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

Balmann, Alfons; Kellermann, Konrad; Larsen, Karin; Sandri, Serena; Schade, Christian.

Economies of scale and scope are often not exploited in Western agriculture. A general reason is probably that various types of transaction costs limit coordination among farmers. A more specific explanation is that coordination on land markets or machinery cooperation is difficult to achieve when farmers are heterogeneous as some kind of price differentiation is necessary for a Pareto-superior solution. This paper investigates experimentally such a coordination game with heterogeneous agents using an example inspired by agricultural land markets. The experimental findings suggest that a Pareto-optimal solution may not be found when agents are heterogeneous. The findings provide evidence for market failures and cooperation deficits as reasons for...

Real Options and Competition: The Impact of Depreciation and Reinvestment

Palavras-chave: Land Markets; Coordination and Allocation; Experimental Economics; Agricultural and Food Policy; Farm Management; Land Economics/Use.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61093

Balmann, Alfons; Musshoff, Oliver.

WINNERS AND LOSERS OF POLICY CHANGES – WHAT IS THE ROLE OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE?

Palavras-chave: International Relations/Trade.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24934

Sahrbacher, Christoph; Kellermann, Konrad; Balmann, Alfons.

In this paper several decoupling options are evaluated concerning their impact on structural change especially on farm incomes and their surviving. Therefore, the agent-based model AgriPoliS was used and extended to account the income of leaving farms. This enables the comparison of future incomes of leaving and surviving farms to find out whether leaving farms are losers or not. The disaggregated analysis of farms’ household incomes showed that leaving farmers even benefit from their decision in case that enough off-farm jobs are available. Losers are farms that would have left agriculture under conditions of the Agenda 2000. After decoupling they stay in the sector and cannot increase their income as much as under Agenda conditions. Furthermore, the...

The Effects of Different Political Schemes on the Willingness to Invest, Firm Profitability and Economic Efficiency in the Dairy Sector - An Agent-Based Real Options Approach-

Palavras-chave: Structural change; Decoupling; Agent-based modeling; Common Agricultural Policy; Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Farm Management.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6472

Feil, Jan-Henning; Musshoff, Oliver; Balmann, Alfons.

In recent years, the dairy sector has been exposed to strong changes in general conditions and extreme fluctuations in milk prices. Farmers and lobbyists have therefore asked politicians for additional market regulation. In this paper an agent-based real options market model is developed, which allows the analysis of the effects of different political schemes on the willingness to invest, firm profitability and economic efficiency in the dairy sector. The model results show that political schemes generally increase the willingness to invest in competitive markets under consideration of real options effects. However, they do not offer any substantial financial benefits to the producers and can cause a significant reduction in welfare. Furthermore, the...

Policy Impact Analysis in the Dairy Sector ˗ An Agent-Based Real Options Approach ˗

Palavras-chave: Real Options; Competition; Policy Impact Analysis; Dairy Sector; Agricultural and Food Policy; D81; Q12; Q18.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/100039

Feil, Jan-Henning; Musshoff, Oliver; Balmann, Alfons.

Location and Spatial Pricing in Agricultural Markets

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

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103729

Graubner, Marten; Balmann, Alfons; Sexton, Richard J..

Agricultural markets often feature significant transport costs and spatially distributed production and processing which causes spatial imperfect competition. Spatial economics considers the firms’ decisions regarding location and spatial price strategy separately, usually on the demand side, and under restrictive assumptions. Therefore, alternative approaches are needed to explain, e.g., the location of new ethanol plants in the U.S. at peripheral as well as at central locations and the observation of different spatial price strategies in the market. We use an agent-based simulation model to analyze location and spatial pricing in a general model under multi-firm competition, two-dimensional space, and a continuum of potential price strategies. The...

Cooperative vs. Non-Cooperative Spatial Competition for Milk in the Presence of Farm Marketing Cooperatives

Palavras-chave: Spatial competition; Location; Price discrimination; Oligopsony; Simulation; Industrial Organization; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; C63; Q11; R32.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61225

Graubner, Marten; Koller, Ines; Salhofer, Klaus; Balmann, Alfons.

