Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy最新文献

USDA farm support programs have an established history of racial discrimination. Today, the Federal Crop Insurance Program is among the largest and most important programs available to U.S. farmers. Previous research has documented systematic misrating of crop insurance premiums with sizable welfare implications. In this paper, we explore whether producer race measured at the county level has explanatory power in a model of crop insurance misrating. We find that in some cases it does, raising concerns about the possibilities of racially discriminatory impacts of the RMA's rate-setting methodology. Further research is needed to isolate the mechanisms that explain our findings.

We estimate pollution's causal effect on fatal traffic accidents using instrumental variables. Using variation in fine particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less (PM_2.5) because of air temperature inversions and eastward wind, we find that of PM_2.5 positively affects fatal traffic accidents. Fatalities increase on average by 1.3% when PM_2.5 increases by 1 $��\mu �$ g/m³. This increase corresponds to 67 more yearly fatalities in California on average. The positive effects we estimate are consistent with mechanisms such as cognitive function due to pollution inhalation. Heterogeneity analysis finds that this mechanism is worsened for non-rural and for lower-income counties while it is mitigated by driver risk aversion during poor air quality days.

The origin of inequality between social identity groups is anchored in acts of violent dispossession of freedom and property by the group seeking the advantages of dominance. The beginning of contemporary disparities in income and especially wealth between Black and White Americans follow the same pattern. Of particular significance is the racialized character of U.S. land distribution policies in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Numerous structural vulnerabilities put developing regions at a disadvantage as they confront the prospect of increasingly frequent extreme shocks. Typical of these regions, South Asia had several characteristics that suggested it would be badly hit by COVID-19: a sizeable informal sector, growing inequalities in access to health services and social protection, and high levels of hunger and malnutrition. This Special Issue focuses on the South Asian experience through COVID-19 and distills forward-looking lessons for the developing world. Included papers point to the importance of strengthening individual resilience, building basic infrastructure and institutional capacity, and implementing inclusive social protection measures.

Globally, over 400 million tons of biomass are burned in agricultural fires for management purposes each year, substantially affecting air quality (Korontzi et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2006; 20; Yevich & Logan, Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2003; 17). Rangel and Vogl (Review of Economics and Statistics 2019; 101:616–630) provide evidence that agricultural fires in Brazil cause large declines in newborn health in downwind communities. We replicate this analysis and evaluate the sensitivity of their results to changes in the dataset and alternative modeling choices. Although accounting for the potential of spatial correlation in errors reduces precision of estimated effects, we find that their primary conclusions are robust to alternative specifications and reasonable placebo tests. We discuss how our findings may guide future research on the relationship between agricultural fires and health.

Ensuring the sustainability of small farms relies on understanding farm economics, a crucial yet often overlooked aspect. In North Carolina, many small farms are confronted with financial challenges and the risk of collapse. This study examines the factors that influence farm profitability while considering the intersectionality of race and gender. The findings reveal significant disparities in farm and operator characteristics. Specifically, first-generation and retiree farmers exhibit a lower likelihood of profitability. Conversely, factors positively associated with profitability include owning larger farm acreage, engaging in commercial agricultural production, utilizing paid family labor, practicing full-time farming, and being a non-White minority farmer. To foster the sustainability of small farms, it is imperative to implement policies that support full-time farming and incentivize the use of paid family labor. These measures can contribute to bolstering profitability and safeguarding the economic viability of small farms.

This paper explores the effects of a public policy that reduces by 50% the use of mineral nitrogen in European agriculture. Our results show that, for the European Union, halving mineral fertilizer use leads to: a decrease in agricultural production, a substantial increase in nitrogen use efficiency, lower use of organic fertilizer and a loss of agricultural competitiveness. At the global level, it leads to greater nitrogen consumption if no measure is taken on the demand side. Ultimately, our research highlights the critical importance of supply side adjustments, particularly in terms of cropland area expansion.

Reliable testing data for new infectious diseases like COVID-19 is scarce in developing countries making it difficult to rapidly diagnose spatial disease transmission and identify at-risk areas. We propose a method that uses readily available data on bi-lateral migration channels combined with COVID-19 cases at respective migrant destinations to construct a spatially oriented risk index. We find significant and consistent association between our measure and various types of outcomes including actual COVID-19 cases and deaths, indices of government policy responses, and community mobility patterns. Results suggest that future pandemic models should incorporate migration-linkages to predict regional socio-economic and health risk exposure.

Crop insurance protects lenders by increasing the likelihood of loan repayment when revenue declines. We develop a theoretical mode that explains the role of crop insurance in agricultural lending and how impacts may be different for lenders that are not specialized in agricultural lending. We then test whether the total volume of production credit extended by commercial banks at the county level increases in response to crop insurance availability and whether the level of the response is related to bank specialization in agriculture. We use a novel difference-in-differences strategy based on some counties having a higher share of agricultural production that was not covered by Federal crop insurance in the 1990s. Crop insurance has a robust relationship with increased loan volumes during this period, especially in counties with fewer banks specialized in agriculture.

Myanmar experienced multiple COVID shocks as well as a military takeover in February 2021. Impacts on household poverty remain uncertain, however, because large-scale in-person surveys were impossible during the pandemic and heightened internal conflict. We use ex ante simulation models and phone survey evidence to estimate the poverty effects of these shocks and identify factors correlated with them. While each approach has limitations, and cannot explicitly validate each other, they both indicate rising rural and urban poverty and capital-depleting coping mechanisms. Wider use of simulation modeling could help mobilize social protection faster than waiting for survey results in emergencies.