The private provision of public environment: Consumer preferences for organic production systems

This paper analyses individual preferences regarding environmental and health improvement technologies in organic food production systems. The impure public model is applied to explore the implications of organic food preferences for environmental market provision. Empirical results from a survey reveal that consumers are willing to pay for both health gains and environmental friendly technologies in organic milk production, although the valuation of the health aspects is higher. Prior information about organic production systems and shopping convenience are key variables in interpersonal comparisons of willingness to pay. The perceived overall value of organic production systems was higher among individuals with stronger environmental preferences than among those who prioritise health concerns. The conclusions of this study may have implications for the analysis of efficiency in the organic produce market.     

Reforms,globalization, and endogenous agricultural structures

In this article, I draw lessons from two quasi‐natural experiments (the transition process in former Communist countries and the rapid globalization of food chains) on the optimality of farms and agricultural structures more generally. I argue that (a) the farm structures that have emerged from the transition process are much more diverse than expected ex ante; (b) this diversity is to an important extent determined by economic mechanisms which are influenced by initial conditions and reform policies; (c) non‐traditional farm structures have played an important role during transition because they were optimal to address the specific institutional and structural constraints imposed by the transition process; (d) there is more diversity than often argued in the farms that are integrated in global food chains; (e) endogenous institutional (contracting) innovations in food chains may lock existing farm structures in a long‐run institutional framework; and (f) indicators based on farm structures are not a good measure of welfare effects of the globalization of food chains.     

近十年陕北耕地资源变化与粮食安全分析

该文以包括榆林市和延安市的陕北地区为研究对象,对陕北地区1996～2006年耕地动态变化与粮食生产情况进行分析研究。选择最小人均耕地面积和压力指数模型法,在分析陕北地区1996～2006年间耕地、人口、粮食动态变化的基础上,总结了该区域最小人均耕地面积和耕地压力的变化特点:陕北地区最小人均耕地面积的平均值是0.219hm2,耕地压力指数的平均值K是1.389。K值远大于1,因此耕地压力较大。在以上基础上提出了保障陕北地区耕地动态平衡与粮食安全生产的一些建议。     

Spatial determinants of productivity growth on agri‐food Spanish firms: a comparison between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms

This study analyses the effect of the spatial factor, location, and interaction effects among peer companies, on the productivity growth of agri‐food companies in Spain. With this aim, we build a productivity growth index and apply a multiequational Seemingly Unrelated Regression on a sample of 344 Spanish cooperatives and investor‐owned firms for the period 2010–2012. Our findings show that agri‐food firms are influenced by spatial factors finding interesting differences between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms. With regard to the geographical location, cooperatives in the western of Spain show higher productivity growth rates, whereas investor‐owned firms in the northeast of Spain present better results. The interaction effect among closer peer companies is also a relevant factor to determine the productivity growth in agri‐food companies. This factor is more relevant for cooperatives than for investor‐owned firms.     

传统农业时代乡村粮食安全水平估测

传统农业时代中国单位面积的粮食产量长期在世界处于领先地位,农业技术水平的提高在很大程度上降低了饥荒风险,减缓了饥荒的发生。隋唐以前粮食生产能力处于持续上涨阶段,粮食生产能力完全能够应对可能发生的饥荒,而且还可以供养更多的人口。宋元明时期粮食生产能力依然高于秦汉时期的水平。入清以后由于人口增殖过快,人口压力剧增,粮食供应空前紧张。清代中国人均粮食占有量倒退到2000多年前春秋战国时代的水平上,饥荒的频繁发生已经呈现出不可避免的恶化趋势。因此提高粮食产量水平成为20世纪中国最为关键的问题,在耕地资源基本开发殆尽的情况下,唯有采取改进农业技术提高单位面积产量的办法最为可行。战争和自然灾害是导致粮食波动的根本性因素,局部地区因此而出现粮食短缺,饥荒的发生成为可能。农民是粮食生产的主体力量,同时也是最易遭受饥荒危害的社会群体。中国传统社会农民生活水平长期处于贫困化的状态,直至20世纪中叶依然没有发生根本性变化。     

Is There Persistence in the Impact of Emergency Food Aid? Evidence on Consumption, Food Security, and Assets in Rural Ethiopia

We identify the impact of emergency food aid programs after the 2002 drought in rural Ethiopia on future welfare. Based on a difference-in-differences matching estimator, participation in food-for-work increases growth in total consumption and food consumption eighteen months after the drought. Separately, receiving free food raises growth in food consumption, but, surprisingly, negatively impacts food security. Food-for-work benefited households in the middle and upper tail of the consumption distribution, while the better-targeted free food program benefited the poorest. Evidence suggests these impacts demonstrate accumulated and persistent effects of food aid received in the first twelve months after the drought.     

Farm Poverty and Safety Nets

Farm families with incomes below the poverty line are far less likely than wealthier farmers to receive farm support payments. Using data from the 1989–2004 Current Population Survey, we find that poor farm families are also not participating in other assistance programs. Controlling for other factors, eligible farm families have substantially lower participation rates in the Food Stamp Program and in Medicaid than eligible nonfarm families. Removing farm safety net program payments would increase the number of farmers eligible for these programs but, in the absence of behavioral changes, would only lead to small increases in the number of recipients.     

北京市畜禽产品质量安全监管绩效多主体综合指标体系构建与评估

[目的]为完善北京市畜禽产品质量安全监管体系,提高北京市畜禽产品质量安全水平,进一步保障居民健康和社会稳定,构建包含政府、企业、消费者的多主体综合指标体系,对北京市畜禽产品质量安全监管绩效进行全面的评估。[方法]基于平衡计分卡,从工作业绩、相关利益体、内部管理、学习与成长4个维度构建监管绩效综合指标体系;运用层次分析法确认各层指标的权重,并采用模糊综合评价法实证评估北京市畜禽产品质量安全的监管绩效。[结果]北京市畜禽产品质量安全监管绩效综合评分达到4.17,监管绩效处于良好水平,并高于全国畜禽产品质量安全监管绩效平均水平;学习与成长维度监管绩效水平最高,但工作业绩与相关利益体维度存在一定的薄弱部分,对生产经营企业的监管力度和对消费者、社会组织的动员需要进一步加大。[结论]北京市畜禽产品质量安全监管绩效良好,但仍需完善。     

Price Endogeneity and Food Demand in Urban China

Price endogeneity has been ignored in previous analyses of food demand in urban China. We exploit data provided by the China National Bureau of Statistics on agricultural commodity supply shifters and use reduced‐form price equations to account for price endogeneity. Applying our unique econometric approach to the analysis of provincial‐level food demand in China, we find strong statistical evidence of price endogeneity. Models that ignore price endogeneity result in substantially biased elasticities and misleading estimates of future food demand in China.     

Food Choice in an Interdisciplinary Context

Reform of agricultural policies, notably the continuing elimination of production‐enhancing subsidies, makes it possible for policies to respond to social issues such as the rural environment and health in future. In this paper, we draw on a Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) research project which is examining the potential for the development of healthy food chains and the implications for human health and the environment. One of the key issues to be addressed is consumers’ willingness to pay for the nutritionally enhanced food products from these new chains, but it is evident that only a partial understanding can be gained from a traditional economics approach. In the paper, we discuss how economists are beginning to incorporate views from other disciplines into their models of consumer choice.