scholarly journals The impact of enterprise unit policy change on the quantity demanded for crop insurance

2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-527
Author(s):  
Harun Bulut

PurposeThe article examines the impact of policy change on enterprise unit subsidies that took place in 2009 on the quantity demanded for crop insurance.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis covers corn, soybeans, and wheat that are grown in six economic regions and uses various measures of purchasing such as acres insured, unit structure, coverage levels, as well as crop hail use as proxies for the quantity demanded.The analysis first employs time series econometric tools to analyze whether the time path of the share of enterprise units within buyup acres is influenced by the policy change in enterprise unit subsidies. It then comparatively examines the insurance experience between 2008 (right before the change) and 2015 (well after the change).FindingsFor corn, soybean, and wheat, the analysis establishes that the time path of the share of enterprise units within buyup coverage acres is statistically and economically influenced by the intervention. The analysis further quantifies the intervention's immediate and long-term impacts and finds that farmers' unit choices are highly responsive (elastic) to subsidy rates in those units.Between 2008 and 2015, the insurance experience generally indicates that the share of enterprise units within buyup coverage surged, the share of acres under catastrophic coverage declined, and the share acres in high coverage levels increased. Meanwhile, growers have increasingly utilized crop-hail policies.Originality/valueThis appears to be the first study (1) quantifying the sensitivity of farmers' unit choices with respect to subsidy rates in those units and finding that such choices are actually highly responsive (elastic), and (2) pointing out the interaction between MPCI and crop-hail products and offering insights as to their combined use. The findings should be of considerable value to policymakers, academics, bankers, and producers in regards to the design and use of risk management tools.

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harun Bulut ◽  
Keith J. Collins

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use simulation analysis to assess farmer choice between crop insurance and supplemental revenue options as proposed during development of the Agricultural Act of 2014. Design/methodology/approach – The certainty equivalent of wealth is used to rank farm choices and assess the effects of supplemental revenue options on the crop insurance plan and coverage level chosen by the producer under a range of farm attributes. The risk-reducing effectiveness of the select programs is also examined through their impact on the farm revenue distribution. The dependence structure of yield and prices is modeled by applying copula techniques on historical data. Findings – Farm program supplemental revenue programs generally have no effect on crop insurance choices. Crop insurance supplemental revenue programs typically reduce crop insurance coverage at high coverage levels. An individual plan of crop insurance combined with a supplemental revenue insurance plan may substitute for incumbent area crop insurance plans. Originality/value – The analysis provides insights into farmers’ possible choices by focussing on alternative crops and farm attributes and extensive scenarios, using current data, crop insurance plans and programs contained in the 2014 Farm Bill and related bills. The results should be of value to policy officials and producers in regards to the design and use of risk management tools.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton P. Michaud

PurposeThis paper examines the effect of overconfident yield forecasting (optimism bias) on crop insurance coverage level choices across both yield and revenue insurance.Design/methodology/approachThis study simulates a representative producer’s preferred coverage level for both yield and revenue insurance under three potential models of decision-making and four potential manifestations of overconfident yield forecasting. The study then uses this framework to examine how coverage level choices change as overconfidence increases (decreases).FindingsAs overconfidence increases, producers prefer lower levels of crop insurance coverage than they would otherwise prefer, with extreme overconfidence inducing farmers to buy no insurance at all. While overconfidence affects cross-coverage demand for revenue and yield insurance similarly, this effect is more pronounced for yield insurance. Cross-coverage level demand for revenue insurance is relatively stable across changes in the correlation between prices and yields.Practical implicationsThis research has important implications for crop insurance subsidy design and crop insurance demand modeling.Originality/valueThere is a growing body of literature suggesting that producers are overconfident with regard to their future yield risk and that this bias reduces their willingness to pay for risk management tools such as crop insurance. This is the first study to look at how such overconfidence affects cross-coverage level demand for crop insurance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moez Essid ◽  
Nicolas Berland

