The income efficiency of government expenditure on agricultural policy

Farming worldwide and national agricultural policies are in a profound crisis. Farmers everywhere are complaining about inadequate incomes. A large proportion of farms are threatened on both sides of the Atlantic, in the EC no less than in the USA. This situation has coincided with a period of intense state intervention in agriculture. Spending on agriculture has risen steeply both in the EC and in the USA. The question arises how much of this farm spending benefits farmers.     

The economic importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for livelihood maintenance of rural west African communities: A case study from northern Benin

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) contribute significantly to a rural household's livelihood in the African semi-arid tropics. This study examines the income from NTFPs and the dependency on these of different socio-economic groups in Northern Benin. Using survey data from 230 households of two villages, we firstly compared incomes of five different ethnic groups being differentiated by their traditional source of livelihood and regional provenance. Secondly, we investigated disparities between three income groups. On average, income from NTFPs accounted for 39% of total household income and had a strong equalizing effect on it. However, the economic relevance of NTFPs differs between households: Poorer households are relatively more dependent on NTFPs in order to fulfill basic needs than wealthier households. However, the latter extract more NTFPs in quantitative terms and have significantly higher cash returns than poorer ones. This is mainly due to a significant greater land holding. Moreover, our study revealed that net income from NTFPs reflects traditional sources of livelihoods of different ethnic groups. In conclusion, both conservation and development strategies should take into consideration the socio-economic context of different beneficiaries of savanna woodland resources in order to apply appropriate measures to poverty reduction.     

Finitely additive exchange economies

It is shown that the core and the set of Walras allocations of a non-atomic exchange economy are equal, if the set A of agents is either countable or a continuum, and even if all subsets of A are admitted as coalitions. The set of Walras allocations is shown to be not empty. These results are obtained by use of finitely additive measures defined on the algebra of all subsets of A.     

空间水资源模型中对高效灌溉技术应用的效应分析

本文在实地调研的基础上建立了一个空间水资源模型。通过对模型的优化求解寻求项目区最优的水资源配置、输水系统管理模式和个体农户的灌溉技术选择。模型方法采用国际经济学界备受推崇的GAMS方法（General Algebraic Modeling System）。在所设计的四种情景模式中，对水资源利用现状、不同政策取向所引起的水资源分配变化及其对项目区社会经济及环境的影响，从数量上进行了模拟对比分析。模型结果对政策制定者和灌区水资源管理有极大的指导和参考价值，该研究具有很强的现实意义和可操作性。