1,720,991 research outputs found
The impact of volumetric water tariffs in irrigated agriculture in Northern Italy
No full textThe impact of the water-pricing policy in irrigated agriculture in Emilia Romagna (Italy) is evaluated through the analysis of farmers' water use. The policy assessment is performed by a novel application of the Difference in Differences (DID) method considering the periods of analysis in a reversed form. The results indicate that farmers react to volumetric pricing by reducing water use per hectare
Environmental policies, waste and circular convergence in the European context
Full text linkThis work explores the transition process towards a circular economic model in the European context. By placing the role of policies and waste as a focus of the debate, it first examines the possible effects that a stringent policy can generate and, secondly, how much waste and its management can influence the goodness of the transition process. By analyzing European data on major indicators of circularity, waste generation, and management, this paper attempts to provide a snapshot of the European situation and its different speeds along the transition path. In light of the recent development programs established by European institutions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that strained the world economy, the trends show how program resources should be directed towards key sustainability sectors that can stimulate European countries towards a common circular pathway
Adopting sustainable irrigation technologies in Italy: a study on the determinants of inter- and intra-farm diffusion
No full textThis paper analyses the drivers for adopting irrigation systems with water
conservation and saving technologies (WCSTs) by Italian farmers. The
agricultural sector in Italy, like in other Mediterranean countries, suffers
from water scarcity and water endowment variability. Water resources
play a decisive role in agricultural production and in implementing
large-scale WCSTs capable of improving the resilience of the whole
agricultural sector. This study uses a microeconomic panel data
approach to estimate farmers’ decisions in adopting (inter-farm)
sustainable irrigation technologies and assesses the intensity of (intrafarm)
water-saving practices. Our analysis identifies the main
determinants of adopting WCSTs for Italian farmers based on different
socio-economic, physical, environmental and climatic variables
Participatory Assessment of Sustainability in Smallholding Agriculture: the Agroecological Case In Central America
Full text linkWithin the Uni.Coo project, a partnership research project between the Turin University and the Italian Ngo Re.Te has been developed. A participatory process has been carried out to assess the sustainability of agroecological small-scale agricultural systems in Central America considering all relevant stakeholders. A participatory process was initialized firstly to develop a shared definition of sustainability and secondly to design a user-friendly and indicators-based framework for the assessment of the sustainability of agroecological farming systems. This paper aims to describe and analyze the steps of the participatory process giving insights for further research in the field of sustainability participatory assessment tools for small-scale farming
Waste management and Italian provinces: Why pay more for less?
No full textThis work investigates the role of waste treatment methods and separation policies in explaining the Total Waste Management Costs (TWMC) at NUTS 3 level, Italy, between 2015 and 2018. In this context, northern provinces generally have high efficiency and circularity, while central and southern provinces lag behind. It is unclear how much of the difference is motivated by socioeconomic factors and how much by political entrenchment in low circularity policies. Panel data models have been estimated using provincial and regional fixed effects targeting TWMC as the dependent variable. Two main independent variables are considered as drivers. One is a composite policy indicator that gives higher weight to circular methods and waste-to-energy treatments. Lower weights have been given to increase landfill, generic incineration, and biological and mixed treatments. The second independent variable is the ratio between separated waste and total municipal waste flow. The estimations' results indicate that the composite indicator of circular policies reduces TWMC while separation policies increase them. Furthermore, it is estimated that provinces need to improve their composite performance significantly to offset the cost increases derived by separation policies. Thus, perseverance in pursuing an incomplete circular policy might be a driver of TWMC at the local level
Irrigation technology adaptation for a sustainable agriculture: A panel endogenous switching analysis on the Italian farmland productivity
No full textEfficient water management in agricultural activities can improve local water resource conditions while enhancing farms' economic performance. This paper analyses how farmers' decisions to adopt innovative and sustainable irrigation systems, such as Water Conservation and Saving Technologies (WCSTs), would shape Italian farms' economic resilience by improving land productivity. Using a Panel Endogenous Switching Regression Model, our results confirm that the WCST adoption is an endogenous and self-selective process and land value is endogenously determined. Seasonal aridity indices are important factors in the choice of WCST adoption, with different effects on non-adopters and adopters. Farmers who adopt WCSTs are more productive than those who do not
Water conservation and saving technologies for irrigation. A structured literature review of econometric studies on the determinants of adoption
Full text linkWater Conservation and Saving Technologies (WCSTs) can contribute to reduce the pressure on water resources
from agricultural activities. A significant strand of literature on agricultural and innovation economics has
explored the main drivers behind the adoption of WCSTs in agriculture, but due to the shortage of data most
studies are based on survey analyses focusing on a specific case study. Therefore, results cannot be easily
generalised. In this paper, we used a structured literature review (SRL) approach to systematise the original
studies already published on the WCSTs adoption. Focusing on the econometric analysis used to estimate the
main drivers of WCSTs adoption, our analysis started from an initial selection of 1027 studies, then after
excluding book chapters, book, conference chapters and after checking abstracts and key-words we arrived to a
final selection of 36 papers which have been deeply scrutinized with a structured analysis of their contents.
