1,721,335 research outputs found
Bioeconomy and the common agricultural policy: Will a strategy in search of policies meet a policy in search of strategies?
Full text linkBoth the revised EU Bioeconomy strategy and the proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2021-2027 were released in 2018. This paper explores the connection between these two policy areas, the needs for economic and policy research and the way economic literature in the field of the Bioeconomy is meeting these needs. The paper concludes that the two policies are highly complementary in principle, but the current exploitation of potential synergies is largely delegated to the implementation stage of the CAP, hence to country and local programming authorities. To make both policies effective, and to bring about constructive synergies, the availability of bridging concepts allowing for territorial-level integration of chain and ecosystem services views is key. However, on the practical side, monitoring indicators for policy and economic/management support to developing sectors is even more important. Support to innovation design, uptake and exploitation will remain key to the sector and will need a proactive and participatory collaboration among multiple actors. The increased relevance of the role of ecosystem services and environmental attention in both policies will make the results more dependent on the ability to understand the value of public goods and to incorporate them into policy design and marketing strategies
Agricultural waste management and valorisation in the context of the circular bioeconomy: Exploring the potential of biomass value webs
Full text linkIn this article, we discuss relocating the topic of waste management in the wider issue of circular bioeconomy, with a special focus on the emerging concept of value webs. We do so by reviewing the literature on biomass value webs. Based on this, we discuss the potential role of this conceptual development for food waste management. The main result of the review is that the concept of value webs, though theoretically very interesting, has actually found little application to waste and by-products until now. In spite of this, it may be expected that the concept will expand to this area in the future. This will require advances in terms of data and attention to circularity, but also a better economic conceptualisation allowing more rigorous quantitative applications in support of policy decisions
L’utilizzo della terra in diversi scenari di politica. Risultati di un modello farm/household
No full textI mercati dei fattori rappresentano una tematica centrale nell’analisi dello sviluppo dell’azienda e della vitalità del settore agricolo. Tra i differenti fattori produttivi, la terra è uno dei più studiati. Il mercato fondiario è imperfetto e ciò è dovuto alla bassa sostituibilità del bene, alla poca trasparenza e agli alti costi di transazione. È caratterizzato da un basso numero di transazioni, una dimensione locale ed, inoltre, é influenzato dalla struttura economica, politica e istituzionale che lo circonda. In particolare, la letteratura economica agraria ha evidenziato gli effetti della Politica agricola comune (Pac) sui mercati fondiari (Floyd 1965; Parsch et al. 1998; Latruffe et al., 2006; Ciaian et al., 2006; Bartolini et al., 2011) e in specifico è stato studiato il modo in cui la riforma della Pac ha cambiato questi effetti nel tempo.
La Pac attuale è molto differente rispetto quando nacque, passando da politiche orientate alla produzione per arrivare con la riforma del 2003 a una politica di supporto al reddito con l’introduzione del pagamento unico aziendale (Pua) . Oggi la Pac sta subendo un nuovo processo di riforma e, in ottobre 2011, sono state pubblicate le proposte ufficiali per la riforma post-2013. In Italia, si può prevedere il passaggio del regime di pagamento unico da una base storica a una regionalizzata.
L’obiettivo del presente lavoro è fornire un’analisi ex-ante dell’impatto della nuova componente regionalizzata dei pagamenti diretti sul mercato fondiario. L’articolo mira a contribuire alla comprensione dei meccanismi che legano la riforma della Pac e il comportamento dell’agricoltore attraverso un’analisi degli investimenti in terra sotto differenti scenari di politica. L’indagine è condotta, prima, sviluppando una’analisi teorica attraverso l’interpretazione delle curve di domanda di terra aziendali, e successivamente realizzando un’analisi empirica a livello aziendale con un modello di programmazione matematica
Ex-post analyses of agri-environment schemes: a comparative analysis using expert judgement and multicriteria analysis
No full textThis chapter illustrates an ex-post evaluation of the performance of agri-environment scheme (AES) implementation in three case study regions in the EU. Due to a lack of available environmental data, we devised a methodology to assess environmental performance of AESs in the case study areas. The methodology is based on the combination of a harmonised framework for characterising environmental objectives, expert judgement, aimed at assessing environmental effectiveness, and multicriteria analysis techniques, aimed at producing an aggregated judgement about single case studies. Our experience shows the potential practical application of this methodology, especially in formalising the evaluation process. In particular, the methodology connecting the evaluation process with design parameters helps to identify specific causes of lower effectiveness. The methodology could also be used to conduct an exante evaluation (based on experts’ predictions of environmental performance criteria), and is especially suited to learning how to improve the environmental performance of schemes
Factors affecting the impact of CAP scenarios on farm structure: an analysis based on stated intentions
Full text linkSeveral authors have emphasised the effect of agricultural policy (such as SFP) as a driver of structural change. This paper aims to identify the determinants of the change in the use of productive factors under different policy scenarios. The analysis is performed ex ante, assessing the effect of CAP abolishment (as compared to the current CAP) on the use of productive factors, based on stated intentions by farmers. The results highlight the role of farm size, intensity and education in determining different patterns of reaction to policy changes. Also differences are identified among the three main component of structural change, land, capital and labour, with the latter being the less dependent upon the CAP
Recent developments in multi-criteria evaluation of regulations
No full textAgricultural activity is affected by a very wide set of regulations and prescriptions due to agricultural and non agricultural policies. In the literature about agricultural policy, a growing attention has been paid to the issue of policy evaluation.
The objective of this paper is to provide a literature review of the Multicriteria Analysis (MCA) applied to the context of policy and regulation evaluation. Such purpose implies to identify firstly the main issues of the policy evaluation process and then to identify the potential contribution of MCA as a decision support tool in a policy making context.
In the literature, evaluation has been dealt through the measurement of the performance of a policy, program or regulation by way of effectiveness or efficiency concepts. In spite of the simple nature of these two criteria, the evaluation exercises are strongly affected by several problems, which are mainly due to the weakness in the definition and in the measurement of both policy objectives and policy impacts.
Generally two main approaches have been adopted for policy evaluation purposes: a) Cost-Benefit Analysis, based on the monetisation of both costs and benefit, and; b) MCA, based on the measurement of a set of indicators and their aggregation taking into account the importance attached to each of them by the Decision Makers.
MCA is a method that enables to provide a more robust evaluation with respect to Cost-Benefit Analysis mainly due to the expression of impact with physical and economic indicators rather than monetisation of the impacts. Such property, in addition to the flexibility of the method, allows to adapt the MCA to several contexts and to assess an evolution covering a very wide range of impacts (environmental, social and economic). Several MCA methods have been applied to agricultural and environmental regulation. Generally these methods differ for the adoption of different aggregation functions (single synthesising versus outranking methods), for the treatment of the uncertainty in the evaluation (eg. fuzzy versus non-fuzzy methods), and for the degree of DM involvement (participative methods, interactive methods, etc.).
MCA has been invented as decision support in the choice of alternative projects when decision is effected by trade-offs between criteria and then has been extended to both ex-ante and ex-post policy analysis. However, the applications to policy evaluation still denote a wide room for improvement. In particular, a improved ability to support the decision process can be expected if the MCA is included in a consistent process of monitoring and data gathering, and both MCA and monitoring are developed in such a way as to provide a structured interaction with the DMs within a participative approach. In addition, a cautious integration between MC comparison techniques and policy analysis concepts (e.g. additionality) should be sought in order to avoid misinterpretations
The Common Agricultural Policy and the determinants of Changes in EU farm size
No full textStructural change provides the possibility of increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of the entire agricultural sector through a better allocation of productive factors. Amongst the productive factors, land is the one that most often limits farm development. This paper seeks to identify determinants of intended changes in farm size (represented by farmed area and measured as a reduction, expansion or no change) identified as stated intentions expressed through survey information, under two different Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) scenarios: (1) the Baseline, characterised by the Health Check policy as of 2009; and (2) a No-CAP scenario, assuming the elimination of all CAP payments and regulatory measures. Results highlight that CAP abolishment strongly reduces the intention to increase the amount of farmed area; the determinants of change in farmed area also change sharply amongst the two scenarios. Geographic variables, and farm characteristics such as farm organisation and the number of on-farm employees are relevant to explain the farmed area expansion. On the contrary, without the CAP, the relation between household and farm has strong effects on the different directions of change of farmed area. The results confirm that the different single payments scheme models affect the changes in demand of landStructural change provides the possibility of increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of the entire agricultural sector through a better allocation of productive factors. Amongst the productive factors, land is the one that most often limits farm development. This paper seeks to identify determinants of intended changes in farm size (represented by farmed area and measured as a reduction, expansion or no change) identified as stated intentions expressed through survey information, under two different Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) scenarios: (1) the Baseline, characterised by the Health Check policy as of 2009; and (2) a No-CAP scenario, assuming the elimination of all CAP payments and regulatory measures. Results highlight that CAP abolishment strongly reduces the intention to increase the amount of farmed area; the determinants of change in farmed area also change sharply amongst the two scenarios. Geographic variables, and farm characteristics such as farm organisation and t..
An analysis of policy scenario effects on the adoption of energy production on the farm: A case study in Emilia–Romagna(Italy)
No full textThe agriculture sector’s contribution to energy production is a central issue in ongoing policy debates, and one of the central elements of the development of Bioeconomy sector. The ommon Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the main determinants of the different farm strategies of European farmers. The CAP is now undergoing a thorough revision process which necessarily includes a debate of the role of the policy in rural areas and the effectiveness of the various CAP policy mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of alternative CAP scenarios in the light of the possible changes in 2013 and the willingness to adopt energy plants for energy crops in the Province of Bologna (Italy). This is pursued using both survey information and farm-household mathematical programming models, hence using stated intentions and simulated profitability to analyse the adopt of new technologies for energy production. The results underscore the relevance of the CAP scenarios in altering intentions with regard to the adoption of energy production and the relevant effect of uncertainty in delaying the diffusion of energy production systems
La filiera del grano duro in Italia e l'innovazione
No full textLa relazione affronta il tema dei futuri orientamenti dell'innovazione all'interno della filiera italiana del grano duro in Italia. Sono analizzati i modelli di innovazione adottati nella filiera del grano duro nel passato e nel futuro. A partire dai più probabili contesti futuri, viene illustrato un quadro dei bisogni di innovazione della filiera, rilevati attraverso una recente indagine Delphi effettuata presso un panel di esperti
La pianificazione aziendale come strumento per il coordinamento tra politiche agro-ambientali e gestione dell’azienda agraria: un caso di studio
No full textArticolo basato sulla presentazione e applicazione a casi di studio aziendali, del modello di pianificazione aziendale MOPI
- …
