SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Chang, Hung-Hao; Just, David R..

We use a generalized Bayesian updating model to estimate the impact of health information appearing in the popular media on the consumption of eggs. Our model allows media publications with differing circulation numbers to have differing effects. Further, we explore the possible effects of several known psychological biases in learning.

The Conservation Reserve Program, Off-Farm Work, and Farm Household Technical Efficiencies

Palavras-chave: Marketing.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19948

Does Participation in the Conservation Reserve Program and/or Off-Farm Work Affect the Level and Distribution of Farm Household Income?

Using data from a national survey of farm households in the United States, this paper examines the effects of farm households’ decisions to participate in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and to work off the farm on the technical efficiency of farm household production. After controlling for the self selection bias in estimating the multiple output-oriented distance functions, results show that operators’ decisions to work off the farm (both separately and combined with participation in CRP) lead to higher technical efficiencies for farm household production— implying improvements in the resource allocation between farm and other productive activities by farm households. The technical efficiencies of household production of those farm households...

Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper

Palavras-chave: Conservation Reserve Program; Off-farm work; Household technical efficiency; Agribusiness; Agricultural Finance; Farm Management.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/57034

Health Information Availability and the Consumption of Eggs: Are Consumers Bayesians?

Since both release resources from agricultural production, it is not surprising that decisions to work off the farm and to participate in the U. S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are correlated. By incorporating these decisions into a heteroskedastic specification of a farm household income function, we identify their effects on mean income, as well as on the variability in income for groups of farm households participating in combinations of these activities. Our results indicate participation in CRP and off-farm work by the operator and the spouse increase farm household income, but these choices also decrease the variability in household income among participant households relative to that of other farm households with otherwise similar...

Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper

Palavras-chave: Conservation Reserve Program; Farm household income; Income distribution; Off-farm work; Agribusiness; Agricultural Finance; Farm Management.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/57035

Chang, Hung-Hao; Just, David R..

This study uses a generalized Bayesian updating model to estimate the impact of health information appearing in the popular media on the consumption of eggs. The framework permits us to explore the possible effects of several known psychological biases in learning. Generalized Bayesian learning allows media publications to have a decaying effect on behavior. Our primary finding is that health information has a significant impact on U.S. egg consumption. Furthermore, the reaction to health information is found to be temporary. Health information will, on average, decay to a point of unimportance in a matter of a few weeks without a constant and consistent stream of confirming information.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Generalized Bayesian model; Health knowledge; Information; Psychological bias; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Health Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/8602

Does Participation in the Conservation Reserve Program and Off-Farm Work Affect the Level and Distribution of Farm Household Incomes?

Boisvert, Richard N.; Chang, Hung-Hao.

Using a national survey of U.S farm households, this paper investigates the interrelationship among the decisions to work off the farm by the operator and the spouse, and participation in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The effects of these three decisions on farm household income are also examined. By estimating a heteroscedastic household income function, we identify the effects of participating in these activities on the average level of farm household income and its variation within each sub-group of farms involved in the several combinations of activities. Our empirical results support the hypothesis that participation in the CRP and decisions to work off the farm by the operator and the spouse are made jointly rather than independently. The...

Self Control and Food Consumption at Home and in the Wild - Empirical Evidence of the Age Cohorts in Taiwan

Palavras-chave: Farm Management.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21277

Chang, Hung-Hao; Just, David R.; Chang, Ta-Chuan.

As the increasing prevalence of obesity in the world, how to prevent increasing body weight has became important policy issue. This paper addresses this issue using the behavioral economic models to empirically test food consumption behaviors and self-control problem. In contrast to replying on experimental evidence of the behavioral economic studies, age cohort data are constructed for households in Taiwan and food away from home and several categories of food consumption at home are recognized. Results show that self-control problem are evident for food away from home, and the effects are more pronounced for younger age cohorts. In contrast, staple and secondary food consumption at home are more stable across life-time periods and no self-control problem...

Achieving Environmental Objectives Under Reduced Domestic Agricultural Support and Trade Liberalization: An Empirical Application to Taiwan

Palavras-chave: Cohort analysis; Food expenses; Self-control; Behavior economics.; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Institutional and Behavioral Economics.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61335

Chang, Hung-Hao; Boisvert, Richard N.; Blandford, David.

