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

Shively, Gerald E.; Gars, Jared; Sununtnasuk, Celeste.

Nepal faces multiple development challenges, including chronic and widespread food insecurity and adult and child malnutrition. Due to population growth, agricultural stagnation and a range of institutional failures, the threat of a serious food crisis in Nepal is substantial. The recent scaling back of WFP assistance means that food security conditions in some parts of Nepal will undoubtedly worsen in the near future. This paper presents a brief review of topics and available evidence regarding food security, malnutrition and related subjects in Nepal. It is intended to document important source material and provide an overview of topics for non-specialists or those moving into new areas of concern.

Agricultural Prices and Income Distribution among Farmers: A Whole-Household, Multi-Country, Multi-Year Analysis

Palavras-chave: Agriculture; Health; Nutrition; Nepal; Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty; International Development; I12; I31; O19; Q18.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/116190

Rios, Ana R.; Shively, Gerald E.; Masters, William A..

Recent studies have emphasized that the poorest farmers are often net buyers of key commodities and therefore harmed by rising prices. We use LSMS data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala to test the degree of net purchases or sales by income level. We find that poorer farmers may be net buyers of individual crops, but only the poorest are net buyers of all crops. More generally, net sales among poor farmers are low. We conclude that agricultural price changes have a diverse but limited influence on poor farmers’ welfare, because their farm sales tend to be offset by food purchases.

Agricultural Subsidies and Forest Pressure in Malawi's Miombo Woodlands

Palavras-chave: Market participation; Poverty; Inequality; Multi-continent multicountry; Agricultural Finance.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/49314

Fisher, Monica G.; Shively, Gerald E..

This paper examines impacts of an agricultural subsidy program on forest pressure in Malawi. Using household survey data, we measure the effect on forest product marketing and on forest clearing of Malawi's Starter Pack Scheme (SPS). Regression results show households receiving a free packet of hybrid maize seed and chemical fertilizer (a "starter pack") had lower levels of commercial forest extraction than nonrecipient households. In addition, no measurable effect of starter pack receipt is found on forest clearing decisions, suggesting the program raised agricultural output without encouraging agricultural expansion. Findings thus indicate potential modest improvement in forest condition due to the SPS.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Africa; Agricultural intensification; Conservation and development; Malawi; Tropical deforestation; Agricultural and Food Policy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/8646

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF ACTIVITY CHOICE, LABOR ALLOCATION, AND FOREST USE IN SOUTHERN MALAWI

Fisher, Monica G.; Shively, Gerald E.; Buccola, Steven T..

In this paper we explore forest use and activity choice among low-income households in Malawi. Using data from three villages in southern Malawi we investigate factors related to forest use by jointly estimating four labor share equations for forest use, maize production, wage-work, and self-employment. This approach allows us to examine factors influencing competing and synergistic livelihood strategies simultaneously undertaken by households living at the forest margin. Results from constrained ML estimation indicate greater incentives to degrade forests where the returns to forest use are high. Factors that reduce pressure on forests include availability of low-cost fuel substitutes, tree planting on the farm, favorable returns to wage-work and...

CONTRACT INCENTIVES AND EXCESSIVE NITROGEN USE IN AGRICULTURE

Palavras-chave: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/28616

Preckel, Paul V.; Shively, Gerald E.; Baker, Timothy G.; Chu, Mei-Chin; Burrell, Jessica Eide.

This study examines incentives for input use under tournament contracts. We analyze implications of contract design for nitrate-based environmental externalities generated by agricultural producers. Outcomes are compared from contracts awarded by tournament to those from fixed-payment contracts. Our findings show contract insecurity can distort input use. The model developed in this analysis is applied to a region of the U.S. where tournament-based production is prevalent and groundwater contamination is a problem. We find contract insecurity increases nitrogen use by about 12%, resulting in a 17% increase in nitrate leaching. Implications for contract modification to reduce environmental externalities while maintaining contract incentives are discussed.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Crop Production/Industries.

Ano: 2000

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/30902

Disaster Risk, Social Vulnerability and Economic Development

Ward, Patrick S.; Shively, Gerald E..

We examine the extent to which economic development reduces both a country's disaster risk and its social vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Global climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and various types of storms. Moreover, the effects of these extreme weather events are expected to be borne disproportionately in areas of the world already challenged by underdevelopment. We find that the ability of economic development to reduce disaster risk depends on a country's income level; additional income becomes less effective in reducing disaster risk as countries become wealthier. We find that, conditional on a disaster occurring, higher incomes generally reduce a...

