET FARM INCOME*

The movements in, and variability of, net farm income over time have considerable impact on the agricultural sector. But variability of income is quite dificult to measure in a satisfactory and objective way. In this note, a previous study (by R. B. Jones) of the variability of net farm income is sunimarised and discussed. Following this, a different approach, involving the use of various time series, is considered. Although the period covered differs from that used by R. B. Jones, his general conclusions remain unaltered. However, the analysis does suggest a definite rise in relative variability since 1963–4. It is felt that the alternative method used has some advantages over the other methods, especially in enabling tests of significance to be used to assess if observed changes are significant, and if the basic underlying assumptions are tenable.     

FARM ADJUSTMENT AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT*

The problem of low income farms in Australia is examined in a dynamic context of overall farm adjustment. It is suggested that the pace of agricultural adjustment has been and is too slow, in the light of current and prospective market and cost trends. Consideration is given to both the case for, and the possibilities of, government action and the relationship of on?-farm adjustment to the adjustment needs of the economic and the social infrastructure on the agricultural sector.     

SOME FEATURES OF FARM INCOME AND STRUCTURE VARIATIONS IN REGIONS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Farm income trends and developments in farm structure have varied within the UK in the last decade. While Wales and Northern Ireland have similarities in form structure, agricultural production has risen to a much smaller extent, and farmers have suffered more severe net income reductions, in Scotland and Northern Ireland than in England and Wales. The net incomes of Cropping farms rose faster and, in England, have remained much higher than those of Dairy or Livestock farms. Large numbers of small farm businesses depend on beef cattle and sheep production and have limited development prospects. As most of their occupiers are unlikely to find other employment, structural problems will persist and policy adjustments are suggested to enable agriculture to contribute more to the economy in remote and depressed localities.     

THE ANALYSIS OF NET FARM INCOME: AN EXAMINATION OF FARM MANAGEMENT SURVEY DATA

The practical significance of the conventional “net farm income” is elusive. It would be useful to have an accepted method of dividing “management and investment income” into its recognised Components—managerial salary and return on tenant's capital. One is a residual if the other can be calculated, and both alternatives are considered. An empirical formula is suggested for estimating the managerial salary which may be imputed to the farmer, taking account of his total turnover, his labour bill and his net farm income. This formula is then applied to Farm Management Survey data, for individual farms and for groups of average, high and low performance (output per £ input). The method may permit closer analysis of relative profitability.     

MANAGEMENT GAMES AND THE TEACHING OF FARM MANAGEMENT*1

The concept of a farm management game is explained, and the relationships between simulation, games and Monte Carlo techniques are discussed. The potential role of farm management games in improving the teaching of farm management is reviewed. The management game is presented as a dynamic case study.     

THE COST-PRICE SQUEEZE ON AUSTRALIAN FARM INCOME

Relative price movements for major agricultural commodity groups are reviewed. Estimates of the movement in real farm income per farmer are presented for Australian agriculture over the period 1949 to 1969, and for the sheep industry for the period 1953 to 1967. Increased productivity has offset the adverse price movements experienced by farmers over the period examined. The effect of the cost-price squeeze on farm investment and adjustment is discussed. The continuing cost-price squeeze has not prevented sustained investment by farmers.     

INCOME TAX DATA AND FARM FINANCIAL STATISTICS

Tracing the income patterns of individual farm operators whose major source of income is generally derived from farming indicates that off-farm income is becoming an increasingly important income component. The relative importance of off-farm income has nearly quadrupled during the last 20 years, rising from about 10 percent of total income to about 37 percent of total income. Most of this off-farm income can be traced to wages and salaries. These fractions are heavily dependent upon relative income levels. In 1970, very low income farmers posted an aggregate net farm loss whereas the $15,000 - $20,000 class secured about three-quarters of their total income from farm sources. In this same year, wages and salaries were generally the prime off-farm income source for farmers with an assessed income of less than $20,000. Dividends and interest were more important to farmers with an income in excess of $20,000. These differences are faithfully reflected in the regional compilations. As a percent of total income, off-farm income ranged from 41 percent in Ontario to about 29 percent in Quebec. The composition of off-farm sources also varies considerably between regions. In 1970 the income position of taxable unincorporated farm operators (who relied on the farm for their major source of income) remained relatively unfavorable. These farmers still had one of the lowest average incomes of any major occupational class in Canada, with an income distribution which was relatively equally distributed between income classes and not unlike that of the national average. These assessed income statistics, of course, are not necessarily indicative of the welfare position of the respective occupational classes. The calculations conducted are simply illustrative of how income tax statistics can be utilized to facilitate our understanding of the income structure in primary agriculture today. The exercise simply underlines the observation that: The fact that there are conceptual differences between income tax data and other data sources should not detract from the usefulness of the income tax data …. Income tax statistics can stand as an independent data source for the analysis of a variety of issues [13]. For many purposes the tax definition of a farm operator may be more operational than the concept of a farmer as defined in the Census of Agriculture. We might profit considerably from further analyses which attempt to disaggregate Census farms into more homogeneous farm-types using the tax statistics available.     

