103 research outputs found
Japan: Shadow WTO Agricultural Domestic Support Notifications
No full text"The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of Japan's agricultural domestic policy since 1995 in the context of the current international negotiations in the WTO Doha Round, which has as one aim further reductions of trade-distorting support among member countries. An overwhelming majority of farmers in Japan own small plots of rice paddy fields and earn their living mainly on their off-farm income. They go out into rice paddy fields in their spare time as a subsidiary business. Traditional small farming communities are powerful voting groups that seek to maintain their political power. By exerting political pressures on the authorities, farmers can obtain large returns through the manipulation of farmland use regulations, even though such manipulation causes social harm by preventing efficient land use. These inefficiencies in land use are a major reason why Japan is the only country whose food self-sufficiency rate keeps declining in spite of its heavy agricultural protection. In this sense, Japan is in sharp contrast to European and North American countries, where heavy agricultural domestic supports have resulted in an increased output of agricultural commodities and subsequent distortions in international markets. Apparently, Japan's attitude towards agricultural domestic policy reform is one of compliance with the WTO, which requests member countries to reduce their Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS) through trimming trade-distorting (amber box) support and/or transforming traditional-type agricultural subsidies to decoupled-type ones. Japan reduced its amber box support by nearly 80 percent between 1995 and 2000. This drastic reduction is mainly attributable to Japan's removal of rice from the amber box in 1998. In addition, following the WTO's principle of decoupling, Japan launched an extensive agricultural subsidy reform in 2007. This paper, however, shows the ironical realities of Japanese agricultural policy. Neither a sharp reduction of amber box support nor Japan's 2007 reform necessarily mean there will be a reduction of trade-distorting effects. On the contrary, the 2007 reform may in fact stimulate domestic rice production. In 2007, Japan's AMS is as little as 18 percent of its commitment level from the Uruguay Round WTO agreements. In addition, this paper projects that Japan's overall trade-distorting support (OTDS) for 2013 will be 469 billion yen, which is much less than the limit of 1,635 billion yen that is proposed in the modalities under discussion in July 2008 for the WTO Doha Round. Thus, the WTO Doha Round negotiations on domestic support policy are unlikely to restrict Japan's domestic agricultural support policy." from authors' abstractJapan's agricultural support, WTO Doha Round, WTO compliance, Notification of domestic support, trade,
Information flow and acquisition of knowledge in water governance in the Upper East Region of Ghana:
No full text"This paper provides an assessment of information flows and the acquisition of knowledge in water governance of the Upper East Region, Ghana. These flows are patchy, often parallel, disconnected or slow. In many cases a great deal of information is gathered but for a number of reasons not transferred into knowledge that impacts on decision making and action. An analysis of knowledge flows can serve as guidance for research projects and capacity building endeavours to allow tackling the gap between data collection and knowledge for action." from authors' abstractWater governance, Irrigation, drinking water, information flow,
European Union: Shadow WTO agricultural domestic support notifications
No full text"The notification of the level of domestic support to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is intended to reflect compliance with obligations entered into at the time of the Uruguay Round. WTO members have often been slow to provide notification of domestic support levels. This makes the process of notification less useful as an indicator of the degree to which changes in policy have or have not benefited the trade system as a whole and exporting countries in particular. The notification of domestic support in the E.U. illustrates the value of a measure that reflects current policies and can therefore act as a basis for negotiation of further disciplines where these are necessary. The E.U. has made major changes in its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the period since 1992 when the MacSharry reforms were implemented. Payments originally notified in the blue box (related to supply control) have over time been changed until in their present form they are unrelated to current production or price levels, and hence can satisfy the criteria for the green box. The E.U. has therefore much more latitude in trade talks to agree to reductions in the allowable trade-distorting support. This paper reproduced the E.U. notifications relating to 2003/04 and extends these with official statistics to the year 2006/07. It then projects forward the components of domestic support until the year 2013/14, based on forecasts of future production and estimates of policy parameters. The impact of a successful Doha Round is simulated, showing that the constraints envisaged in the WTO draft modalities document of May 19, 2008, would be binding by the year 2013, at about the time the next budget cycle in the E.U. starts. Without the Doha Round constraints, further reform might still happen for domestic reasons, but the framework provided by the WTO for domestic policy spending would be less relevant. In that case, much could hinge on the legitimacy of the Single Farm Payment system under the current rules governing the green box." from authors' abstractAgricultural policies, WTO Doha round, WTO compliance, notification of domestic support, India agricultural support policies, Globalization, Markets, CAP,
