Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation technologies in the Ethiopian Highlands: A case study in Andit Tid,North Shewa

This paper reports results from a study of resource degradation and conservation behavior of peasant households in a degraded part of the Ethiopian highlands. Peasant households' choice of conservation technologies is modeled as a two-stage process: recognition of the erosion problem, and adoption and level of use of control practices. An ordinal logit model is used to explain parcel-level perception of the threat of the erosion problem and the extent of use of conservation practices. Results show the importance of perception of the threat of soil erosion, household, land and farm characteristics; perception of technology-specific attributes, and land quality differentials in shaping conservation decisions of peasants. Furthermore, where poverty is widespread and appropriate support policies are lacking, results indicate that population pressure per se is unable to encourage sustainable land use. The challenge of breaking the poverty-environment trap and initiating sustainable intensification thus require policy incentives and technologies that confer short-term benefits to the poor while conserving the resource base.     

New low-frequency spread measures

I develop new spread proxies that pick up on three attributes of the low-frequency (daily) data: (1) price clustering, (2) serial price covariance accounting for midpoint prices on no-trade days, and (3) the quoted spread that is available on no-trade days. I develop and empirically test two different approaches: an integrated model and combined models. I test both new and existing low-frequency spread measures relative to two high-frequency benchmarks (percent effective spread and percent quoted spread) on three performance dimensions: (1) higher individual firm correlation with the benchmarks, (2) higher portfolio correlation with the benchmarks, and (3) lower distance relative to the benchmarks. I find that on all three performance dimensions the new integrated model and the new combined model do significantly better than existing low-frequency spread proxies.     

Land rental markets and rural poverty dynamics in Northern Ethiopia: Panel data evidence using survival models

There is growing interest in understanding the links between land reforms, land markets, and poverty reduction in Africa. The study uses four‐wave panel data from the northern highlands of Ethiopia to assess the dynamics of rural poverty taking into account the status of participation of rural households in the land rental market. Applying both nonparametric (Kaplan–Meier estimator) and semi‐parametric survival models that control for duration dependence of poverty transition, results show participation and degree of participation on the supply side of the tenancy market (landlords) have highly significant and positive effect on the chances of escaping poverty while the same cannot be said about the demand side of the tenancy market (tenants). The empirical evidence also confirms that households headed by older and literate people have relatively larger exit rates from poverty as compared with households headed by younger and illiterate ones. Though transacting farmers may engage themselves in win–win rental arrangements by the time they join the tenancy market, results indicate that gains are unequal as those tenants who enter the markets from low economic leverage (were poor) are liable to face a lower margin of net gains, which may limit their ability to move out of poverty.     

Some empirical evidence on the determinants of incomes policies in the UK

A model is proposed in which incomes policy is the endogenous variable and is explained by political and economic variables. The empirical results show that the party in power, inflation, wage change and unemployment effect the chances of an incomes policy.     

The accuracy of OECD forecasts

This paper examines the accuracy and properties of forecasts by the OECD for 24 countries and 8 variables. First the forecasts made in December of yeart?1 for yeart are examined, with the largest errors being for investment, industrial production and foreign balance. Next the way forecasts are revised between December and July is considered. Systematic revisions occur for Iceland, Turkey and Luxembourg. Finally the accuracy of forecasts made before, during and after the 1979 oil price rises are compared, and no evidence of a worsening of accuracy is found.     

How strong is the macroeconomic case for downward real wage rigidity?

We explore the existence of downward real wage rigidity (DRWR) at the industry level, based on data from 19 OECD countries for the period 1973-1999. The results show that DRWR compresses the distributions of industry wage changes overall, as well as for specific geographical regions and time periods, but there are not many real wage cuts that are prevented. More important, however, DRWR attenuates larger real wage cuts, thus leading to higher real wages. There is stronger evidence for downward nominal wage rigidity than for DRWR. Real wage cuts are less prevalent in countries with strict employment protection legislation and high union density.     

The R&D Boundaries of the Firm: A Problem-Solving Perspective

This paper considers, theoretically and empirically, how different organization modes are aligned to govern the efficient solving of technological problems. The data set is from the Chinese consumer electronics industry. Following the problem-solving perspective (PSP) within the knowledge-based view (KBV), we develop and test several PSP and KBV hypotheses, whilst controlling for some relevant transaction cost economics and other variables, in an examination of the determinants of the firms’ R&D organization choice. The results show that a firm’s existing knowledge base is the most important explanatory factor. Problem complexity and decomposability are also found to be important, but it is suggested, contrary to the view of PSP, that they are better treated as separate variables, and that equity-based alliances tend to be reserved for the most complex problems.     

Testing for causality between prices and money

The test for a causal relationship proposed byHaugh [1976] is considered in the context of the relationship between prices and money supply. The application of the test to 10 Latin American countries leads to the hypothesis of independence between the series being not rejected. Criticisms of the test are then discussed.