We focus on rice policy reform required for Taiwan's admission to the WTO, and examine the effects, theoretically and empirically, of the re-instrumentation of domestic policy needed to achieve environmental objectives when both positive and negative environmental externalities exist. Policies that treat non-commodity attributes in agriculture as secondary to existing aims, such as income support, are unlikely to result in the desired supplies of environmental goods. Those supplies can be achieved at lower government and social costs using policy instruments to achieve environmental goals directly. Results are relatively insensitive to the social values assigned to environmental goods.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: WTO policy reform; Multifunctionality; Agri-environmental policy; Rice policy; Agricultural trade policy; Environmental Economics and Policy; International Relations/Trade.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10201

Participation in the Conservation Reserve Program and Off-Farm Work: Implications for Farm and Farm Household Productivity

Using a national survey of U.S farm households, we investigate the interrelationship between participation in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the decision to work off the farm. We go on examine the effects of these two decisions on farm and farm household efficiency and productivity by estimating stochastic frontier productions for farm output and multiple output-orientated distance functions that consider income from agricultural sales, the CRP and off-farm work as outputs of the farm household. We control for the effects of self selection in estimating both the frontier production and distance functions. It appears that operators' decisions to work off the farm have led to significant improvements in household resource allocation between...

Explaining Participation in the Conservation Reserve Program and its Effects on Farm Productivity and Efficiency

Palavras-chave: Farm Management.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21147

Boisvert, Richard N.; Chang, Hung-Hao.

Using a three-stage sample selection model, we identify factors affecting the probability and level of participation in CRP. Statistical tests support hypotheses that off-farm work and participation in other farm programs are exogenous to the CRP decision. We compare the relative technical and scale efficiencies for CRP participants and non-participants.

How Do Health and Social Insurance Programs Affect the Land and Labor Allocations of Farm Households? Evidence from Taiwan

Palavras-chave: CRP; Choice Modeling; Productivity; Environmental Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19321

Chang, Hung-Hao; Meyerhoefer, Chad D.; Just, David R..

Using a unique dataset of 703,287 farm operators from the Taiwanese Census of Agriculture merged to administrative records from the National Farmers' Health Insurance (FHI) program, we examine the effects of the enrollment in the FHI program on farmers’ on- and off-farm labor supply and the amount of land they allocate to Taiwan’s land retirement program. In order to account for non-random self-selection into the FHI we use a matching procedure to estimate the impact of the program on land and labor allocations. Our results indicate that participation in the FHI increases (decrease) on (off) farm labor supply, and decreases the amount of land enrolled in the land retirement program. Our findings have implication for health care reforms that have been...

Changes in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption over Time and across Regions in China: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis with Quantile Regression

Palavras-chave: National Farmer's Health Insurance Program; Labor supply; Land retirement program; Taiwan.; Agricultural and Food Policy; Health Economics and Policy; Labor and Human Capital.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103446

Liu, Kang Ernest; Chang, Hung-Hao; Chern, Wen S..

Recently, there has been considerable interest in estimating food demand structure in China due to its huge market for food products. Previous literature has focused on the primary food products such as grains and meats, but studies on fruits and vegetables are limited. To fulfill this gap, this paper investigates the changes of fruit and vegetable consumption in Chinese urban households between 1993 and 2001. In this study, we use the difference-in-differences method with quantile regression to demonstrate how these changes of fruit and vegetable consumption over time may differ across regions. Additionally, how these changes may differ over the entire distribution. Using household survey data from 1993 and 2001 of three selected provinces, our results...

TARIFF RATE IMPORT QUOTAS, DOMESTIC MARKET STRUCTURE AND AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT PROGRAM: THE CASE OF TAIWANESE RICE IMPORT

Palavras-chave: Fruit and vegetable consumption; China; Inequality; Quantile regression; Difference-in-differences model.; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6531

Chang, Hung-Hao; de Gorter, Harry.

After joining the WTO in 2002, Taiwan allowed rice imports for the first time by implementing an import quota subject to a special safeguard tariff. In 2003, the import quota was expanded to a two-tier tariff rate import quota system. Although Taiwan maintained land set-asides and domestic support prices for producer sales to the State Trading Enterprise, the latter was limited to importing only 65 percent of the import quota with the rest sold to private traders. This sudden transformation of the Taiwanese import regime and rice market along with the government proposal for a "strategic alliance" amongst traders highlights the importance of studying the effects of policy reforms in the framework of imperfect domestic market structure. The purpose of...

