Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy最新文献

Economic freedom, a measure of the degree of freedom from government intervention in the economy, has been found to be associated with many positive economic outcomes, such as lower unemployment rates, and higher growth of income, employment, and population. One area that remains unexplored is the relationship with food insecurity. Areas with more government intervention may be expected to have higher food insecurity because those interventions can create greater impediments to people's ability to prosper economically. One specific example of that is the minimum wage, which may make it harder for inexperienced low-skilled workers to obtain employment. We provide the first state-level examination of the relationship between food insecurity and economic freedom and find higher values of economic freedom (lower levels of intervention) are associated with lower food insecurity. We also examine one specific component of that economic freedom measure, the minimum wage, and find some limited evidence that higher minimum wages are associated with higher food insecurity.

Agricultural transformation involves the transition from subsistence agriculture marked by cultivating crops for auto-consumption to cultivating crops for output markets. This transition from subsistence agriculture to market-oriented agriculture can be a key policy boost to economic development, but evidence on the key entry points to increasing smallholder commercialization remains scarce. We examine the relationship between the adoption of improved maize varieties (IMVs), inorganic fertilizers, and smallholder commercialization. We model commercialization as a two-step decision process involving market participation and the extent of participation (sales quantity) conditional on participation. Given these two related steps, we estimate a double-hurdle model in both linear and non-linear forms. Employing a three-wave panel dataset from Ethiopia, we use the household fixed effects and correlated random effects model with the control function approach. We find the adoption of IMVs to be significantly associated with both market participation and the extent of participation. This relationship is also true for fertilizers, where we show a positive association between fertilizer use and commercialization. Given the seeming complementarity in the use of both IMVs and fertilizers, we further estimate their joint adoption. We use the multinomial endogenous switching regression model where we show greater commercialization gains under joint adoption. These findings are in line with a growing literature supporting the bundling of agricultural technologies. Given these insights, we provide empirical and policy support to the scaling of agricultural technologies as they have the potential to induce agricultural transformation by unlocking market opportunities.

In this paper, we discuss the reasons why agricultural and applied economics and similar departments are often stand-alone academic units. The factors that affect and shape the relationship of agricultural and applied economics faculty and departments with those from general economics departments are discussed. We present case studies of three universities having different relationships with general economics faculty at their respective universities: a merged unit, an unmerged unit, and a never-merged unit. We conclude with rationale for the existence and future trajectory of agricultural economics and related academic units at Land Grant Universities.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the challenges in attracting and securing adequate budgets for departments of agricultural and applied economics, while recognizing that the institutional and political contexts matter. Agricultural and applied economics departments that operate with an entrepreneurial mindset, that maintain and grow their student numbers, and that have a vibrant demand for their extension and research activities will thrive. The good news is we often have considerable control over the factors that contribute to our longer-term success.

This paper analyzed farmers' willingness to accept (WTA) payment and uncertainties toward carbon market through a 2021 U.S. Midwest farmer survey. The findings showed that farmer carbon supply was elastic at intermediate prices ($20–50/Mg), but inelastic at low ($10–20/Mg) and high ($50–70/Mg) price levels. While perceived co-benefits play significant roles in promoting participation at low-price levels, variables such as age, education, farm size, and soil quality are more likely to influence producers' choices at intermediate- and high-price levels. To enhance farmers' support for carbon programs, measures should be taken to improve benefit, while reducing cost and uncertainty.

Using National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) data, we examine which farmworkers are unionized and whether their status differs systematically from non-unionized farmworkers. Logit results indicate farmworkers are less likely to be unionized if they are Black, unauthorized to work in the U.S., less educated, have English proficiency, work for farm labor contractors (versus growers), and cultivate field (vs. horticulture) crops. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition reveals that union members earn $0.87 more in hourly wages, are 4.8% points more likely to receive a bonus, and are 15.6% points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance than comparable non-unionized farmworkers.

Blacks have been systematically under-represented in the Agricultural Economics profession, representing only 7% of agricultural economists in academia and between 5% and 10% in the private and public sectors, respectively. Although different policies and funding strategies have been implemented to increase the representation of minorities in the profession, these numbers have not shown significant improvements over time. This paper provides an overview of the history, role, and struggles of 1890 Land-Grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities in general, and in particular, their agricultural economics and business (AEB) Programs. Recommendations and thoughts on how to increase diversity in AEB programs are also discussed.