Policy options and their potential effects on Moroccan small farmers and the poor facing increased world food prices: A general equilibrium model analysis
No full text"This study evaluates the potential impact of the recent rise in world food prices on the Moroccan economy and possible policy options to respond to it. The study focuses mainly on the poverty effects of such an external shock and the possible policy responses to it. A new social accounting matrix (SAM) and a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model have been developed for this study based on micro-level data in combination with sectoral and economywide data. The CGE model simulations show that while increased world food prices hurt poor consumers, the general equilibrium effect of welfare loss is modest. Agricultural producers gain, and benefits to small farmers are especially large. The simulation of import subsidies shows that while such policy options can temporarily stabilize domestic prices, the benefits to consumers are at the expense of producers. However, the model results indicate that there are win-win options for Morocco if policies are based on a longer-term objective. Direct transfers to poor consumers, combined with increased public investment in agriculture to improve agricultural productivity, is a win-win strategy that the government should consider. Low productivity in staple crop production is the dominant reason for poverty among Moroccan farmers. Improving this productivity can also benefit poor consumers by lowering domestic food prices." from authors' abstractFood prices, Agricultural policy, Social accounting matrix, Computable general equilibrium (CGE), Small farmers,
Can US welfare programs cure persistent poverty?:
No full text"A simple dynamic panel model is used to capture persistence in poverty. This simple model allows a more accurate derivation of the permanent level of the measure of well-being from which persistent poverty is defined. Using a longitudinal dataset from the United States of America, the results show that the variability of the measure of welfare (logarithm of income-to-needs ratio) is mainly driven by transitory shocks through unobservable individual and time-specific characteristics. Consequently, means-tested schemes such as food stamps or the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program can easily miss genuinely eligible welfare clients. The results also suggest that the probability of exiting persistent poverty is much higher for job participants than welfare programs participants. However, compared to their employed counterparts, unemployed individuals have little or no chance of escaping persistent poverty unless they choose to participate in welfare programs." from authors' abstractWelfare economics, Poverty dynamics, Poverty reduction,
Supply of pigeonpea genetic resources in local markets of Eastern Kenya:
No full text"Smallholder producers in marginal and semiarid areas of eastern Kenya have not benefited greatly from research investments made in improvement of crops grown in such environments (sorghum, millet, and legumes, including pigeonpea) either by the international community or the national agricultural research system because of poorly developed seed systems. However, informal and local market purchases are the major sources of seed for non-maize cereals and legumes. In the absence of any formalized seed system for dryland crops, more and more farmers rely on local markets to supply seed during normal and disaster periods. We determined the factors affecting the quantities of pigeonpea traded by vendors during the 2006 short-rains season using simple OLS estimation. We found that the participation of traders and farmers was higher and traded larger quantities of pigeonpea in weekly markets located in areas where seed-based intervention programs in place than in non-intervention areas. Also agro-ecologically, markets located in slightly wetter regions offered more varieties and handled higher sales compared with marketsheds in dry regions. Among the traders, the grain traders dominated through their sheer volume of sales, higher investment, and storage capacity in these markets though the distinction between seeds and grains was poor. Of the vendor characteristics, young, educated vendors traded higher quantities of pigeonpea during the planting season. The amount of time spent selling by different vendors in the village fairs also had a significant influence on the pigeonpea quantity traded. Certain market infrastructure variables such as distance to the local markets and the access to information sources (mobile phones) also significantly influenced the amount of pigeonpea sold among vendors in these markets. The existing pigeonpea value chain in local markets could be improved further, provided proper synergies exist between different actors in the system. This would enhance local crop diversity levels as well as improve access to quality plant materials for farming communities in the marginal environments of eastern Kenya." from authors' abstractLocal markets, village markets, Seed systems, Drylands, legumes,
Social learning, selection, and HIV infection: Evidence from Malawi
No full text"This paper examines social learning regarding HIV infection, using HIV test results and sibling death data from Malawi. In the analysis, we compare hypotheses on social learning, selection. and common factors. Empirical results show that young women are less likely to be HIV-infected if they observed prime-age deaths among their siblings, whereas HIV infection is found to be positively related to prime-age sibling deaths among older women. This supports the social-learning hypothesis. Notably, schooling reinforces the social-learning effect of sibling deaths on HIV infection in women regardless of age. The above findings are robust to age (cohort) effects and unobserved location factors." from authors' abstractSocial learning, HIV infection, AIDS (Disease) Africa, Sub-Saharan, siblings,