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the organizational capabilities involved in the adoption of environmental management tools in eight large French firms. The analysis also examines the antecedents that contributed to the emergence of those capabilities and the consequences of their involvement in terms of environmental management.Design/methodology/approachTo analyze the organizational capabilities deployed when environmental management tools are adopted, this paper takes an exploratory approach based on a qualitative study of eight large French firms.FindingsThe findings show how organizational capabilities, dynamic and ordinary, are operationalized in the adoption of environmental management tools. This operationalization is made possible by internal and external antecedents and simple and complex routines. The findings also identify two possible configurations of organizational capabilities, each one leading to a specific form of environmental management. The first configuration leads to stand-alone environmental management systems, while the second succeeds in engendering integrated management systems. This study shows that this difference is explained by heterogeneous endowments in terms of antecedents across firms.Practical implicationsThe study provides useful information for managers about the conditions that favor and facilitate adoption of environmental management tools and the ways these conditions operate.Social implicationsThe study illustrates the impact of society on large firms’ adoption of certain environmental management practices. It shows that external visibility – which has created strong societal pressure – is one of the external antecedents that led eight large French firms to develop specific organizational capabilities.Originality/valueIn analyzing the antecedents, routines and capabilities involved in the adoption of environmental management tools, the study adds some original, innovative contributions to current knowledge on the conditions for adoption of such tools.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidonie Djofack ◽  
Marco Antonio Robledo Camacho

Purpose Although many studies have concentrated on analyzing the impact of the implementation of ISO 9001 certification, there is still a clear need for research in specific sectors. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation of this international management system standard in the tourism industry, and in particular the motivations conducting to its adoption and the satisfaction derived from it. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted among 120 ISO 9001-certified Spanish tourism companies. Confirmatory factor analysis tests were used to verify the scales validity and reliability. The logit model was utilized to investigate the statistical effects of ISO certification. Findings The paper findings showed that the certified companies in the tourism industry implement ISO 9001 more for internal reasons, like improving processes and procedures or products and/or services, than for external reasons, like the image of the company or promotional or sales tools. The variables size, age and use of a consultant affect the cost and time factors for the implementation of a quality system. In addition, the certification process generated three categories of benefits, with the organizational and control benefits being the more relevant. These benefits are correlated to the antiquity of the certificate. In the final analysis, results show that tourism companies are generally satisfied with the ISO 9001 certificate. Originality/value The ISO 9001 quality management system is part of the modern management tools. The paper contributes to a better understanding of the motivations and benefits for implementing the ISO 9001 certification and to the analysis of its application in a particular industry as important as the tourism industry in Spain, a country that is recognized for its leadership in tourism.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Owusu ◽  
Awudu Abdulai ◽  
Williams Ali

PurposeThis article analyzes farmers' preferences for different nonindexed crop insurance alternatives, using discrete choice experiment data on cocoa farmers from southern Ghana. We examine farmers' attendance to attributes by comparing self-reported attribute nonattendance (ANA) to the behavior inferred from the choices.Design/methodology/approachWe utilize the latent class endogenous attribute attendance (EAA) model to address potential endogeneity by jointly modelling farmers' attribute processing strategies with their choice of attributes of the insurance products.FindingsThe results show that premium levels, mode and length of indemnity payouts tend to influence farmers' preferences for crop insurance products. The findings also reveal that credit-constrained farmers attend more to premium and payment mode attributes of the crop insurance products and that credit-constrained farmers tend to exhibit lower willingness-to-pay estimates for the crop insurance attributes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings from the study suggest that credit constraints do not only limit input use, but also tend to have statistically significant impact on farmers' cocoa insurance participation decisions.Originality/valueThe study examines the impact of credit constraints on farmers' crop insurance preferences while accounting for ANA.


2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E Ifft ◽  
Todd Kuethe ◽  
Mitch Morehart