Although important, the spatial dimension is often neglected in studies of market power and competition in agricultural markets. This paper investigates spatial competition for raw milk between dairies under the presence of marketing cooperatives. Since observed in reality, our model is based on uniform delivered pricing and overlapping market areas. We compare spatial cooperative price matching with non-cooperative Hotelling-Smithies conduct. Utilizing a vector error correction model we show that the observed low price transmission in Germany is in line with cooperative behaviour. This seems rational since it increases processors profits. The abolition of the quota system may increase price transmission.

Does vertical integration reduce investment reluctance in production chains? An agent-based real options approach

Palavras-chave: Spatial competition; Uniform delivered pricing; Price transmission; Horizontal cooperation; VECM; Marketing.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/58021

Balmann, Alfons; Musshoff, Oliver; Larsen, Karin.

This paper uses an agent-based real options approach to analyze whether stronger vertical integration reduces investment reluctance in pork production. A competitive model in which firms identify optimal investment strategies by using genetic algorithms is developed. Two production systems are compared: a perfectly integrated system and a system in which firms produce either the intermediate product (piglets) or the final product (pork). Simulations show that the spot market solution and the perfectly integrated system lead to a very similar production dynamics even with limited information on production capacities. The results suggest that, from a pure real options perspective, spot markets are not significantly inferior to perfectly integrated supply...

DOING POLICY IN THE LAB! OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE USE OF MODEL-BASED POLICY ANALYSIS FOR COMPLEX DECISION-MAKING

Palavras-chave: Real options; Supply chain; Agent-based models; Genetic algorithms; Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Agricultural Finance; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Productivity Analysis.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/59521

Happe, Kathrin; Balmann, Alfons.

For models to have an impact on policy-making, they need to be used. Exploring the relationships between policy models, model uptake and policy dynamics is the core of this article. What particular role can policy models play in the analysis and design of policies? Which factors facilitate (inhibit) the uptake of models by policy-makers? What are possible pathways to further develop modelling approaches to better meet the challenges facing agriculture today? In this paper, we address these issues from three different points of view, each of which should shed some light on the subject. The first point of view discusses models in the framework of complex adaptive systems and uncertainty. The second point of view looks at the dynamic interplay between...

THE AGRICULTURAL POLICY SIMULATOR (AGRIPOLIS) AN AGENT-BASED MODEL TO STUDY STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE (VERSION 1.0)

Palavras-chave: Modelling; Complexity; Participatory modelling; Policy analysis; Model use; Agricultural and Food Policy; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6588

Happe, Kathrin; Balmann, Alfons; Kellermann, Konrad.

A central criticism common to agricultural economic modelling approaches for policy analy-sis is that they do not adequately take account of a number of characteristic factors of the agri-cultural sector. This concerns aspects like the immobility of land, heterogeneity of farms, in-teractions between farms, space, dynamic adjustment processes as well as dynamics of struc-tural change. In brief, modelling the complexity of the system has not been at the centre of interest. In terms of modelling complex economic systems, an agent-based modelling ap-proach is a suitable approach to quantitatively model and understand such systems in a more natural way. In the same way, this applies to the modelling of agricultural structures. In par-ticular, agent-based...

PATH-DEPENDENCE WITHOUT INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE AND NETWORK EXTERNALITIES

Palavras-chave: Agent-based systems; Multi-agent systems; Policy analysis; Structural change; Simulation; Agentenbasierte Systeme; Politikanalyse; Dynamische An-passungsprozesse und Strukturwandel. Kurz; Multi-Agentensysteme; Struktur-wandel; Agricultural and Food Policy; Q12; Q15.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/14886

Balmann, Alfons; Odening, Martin; Weikard, Hans-Peter; Brandes, Wilhelm.

IS THE "STANDARD REAL OPTIONS APPROACH" APPROPRIATE FOR INVESTMENT DECISIONS IN HOG PRODUCTION?