DISCUSSANT'S COMMENTS FOR AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING, SELECTED PAPERS SESSION SP-7W: "MARKET-BASED CONTROL OF NONPOINT POLLUTION"

Palavras-chave: Natural disasters; Climate change; Economic development; Vulnerability; International Development; Political Economy; I3; Q5; O2.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/102984

Shively, Gerald E..

The focus is on the use of taxes and permits to control nonpoint pollution. Papers include: Tradable Permits for Controlling Nitrate Pollution of Domestic Groundwater Supplies Cynthia Morgan, Jay Coggins, and Vernon Eidman, University of Minnesota. Point/Nonpoint and Nonpoint/Nonpoint Trading Rules James Shortle, Richard Horan, Marc Ribaudo and Dave Abler. Nitrogen Sources and Gulf Hypoxia: Potential for Point-Nonpoint Trading Marc Ribaudo, Ralph Heimlich, and Mark Peters. Green Insurance Versus Green Payments for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Paul Mitchell, Iowa State University.

DO TROPICAL FORESTS PROVIDE A SAFETY NET? INCOME SHOCKS AND FOREST EXTRACTION IN MALAWI

Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy.

Ano: 1998

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20797

Fisher, Monica G.; Shively, Gerald E..

We use seasonal household data on income shocks and forest extraction to study how households in Malawi use forests to cope with income shortfalls. In particular, we study household response to receipt of a positive income shock delivered in the form of a technology assistance package. We estimate a random-effects model of forest extraction to examine whether household forest use is responsive to income shocks received in a prior period. We also measure the extent to which households subsequently save out of transitory income. Findings indicate that forest extraction by asset-poor households was more responsive to income shocks than forest extraction by better-off households. Findings also suggest households save out of transitory income, and in the...

Farm Productivity and Household Market Participation: Evidence from LSMS Data

Palavras-chave: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/22228

Rios, Ana R.; Shively, Gerald E.; Masters, William A..

We analyze the correlation between farm productivity and market participation using comparable household data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala. Each farm’s input use and output levels provide a within-sample measure of relative productivity, which we relate to that household’s level of participation in local markets using a wide range of agricultural, demographic and infrastructural variables as controls and as instruments in two-stage regressions. Results indicate that, controlling for differences in market access and the underlying determinants of market participation, households with higher productivity have greater participation in agricultural markets. In contrast, households with greater rates of market participation do not consistently...

Farm size and nonparametric efficiency measurements for coffee farms in Vietnam

Palavras-chave: Market participation; Productivity; Multi-country sample; Household surveys; Consumer/Household Economics; International Development; Productivity Analysis; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; O13; Q12; Q13.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/51031

Rios, Ana R.; Shively, Gerald E..

We study the efficiency of smallholder coffee farms in Vietnam. Data from a 2004 survey of farms in two districts in Dak Lak Province are used in a two-step analysis. In the first step, technical and cost efficiency measures are calculated using DEA. In the second step, Tobit regressions are used to identify factors correlated with technical and cost inefficiency. Results indicate that small farms were less efficient than large farms. Inefficiencies observed on small farms appear to be related, in part, to the scale of investments in irrigation infrastructure.

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS IN FOOD MARKETS? INSIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE RICE MARKET

Palavras-chave: Farm Management.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19159

Yao, Richard T.; Shively, Gerald E.; Masters, William A..

We investigate the Philippine government's price stabilization policy for rice. Seemingly Unrelated Regressions are used to examine the effectiveness of the program at regional and national levels over a 21-year period (January 1983 to December 2003). Results of the regional analysis indicate some NFA-induced spatial and temporal differences in terms of producer prices. The NFA successfully increased producer prices in 5 of 13 regions through stock accumulation and paddy rice purchase at floor prices. NFA stock releases do not correlate strongly with retail prices at the national level, although results from the regional model indicate that NFA stock releases reduced retail prices in five regions, leading to perceptible spatial and temporal differences...

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS IN FOOD MARKETS? INSIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE RICE MARKET

Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/28669

Yao, Richard T.; Shively, Gerald E.; Masters, William J..

INPUT CHOICES IN AGRICULTURE: IS THERE A GENDER BIAS?

Palavras-chave: Marketing.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19263

Bhagowalia, Priya; Chen, Susan E.; Shively, Gerald E..

Most developing countries strive to improve agricultural productivity by relaxing credit constraints, supplying better inputs, and improving marketing and distribution. However the efficacy of these reforms needs to be examined in the context of the behavioral responses of farming households. This study examines gender biases within households that affect short-term decisions with immediate and long-term implications. This study utilizes data from ICRISAT's village level studies in India (1975-85) to highlight the effects of child gender on the use of agricultural inputs. The main finding is that households with boys tend to use purchased inputs such as fertilizers and insecticides more intensively compared with households with girls. In general, household...