Off-farm Employment and Food Consumption at Home and away from Home: Evidence from Farm Households in Taiwan

Palavras-chave: Tariff rate quota; Strategic alliance; Domestic support; Market structure; Agricultural and Food Policy; International Relations/Trade; Q17; Q18.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/36274

Chang, Hung-Hao; Yen, Steven T..

A body of literature has addressed off-farm work by the farm household, but little is known about the association between off-farm work and food consumption. This paper investigates the extent to which off-farm employment by the farm operator and the spouse affects food expenditures at home and away from home. A dual treatment effect model is developed to estimate a simultaneous equation system of four food categories consumed at home and aggregate food away from home, with binary endogenous off-farm employment by the operator and spouse. Off-farm employment by farm operator and spouse both increase food expenditure away from home, while operator’s off-farm employment decreases staple food consumption at home. Socio-demographic characteristics also play...

The Implications of Geographic Heterogeneity for Multifunctional Rice Policy in Taiwan

Palavras-chave: Farm household; Food expenses; Off-farm employment.; Agricultural and Food Policy; Labor and Human Capital; Q12; J21; D12; C31.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/51362

Chang, Hung-Hao; Boisvert, Richard N.; Blandford, David.

Through empirical simulations of the Taiwanese rice market, we estimate the effects of agricultural policies designed to ensure optimal levels of two multifunctional outputs, groundwater recharge and methane emissions. The settings of policy instruments differ by region to reflect land quality and the conditions of the aquifers. The effects on rice production, resource allocation, and returns to farm assets also differ. Welfare gains are highest if transboundary costs of methane emissions are taken into account. National payments set as a weighted average of optimal regional payments may result in similar welfare gains at lower administrative costs. The costs of assistance measures to help farmers adapt to the impact of lower asset values are shown to be...

Are Farmers' Decisions to Work off the Farm and Participate in the Conservation Reserve Program Independent, Joint or Sequential?

Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/25254

There is statistical evidence that decisions to participate in CRP and work off-farm are made simultaneously. Characteristics of households, farm operations other farm programs, and the local economies affect both decisions; some factors affect only one. Policy changes that affect one decision may affect another directly and/or indirectly.

Off-farm Work, Technical Efficiency, and Production Risk: Empirical Evidence from a National Farmer Survey in Taiwan

Palavras-chave: CRP; Off-farm labor; Choice Structure; Farm Management.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19474

Chang, Hung-Hao; Wen, Fang-I.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the differences in yield production, production efficiency, and yield risk for farmers with and without off-farm work. Using a nationwide survey of Taiwanese rice farmers, we estimate a stochastic production frontier model accommodating the technical inefficiency and the production risk simultaneously. Applying the stochastic dominance criterion to rank the estimated technical efficiency and yield risk between professional farmers and farmers with off-farm jobs, our empirical analysis shows that off-farm work is significantly associated with lower technical efficiency. Additionally, farmers with off-farm work face higher production risks. Comparing the marginal effects of input uses on technical inefficiency...

Quantifying the Contributions to Dairy Farm Business Risk: Implications for Producer's Risk Management Strategies

Palavras-chave: Off-farm work; Technical efficiency; Production risk; Taiwan; Crop Production/Industries; Farm Management.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6164

Schmit, Todd M.; Chang, Hung-Hao; Boisvert, Richard N.; Tauer, Loren W..

The major sources of variability in net farm income on New York dairy farms over the past 10 years are identified using Dairy Farm Business Summary records. The most important source of income variability is the fluctuation in milk prices, followed closely by year-to-year variation in the quantity of purchased feeds. These results suggest that forward pricing of milk and feed purchases may be effective risk reduction strategies. Since a few farms have large cull cow sales, probably due to disease or other production problems, new insurance products to insure against disease may be useful to dairy farmers. It appears that older farmers are more successful in engaging in activities that increase diversification and reduce the variability in reductions in...

Tipo: Working Paper

Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries; Risk and Uncertainty.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/121879

Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings of Farm Households: An Empirical Investigation