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider how the federal crop insurance (FCI) program influences farm debt use, one of the key financial decisions made by farm operators. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the nationally representative Agricultural Resource Management Survey, the paper implements a propensity score matching model of the impact of FCI participation on various measures of farm business debt use. To account for the simultaneity of financial decisions, the paper further tests this relationship using a seemingly unrelated regression model. Findings – FCI participation is associated with an increase in use of short-term farm debt, but not long-term debt, consistent with risk balancing behavior and current trends in the farm sector. Research limitations/implications – In addition to risk balancing, the results are also consistent with credit constraints or lender preferences. The paper cannot fully establish causality between crop insurance participation and short-term debt levels. Future research should address these limitations. Practical implications – Agricultural lending standards are generally conservative and the farm sector as a whole currently has historically low leverage, which implies that an increase in debt use may not be a threat to the financial health of the farm sector. Social implications – The results indicate that the reduction in total risk facing the farm sector is significantly less than the decline in risk provided by FCI, which is an important consideration for policymakers. Originality/value – This is the first paper to use an econometric model to analyze the relationship between FCI and farm debt use decisions. This paper can inform future research on the FCI program and farm financial decisions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios V. Lyridis ◽  
Georgios O. Andreadis ◽  
Christos Papaleonidas ◽  
Violetta Tsiampa

PurposeThe current study addresses how blockchain can deal with the challenges that the midstream liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain poses combined from a management standpoint. Such challenges are: the volume of transactions, communication hurdles and the lack of contemporary management tools. The paper proposes a comprehensive framework to assess the impact of blockchain implementation in the midstream LNG supply chain in order to tackle those barriers.Design/methodology/approachThe basis of the research is the business process modelling (BPM), through which entities, roles, tasks, resources and transactions can be modelled and simulated. The modelling of the midstream LNG supply chain, via BPM, is based on guidelines of the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGGTO) and common industry business models. A quantitative analysis is employed to support the motivation and the potential impact of blockchain implementation. The methodology is used to identify (1) inefficiencies related to large volume of transactions between stakeholders and (2) critical areas of an LNG shipping company, where blockchain can be implemented.FindingsProcess repeatability, numerous shared documentation forms, excessive paperwork and communication imbroglios are mapped from the modelling section. Up to 327 processes are repeated during a typical vessel voyage, and up to 122 shared documentation forms are exchanged. Excessive paperwork and communication imbroglios are tracked through, which correspond to 25 severe errors as detected. By implementing the methodology, stakeholders can quantify the possible impact of blockchain on the operational performance of each stakeholder's operations separately and the supply chain as a whole in terms of real-time monitoring, transparency and paperwork reduction, time and cost savings.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has certain limitations deriving from its conceptual nature. The business processes' modelling is based on standard procedures described in the guidelines by SIGGTO and may need further adjustment for specific use cases. A structured case study has not been realisable as corporate data for an LNG shipping company regarding processes and other commercial sensitive information are required.Practical implicationsPotential practitioners may exploit the proposed framework as a low cost and seamless tool to evaluate how blockchain could disrupt their operations. Thus, the blockchain implementation's improvements or weaknesses can be pinpointed, and enabling the interested stakeholder of the LNG supply chain with specific feedback, it can guide them towards informed decisions on their operations.Originality/valueThe research has a novel approach as it combines the creation of practical management framework, with a comprehensive visualization of the midstream LNG supply chain. Thus, the reader can identify in which parts of the midstream LNG supply chain can blockchain be implemented, and what impact it could have in terms of supply chain operations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 647-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Ofori ◽  
Terry Griffin ◽  
Elizabeth Yeager

PurposePrecision technologies have been available at the farm level for decades. Some technologies have been readily adopted, while the adoption of other technologies has been slower. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing farmers' time-to-adoption decisions as duration between year of commercialization of precision agriculture (PA) technologies and year of adoption, at the farm level.Design/methodology/approachTime-to-adoption, which is the difference in years between technologies becoming commercially available and the year of adoption was determined using non-parametric duration analysis, and the impact of specific farm/farmer characteristics on time-to-adoption were estimated using a semi-parametric Cox proportional-hazard (CPH) model, based on a panel dataset of 316 Kansas farms from 2002 to 2018.FindingsThe findings indicate that, time-to-adoption for embodied-knowledge technologies such as automated guidance and section control were statistically shorter than for information-intensive technologies such as yield monitors, precision soil sampling and variable rate fertility. Duration was indirectly (directly) proportional to commercialization date of embodied-knowledge (information-intensive) technology. More so, time-to-adoption statistically differed among technologies within these two broad categories. Time-to-adoption varies across farm location and between both types of technologies. Millennial farmers are more likely to adopt both types of technologies sooner compared to baby boomers. Net farm income, percentage changes in debt-to-asset ratio, corn to total crop acres and machinery investment had no significant impact on the time-to-adoption for both information-intensive and embodied-knowledge technologies. On the other hand, while variations exist, time-to-adoption of PA technologies is mainly driven by location of farm, generation of farmer, number of workers, years of farming experience, total acres cropped and the cost of crop insurance.Originality/valueThis study investigates how the financial position of farms, amongst other important factors might influence time-to-adoption of PA technologies. Results are useful to extension personnel and retailers for planning marketing or farm outreach programs taking into consideration that, time-to-adoption differs across regions and by specific characteristics, key amongst them: generation of farmer, number of workers, years of farming experience, total acres cropped and the cost of crop insurance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54
Author(s):  
Jan Emblemsvåg

