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

Ambrey, Christopher L.; Fleming, Christopher M..

The narrative of the twentieth century is dominated by three key trends: population growth, economic growth and urbanisation. Moreover, these trends are expected to continue well into the twenty-first century. Australia has not been immune to these trends. Australia’s population is projected to increase by 65% to over 35 million by 2049, and be accompanied by an average growth in per-capita Gross Domestic Product of 1.5% per annum. Much of this population and economic growth will be concentrated in an already highly urbanised environment. As a consequence, the natural environment in which the majority of Australians live is likely to undergo rapid change. It is useful therefore, to better understand our relationship with this environment. Using data from...

Dynamic Spatial Modelling of Regional Convergence Processes

Palavras-chave: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; C21; I31; R10.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/100548

Kosfeld, Reinhold; Lauridsen, Jorgen.

Econometric analysis of convergence processes across countries or regions usually refers to a transition period between an arbitrary chosen starting year and a fictitious steady state. Panel unit root tests and panel cointegration techniques have proved to belong to powerful econometric tools if the conditions are met. When referring to economically defined regions, though, it is rather an exception than the rule that coherent time series are available. For this case we introduce a dynamic spatial modelling approach which is suitable to trace regional adjustment processes in space instead of time. It is shown how the spatial error-correction mechanism (SEC model) can be estimated depending on the spatial stationarity properties of the variables under...

Does Where We Live Matter? Understanding the Link Between Obesity and the Market for Food

Palavras-chave: Regional convergence; Dynamic spatial models; Spatial unit roots; Spatial error-correction; Community/Rural/Urban Development; C21; R11; R15.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/26211

Chen, Susan E.; Florax, Raymond J.G.M.; Snyder, Samantha D..

Paper is under revision. Removed at author's request 10/27/08.

Modern food retailers and traditional markets in developing countries: Comparing quality, prices, and competition strategies in Thailand

Palavras-chave: Incidence of obesity and overweight; Spatial lag model; Spatial dependence; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Health Economics and Policy; C21; D1; I18; J10.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/9682

Schipmann, Christin; Qaim, Matin.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets are expanding rapidly in many developing countries. While consequences for farmers and consumers were analyzed recently, little is known about the implications for traditional retail formats such as wet markets. Using data from a market survey in Thailand and hedonic regression models, we analyze quality and prices for fresh vegetables from different retail outlets. Compared to wet markets, modern retailers sell higher quality at higher prices, indicating that they are primarily targeting better-off consumers. Hence, they are not directly competing for the same market segments. Yet there are signs that modern and traditional markets will gradually converge.

Convergence and the Effects of Spatial Interaction

Palavras-chave: Supermarkets; Modern retailers; Traditional wet markets; Product quality; Vegetables; Thailand; Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Demand and Price Analysis; C21; L15; Q13.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/108348

Niebuhr, Annekatrin.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the issue of income convergence has received considerable attention in economic research. Although a vast number of empirical studies has emerged, evidence on the role of spatial interaction is still rather scarce. The present paper is an attempt to provide additional information on the spatial aspect of convergence. Spatial econometric methods are used to investigate regional convergence in West Germany. The results indicate that spatial interaction is an important element of regional growth. However, considering spatial effects does not alter the general conclusion that regional income growth is characterised by a process of convergence.

Poverty Mapping in Rural Syria for Enhanced Targeting

Palavras-chave: Regional convergence; Spatial interaction; Spatial econometrics; Community/Rural/Urban Development; C21; C52; O18; R11.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/26351

Szonyi, Judit A.; de Pauw, Eddy; La Rovere, Roberto; Aw-Hassan, Aden.

Poverty maps allow assessing the well-being of rural population in a spatial context and identifying poverty hotspots. The maps can be used for regional policy analysis as they help in identifying areas where the rural poor live and where rural poverty is determined by the endowment and quality of natural resources and by population pressure. Natural resource endowment was assessed in the study by calculating an Agricultural Resource Index based on the availability of different major agricultural resources. Income per-capita was calculated by using census data, adjusted by the rural population density. The results show that the better income areas of Syria are located in the irrigated or higher-rainfall areas, but lower-income pockets exist due to the...

