Diversification economies in dairy farming – empirical evidence from Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1338-1365
Author(s):  
Stefan Wimmer ◽  
Johannes Sauer
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Distance Function ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Estimation Technique ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Input Distance Function

Abstract This article explores how farm size is related to economic benefits from diversification. Using a data set pertaining to Bavarian dairy farms (2000–2014), we estimate an input distance function (IDF) to derive cost complementarities between distinct outputs. A Bayesian estimation technique is used to improve the theoretical consistency of the IDF. The results show that small dairy farms are more likely to benefit from diversification between milk and livestock production, while larger farms tend to benefit from diversification between milk and crop production. Both managerial and policy implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Socio-economic Factors Influencing Profitability of Rice Seed Production in Selected Areas of Bangladesh

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-40
Author(s):  
MZ Hoque ◽  
ME Haque
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Rice Seed ◽  
The Government ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Seed is the foundation of agriculture for enhancing crop production. The economic benefits from the improved quality seed production help scaling up the livelihood standard as well as nutritional status of the common people. The study was carried out in three districts namely Jamalpur, Gazipur and Manikganj to identify the socio-economic dimensions of the government seed production project beneficiaries persuading profitability of rice seed production. Data were collected through intensive survey of randomly selected 211 sample respondents using pre-tested interview schedule. To examine the profitability of rice seed production, the gross margin and cost benefit analysis were carried out. Co-efficient of correlation and multiple stepwise regressions were employed to find out the determinants of profitability in rice seed production. Rice seed production was not found to be so profitable as investment in rice seed cultivation can produce average BCR of only up to 1.44, where highest BCR was found in Jamalpur (1.58) compared to Manikganj (1.48) and Gazipur (1.26). The results revealed that socio-economic factors have a profound influence on profitability of rice seed production as these factors combined explained 54.9 percent variation. Farm size, contact with information sources, knowledge on quality rice production and age of the respondents were identified as significant contributors in profitability of rice seed production, whereas contact with information sources was the single most influential factor (24.6%). Therefore, steps may be taken so that the seed-growers could directly be linked with more information sources dealing with seed production and marketing through the government initiatives to boost up the production as well as to ensure appropriate price of the farmers’ home grown seed. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/agric.v12i1.19578 The Agriculturists 2014; 12(1) 33-40

Farm size and use of inputs: explanations for the inverse productivity relationship

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-354
Author(s):  
Shen Cheng ◽  
Zhihao Zheng ◽  
Shida Henneberry
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Land Productivity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Demand Models ◽  
Labor Inputs ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The relationship between farm size and land productivity is a hotly debated issue in the study of agricultural economics and development economics. The purpose of this paper is to explore the causes leading to the inverse productivity relationship by examining the relationship between farm size and factor inputs. Design/methodology/approach With a large panel data set of farm households in China during 2010–2011, this study uses the factor demand models to examine the relationship between farm size and per-mu labor and non-labor inputs while employing a stochastic frontier production function in determining the difference of labor efforts in farming operation across farm sizes. Moreover, the models for value-added margins and profits are used to further determine producer behavior of small-size farms. Findings Results of this study show that, as compared to larger farms, smaller farms not only utilize more labor and non-labor inputs per mu, but also benefit from a higher labor effort. Moreover, smaller farms concentrate more on grain output and cash costs while focusing less on the family labor input costs in an effort to maximize value-added margins rather than profits. The higher yields on smaller farms are thus a result of the utilization of a relatively higher level of labor and non-labor inputs along with skilled-oriented precision farming technology. The inverse productivity relationship is explained by the behavior of small-size producers with employment constraints, leading to smaller farms generating a higher yield than larger farms. Originality/value While Sen (1966), Feder (1985), Eswaran and Kotwal (1986) and others have theoretically derived the causal relationship between the incomplete factor markets, especially incomplete labor markets, and the inverse productivity, empirical studies to test the causal relationships are limited. In particular, a solid foundation based on an empirical analysis is lacking when it comes to explaining the inverse productivity in China. Results of this study are expected to have significant policy implications in terms of the understanding of small-size producer behavior and the associated mechanism underlying the inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity.

Microfinance through non-governmental organizations and its effects on formal and informal credit

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Xiang ◽  
Xiangping Jia ◽  
Jikun Huang
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Informal Credit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

Purpose – Internationally, microfinance run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is often considered an important approach to meeting the credit demand of rural households, particularly among the poor. However, the perceived competitions with formal financial institutions and concerns about financial risks in the rural economy have impeded the development of microfinance by NGOs in China. Despite these concerns about NGO microfinance, little empirical evidence has been brought to prove them. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between NGO microfinance and farmers’ demand for formal and informal credit in rural China. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a household longitudinal data set consisting of 749 households from 40 microfinance villages in rural China. This study draws evidence from China's largest NGO microfinance. Out of the five county branches where China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation has launched institutionalized microfinance since 2006, the authors selected two of them. A random sampling approach was applied in surveying villages and households. In an effort to create impact assessments, the authors surveyed the detailed information on household characteristics and credit access during the period 2006-2009. A panel data is thus structured for the analysis. Findings – The authors found that the demand for credit in rural China is immense and rising, as formal financial institutions have gradually moved away from less developed regions in rural areas. In its place, informal lending has become a primary source of credit for the poor. However, where NGO microfinance has become available, both formal and informal credit has slowed down. The development and expansion of NGO microfinance did stand up as a substitution for institutional lenders and informal financial networks. Research limitations/implications – The findings have profound policy implications. First, since the development of NGO microfinance fill the demand for credit in rural China and poses low financial risk, the intellectual bias against NGO microfinance is unwarranted. In particular, the regulations that hamper the development of NGO microfinance should be corrected. Second, informal networks do not appear to be costless. Where NGO microfinance can substitute for them, it can mitigate the financial stresses related to the informal credit market.

