1,720,981 research outputs found
On the economic valuation of cultural ecosystem services: A tale of myths, vine and wine
No full textThe paper proposes a qualitative valuation method for cultural ecosystem services (CES) based on the analysis of myths, which are interpreted as returns generated by the interaction between natural and human capital (in time and space). Those returns become investments that add up, contribute to form, eventually become, and are accounted as cultural capital. The myths, therefore, are CES indicators (of the time and place where and when they were produced) and can be interpreted as measures of the CES flows. Moreover, some myths eventually survive and add up to a society present cultural capital that produces both cultural and economic value. In this perspective, the methodology aims at scrutinizing the content of the myths in terms of (1) socio-economic milieu and ecosystems that have produced the myth, (2) main messages displayed by the myth (3) key identification elements of the myths and (4) influence and bequest in cultural capital and culture formation and current cultural attitude towards the ecosystem service. This allows to qualitatively analyse the features, the rates of depletion and accumulation of the cultural capital, eventually produced by ecosystems. The methodology is applied to the cultural services provided by vine and wine. We analyse myths from 5000 b.C to 100 a.C., told in the fertile Triangle of the Vine (Eurasia, including India) to the Mediterranean basin. Results show that myths are an expression of human and natural capital of the time and space, when and where they were generated. However, they convey cultural values, related to the vine and wine, that are still existing and can be identified and accounted as cultural capital. In this perspective, the CES, through the myths, tell a story of small prehistoric wild vine shoots that were able to create long-lasting civility and culture still affecting several dimensions of current cultural capital, like attitude to wine consumptions, figurative arts, intellectual thinking, among selected aspects
Pricing agricultural inputs from biodiversity-rich ecosystems and habitats without input markets
Full text linkPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the analysis of an understudied problem in the economic literature. It proposes a valuation methodology for inputs that come from biodiversity-rich ecosystems/habitats and are used in agro-food production at zero input cost because there is not a market for such inputs. Design/methodology/approach: Following Onofri et al. (2017), the authors computed the value of the marginal productivity of different inputs in three selected case studies (Angola, Mozambique and Brazil). Results are theory based and rigorous but show a strong contingency, case based, relative dimension that is captured, in the framework, by the “relativity ratio.” The ratio expresses the relative weight of the value generated by the input that comes from biodiversity-rich ecosystems/habitats in the per capita monthly available income of the farmer and aims at conveying additional insights to the economic valuation. Findings: In this paper, the assessment of agricultural inputs value (price) in the absence of inputs markets is done, with an application to three different case studies. The inputs are peculiar since they come from habitats and ecosystems that are very biodiversity-rich. Originality/value: The paper proposes a practical, though rigorous, methodology for the assessment of the value (price) of agricultural inputs in absence of inputs markets. Markets do not exist since the inputs come from biodiversity-rich habitats and ecosystems
Markets, Hierarchies and Subsidies in the Italian Alto Adriatico Fishery Market
No full textWe adopt a simple model examining the relationship between labour hierarchical control and firm size, in an industry where firms compete à la Cournot. We derive testable implications and use data from the Italian Alto Adriatico fishery market, a highly subsidized sector, where most firms incur in losses. We adopt a probit model estimated by the maximum likelihood routine. Main findings are that the probability to earn profits positively depends on the firm market share, on the adoption of techniques that minimize the labour hierarchical control and on the adoption of environmental-friendly fishing techniques, and negatively depends on the number of boats in the market and the use of resource disruptive catching techniques. Policy implications suggest letting the proper governance to adapt to the transactions at stake
Who is afraid of biotic threats? An econometric analysis of veneto wine grape farmers’ propensity to insure
Full text linkThis paper aims at understanding what affects farmers’ choices to buy insuranceagainst biotic threats. Using a survey-based dataset with 1187 observations on Veneto wine grapes farms, we regress a probit model with endogenous variables with a maximum likelihood (ML) routine. The results corroborate the microeconomic theory according to which risk-adverse individuals are more propense to insure. In our framework, the farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics are treated as endogenous variables, which exist/are predetermined before the choice to insure (or not). This paper discusses the results in a policy perspective