Analysing Wine Demand With Artificial Neural Networks

Palavras-chave: Poverty maps; Resource endowment; Agricultural income distribution; GIS; Syria; Food Security and Poverty; C21; C8; D3; I3; R0.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/25564

Gerolimetto, M.; Mauracher, Christine; Procidano, I..

In this paper we analyse wine demand in Italy using microdata. Instead of estimating a traditional parametric model (like AIDS) we employed artificial neural networks (ANN) and evaluate the elasticities using two different methods, specific for the non parametric framework. We compared the performances of the two methods to estimate elasticities and put in evidence the relevance of some demographic variables together with the usual economic ones, explaining the consumer's behaviour.

Measuring Market Integration in Mozambican Maize Markets: A Threshold Vector Error Correction Approach

Palavras-chave: Artificial neural networks; Demand analysis; Wine; Elasticity; Demand and Price Analysis; C14; C21; Q11; Q13.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24753

Alemu, Zerihun Gudeta; Biacuana, G.R..

The primary objective of this research was to measure the extent of market integration between major surplus and deficit maize markets in Mozambique namely, Chimoio-Maputo, Chimoio-Beira, Ribaue-Nampula, and Mocuba-Nampula. To achieve this objective, Threshold Vector Autoregressive models were applied. The choice of the model was motivated by unobservable transaction costs and the import ant influence that their presence may exert on equilibrium spatial price relationships. The following are some of the major findings of the study. Firstly, threshold values (i.e. estimates of transaction costs) are found to be correlated positively with distance and inversely with the condition of the roads connecting markets. Secondly, market integration analysis revealed...

Modern Supply Chains and Product Innovation: How Can Smallholder Farmers Benefit?

Palavras-chave: Mozambique; Market integration; Maize market; Transaction cost; Threshold vector error correction; Crop Production/Industries; Marketing; C21; C22; D4; E3; Q13.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/25657

Schipmann, Christin; Qaim, Matin.

There is an emerging body of literature analysing how smallholder farmers in developing countries can benefit from modern supply chains. However, most of the available studies concentrate on export markets and fail to capture spillover effects that modern supply chains may have on local markets. Here, we analyse the case of sweet pepper in Thailand, which was initially introduced as a product innovation in modern supply chains, but which is now widely traded also in more traditional markets. Using survey data from smallholder farmers and econometric techniques, we show that sweet pepper cultivation contributes significantly to higher household incomes. Strikingly, at this stage, participation in modern supply chains does not lead to higher incomes than...

THE INFLUENCES OF AVIAN INFLUENZA, BSE, AND H1N1 INFLUENZA ON ATTITUDINAL CHANGES IN MEAT SAFETY ISSUES

Palavras-chave: Adoption; Duration analysis; Impact assessment; Modern supply chains; Product innovation; Sweet pepper; Thailand; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Marketing; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; C21; C25; C41; Q13.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/51046

Hsu, Jane Lu; Liu, Kang Ernest; Lee, Hwang-Jaw; Huang, Min-Hsin; Hung, Kelsey Jing-Ru.

Consumption patterns for chicken and eggs have changed since the outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza (AI) throughout the world, but its potential impact on demand has not been thoroughly unveiled. Our study examines some important factors influencing behavioral changes and estimates their marginal effects by employing the censored regression model to survey data in Taiwan. Results showed that risk perceptions, overall knowledge and some socio-demographic characteristics were profound in determining changes in consumption of chicken and eggs. Public health education programs informing consumers about the AI threat may reduce their negative perceptions; therefore, consumption of chicken and eggs would not be decreased significantly enough to damage related...

Impacts of Population and Income Growth Rates on Threatened Mammals and Birds

Palavras-chave: Avian influenza; Knowledge; Risk perceptions; Censored regression model; Taiwan; Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty; Health Economics and Policy; C21; D12; M30.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/116405

Pandit, Ram; Laband, David N..

