Alternative Approaches to Compensation and Producer Rights

When policies are changed, it is not uncommon for losers to be compensated. Economic theory and quantitative analysis are useful in determining the efficiency gains/losses associated with a policy change, but are little help in deciding what the approach to compensation should be. The amount of compensation varies, depending on, in part, the political clout of the parties being negatively affected by a policy change—compensation is what politicians and the sector demanding compensation can agree on. We formulate four approaches to producer compensation within the context of the Ontario Tobacco Transition Program, where producers would have suffered losses in the absence of compensation. The approaches range from providing zero compensation to providing compensation based on the entire value of the tobacco quota. The Canadian government chose the latter and compensated producers for the termination of the tobacco quota program based on an approach that far exceeded other possible compensation approaches.     

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI): a challenge for science,and an opportunity for farmer empowerment towards sustainable agriculture

Increasing demand for cereals produced from limited natural resources stimulated the Green Revolution in grain crops like wheat and rice. But the gap between potential and actual production continues. Concerns about sustainability, and the social and technical shortcomings of the Green Revolution, have triggered a number of alternative crop production strategies. One, in particular, the so-called System of Rice Intensification (SRI), is attracting attention by governments, civil society organizations and farmers in Asia and elsewhere.     

Household Welfare and the Pricing of Cocoa and Coffee in Cote d'Ivoire: Lessons from the Living Standards Surveys

Cocoa and coffee are the most important crops in Côted'Ivoire. Until recently, the difference between world and administeredproducer prices provided an important source of government revenue.As a result of a continued decline of world prices of both crops,however, the Ivoirien government was forced to cut producerprices in half. Because 40 percent of Ivoirien households groweither cocoa or coffee, this cut can be expected to have a considerableimpact on the welfare level of these households. We use the1985 Living Standards Measurement Survey to estimate the welfareeffects of producer price changes for Ivoirien households, permittingan evaluation of the probable consequences of the recent pricecut. Using nonparametric econometric techniques, we find that,although many households will suffer losses of income, the cutswill not have adverse distributional effects: cocoa and coffeefarmers are scattered throughout the income distribution, butmost are concentrated in the middle.     

Estimating society's willingness to pay to maintain viable rural communities*

Declining populations in rural and regional areas have become a high political priority in Australia. Calls for measures to support rural communities have been prompted by substantial population declines in some country areas. In Europe and the USA, similar political pressures to halt population losses in rural and regional areas are also apparent; often as a component of the multifunctionality of agriculture. The question addressed in the present paper is whether or not the Australian tax‐paying public would be willing to pay to avoid losses of people from rural and regional areas that may result from environmental protection measures. As an integral component of two recent non‐market, environmental valuation exercises using Choice Modelling, the value of the benefits associated with the maintenance of rural populations has been estimated. The results demonstrate that a positive existence value is held primarily by urban dwellers for rural population levels.     

USING DIVIDEND POLICY AND MANAGERIAL OWNERSHIP TO REDUCE AGENCY COSTS

In this study we examine dividends and chief executive officer (CEO) stock ownership as interrelated mechanisms that may be used to reduce agency costs. We find a significant nonmonotonic relation between dividend yield and CEO stock ownership. Our evidence shows that until the CEO becomes entrenched, increased executive stock ownership reduces agency costs and decreases dividend yield. Beyond that point, increased stock ownership increases dividend yield. Whether additional stock ownership can reduce agency costs depends upon the CEO's degree of control in the firm.     

Teaching alternative income determination models via a classification matrix

Periodic income determination traditionally has been an important part of financial accounting theory courses. In this article, the authors present an approach for introducing and discussing alternative capital maintenance and net asset valuation concepts which determine periodic income. The authors believe that this approach provides students with the ability to view various accounting income theories in perspective and hence allows students to concentrate on the relative conceptual merits rather than the mechanics of the theories.     

The national security argument for protection of domestic industries

ABSTRACT

Tracing the origin of the national security argument for protection of domestic industries to Adam Smith, Alexander Hamilton, and Friedrich List, we study its post-GATT applications with reference to Article XXI of the WTO and highlight some recent abuses. We compare the use of tariff, production/input subsidy, and government procurement as alternative instruments of protection from the perspective of economic efficiency and study the disapproval of inward FDI to gain insights into the underlying national security concerns. The case studies of a) the US tariffs on aluminum and steel, b) German disapproval of the acquisition of a technology firm Leifeld Metal Spinning by a Chinese firm, and c) US’ all out global effort to cripple China’s telecom equipment giant Huawei are presented for illustration.