Palavras-chave: Research Methods/ Statistical Methods.

Ano: 1993

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/13402

Balmann, Alfons; Musshoff, Oliver.

Applications of the real options approach hardly consider investment returns to be the result of competitive markets such as markets for agricultural products. The reason is probably that Dixit and Pindyck (1994, ch. 8) show in their very popular book "Investment under Uncertainty" that the investment triggers of firms in competitive markets are equal to those of firms with exclusive options. In this study, however, it is shown that this result is restricted to markets in which assets have infinite lifetime. If assets are subject to depreciation and subsequent reinvestment opportuni-ties, competition leads to significantly lower investment triggers. The reason is that depreciation of replaceable assets allows to compensate the potential decline in returns...

ADJUSTMENT COSTS OF AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY SWITCHINGS - A MULTI-AGENT APPROACH

Palavras-chave: Livestock Production/Industries.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19897

Balmann, Alfons; Happe, Kathrin; Kellermann, Konrad; Kleingarn, Anne.

More powerful computers, the better availability of micro-data, and the development of new modeling techniques, such as multi-agent systems, allows to analyze agricultural policies from the bottom up. We present such an approach that considers the spatial interaction of thousands of individually behaving heterogeneous farms and apply it to analyze agri-environmental policies for a selected intensive production region in the southwest of Germany.

Agentenbasierte Politik- und Sektoranalyse - Perspektiven und Herausforderungen

Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20506

Balmann, Alfons; Happe, Kathrin.

During the last decade a new modeling approach, known as agent-based modeling, was developed and made its way into several areas of research. It greatly benefited from rapid developments in computing technology. As for economics, agent-based modeling is based on the observation that social systems can be understood and modeled explicitly as systems of interacting agents. Because of their flexibility with respect to the representation of agents, the interactions between agents as well as the resulting dynamic and spatial relationships, these models offer a great variety of perspectives for future research. In this contribution, the underlying modeling concept is presented, and exemplary applications to the field of sector and policy analysis are discussed....

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Agent-based modeling; Agent-based systems; Policy analysis; Sector modeling; Agricultural and Food Policy.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/99009

BEITRAGE DES DOKTORANDENWORKSHOPS ZUR AGRARENTWICKLUNG IN MITTEL- UND OSTEUROPA 2003

Petrick, Martin; Balmann, Alfons; Lissitsa, Alexej.

Dieses Discussion Paper enthält die Kurzfassungen der Beitrsge, die im Rahmen des Workshops zur Agrarentwicklung in Mittel- und Osteuropa fur Doktoranden und Post-Doc's vorgestellt und diskutiert werden sollen. Dieser Workshop mochte Nachwuchswissenschaftlern die Moglichkeit geben, Ihre Forschungsvorhaben zu prssentieren und zu diskutieren. Er findet erstmalig in dieser Form am IAMO statt. Die folgenden Kurzfassungen sollen allerdings nicht nur als Diskussionsgrundlage fur den Workshop dienen, sondern auch einen Querschnittsuberblick uber die gegenwsrtige Nachwuchsforschung im Agrarbereich zu Mittel- und Osteuropa vermitteln. Wir denken, dass ein breites Spektrum von relevanten Themen bearbeitet wird. Dies entspricht einerseits dem interdisziplinären...

BEITRAGE DES 2.DOKTORANDENWORKSHOPS ZUR AGRARENTWICKLUNG IN MITTEL- UND OSTEUROPA 2004

Palavras-chave: International Development.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/14934

Petrick, Martin; Balmann, Alfons.