居民收入增长对乳制品消费影响及作用机制研究

目的 优化乳制品消费结构、推动消费方式多元化发展,能够在保持消费总量稳定增长的同时,多途径提升乳制品消费水平,加快乳制品消费转型升级,助力居民营养健康。方法 文章利用2009—2018年“中国健康与营养调查”面板数据,分析了我国居民收入增长对乳制品消费的影响,并着重讨论了城乡之间的因素差异。结果 （1）收入增长可显著提升城乡居民乳制品消费量,在利用IV-Hekit模型克服内生性后,结论依然稳健;（2）收入增长可通过丰富乳品消费种类加快乳品消费结构升级、增加乳品消费频次形成结构化膳食两条路径增加乳制品消费;（3）城市居民收入增长对乳制品消费量的正向作用更明显,城市居民收入增长对乳制品消费种类和消费频次的提升作用约为农村居民的两倍。结论 增加城乡居民对乳制品的消费,需引导居民形成多元化健康饮食方式,带动乳制品加工营养化高值化,推动地方特色乳业发展;强化乳制品消费引导和配送体系建设;组织实施低收入人群营养改善计划,保障弱势群体食物基本供给和营养不断改善。     

THE IMPACT OF FARM AND PROCESSING RESEARCH ON THE AUSTRALIAN WOOL INDUSTRY*

An equilibrium displacement model of the world wool top industry is used to estimate the returns to the Australian wool industry from productivity improvements in farm production, in top making and in textile manufacturing. The returns to the industry from these different types of research and development are sensitive to the extent of substitution possibilities between Australian wool and other inputs used by the wool processing and textile industries but it appears that research resources have to be much more efficient in off-farm activities for the Australian wool industry to receive benefits similar to those from farm research activities.     

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FARM INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN LDCs

There were remarkable and sustained increases in agricultural and food production in the developing countries over the last three decades. But the fruits of this progress were not shared by all, and many remain in poverty. Some believe this due to the unequal distribution of benefits and accordingly claim that an agricultural strategy which focuses on reducing disparities of income, assets and access is the most important objective for agricultural development. This approach is justified by claims of wide and increasing disparities of income in the agricultural sectors of LDCs. This paper looks at the evidence for such claims and finds that they cannot be supported by hard evidence. Indeed, the few valid studies of agricultural income distribution show modest disparities. Accordingly, redistribution strategies, especially those aimed at uni-modal farm sectors, are rejected as unnecessary, undesirable and unachievable (without destroying the main spring of agricultural progress). On the contrary, it is urged that growth in productivity, output and incomes should be the dominant development objective to encourage, as many examples show, the enterprise, ability and energy of small farmers and their families. Such a strategy produces a degree of unequal distribution of benefits which reflects the distribution of personal qualities and endowments and acts as an incentive to their exercise. To keep disparities within bounds, agricultural policies relating to pricing, extension, credit, research and so on should aim at widening the number of small farmer beneficiaries of agricultural development.     

THE ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION*

In this paper is presented an analysis of the consumption patterns of beer, wine and spirits for Australia using data for the period 1955/56-1985/86. The validity of the demand theory hypotheses demand homogeneity and Slutsky symmetry has been tested using recently developed distribution? free procedures. The findings were that (i) beer and wine were necessities and spirits a strong luxury; (ii) beer and spirits are specific complements; and (iii) the homogeneity and symmetry hypotheses are acceptable. Preference for wine consumption seems to be independent of preference for beer and spirits.     

MEASURING FARM INCOME UNDER CONDITIONS OF INFLATION: THE GAINS FROM BORROWING

Progress made in applying the principles of Current Cost Accounting (CCA) to measuring farming income is reviewed. Attention is focussed on the absence of any adjustment to farming income figures to incorporate the gains accruing from borrowing where the real burden of debt is eroded by inflation. A procedure based on deducting implied real interest charges, instead of nominal interest payments, is proposed. Revised values for U.K. farming income are estimated for the years 1974 to 1980. The revised figures range from values for income which are 29% greater than values which exclude the gains (or losses) from borrowing to values which are 25% lower.     

TWO SUGGESTED ADJUSTMENTS IN FARM INCOME MEASUREMENT USING TAXATION DATA*

The paper sets out two adjustments for taxation data when income distribution is relevant. The adjustments are used on income series for primary producers and wholesale-retail trading and results compared. Little difference is found between the two income series though the latter, years show the wholesale-retail traders series continuing on an upward trend, while the primary producers series appears to climb at a slower rate or has flattened out. An examination of income led to similar conclusions though these figures seem to imply that in both industries there is a hard core of poverty, individuals who can neither raise their income nor move out of the industry.