Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics最新文献

This note describes the temporal and spatial changes in Australia's grains industry and the implications for its supply chains. The role and importance of ensuring that Australia maintains cost-effective and reliable grain supply chains is outlined. How those supply chains might be further improved and the likelihood of their improvement are also briefly discussed.

Farmers need to urgently adapt to changing climate conditions for sustainable rural livelihoods. Index insurance is often discussed as a promising climate adaptation strategy. Yet, a clear differentiation between ex-ante (insured but no damage) and ex-post (payout) impacts of index insurance is still scarce. Using a framed field experiment, we analyse ex-ante and ex-post impacts of index-based crop insurance on indicators of welfare and climate resilience among rainfed farmers in Uzbekistan. Results suggest that index insurance induces positive ex-ante and ex-post effects on all measured outcomes (consumption, fertiliser, savings and farm wealth). Furthermore, it reduces the need for credits by strengthening financial climate resilience after droughts. Our results contribute to assessing the efficacy of index insurance and its implications on rural welfare.

Food insecurity has been an overlooked problem in Australia, with the extant literature voicing concerns around the reliability of the official measure of food insecurity. I provide population prevalence estimates of food insecurity in Australia using fresh data on Food Insecurity Experience Scale reported, for the first time, in the 2020 Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. A single parameter Rasch model is estimated to establish the validity and reliability of FIES as a tool to measure food insecurity in Australia. Cross-nationally comparable prevalence estimates, based on FAO's global reference scale, indicate that in 2020, one in sixteen people experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. Using Australia-specific thresholds on the national scale, one in eleven people were food insecure. Severe food insecurity is a concern in Australia. South Australia and Queensland are the most food-insecure states. Certain subpopulations, such as lone persons, are at higher risk of food insecurity. Household-level measures of food insecurity may hide intrahousehold food hardship. The single-item official measure underestimates the prevalence of food insecurity. Experiential measures such as the US Household Food Security Survey Module must be validated using national-level data prior to their application as instruments to measure food insecurity in Australia. Food security policies must be context specific.

We outline the key features of markets for biodiversity offsets as a promising economic instrument to incentivise conservation on farmland. Following a review of the main advantages of the approach, we summarise the results of empirical investigations of four key design features of such markets: the metric, the exchange rate, the regulatory target and geographic scope.

The hedonic valuation method is used to estimate the value of different forms of natural capital (i.e., specifically native vegetation but also soil characteristics, drought, climate and location) on farmland by farm size and industry in South Australia, using agricultural property market sales and assessed value estimates from 2000 to 2013. As expected, higher farmland values were consistently associated with more favourable soil characteristics; higher rainfall; proximity to coast; urban accessibility; higher built-in land production; and a non-linear effect (an inverse U-shape) for maximum temperature. Interestingly, contrasting results were found between native vegetation values estimated using market sales and assessed valuations. An increase in the proportion of native woody vegetation was significantly associated with the per hectare market sale price but at a decreasing rate when the vegetation increased above a third of the property. This contrasts with the assessed values database, where cleared land (decreasing vegetation) was valued higher (but at a diminishing rate). The sales prices of small and medium-sized farms reflected higher values per hectare for native vegetation than large farms—while native vegetation was associated with higher values for grazing and horticulture farm market sales than for cropping farms. The results suggest that, where market sales information is unavailable, assessed valuations may not be effective indicators of native vegetation values—as assessed evaluations tend to undervalue native vegetation on farmlands.

Since its establishment in 1957, the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) has gone through many changes but has continued to be highly valued by its members. In this paper, we update and expand Keith Campbell's earlier history of the Society. Notable changes include, the slowly shifting emphasis of members' work from farm issues towards resources, environment and development; changes to the name of the Society and its Journal; increasing internationalisation; the professional roles and interests of AARES members; the gender balance of the Society; and the number and types of awards given. Major changes in government departments and universities have had various impacts on AARES. The history highlights the intellectual and practical contributions made by AARES members and also the camaraderie that is a key benefit of being part of the Society.

JEL Classification: A14