How to assess future agricultural performance under climate change? A case-study on the Veneto region
Full text linkIn this paper, we have constructed and tested a simple methodology for assessing and predicting climate change effects on agricultural yields. The methodology follows two steps. First, we econometrically estimate the marginal product of key production inputs (e.g., labor and land), through the estimation of production functions. Then, we predict future agricultural sector performance, by assuming a future with climate-induced changes in the land use and in agricultural labor use, under different IPCC scenarios. We also assume that no dramatic technological change in agriculture production will occur in the near future, so that the selected inputs will present the same marginal product. We assume that the agricultural sector might develop differently under different climate change-induced scenarios and that the use of land and labor will change accordingly. In this way, we are able to compute predictions on the agricultural sector performance in the future, under very different circumstances. We apply the methodology for predicting the sector performance of the Veneto region in 2030. Results differ according to the selected IPCC scenario and consequent input use variations. In the selected case study, for instance, land presents a very high productivity and climate-induced changes in the land use might dramatically (positively and negatively) affect agricultural yields under different IPCC scenarios. In this perspective, the climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and options should primarily aim at the preservation of land productivity in Veneto
Cournot Oligopoly, Homogeneous Products and Grappa Market: An Econometric Study
Full text linkIn this study, using scanner data, collected from super-market transactions in 2009, we estimate an eight equations simultaneous model with a 3SLS routine, with the objective to empirically analyze the Grappa market structure. Results show that the supply side of the Grappa market is characterized by an oligopolistic structure, where the dominant firms compete as oligopolists à la Cournot with homogeneous products. Firms’ competition is mostly played on the quantity grounds and mostly disregards product differentiation strategies. The dominant firms produce and supply a “cheap”, homogenous product. Interpretation of the results focus on cultural consumption of this very “ancient” liquor and corroborate previous studies, where hedonic analysis of the demand side has shown consumers’ very low/null implicit prices for the product differentiated characteristics
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Correction: Understanding agricultural land leasing in Ireland: a transaction cost approach (Agricultural and Food Economics, (2023), 11, 1, (17), 10.1186/s40100-023-00254-x)
No full textFollowing publication of the original article (Onofri et al. 2023), the authors reported an error in describing the legal requirements applying to tenant farmers in registering each rental agreement with the Property Services Regulatory Authority in Ireland. The regulations are outlined in section 88 of the Property Services Regulatory Act 2011. The text in these regulations is more comprehensive than described on page 5 and within footnote 4 of the article. Essentially, the tenant farmer (or such other person as the tenant has authorised in writing to act on his or her behalf) must register the transaction with the Property Services Regulatory Authority in circumstances where the transaction is stamped by the National Stamping office of the Revenue commissioners. The regulations are not confined to circumstances where an auctioneer or other relevant intermediary is engaged in the transaction. The registration must take place within 30 days following the day on which a stamp certificate is received by or on behalf of the tenant from the Revenue Commissioners in respect of the lease. The Revenue Commissioners require tenants who are availing of tax incentives to have their lease registered on the Property Services Regulatory Authority Commercial Lease Register
Understanding agricultural land leasing in Ireland: a transaction cost approach
Full text link: Formal written land leasing contracts offer an alternative to land purchase for those farmers wishing to expand their land area and provide greater security relative to informal short-term rental agreements and are particularly important for beginning farmers with resources insufficient to purchase land. Formal land leasing contracts vary in terms of their duration, but there is limited understanding about the determinants of contract duration in developed countries. In this research, we use econometric techniques and transaction level data to explore the determinants of duration for agricultural land lease contracts for two regions in Ireland. Under the transaction cost economics approach, the research explores the role of legal status, price and non-price conditions in influencing the contract duration. Results indicate that the legal status of the tenant is a significant factor in influencing the duration. Provisions such as break clauses appear positively related to duration and confirm the theoretical expectation that long-term contracts create a demand for processes that enable adaptation over the course of long-term exchange
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