Several findings have emerged from the analysis. The drivers of WCSTs adoption are various and heterogenous.
We synthetized the main determinants into different categories: a) farm characteristics (land size, the presence of
extension services, capital assets and internal organization within the farm; b) farmer characteristics ( age, level
of education, income); c) institutional environment (social networks, previous information on the technology,
membership to farmer organizations, public fundings, access to credit, cost of water, access to groundwater,
water constraint); d) geographic and climate characteristics (soil quality, drought, aridity)
Fiscal policies, public investments and wellbeing: mapping the evolution of the EU
Full text linkThe European Union faced several crises in the last twenty years that destabilized its macroeconomic equilibrium
and development capacity. Standard economic methodologies were capable of neither predicting nor completely solving
these crises through appropriate investments. To understand the overall development performance, the well-known Human
Development Index (HDI) is the most widely deployed conceptual framework. In this article, we look at the components of
welfare dynamics in the EU by examining socio-economic performance. Through a ‘beyond gross domestic product (GDP)’
approach, we analyse public expenditures, especially focusing on the pillars of growth and socio-economic development:
education, health, and total R&D. We believe that convergence policies and sustainability policies should together be given a
greater role within the EU agenda. They are necessarily interlinked with each other and with the common welfare, the true
objective of public policy. European strategies on the key human development pillars were heterogeneous during the last
decades. The post 2009 recession was characterized by non-expansionary measures that have undermined development in
most countries. Due to the lack of a robust investment patterns towards human and sustainable development, European countries were not fully prepared to tackle the COVID-19 shock. Growth and development figures were already gloomy in
2019 and the years before. The hope is that this lesson is useful to create a solid society and economic system for possible
future crises
Waste management and Italian provinces: Why pay more for less?
No full textThis work investigates the role of waste treatment methods and separation policies in explaining the Total Waste Management Costs (TWMC) at NUTS 3 level, Italy, between 2015 and 2018. In this context, northern provinces generally have high efficiency and circularity, while central and southern provinces lag behind. It is unclear how much of the difference is motivated by socioeconomic factors and how much by political entrenchment in low circularity policies. Panel data models have been estimated using provincial and regional fixed effects targeting TWMC as the dependent variable. Two main independent variables are considered as drivers. One is a composite policy indicator that gives higher weight to circular methods and waste-to-energy treatments. Lower weights have been given to increase landfill, generic incineration, and biological and mixed treatments. The second independent variable is the ratio between separated waste and total municipal waste flow. The estimations' results indicate that the composite indicator of circular policies reduces TWMC while separation policies increase them. Furthermore, it is estimated that provinces need to improve their composite performance significantly to offset the cost increases derived by separation policies. Thus, perseverance in pursuing an incomplete circular policy might be a driver of TWMC at the local level
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