Three decades of productivity change in French beef production: a Färe‐Primont index decomposition

The Färe‐Primont index is used to evaluate total factor productivity (TFP) change and its components for a sample of French suckler cow farms in grassland areas in 1985–2014. The results reveal an increase in TFP of 6.6 per cent over the whole observation period, with technological progress being the major source of productivity growth. Meanwhile, efficiency decreased. Farms experienced great technological progress from 1991 to 2000. From a methodological point of view, the comparison with results obtained with Malmquist indexes shows similar trends but different magnitudes, with the Malmquist index overestimating the TFP and technological changes compared to the Färe‐Primont index. In addition, the use of a sequential approach that restricts technological change to being positive or null allows for the precise calculation of technology changes, disregarding the effects of external conditions that are captured in efficiency changes. Finally, the estimation of full dimensional efficient facets (FDEFs) that guarantees the positivity of all shadow prices used to assess the mix efficiency component of TFP change is promising.     

Assessing cost‐effectiveness when environmental benefits are bundled: agricultural water management in Great Barrier Reef catchments

Using economic analysis to prioritise improvements in environmental conditions is particularly difficult when multiple benefits are involved. This includes ‘bundling’ issues in agricultural pollution management, where a change in management action or farming systems generates multiple improvements, such as reductions in more than one pollutant. In this study, we conceptualise and compare two different approaches to analysing cost‐effectiveness when varying bundles of benefits are generated for a single project investment. Each approach requires data to be transformed in some way to allow the analysis to proceed. The index approach requires the transformation on the benefits side so that the effects of multiple pollutant changes can be combined into a measure for each project which can then be compared to costs. By comparison, the disaggregation approach requires the transformation on the costs side where costs for each project have to be apportioned across the different pollutants involved. The paper provides novel insights with an application to agricultural water quality improvements into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, demonstrating that while both approaches are effective in prioritising projects by cost‐effectiveness, the disaggregation approach provides more insightful results and values that may be relevant for use as upper value guidelines in future project selection.     

Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa

There is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopted, practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in African smallholder systems. Perceptions from 47 community leaders (both from traditional local authorities and farmer organizations) across six African countries are documented regarding how CA matches the wants, needs and capabilities of farmers in their communities. While community leaders generally perceived CA as potentially beneficial, they also indicated that CA is not currently perceived as feasible within their communities and hence has limited relevance. Three key themes were identified that limit both CA use and sustainable intensification more generally: [1] a perceived reluctance of farmers to engage with the community platform as part of a higher input, market-oriented production system; [2] informational constraints due to non-functional exchange mechanisms; and [3] a lack of local adaptation of CA underscored by the persistence of top-down, linear research and extension approaches. Through greater understanding of local perspectives, a clearer picture emerges of the need for greater participatory engagement and local adaptation if sustainable intensification of African smallholder agricultural systems is to be achieved.     

对外直接投资逆向技术溢出与全球农业价值链地位提升——基于G20国家的经验研究

中国农业处于全球农业价值链的"微笑曲线"谷底,长期遭受不平等待遇。对农产品出口技术复杂度所作的测算显示,相对于G20国家而言,中国农业在全球农业价值链地位并不高,且与最高国家差距呈现逐渐扩大的趋势。对G20国家农业OFDI数据所作的面板回归表明,农业OFDI存在溢出效应,能够提升母国农业出口贸易品技术含量,且其提升需要"学习过程"。此外,农业FDI对出口贸易品技术含量的影响具有滞后性。据此,研究认为,中国为了实现全球农业价值链地位的攀升,应该进一步鼓励农业企业"走出去";改善农业投资环境,为外商直接投资创造条件;提高对外开放程度,为农业发展提供支持;推动金融体制改革,提高国内金融服务发展程度。     

考虑零售商销售努力的双渠道供应链定价策略研究

随着电子商务市场的日益成熟,制造商建设线上直销渠道来适应新的商品销售环境成为趋势。制造商线上直销渠道的建立占领了部分原本属于线下零售渠道的市场份额,对线下零售渠道造成冲击。针对双渠道供应链中的竞争,将零售商销售努力行为考虑在内,通过构建博弈模型分别研究了在集中决策模式和分散决策模式下,制造商与零售商的定价策略。研究发现,在集中决策模式下,线下零售渠道与线上直销渠道之间的价格差异随着两个渠道潜在需求量之间差异的增大而增大,并且两个渠道的最优价格分别与其市场潜在需求成正比。在分散决策模式下,两个渠道的最优价格亦与潜在需求成正比,并且线下零售渠道的最优价格随零售商销售努力程度的增加而增加,线上直销渠道的最优价格随着零售商销售努力程度的增加而减少。     