VORWORT DER HERAUSGEBER Martin Petrick, Alfons Balmann Dieses Discussion Paper enthält die Kurzfassungen der Beiträge, die im Rahmen des Workshops zur Agrarentwicklung in Mittel- und Osteuropa für Doktoranden und Post-Doc's vorgestellt und diskutiert werden sollen. Dieser Workshop findet nach der erfreulichen Reso-nanz im vergangenen Jahr nun zum zweiten Mal, vom 17. bis 19. Juni 2004, am IAMO statt, wobei die Anzahl der eingereichten Beiträge noch über dem Wert des Vorjahres lag. Ziel der Veranstaltung ist es, Nachwuchswissenschaftlern die Möglichkeit zu geben, Ihre Forschungs-vorhaben zu präsentieren und zu diskutieren. Die folgenden Kurzfassungen sollen allerdings nicht nur als Diskussionsgrundlage für den Workshop dienen, sondern auch einen...

BEITRAGE DES 3. DOKTORANDENWORKSHOPS ZUR AGRARENTWICKLUNG IN MITTEL- UND OSTEUROPA 2005

Palavras-chave: International Development.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/14885

Curtiss, Jarmila; Petrick, Martin; Balmann, Alfons.

This Discussion Paper contains the contributions to be presented at the "Workshop zur Agrarentwicklung in Mittel- und Osteuropa für Doktoranden und Post-Docs" to take place at IAMO from 11 to 13 July, 2005. After last year's positive reception, the workshop will be held for the third time, and again enjoys a respectable number of contributions. The aim of the event is to provide young scientists with the opportunity to present and discuss their research. The following short versions of the contributions shall not only serve as a basis for discussion during the workshop, but also offer a cross-sectional overview of current research on agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe being done by young scientists. Although a broad spectrum of issues is covered,...

Drivers of Agricultural Physical Capital Development: Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

Palavras-chave: International Development.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/14936

Kataria, Karin; Curtiss, Jarmila; Balmann, Alfons.

This paper aims to identify drivers of physical capital adjustments in agriculture. It begins with a review of some of the most important theories and modelling approaches regarding firms’ adjustments of physical capital, ranging from output-based models to more recent approaches that consider irreversibility and uncertainty. Thereafter, it is suggested that determinants of physical capital adjustments in agriculture can be divided into three main groups, namely drivers related to: i)expected (risk-adjusted) profit, ii) expected societal benefits and costs and iii) expected private nonpecuniary benefits and costs. The discussion that follows focuses on the determinants belonging to the first group and covers aspects related to product market conditions,...

Tipo: Working Paper

Palavras-chave: Drivers; Agriculural physical capital; Theoretical framework; Hypotheses; Farm Management; Risk and Uncertainty.

Ano: 2012

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/122842

How Smart Should Farms Be Modeled? Behavioral Foundation of Bidding Strategies in Agent-Based Land Market Models

Kellermann, Konrad; Balmann, Alfons.

Land markets play a crucial role in agricultural structural change. Because the dynamics of structural change and land markets, respectively, mainly depend on the interactions between individual farms, agent-based modeling (ABM) has been established as a tool for understanding and explaining structural change and land market dynamics. This is particularly so because of ABM's ability to capture heterogeneity, non-convexity and dynamics. Unfortunately, the behavioral foundation of economic actors in ABM, i.e., of the farms, is often specified as ad hoc or simply based on "expert knowledge". In this contribution, the highly-detailed ABM AgriPoliS - which uses a myopic normative behavioral foundation - is coupled with a genetic algorithm (GA) to detect market...

Spatial Pricing and the Location of Processors in Agricultural Markets

Palavras-chave: Agent-based modeling; Genetic algorithms; Land markets; Behavioral economics; Land Economics/Use; Q12; C6.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/25446

Graubner, Marten; Balmann, Alfons; Sexton, Richard J..

Spatially dispersed production and processing, endemic for most agricultural or renewable resource markets, causes oligopsonistic competition. The possibility and use of spatial price discrimination in these markets is well documented. It is also well known that the location of processors relative to competitors crucially affects the intensity of competition. However, insights regarding the relation between spatial price discrimination and the spatial differentiation of firms are barely present because the simultaneous investigation of these issues is often intractable analytically. We use computational economics to study these problems under a general theoretical framework. For instance, we show whether and under which conditions firms choose to...