Livelihoods, Technological Constraints, and Low-Carbon Agricultural Technology Preferences of Farmers: Analytical Frameworks of Technology Adoption and Farmer Livelihoods

In the context of achieving carbon neutrality, it is scientifically important to quantitatively explore the relationships among livelihoods, technological property constraints, and the selection of low-carbon technologies by farmers to promote agricultural modernization and carbon neutrality in the agricultural sector of China. Based on the scientific classifications of farmer capital and low-carbon agricultural technologies, a farmer technology selection theory model considering capital constraints was developed in this study. Microcosmic survey data were collected from farmers in the Jiangsu province for empirical testing and analyses. A total of four low-carbon technologies related to fertilizer usage and three types of farmers’ livelihoods and their relationships were examined by using a logistic model. The results showed the existence of a significant coupling relationship between the intrinsic decision mechanism involved in selecting low-carbon agricultural technology and the properties of low-carbon agricultural technology for different types of farmers. Significant differences exist in the selection of different low-carbon technologies among large-scale farmers, mid-level part-time farmers, and low-level (generally small) part-time farmers. (1) When selecting technology, large-scale farmers are more inclined to accept capital-intensive, low-carbon technologies, such as new varieties, straw recycling, soil testing, and formulated fertilization. Mid-level part-time farmers are more inclined to accept capital intensive, labor saving, or low risk low-carbon agricultural technologies. In contrast, low-level part-time farmers are inclined to accept labor intensive technologies to reduce capital constraints and agricultural risks. (2) Large-scale farmers and low-level part-time farmers are influenced by household and plot characteristics, while mid-level part-time farmers are more influenced by plot characteristics. (3) Households with capital constraints created by differentiated livelihoods face challenges adopting capital-intensive low-carbon agricultural technologies, such as straw recycling, new varieties, soil testing, and formulated fertilization. However, farmers with stronger constraints in the areas of land and labor are more inclined to accept labor-saving technologies, such as soil testing and formulated fertilization technology. Moreover, farmers with stronger risk preferences tend to accept high-risk technologies, such as new technologies like straw recycling. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for formulating carbon emission reduction policies and low-carbon technology policies for the agricultural sector.

The Chinese system of government relief supplies: from the perspective of knowledge management

Purpose Public crisis often generates new knowledge that should be incorporated into a government’s macro-control to ensure the relief supply. From the perspective of public crisis knowledge management, the Chinese system of Government relief supplies can be considered as a special case of the knowledge system. This paper aims to investigate the supply and production mechanism of relief goods and explore the advantages of the Chinese system when a sudden public crisis occurs. Design/methodology/approach Under the Chinese system, the authors construct a relief supply chain model consisting of the Chinese Government, one manufacturer and one supplier, where the supplier has no capital constraints. Given the demand for relief goods, the government purchases from the manufacturer with a guide price. Then, the manufacturer decides on its order quantity and offers a wholesale price to the supplier. The supplier has a random capacity and decides on the level of knowledge acquisition to improve its capacity. Findings The authors first obtain the analytical solution for the manufacturer to motivate a high level of knowledge acquisition from the supplier. Specifically, the manufacturer’s optimal order quantity is equal to the demand and the optimal wholesale price has a cost-plus form that reimburses the supplier for its production cost and knowledge-acquisition cost. Next, the authors derive the optimal guide price for the government, which should be set to subsidize the manufacturer with a proportion of the sourcing cost. Finally, the authors compare the Chinese system with the market mechanism where the supplier has capital constraints and confirm that the Chinese system is more beneficial to both the manufacturer and the government. Originality/value Quantitative research on the Chinese system of Government relief supplies is difficult to be conducted. This paper provides feasible and practical methods to quantify the benefits of the Chinese system. The results reveal that the Chinese system is an effective mechanism of public crisis knowledge management, which can be helpful to the government’s policy-making in practice.