Dynamics of agricultural land use change in Kerala: a policy and social-ecological perspective

Land-use change is a phenomenon highlighting significant shifts in human interaction with the natural environment. Different patterns of agriculture and a trend towards non-agricultural land use challenge the sustainability of farming systems. This study aims to identify the causes of changes in land use and cropping patterns, with a special focus on paddy, the staple crop in Asia. In the case of Wayanad, a district in Kerala, South India, we argue for an interdisciplinary analysis of rapid land-use change to unpack the multiple dimensions of sustainability: economic, ecological and social factors, aggregating up to 70% reduction in the area under paddy by 2010. The results rest on empirical field research, participatory rural appraisals and stakeholder workshops conducted during the 4-year period from 2010 to 2013, along with state- and district-level data covering the 1983–2011 period. Reduced economic viability, labour shortages and population pressure on land are the major drivers for the transformation of paddy fields to other land uses. Changes in land use and agrarian structure reflect not only the livelihood strategies adopted by farmers in response to these drivers, but also the impacts of unintended policy idiosyncrasies. At a more fundamental level, they are the consequences of policy conflicts and inadequate sectoral integration of policies and implementation strategies.     

中国竹藤类产品出口潜力研究——基于引力模型的实证分析

基于引力模型,运用2007~2014年8年间中国对24个竹藤类产品贸易伙伴国的面板数据进行实证分析,结果表明:APEC的有关贸易安排对中国竹藤类产品贸易流量的影响较大,美国、日本、澳大利亚等APEC成员国是中国排名前3位的竹藤类产品进口国;贸易潜力测算结果显示中国对这3个国家均存在贸易不足,竹藤类产品贸易还有很大潜力可挖。基于此,提出应进一步加强中国与APEC成员国之间的合作交流,积极推进中国对美国、日本、澳大利亚等APEC成员国竹藤类产品出口向多样化和高质量化的方向发展,尽量选择与中国要素禀赋差异小的国家开展竹藤类产品的贸易等建议。     

土地市场供给侧结构性改革研究—— 基于“如何推进土地市场领域的供给侧结构性改革研讨会”的思考

研究目的:研究土地市场供给侧结构性改革存在问题及原因,提出土地市场供给侧结构性改革政策建议。研究方法:从供给侧结构性改革的内涵出发,明确土地市场供给侧结构性改革的内涵和分类,通过总结浙江、深圳和上海土地市场供给侧结构性改革的经验,分析当前土地市场供给侧结构性改革存在的问题及原因,从而提出土地市场供给侧结构性改革的对策建议。研究结果:(1)政策供给的不足;(2)土地供应的政府垄断地位;(3)城乡二元发展体制限制农村土地作为资产和资本的属性;(4)土地市场供给机制的不完善。研究结论:(1)加大土地市场供给侧结构性改革的政策供给力度;(2)打破政府垄断供应局面,实现土地供应主体多元化;(3)建立健全完整统一的土地市场;(4)多角度完善土地市场供给机制。     

土地领域供给侧结构性改革的重心和方向

研究目的:分析土地领域供给侧结构性改革的本质,研究提出土地领域供给侧结构性改革的重心和方向。研究方法:基于微观经济学和土地经济学理论,结合中国推进供给侧结构性改革的战略和实践,从中国土地市场的特殊性入手,分析中国土地市场供需信号传导、市场主体构成和市场供需平衡,探求推进土地领域供给侧结构性改革的路径。研究结果:(1)地方政府成为土地市场中的主体并发挥主导作用,形成了中国土地市场的特殊性。政府与市场的进退,关键考量是政府对土地市场的把控能力能否优于建设一个相对竞争充分的土地市场。(2)土地市场供需信号失灵的原因,主要来自于土地要素让渡市场,一方面市场失灵导致企业追求高利润过滤真实需求信号而不受市场之制,另一方面地方政府市场定位放大市场有偏信号,两者共振,形成土地市场整体的有偏预期,共同引起土地市场失衡。研究结论:推进土地领域供给侧结构性改革,(1)关键是引导土地市场向满足公众真实需求的方向转化、生产企业向转变生产方式和发展方向的转变;(2)重点是逐步实现土地征收市场与土地让渡市场的对接,实现土地供需信号畅通传导并有效指导企业开展满足公众需求的生产活动;(3)方向是弱化政府在土地要素让渡市场和征收市场中的市场主体地位,强化并发挥政府在土地市场中的管理、监督和调控的作用;(4)途径是继续强化和充分发挥政府在土地规划、土地市场、土地供应、农地制度改革中的规制作用。