IS PUBLICLY FUNDED AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EXCESSIVE?

Public sector agricultural research expenditure in the UK has been cut drastically over the last few years. Estimates of the rate of return to UK agricultural R and D by Wise and Harvey suggest that such cuts may well be economically justified, since returns appear to be low or even negative. This paper shows that if the accepted economic methodology is properly applied to the UK situation, the estimated rate of return may be as high as 70 per cent.     

Explaining the Decline in UK Agricultural Productivity Growth

This paper reports the results of a study of total factor productivity (TFP) growth in UK agriculture, from 1953‐2000. It shows that prior to 1984 TFP grew at 1.68% per annum and after that date at only 0.26%. International comparisons show that the UK has fallen far behind the leading EU countries. Yield growth declined even more and only labour productivity continues to grow rapidly. In part, the result is due to better data that incorporates more quality adjustment, but the real decline can be explained mainly by cuts in R&D, less patents, less growth in farm size and the demise of public extension. There are other negative factors, which have not been quantified, including asset fixity, convergence and ozone pollution, and a background argument that recent growth rates cannot be sustained.     

Productivity Growth in UK Accountancy Departments 1989–96

The study investigates productivity change in UK accountancy departments over the period 1989–1996, with this change being decomposed into 'change in efficiency' and 'technical change'. Efficiency change is also decomposed into changes in scale efficiency, output congestion and purely technical efficiency. To empirically assess the relative efficiency of each department, in transforming its monetary budget into teaching and research outputs, DEA techniques are utilized so as to enable comparison with a 'best practice' frontier. In doing this, the results of the 1989, 1992 and 1996 Research Assessment Exercises are incorporated so as to take account of the quality of research output.     

THE DEVELOPING FRAMEWORK FOR THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM — A COMMENT

The application of Kula's sum of discounted consumption flows method to forestry investment gives a more favourable result than NPV, but leads to some curious consequences. In particular, the immediate future generation may not be provided with a timber resource by the present generation, while being expected to provide such a resource for its own successors. The method does not in fact treat future generations equitably: downward revision of the social discount rate, possibly to zero, is a better means of achieving this objective.     

A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF US EXPORT WHEAT PRICING AND MARKET SHARES

The economics of a higher loan rate to support US wheat prices is analysed. Utilising optimal control theory, a dynamic wheat trade model is developed. The basic premise underlying the model is that the United States finds itself having transient monopoly power in the wheat market. An expression for the optimal pricing policy which maximises the present value of expected profits over the indefinite future is derived. Results from both the theoretical and empirical models demonstrate that the US wheat pricing strategy depends on its costs relative to competitors' costs, the discount rate and the competitors' response function. The main policy implication of the analysis is for the dominant wheat exporting country constantly to seek to lower costs relative to competitors and to maintain a price exceeding unit cost without encouraging competitors' expansion.     

Emerging differences in state grain trading: Australia and Canada

The Australian Wheat Board (AWB) and Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) have attracted attention recently because they are two of the largest state trading enterprises (STEs) engaged in agricultural trade. They have traditionally been viewed as nearly sister agencies. Among major STEs in the world market, these two agencies historically had similar characteristics including: price pooling, cost pooling, export sales monopolies, monopoly powers within domestic markets, grain quality control, and government underwriting of initial producer prices and export credit. However, during the past 6 years, similarities between the AWB and CWB have begun to diverge and the importance of their differences is becoming increasingly apparent. This paper identifies major emerging differences between the AWB and CWB and explores potential explanations (hypotheses) for these dissimilarities. A major point is that reforms in institutional design and legislative changes have given rise to emerging differences in key aspects of the marketing systems and performance.     

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AS A SOCIAL PROCESS

This article argues that the development of strategy in organizations will be more effective if it is seen as predominantly a social rather than analytical process. Using the notion of organizations as negotiated order, it is suggested that designed Group Decision Support Systems can play an important role in facilitating the negotiation of strategy. Six ‘support systems’are discussed, and the implication is that planners might see themselves as facilitators managing both ‘socially negotiated order’and ‘negotiated social order'.