Profit Seeking versus Survival Seeking: Green Investment of Capital-Constrained Suppliers with Incentive Contracts

This study explores a supply chain with a capital-constrained startup supplier who invests in product greenness and a manufacturer who sells green products to consumers under demand uncertainty. Green investment of the supplier is supported by the manufacturer with two incentive contracts: (i) investment- and (ii) revenue-sharing contracts. Profit- and survival-seeking objectives are considered for the startup supplier. Results show that the profit-seeking supplier increases its product greenness if demand uncertainty rises, whereas the survival-seeking supplier increases its product greenness if its capital constraints increase. Compared with the commonly used wholesale price contract, investment- and revenue-sharing contracts can help facilitate the “win-win” supply chain cooperation for improving product greenness. If the profit-seeking supplier cooperates with the manufacturer, the investment-sharing contract is preferred as the demand uncertainty increases. If a survival-seeking supplier cooperates with the manufacturer, the revenue-sharing contract is preferred as the capital constraint increases. Overall, the revenue-sharing contract is preferred given the high attractiveness of the green investment. By extending the discussion into two periods, the revenue-sharing contract will be preferred in the survival-seeking case because the cooperation can continue in a large parameter space.

Human Capital Constraints, Spatial Dependence, and Regionalization in Bolivia: A Spatial Clustering Approach

Using a novel dataset, this article studies the spatial distribution of human capital constraints across 339 municipalities in Bolivia. In particular, five human capital constraints are evaluated: chronic malnutrition in children, non-Spanish speaking population, secondary dropout rate of males, secondary dropout rates of females, and inequality in years of education. Through the lens of principal components, spatial dependence, and regionalization methods, the municipalities are endogenously classified according to their similarity in human capital constraints and geographical location. Results from the spatial dependence analysis indicate the specific location of significant hot spots (high-value clusters) and cold spots (low-value clusters). A regionalization analysis of the constraints indicates that Bolivia can be regionalized into seven or eight geographical regions. The article concludes discussing the potential complementary of these two analyses and their usefulness in identifying the location of policy priorities.

The European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB) constitutes one of the main institutional pillars upon which the European Union (EU) was built. Strikingly, the institution has attracted little research. EIB Statutes can be condensed down to five overarching objectives that its lending should prioritize: originally, development, integration and investment, and, since the mid-1990s, environmental protection and tackling unemployment. This chapter provides a comprehensive qualitative analysis of EIB lending to Europe from its origins to the present and examines the Bank’s loans in light of its lending objectives. We find a watershed moment occurring at the end of the Cold War. Until the 1990s, the EIB promoted integration and development above the alleviation of capital constraints. Since then, however, there was a progressive ‘mechanization’ of EIB loans at the expense of securing the institution’s mission, to the extent that loans were increasingly associated with capital subscribed by its members. This could mean that the EIB mission as found in its Statutes and its lending practice is becoming increasingly misaligned.

Sharia Cooperative Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurial Orientation To Improve Sharia-Based MSME Empowerment New Normal Era In Malang City

The problem that is faced by Islamic boarding school-based MSMEs is capital constraints. This capital constraint is due to the lack of information on MSME actors about how to apply for credit and how to utilize financing funds. Financial inclusion can be realized, there is a need for parties who have direct contact with the community, especially the lower middle class in terms of distributing micro credit. Therefore, the role of sharia banking and sharia cooperatives needs to be increased to increase the growth of MSMEs in Malang City, especially Sharia-based MSMEs so that financial inclusion can be realized. Based on the results of a survey conducted through the Cooperatives and MSMEs Offices, there are about 25 Sharia cooperatives with several criteria, namely cooperatives in Malang City that are legal entities. The multiple regression was chosen to be carried out in this research activity. The results of the study show that the good performance of an MSMEs can be seen from its entrepreneurial orientation because the increasing spirit of entrepreneurial orientation will motivate MSMEs to make innovations and be ready to face all possible risks in the future.