Per capita income and human population levels in a country have direct influences on its environmental outcomes. Countries with same level of income may have different rate of income growth and vice versa, suggesting that the influence of the rate of income growth on environmental outcomes could be different than that of income level. Similarly, the rate of population growth might have different impact in addition to the impacts of sheer number of population. We explore this empirical question using country-level data on threatened species published by IUCN for the year 2007. Controlling for other factors, our model estimates the influences of the rate of population and income growth on threatened mammals and birds across 113 continental countries. The...

A TWO-STEP ESTIMATOR FOR A SPATIAL LAG MODEL OF COUNTS: THEORY, SMALL SAMPLE PERFORMANCE AND AN APPLICATION

Palavras-chave: Income; Population; Spatial models; Spatial autocorrelation; Endemic species; Biodiversity; Environmental Economics and Policy; C21; Q57.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/101404

Lambert, Dayton M.; Brown, Jason P.; Florax, Raymond J.G.M..

Several spatial econometric approaches are available to model spatially correlated disturbances in count models, but there are at present no structurally consistent count models incorporating spatial lag autocorrelation. A two-step, limited information maximum likelihood estimator is proposed to fill this gap. The estimator is developed assuming a Poisson distribution, but can be extended to other count distributions. The small sample properties of the estimator are evaluated with Monte Carlo experiments. Simulation results suggest that the spatial lag count estimator achieves gains in terms of bias over the aspatial version as spatial lag autocorrelation and sample size increase. An empirical example deals with the location choice of single-unit start-up...

Spatial R&D Spillovers and Economic Growth - Evidence from West Germany

Palavras-chave: Count model; Location choice; Manufacturing; Poisson; Spatial econometrics; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Land Economics/Use; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; C21; C25; D21; R12; R30.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/59780

Funke, Michael; Niebuhr, Annekatrin.

The paper bases itself on recent theoretical writings in growth economics that emphasize the effects of both own R&D efforts and of interregional technology spillovers on regions´ productivity. We propose robust estimation techniques to evaluate the R&D spillovers across West German functional regions during the period 1976 - 1996. The findings suggest the existence of knowledge spillovers across functional regional boundaries. Moreover, significant spillovers are mainly found among geographically close regions. This finding confirms the hypothesis that proximity matters. Das Papier basiert auf jüngeren Beiträgen zur Wachstumstheorie, die den Stellenwert eigener F&E-Anstrengungen und interregionaler Spillover-Effekte für die regionale...

Brown Sunsets and Green Dawns in the Industrial Sector: Environmental Innovations, Firm Behavior and the European Emission Trading

Palavras-chave: R&D Spillovers; Economic Growth; Germany; International Development; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; C21; C52; F43; O57; R11.

Ano: 2000

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/26396

Borghesi, Simone; Cainelli, Giulio; Mazzanti, Massimiliano.

We study the driving forces behind the adoption of environmental innovations (EI) in the Italian industry over 2006-2008 through analyses of the new wave of Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data that covered for the first time environmental innovation adoptions. We investigate whether the first phase of EU ETS has exerted some effects on environmental innovations by using a very large sample of italian manufcturing firms. Estimates show that external forces and complementarity with other management practices are particularly relevant to increase the adoption of relatively new and radical technologies: relationships with other firms and institutions, local public funding, group membership are the key factors. The role of ETS on EI seems instead to be weak:...

Tipo: Working Paper

Palavras-chave: Environmental Innovation; Industrial Sectors; ETS; Innovation Drivers; CIS Data; Environmental Economics and Policy; C21; L2; O33; Q38; Q55.

Ano: 2012

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/121701

Peer Effects and Textbooks in Primary Education: Evidence from Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Frolich, Markus; Michaelowa, Katharina.

As opposed to many other school inputs, textbooks have frequently been demonstrated to significantly foster student achievement. Using the rich data set provided by the 'Program on the Analysis of Education Systems' (PASEC) for five francophone, sub-Saharan African countries, this paper goes beyond the estimation of direct effects of textbooks on students' learning and focuses on peer effects resulting from textbooks owned by students' classmates. Applying and extending nonparametric estimation methods from the treatment evaluation literature we separate the direct effect of textbooks from their peer effect. The latter clearly dominates but depends upon the initial level of textbook availability.

