Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy最新文献

Starting in 2006, China launched a project to carry out Basic Farmland Construction in 116 representative counties. The objective of this project was to enhance agricultural productivity. China invested 30 billion yuan in this project from 2006 to 2013. Using a difference-in-differences approach, this study estimates that Basic Farmland Construction increased per capita agricultural output by 6.3%, crop sown area by 5%, and agricultural mechanization by 7.3%. The total benefits of the project far exceeded the total investments. By incorporating with rainfall shocks, this study finds that the project could mitigate most of the damage from droughts and floods.

We use a panel smooth transition regression model to investigate the influence of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental rates on land enrollment under different crop price regimes. We employ a flexible estimation technique, allowing the CRP rental rate incentives to vary with crop prices, and construct a Hausman-type instrumental variable to address endogeneity. Simulations are conducted to assess the impact of varying crop prices on CRP acreage and its associated environmental effects. Results reveal a nonlinear relationship between rental rates and enrollment, with the impact diminishing as crop prices increase. A 10% rise in CRP rental rates corresponds to a 5.1% expansion in enrollment, reducing to 4.2% when crop prices reach a specific threshold. High crop prices lead to fewer acres enrolled, decreased carbon sequestration, increased phosphorus and nitrogen runoff, and increased sediment loss. Our findings highlight the importance of considering price fluctuations in conservation planning as it has significant implications for environmental conservation policies and programs.

We study the impact of providing consulting services and major capital infusions to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food sector in Kenya. We exploit a quasi-experimental design that matches treated firms with comparable firms that applied for the same support but were just short of scoring sufficient points to receive this support. Using mixed methods, this quantitative analysis is supplemented by in-depth qualitative interviews, which provide further insights into the workings of the program. The program helped SMEs launch new products and increased numbers of employees. Interviewees described higher sales resulting from the major capital infusions they received.

This research simulates the impact on tax liabilities of five tax provisions that provide benefits to farm households by race and ethnicity. Using pooled data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (2017–2021), we find that, relative to White non-Hispanic principal operator farm households, certain business tax benefits are less prevalent and of lower value for Hispanic, African American, and Native American principal operator farm households due to differences in income and investment levels. Household tax credits are significantly higher for Hispanic and Native American principal operator farm households and Asian principal operator farm households have significantly higher total tax benefits from the five provisions examined.

This study compares financial characteristics of U.S. beef cow-calf farms by race and highlights potential challenges faced by minority farms based on the historical context in which they operate. We find that, in 2018, factors related to farm size and inefficiencies in generating returns contributed to racial disparities in the profitability of beef cow-calf farms. Relative to White cow-calf farms, on average, African American and Native American farms had less acreage, value of production, and net farm income but a higher share at financial risk due to inefficiencies. More research is needed to understand racial differences in farm financial performance.

We study the effectiveness of the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) in reducing nitrogen pollution in surface water bodies. We use a Kitagawa-Oaxaca-Blinder (KOB) counterfactual decomposition method to quantify the role of income and policy in reducing nitrogen pollution in waterbodies. Our results show that the MRBI policy for the 2012 cohort of implemented watersheds across five states (Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Tennessee) experienced a 43% reduction in nitrogen concentrations when comparing the 2009–2011 pre-treatment period to the 2012–2018 post-treatment period. Decomposition results show that 79% of the improvement in water quality from policy treatment is derived from an endowment effect, driven mainly by location-fixed effects that include cross-sectional mean differences in income, among other characteristics. Results also show that 21% of differences are derived from the coefficient effect or differences in the response of policy-treated watersheds compared to a set of control watersheds.

Persistent malnutrition and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa demand creative experimentation beyond conventional financing and interventions. Impact investing merits consideration. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) shape diets and health outcomes in Africa and may present an investment opportunity. The Nutritious Food Financing Facility (N3F) aims to harness blended impact investing for improved nutrition. We describe this novel approach to enhancing food environments using as a model the N3F, which provides financial and technical support to SMEs to increase the availability and affordability of more nutritious foods in domestic food environments. We consider both the opportunities and challenges of this approach.