Linkages between Market Participation and Productivity: Results from a Multi-Country Farm Household Sample

Palavras-chave: Gender bias; Agricultural economics; Inputs; Village level studies; Son; Labor and Human Capital; J16; Q12.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7328

Rios, Ana R.; Masters, William A.; Shively, Gerald E..

We build upon international trade literature to analyze the direction of causality between market participation and productivity. Cross-country household data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala are used in a 2SLS approach with market participation and productivity as endogenous variables. Results indicate that households with higher productivity tend to participate in agricultural markets regardless of market access factors. In contrast, having better market access does not necessarily lead to higher productivity. This finding suggests that investments in market access infrastructure provide minimal, if any, improvements in agricultural productivity; whereas programs targeted at enhancements in farm structure and capital have the potential to increase...

Market-Based Approaches to CO2 Emissions: Implications for Agriculture

Palavras-chave: International Relations/Trade; Marketing; Productivity Analysis.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6145

Raymond, Leigh; Shively, Gerald E..

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy; H00; Q28; Q48.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94505

MEASURING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC CHANGE: THE CASE OF LAND DEGRADATION IN PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE

Coxhead, Ian A.; Shively, Gerald E..

We evaluate the on-site land degradation effects of economic changes occurring both within agriculture and elsewhere in the Philippine economy, simulated with the APEX applied general equilibrium model. We derive changes in land degradation rates from changes in land use in rainfed annual crops, using Philippine data on upland erosion under a range of crops, rainfall patterns and slopes. In general equilibrium, land degradation rates are affected by endogenous price changes as well as by direct interventions in agriculture and agricultural processing sectors. We examine the effects of technical progress in corn, and of a capital subsidy to the rice and corn milling sector. Using the nutrient replacement cost method, we calculate the value of changes in...

MEASURING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TECHNICAL PROGRESS IN LOW-INCOME AGRICULTURE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND FOREST PRESSURE IN PALAWAN, THE PHILIPPINES

Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy.

Ano: 1995

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/12671

Shively, Gerald E..

Data from the Philippines are used to measure impacts of technical progress in lowland agriculture on upland forests. Irrigation development, labor demand, and employment are studied. Total annual labor use increased following irrigation. Employment of household members living along forest margins increased also. Time allocation data from the uplands show that increases in employment among households living along the forest margin were accompanied by reductions in forest clearing and forest-degrading activities. Empirical findings show irrigation-induced increases in agricultural employment can reduce pressure on tropical forests. Implications for policies and trends in use of labor saving methods that could undermine the observed changes are discussed.

Migration and Land Rental as Risk Response in Rural China

Palavras-chave: Philippines; Irrigation; Rice production; Labor markets; Environment; Environmental Economics and Policy; Labor and Human Capital; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 1999

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21626

Ward, Patrick S.; Shively, Gerald E..

Households in developing countries take various actions to smooth income or consumption as a means of managing or responding to risk. One of the principal means of smoothing income is through the diversification of income sources, including non-farm employment and rural-urban migration. An important consumption smoothing strategy involves the accumulation and depletion of assets. We examine migration and land rental market participation as responses to risk in rural China. Using a longitudinal data set comprised of households in nine provinces in China from 1991 through 2006, we are able to test for the effect of various manifestations of underlying idiosyncratic and covariate income risk on household responses. We find that covariate risks increase...

MODELING IMPACTS OF SOIL CONSERVATION ON PRODUCTIVITY AND YIELD VARIABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM A HETEROSKEDASTIC SWITCHING REGRESSION

Palavras-chave: China; Risk; Consumption smoothing; Income smoothing; International Development; Labor and Human Capital; Risk and Uncertainty; O15; R23; Q15.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103379

Shively, Gerald E..

The impact of soil conservation adoption on yield and yield risk is investigated using a conditionally heteroskedastic production function with endogenous switching. Analysis shows that controlling for plot-specific factors, adopters exhibit lower yields and higher yield variance than non-adopters. Regression results indicate soil conservation increases yields and reduces yield variance.

POVERTY, AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: EVIDENCE FROM A FRONTIER REGION OF THE PHILIPPINES

Palavras-chave: Land Economics/Use; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods.

Ano: 1998

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/20930

Shively, Gerald E.; Pagiola, Stefano.

We measure impacts of agricultural intensification on environmental outcomes in the Philippines. We develop models of labor demand outside a forest zone and labor allocation and asset accumulation inside a forest zone to study household response to technical change. Using household data from 1995-2000 we estimate a series of dynamic econometric models to trace the impacts of irrigation development to changes in incomes and activities at the forest margin.