{"title":"Modernizing smallholder agriculture and achieving food security: An exploration in machinery services and labor reallocation in China","authors":"Baoling Zou, Ashok K. Mishra","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13433","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13433","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study discusses the modernization of smallholder agriculture in China, where most farms are small, and farms' parcels are fragmented. The study puts forward a framework of agricultural modernization by vertical division of labor and specialized production in agriculture. We posit that hiring machinery services could be a pathway to connect smallholders with modern agriculture and achieve food security in China. Using household-level data from China, this study examines how hiring machinery services affects farm productivity and rural households' welfare. Findings show that mechanization services increased rural Chinese families' food security and agricultural productivity. Hiring machinery services improves smallholders' income by influencing the input efficiency of maize production and increasing participation in off-farm work. Our findings highlight the importance of technology to improve smallholder agriculture and food security, not only in China but also in other South and Southeast Asian countries.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 4","pages":"1662-1691"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140373997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jeffrey H. Dorfman, Scott H. Irwin, Munisamy Gopinath, David Zilberman
{"title":"The future of agricultural and applied economics departments","authors":"Jeffrey H. Dorfman, Scott H. Irwin, Munisamy Gopinath, David Zilberman","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13432","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13432","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Agricultural and Applied Economics departments in the United States have evolved to serve traditional and new stakeholders under the three-legged land grant mission: extension, research, and teaching. Substantial shifts in the focus of faculty, sometimes matching demand from stakeholders and sometimes not, raise fundamental questions about their strategic direction. We argue agricultural and applied economics has a mission to solve problems, current and future, by working with physical sciences; specifically, the study of economic problems of the food supply chain and bioeconomy. By focusing on this mission, agricultural and applied economics will provide more value-added to society and may even improve economics while doing so.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 3","pages":"834-844"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13432","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140298592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Conlin, Katherine Harris-Lagoudakis, Cara Haughey, Seung Yeon Jung, Hannah Wich
{"title":"The new normal: Grocery shopping behavior changes before and after the COVID-19 vaccine","authors":"Michael Conlin, Katherine Harris-Lagoudakis, Cara Haughey, Seung Yeon Jung, Hannah Wich","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13429","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13429","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we use transaction data from a large grocery store retailer to describe changes in grocery shopping behavior associated with the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the vaccines were developed. We find that in general, households increased their spending and decreased their number of transactions early in the pandemic. Further, most households increased their reliance on online shopping during the pandemic and this shift persisted into the post-vaccine period. We find somewhat mixed results on how overall healthfulness of grocery store purchases changed during the pandemic, and we find that changes in healthfulness vary with market and household demographics. Perhaps most interestingly, we find that changes in a store's spending and transactions, along with the healthfulness of these purchases, vary significantly with the racial composition of a store's market and that these differential changes persisted after vaccines were available.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 3","pages":"1241-1264"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13429","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140298686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yangchuan Wang, Olga Isengildina Massa, Shamar L. Stewart
{"title":"Time-varying reaction of U.S. meat demand to animal disease outbreaks","authors":"Yangchuan Wang, Olga Isengildina Massa, Shamar L. Stewart","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13431","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13431","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examined the impact of the mad cow (BSE) and bird flu (HPAI) outbreaks on the demand for beef, pork, and broiler meat in the United States from 1997 to 2022. Using time-varying elasticities obtained from the Rotterdam model extended to include animal disease outbreaks, we found that the BSE outbreaks significantly reduced beef consumption. These reactions were indeed time-varying, ranging from 1.312% in 2003 to 1.212% in 2005. HPAI outbreaks had a delayed reaction, with a rebound in broiler meat consumption in the quarter following the start of the outbreak. In general, the magnitude of these reactions was proportional to the severity of an outbreak.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 3","pages":"983-1009"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13431","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140225398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Potable intellectual property: WTO TRIPS and EU geographical indication wines","authors":"Daniele Curzi, Martijn Huysmans, Oliver Ken Haase","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13428","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13428","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The World Trade Organization (WTO) protects geographical indication (GI) wines such as Bordeaux and Chianti. However, there is scant empirical evidence on the effectiveness of this protection. Our triple difference panel data analysis of EU wine exports from 1995 to 2019 finds a significant effect. When countries join the WTO, their import of GI wines increases by about 25% more than non-GI wines, compared to non-joiners. Our findings suggest that specific trade provisions matter and that the EU policy of also including wine GIs in bilateral agreements is an attempt to further improve enforcement of GI protection in third countries.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 3","pages":"1065-1082"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13428","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140173020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alice Chapple, Elise Reynolds, Andrew Mude, Warda Riaz, Reina Engle-Stone
{"title":"Is investing in food small and medium enterprises a viable path to improved nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa? A multidisciplinary perspective","authors":"Alice Chapple, Elise Reynolds, Andrew Mude, Warda Riaz, Reina Engle-Stone","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13427","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13427","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Through the perspectives of impact investors, and the nutrition community, this paper explores whether impact investment in food-related small and medium enterprises (SMEs) creates a viable path to improved nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. From the nutrition perspective, investment in food SMEs could help address coexisting multiple forms of malnutrition by shifting nutritional quality of available foods. From the investor perspective, attractiveness of investment in food SMEs depends on financial risks, how costs are passed on to consumers, and probability of impact. Clear nutritional objectives and investment criteria are needed, as well as research to maximize the potential of this innovative approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 2","pages":"475-498"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140182062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaixing Huang, Yang Wang, Wenshou Yan, Shuhui Dong
{"title":"Basic Farmland Construction in China: A cost-effective investment for agricultural productivity and disaster resistance","authors":"Kaixing Huang, Yang Wang, Wenshou Yan, Shuhui Dong","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13430","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13430","url":null,"abstract":"<p>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.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 3","pages":"1083-1102"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140248119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eugene Adjei, Jingfang Zhang, Wendiam Sawadgo, Wenying Li
{"title":"Nonlinear effects of conservation reserve program rental rates on land enrollment under varying crop price regimes","authors":"Eugene Adjei, Jingfang Zhang, Wendiam Sawadgo, Wenying Li","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13424","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13424","url":null,"abstract":"<p>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.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 3","pages":"1038-1064"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140073492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brenna Ellison, Cassandra J. Nguyen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Brian French, Meg Bruening
{"title":"Adapting the USDA Food Security Survey Module for use with college students: Can we improve model fit?","authors":"Brenna Ellison, Cassandra J. Nguyen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Brian French, Meg Bruening","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13425","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13425","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The USDA Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) is the gold standard for measuring food security; however, research suggests that college students may respond to FSSM items differently than the general population. Students may have a varied portfolio of food and financial resources (thus, complicating interpretations of “money”) to acquire food. We conducted a randomized control trial to test whether a preamble to address this issue improves model fit. Results indicated the preamble did not improve model fit, and students' responses deviated from expected patterns. More research could help understand these deviations and their implications for measuring FI on college campuses.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 4","pages":"1301-1318"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13425","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140047771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eduardo Nakasone, Maria Porter, Mywish K. