Food Policy最新文献

In this study, we analyze the impact of agricultural mechanization on the local Chinese economy from 2010 to 2020. Findings based on panel data and instrumental variable methods show that agricultural mechanization led to a significant decline in the local gross domestic product. In particular, agricultural mechanization changes the sector’s production and lowers its output value. Agricultural mechanization has reduced the need for labor to such an extent that young Chinese tend to seek jobs in the non-farming sector, leading to a fall in the local agricultural labor supply and household consumption, adversely affecting the development of local industries and service sectors. Mechanization has also led to cash crops being increasingly replaced by grain crops, reducing the total agricultural output. Finally, this paper presents some policy suggestions for agricultural production and rural development.

People often adapt their behavior to the behavior of other people. We test with the help of an experiment whether this also applies to the choice of food and whether the sensitivity regarding others’ behavior increases when the food choice is observable. Participants in the experiment are first-year students who are confronted with different statements about the diets of students already enrolled and studying at the university. Participants then choose between vouchers for vegan, vegetarian, or meat-based foods, with variation as to whether or not this choice is observable. The results show that the overall effects of social norms with and without observability are small and statistically insignificant. This is because women and men respond differently to the interventions; women are much more responsive to social norms than men, especially when their food choice can be observed by others. We discuss how our findings fit with dietary trends and what policy implications they have.

In September 2008, the European Commission harmonized Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) in pesticides across EU Member States. We examine the effect of this policy change on trade, prices and quality via two alternative channels — the relative restrictiveness of a food standard imposed by an EU importer vis-a-vis trading partners from both within and outside the Common Market; and regulatory heterogeneity across EU Member States. We find strong evidence for adverse effects of both dyadic restrictiveness and within-EU regulatory heterogeneity on intra- and extra-EU trade at the extensive and intensive margins in the pre-harmonization period. Our findings further suggest that the EU’s MRL harmonization increased intra-EU trade; the probability and value of exports of its non-EU (both OECD and developing country) partners; and led to quality upgrading and lower prices of the traded products. The harmonization-induced rise in non-EU OECD exports to the EU also underlines the need for UK product standards to be closely aligned with those of EU27 post-Brexit.

Peru is the world’s leading exporter of organic coffee. Peruvian organic coffee is largely marketed through farmers’ cooperatives which have helped small farmers transition to organic production, earn price premiums over conventional coffee, and access extension services and finance. However, rising temperatures, increasingly volatile rainfall patterns, and the proliferation of pests and diseases make organic production riskier, as organic farmers cannot rely on agrochemicals to protect their farms against production shocks. If members of organic coffee cooperatives respond to production shocks by increasing their sales to private buyers (‘side-selling’), then cooperatives’ financial health could be threatened through reduced bargaining power with buyers and a decrease in scale economies. This paper explores the theoretical incentives for members to side-sell in response to production shocks and gives empirical evidence of how production shocks influence side-selling using panel data from members of two Peruvian specialty coffee cooperatives in 2013 and 2015. The study period coincides with a widespread production shock – the Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) epidemic of 2012/13 – that decimated coffee production in Peru. We find suggestive evidence that the incidence of CLR on farms is correlated with increased side-selling. Particularly, members with high risk tolerance and high levels of non-coffee income increase side-selling when affected by production shocks. This paper contributes to a growing literature on the determinants of side-selling in agricultural cooperatives by examining the role of production shocks, extending existing theoretical frameworks, and analyzing determinants using panel data methods.

Food waste is a significant problem in the United States with over 133 billion pounds of food wasted every year. Best-if-used-by dates (BUBDs) are a cue consumers use in evaluating foods and deciding when to dispose of them. Many consumers believe BUBDs are an expiration indicator; instead, they represent a food’s peak quality, and foods are typically safe to consume beyond their BUBDs. A non-hypothetical experimental auction with 193 participants was utilized to determine how food sensory ratings and BUBD knowledge affects consumer willingness to pay (WTP) and anticipated food waste for foods with varying BUBDs. Through three rounds, consumers evaluated the appearance and taste of salads and deli meat with varying BUBDs, and then stated their maximum WTP for the foods and the percentage of the foods they would waste. Tobit and Cragg double hurdle model results indicate BUBDs and sensory ratings were significant in determining WTP and anticipated waste. As consumers rated the taste and appearance of salads and deli meat higher, they stated they would pay more for, and consume more of, the foods. Sensory evaluations were a stronger predictor of WTP and expected waste than BUBDs in certain scenarios. Implications of this research indicate food waste could be reduced if consumers utilize food sensory evaluations prior to disposing of foods.

Using nationally representative household survey data and the multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) procedure, this study examines the productivity, food security, and poverty reduction effects of adopting improved seed and inorganic fertilizer in rural Zimbabwe. The results show that the joint adoption of improved seed and inorganic fertilizer is facilitated by household ownership of farm mechanization, years of education of the household heads, presence of a wage worker in the household, access to irrigation facilities, and government extension services. The MESR results show that the adoption of improved seed and inorganic fertilizer, as well as their joint usage, have productivity and welfare-enhancing effects on farming households in rural Zimbabwe. More importantly, we find that while the technologies appear to impact food consumption negatively, households using the technologies jointly in production are more food secure and eat more diverse foods. This implies government efforts to promote the joint adoption of the two technologies in rural Zimbabwe are encouraged.

The world has been experiencing a notable increase in disease outbreaks that have resulted in significant economic impacts and loss of life, both human and livestock. Here we consider the economic impacts of such an outbreak in a small (price-taking), open country case. Specifically, we consider a generic disease outbreak in the Canadian pork industry. The economic costs and animal welfare impacts of a disease outbreak in swine could prove devastating to Canada’s pork industry, due to potential border closures and large-scale animal depopulation. We build a multi-region, partial equilibrium trade model composed of three Canadian regions (Ontario, Quebec, and Western Canada), the United States, and the rest of the world. The partial equilibrium model imposes the appropriate zero feedback assumption (across world markets and domestic substitutes). Each Canadian region has a vertically integrated supply chain beginning with the breeding herd, progressing through the live animal market, processors, to end consumers with trade across regions within each of those markets. We estimate the Canadian economic impacts of a disease outbreak occurring in excess of $3.6 billion. The closure of international borders to exports is shown to be the dominant economic impact. Significant producer and processor losses are marginally offset by consumer benefits.

This study examines the effect of agricultural input subsidy cards and extension services on Bangladesh’s rice productivity, using plot level panel data from three waves (2011–2019) of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey. To control for endogeneity of the two programs, instrumental variable and control function approaches are used. Findings reveal that access to input subsidy cards and extension services raise productivity in rice-planted plots by nearly 20% and 22%, respectively. Further, the channels and type of advisory services matter. Finally, access to input subsidy cards and extension services is more beneficial in areas prone to droughts and excessive rainfall. These findings underscore the value of complementary investments in robust extension systems, especially in vulnerable regions, to optimize the performance of input subsidy programs. Expanded extension services coupled with input subsidies can be an effective policy mix to raise productivity, strengthen climate resilience, and promote inclusive agricultural growth in Bangladesh.