Modelling the impact of the ‘fast track’ land reform policy on Zimbabwe's maize sector

Zimbabwe has recently gone through a widely criticised land reform process that is argued to be the cause of subdued agricultural production. This paper attempts to present a counterfactual picture of the maize market in Zimbabwe had land reform been managed appropriately. The counterfactual is developed through a partial equilibrium framework in order to quantify the impact of the land reform programme. This, to our knowledge, is the first attempt at applying a partial equilibrium framework to an analysis of the impact of land reform. The results of the post-2000 land reform policy simulation showed that actual total maize output was lower than what could have been produced if it was under a pre-2000 land reform system. The study validates the assertion that land reforms contributed to the contraction of output. These results suggest the need for a well planned and executed land reform process, which can still play an important role in output growth and food security.     

Triggers for virtual customer integration in the development of medical equipment — From a manufacturer and a user's perspective

Virtual customer integration (VCI) involves customers throughout all stages of the new product development process. Firms across industries have started to experiment with virtual user integration and expect to utilize their knowledge, creativity, and judgment. However, little research exists that looks at the motivations of customers and managers to engage in virtual product development projects. In this paper we try to identify the triggers for virtual customer integration (VCI) from the manager's as well as from the customer's perspective. Using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior we aim at explaining managers' motivation for the adoption of VCI based on a sample of 104 managers engaged in the product development process of manufacturing firms of medical technology. Drawing on motive research, we test six categories of customer motivations to engage in VCI projects on a sample of 105 users of medical technology. The results show that for mangers subjective norms and attitude predict the intention to use VCI. For customers, interest in innovation and product improvement are the most important drivers, whereas monetary compensation and prestige are not significant, and surprisingly the desire to help people even has a negative impact on the participation of VCI.     

A framework to facilitate institutional arrangements for smallholder supply in developing countries: An agribusiness perspective

The industrialization of agriculture and the potential problem of small-scale farmer marginalization calls for a fresh approach to the design of agribusiness supply chain arrangements in developing countries. The objective of the paper is to contribute to a better understanding of institutional arrangements that can promote stable smallholder agribusiness contracting arrangements in a developing country context. A case study approach, incorporating a transaction cost framework, is used to test whether trust can significantly change the contract characteristics of supply. The results suggest that although the presence of trust can influence the contract characteristics of a supply arrangement, it may not be significant because of other factors in a developing country context. Bearing this in mind, a number of institutional arrangements are recommended in order to promote more stable contract conditions.     

A Probabilistic Clustering Model for Variables of Mixed Type

This paper develops a probabilistic clustering model for mixeddata. The model allows analysis of variables of mixed type: thevariables may be nominal, ordinal and/or quantitative. The modelcontains the well-known models of latent class analysis as submodels.As in latent class analysis, local independence of the variables isassumed. The parameters of the model are estimated by the EMalgorithm. Test statistics and goodness-of-fit measures are proposedfor model selection. Two artificial data sets show the usefulness ofthese tests. An empirical example completes the presentation.     

An Empirical Approach

There is empirical evidence that investors' confidence is not only adversely affected by corruption but also by the lack of predictability and confidence that accompanies corrupt deals. However, the positive aspect of this lack of confidence is that it acts as a deterrent to corruption. Empirical data provided here on a cross–section of countries proves that confidence in corrupt deals enhances the further spread of corruption. This suggests that the adverse effects of corruption cannot be avoided by divesting it of its unpredictability.     

Does the Welfare State Destroy the Family? Evidence from OECD Member Countries

We study the effect of the size of the welfare state on demographic trends in OECD member countries. Exploiting exogenous variation in public social spending, due to varying degrees of political fractionalization (i.e., the number of relevant parties involved in the legislative process), we show that an expansion in the welfare state increases fertility, marriage, and divorce rates with a quantitatively stronger effect on the marriage rate. We conclude that the welfare state supports family formation in the aggregate. Further, we find that the welfare state decouples marriage and fertility, and therefore alters the organization of the average family.