Migration and technical efficiency in cereal production: Evidence from Burkina Faso
No full text"This paper uses data envelopment analysis and new data from Burkina Faso to test the impact of intercontinental and continental migration on technical efficiency in the production of two cereals—millet and sorghum—by rural households. Econometric evidence supports our theoretical expectation that the impact of emigration varies by migrant destination. I find evidence of a positive relation between continental migration and technical efficiency and a negative relation between intercontinental migration and technical efficiency. In an imperfect market environment, continental migration is associated with greater efficiency because it removes a male labor surplus; explanations for the negative relationship between intercontinental migration and technical efficiency should be sought in a surplus of female labor supply. Overall, findings suggest that migration does not lead to a transformation of cereal production from traditional to modern, because in an imperfect market environment, liquidity received in the form of remittances cannot compensate for labor shortfalls." from authors' abstractMigration, Rural households, Data envelopment analysis, Science and technology, Agricultural innovation, Cereal production, Institutional change, Innovation systems,
United States: Shadow WTO Agricultural Domestic Support Notifications
No full text"This paper examines past and proposed U.S. domestic support in light of current and potential World Trade Organization (WTO) constraints. It provides a brief review of U.S. farm policies since the Uruguay Round WTO agreements went into effect, including a synopsis of the new Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. It examines the United States' notifications to the WTO of domestic support from 1995 to 2005 and provides a preliminary notification estimate for 2006. Green-box (non trade-distorting) expenditures for domestic nutrition programs dominate the total dollar values notified by the United States. The main notified components of the U.S. support policies for agricultural producers include fixed direct payments, disaster assistance, and environmental payments in the green box; market price supports for dairy and sugar and substantial price-linked, loan-rate-related subsidy expenditures in the product-specific aggregate measure of support (AMS) category; and non product-specific support notified as de minimis, including crop market loss assistance payments, countercyclical payments, and crop and revenue insurance subsidies. The United States' notification of total AMS has not exceeded the Uruguay Round commitment of $19.1 billion. It would have exceeded this amount in some years if the fixed direct payments were included in the AMS, an issue arising in challenges to the U.S. notifications. This paper discusses other subsidies that may be underreported, misclassified, or omitted, including the blender tax credits and mandates related to ethanol production that have been largely outside the disciplines of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. It also provides an assessment of projected U.S. support through 2014. Under the Uruguay Round rules, there is essentially no constraint on U.S. policies if high prices projected in mid 2008 are realized. The WTO constraints are tighter if the proposed Doha Development Agenda disciplines of July 2008 are agreed upon. In that case, under the projected prices, the United States would still have some leeway to increase expenditures under its commitments. Thus, if the economic environment that is foreseen in the projections proves correct, the United States would be able to adapt to the proposed Doha Round domestic support modalities by making only modest adjustments in its policies, although product-specific support for sugar, cotton, or other products could face constraints. Large payments under a new revenue guarantee program in the 2008 farm bill could violate the U.S. commitments, even if prices remain high enough not to trigger traditional countercyclical or loan-rate payments." from authors' abstractU.S. agricultural support, WTO Doha Round, WTO compliance, Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, Notification of domestic support, trade,
Agglomeration, migration, and regional growth: A CGE analysis for Uganda
No full text"Uganda has experienced rapid economic growth and poverty reduction over the past decade but has failed to significantly improve incomes in its northern regions where prolonged conflict has hindered growth. We consider three strategies to close this regional divide: (1) develop a north-south corridor to encourage regional trade, (2) accelerate growth in the southern capital city and encourage north-south migration, and (3) improve agricultural productivity in rural areas. We examine these strategies using a regionalized computable general equilibrium model, accounting for internal migration and productivity gains from urban agglomeration effects. Simulation results indicate that a north-south corridor benefits northern households, but its benefits are limited by the small size of northern urban centers and the low productivity of northern producers. Investing in the capital city accelerates economic growth but has little effect on other regions' welfare because of the city's weak growth linkages with other regions and small migration effects. Improving agricultural productivity, however, though less effective at stimulating national economic growth, generates broad-based welfare improvements in both rural and urban areas. We therefore conclude that without significant gains in agricultural productivity in the next decade, out-migration and urban-led growth centered in Kampala will be insufficient to significantly reduce poverty in northern Uganda. " from authors' abstracteconomic growth, Poverty, Agricultural development, Spatial economics, Development strategies,
- …