Purpose Industries lament the current situation of approaches that have resulted in huge losses in the face of complex risks. The purpose of this study is therefore to review complexity theory in the context of risk management so that it is possible to research better approaches for managing complex risks. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to review complexity theory and highlight those aspects of complexity theory that have relevance for risk management. Then, the paper ends with a discussion on what direction of research that will be most promising for the aforementioned purpose. Findings The paper finds that the most challenging aspect is to identify the weak signals, and this implies that the current approaches of estimating probabilities are not going to produce the desired results. Big data may hold a solution in the future, but with legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation, this seems impossible to implement on ethical grounds. Hence, the most prudent approach is to use a margin of safety as advocated by Graham roughly 70 years ago. Indeed, the approach may be to assume that a disaster will take place and use risk management tools to estimate the impact for a given object. Research limitations/implications The literature review is a summary of a much larger work, and in so doing, the resulting simplification may run the risk of missing out on important details. However, with this risk in mind, the review holds rich enough discussion on complexity to be relevant for research about complex risk management. Practical implications The current implication for practice is that the paper strongly supports the notion of using a margin of safety as advocated by Graham and his most famous disciple Warren Buffet. This comes from the fact that because context is king, risk management approaches must be applied in their right domain. There is no one right way. In the future, the goal is to develop a quantitative approach that can help the industry in pricing complex risks. Originality/value The main contribution of the paper is to bring complexity theory more into the domain of risk management with sufficient details that should allow researchers to get conceptual ideas about what might work or not concerning complex risk management. If nothing else, it would be a significant contribution of the paper if it could help increasing the interest in complexity theory.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodluck Charles Urassa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of the regulatory framework on the competitiveness of the dairy sector of Tanzania. More precisely, it attempts to identify the main regulations governing the dairy industry and examines areas in which they overlap. The paper explores the effect of the regulatory framework on the business enterprises operating in the sector and highlights ongoing initiatives for harmonisation of the regulations affecting the dairy sector. Design/methodology/approach – The study that culminated in the paper was qualitative in nature, being based on case studies of two enterprises operating in the dairy industry, secondary data, in-depth discussions with industry stakeholders through personal interviews and focus group discussions. The paper also draws on observations made of the advocacy project that is going on to review regulations in the dairy sector. Findings – The dairy sector in Tanzania is facing significant regulatory challenges, leading to the high cost of doing business. The main regulatory burdens facing the sector are: multiple inspections of premises, multiple testing of products, multiplicity of licences for premises and products, and the use of regulations as a source of revenue. Bureaucratic roadblocks add costs to businesses and reduce the competitiveness of products and services, as well as the potential for business expansion and job creation. While the private sector appears to succeed in creating awareness of the issue, it has not yet succeeded in pressurising the government to take action to bring about policy change. Practical implications – The findings of the paper will inform policy makers and the private sector on how the regulations affect the competitiveness of the dairy industry. The paper will also aid advocacy initiatives by private sector organisations by providing empirical evidence concerning the damaging effect of the regulatory framework and will contribute some ideas on how to carry forward the ongoing dialogue between the private and public sector. Originality/value – The paper fills the gap resulting from the lack of empirical evidence regarding the impact of the regulatory framework on the competitiveness of the private sector in the context of a developing economy. It demonstrates how systematic research on advocacy issues raised by the private sector could be used to generate evidence that informs and motivates policy change. The paper also applies the theory of regulation to a specific industry to show how regulatory reforms could be attained.


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