Business Establishment Growth in the Appalachian Region, 2000-2007: An Application of Smooth Transition Spatial Process Models

Palavras-chave: Primary education; Student achievement; Evaluation; Nonparametric estimation; Labor and Human Capital; C14; C21; O15.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/26262

Xu, Wan; Lambert, Dayton M..

Business establishment growth in the Appalachian region (2000–2007) was regressed on industry sector composition controlling for demographic, physical, and economic determinants. We test the hypothesis that local response to growth determinants is geographically heterogeneous using Smooth Transition spatial process models. This class of models exhibiting endogenous regime switching behavior provides another tool for exploring the spatially heterogeneous effects of local determinants on economic growth.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Appalachia; Business establishment growth; Smooth transition models; Spatial processes; Community/Rural/Urban Development; C21; C51; O47; R11.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/113517

Agglomeration, Spatial Interaction and Convergence in the EU

Brauninger, Michael; Niebuhr, Annekatrin.

We investigate the convergence process among EU regions between 1980-2002 taking into account the effects of spatial heterogeneity and spatial spillover effects. The spatial regimes model allows for different steady-state growth paths. In contrast to previous analyses, the regimes in this paper refer to spatial categories, i.e. we assume that agglomerations, urbanised and rural regions are characterised by group-specific steadystates. Moreover, the regression analysis considers the effects of interaction among neighbouring regions, possibly leading to a spatial dependence of regional growth rates. We check whether spatial dependence is caused by spatial spillovers or based on country effects.

Modeling Non-Linear Spatial Dynamics: A Family of Spatial STAR Models and an Application to U.S. Economic Growth

Palavras-chave: Convergence; Agglomeration; European Union; Spatial econometrics; Quantile regression; International Development; C21; O52; R11.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/26150

Pede, Valerien O.; Florax, Raymond J.G.M.; Holt, Matthew T..

This paper investigates non-linearity in spatial processes models and allows for a gradual regime-switching structure in the form of a smooth transition autoregressive process. Until now, applications of the smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) model have been largely confined to the time series context. The paper focuses on extending the non-linear smooth transition perspective to spatial processes models, in which spatial correlation is taken into account through the use of a so-called weights matrix identifying the topology of the spatial system. We start by deriving a non-linearity test for a simple spatial model, in which spatial correlation is only included in the transition function. Next, we propose a non-linearity test for a model that includes...

Technological Leadership and Sectoral Employment Growth: A Spatial Econometric Analysis for U.S. Counties

Palavras-chave: Spatial econometrics; Non-linearity; Utoregressive smooth transition; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; C12; C21; C51; O18; R11.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6518

Pede, Valerien O.; Florax, Raymond J.G.M.; de Groot, Henri L.F..

This paper investigates the determinants of technological catch-up and examines at a refined level of spatial and sectoral aggregation to what extent geographical and/or technological proximity to the technology leader impact regional employment growth. Technological progress is endogenously determined and depends on specialization, competition and diversity. We also allow technological progress to depend on agglomeration economies in proximate regions, and model technological progress by means of a hierarchical process of catch-up to the technology leader. Results indicate that human capital plays a crucial role in promoting sectoral employment growth. The effect of technological distance varies, depending on which sector is considered. Technological...

Tipo: Report

Palavras-chave: Regional employment growth; Technology leadership; Space; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; R11; R12; C21; O32; O47.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/102827

Italian Consumption of Wild and Farmed Fish: Demand and Elasticity Estimation

Gerolimetto, M.; Mauracher, Christine; Procidano, I..

In this paper, we present an analysis of farmed and wild fish in Italy using microdot. Instead of estimating a traditional parametric model such as AIDS, we employ Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and evaluate elasticities using a method specific of the non-parametric framework. As input variables, we consider not only the traditional economic factors but also some socio-demographic ones.