The Problem of Agricultural Taxation in West Pakistan and an Alternative Solution: A Comment (Notes & Comments)

1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-437
Author(s):  
Sarfaraz Khan Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Capita Income ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Per Capita Income ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Water Rate ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Government

In the Summer 1973 issue of the Pakistan Development Review, Mr. Mohammad Ghaffar Chaudhry [1] has dealt with two very important issues relating to the intersectoral tax equity and the intrasectoral tax equity within the agricultural sector in Pakistan. Using a simple criterion for vertical tax equity that implies that the tax rate rises with per capita income such that the ratio of revenue to income rises at the same percentage rate as per capita income, Mr. Chaudhry found that the agricultural sector is overtaxed in Pakistan. Mr. Chaudhry further found that the land tax is a regressive levy with respect to the farm size. Both findings, if valid, have important policy implications. In this note we argue that the validity of the findings on intersectoral tax equity depends on the treatment of water rate as tax rather than the price of a service provided by the Government and on the shifting assumptions regard¬ing the indirect taxes on imports and domestic production levied by the Central Government. The relevance of the findings on the intrasectoral tax burden would have been more obvious if the tax liability was related to income from land per capita.

Getting it Right: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications from Research on Public-Sector Unionism and Collective Bargaining

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lewin ◽  
Thomas A. Kochan ◽  
Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld ◽  
Teresa Ghilarducci ◽  
Harry C. C. Katz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Public Sector Unionism

Factors Affecting Driver Injury Severity in the Wrong-Way Crash: Accounting for Potential Heterogeneity in Means and Variances of Random Parameters

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110098
Author(s):  
Miao Yu ◽  
Jinxing Shen ◽  
Changxi Ma
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Random Parameter ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Severe Injuries ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Severity Levels

Because of the high percentage of fatalities and severe injuries in wrong-way driving (WWD) crashes, numerous studies have focused on identifying contributing factors to the occurrence of WWD crashes. However, a limited number of research effort has investigated the factors associated with driver injury-severity in WWD crashes. This study intends to bridge the gap using a random parameter logit model with heterogeneity in means and variances approach that can account for the unobserved heterogeneity in the data set. Police-reported crash data collected from 2014 to 2017 in North Carolina are used. Four injury-severity levels are defined: fatal injury, severe injury, possible injury, and no injury. Explanatory variables, including driver characteristics, roadway characteristics, environmental characteristics, and crash characteristics, are used. Estimation results demonstrate that factors, including the involvement of alcohol, rural area, principal arterial, high speed limit (>60 mph), dark-lighted conditions, run-off-road collision, and head-on collision, significantly increase the severity levels in WWD crashes. Several policy implications are designed and recommended based on findings.

scholarly journals How Do Women Overcome Gender Inequality by Forming Small-Scale Cooperatives? The Case of the Agricultural Sector in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1797
Author(s):  
Amber Theeuwen ◽  
Valérie Duplat ◽  
Christopher Wickert ◽  
Brian Tjemkes
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Female Farmers

In Uganda, the agricultural sector contributes substantially to gross domestic product. Although the involvement of Ugandan women in this sector is extensive, female farmers face significant obstacles, caused by gendering that impedes their ability to expand their family business and to generate incomes. Gender refers to social or cultural categories by which women–men relationships are conceived. In this study, we aim to investigate how gendering influences the development of business relationships in the Ugandan agricultural sector. To do so, we employed a qualitative–inductive methodology to collect unique data on the rice and cassava sectors. Our findings reveal at first that, in the agricultural sector in Uganda, inter-organization business relationships (i.e., between non-family actors) are mostly developed by and between men, whereas intra-organization business relationships with family members are mostly developed by women. We learn that gendering impedes women from developing inter-organization business relationships. Impediments for female farmers include their restricted mobility, the lack of trust by men, their limited freedom in communication, household duties, and responsibilities for farming activities up until sales. Our findings also reveal that these impediments to developing inter-organization business relationships prevent female farmers from being empowered and from attainting economic benefits for the family business. In this context, the results of our study show that grouping in small-scale cooperatives offers female farmers an opportunity to overcome gender inequality and to become economically emancipated. Thanks to these cooperatives, women can develop inter-organization relationships with men and other women and gain easier access to financial resources. Small-scale cooperatives can alter gendering in the long run, in favor of more gender equality and less marginalization of women. Our study responds to calls for more research on the informal economy in developing countries and brings further understanding to the effect of gendering in the Ugandan agricultural sector. We propose a theoretical framework with eight propositions bridging gendering, business relationship development, and empowerment and economic benefits. Our framework serves as a springboard for policy implications aimed at fostering gender equality in informal sectors in developing countries.

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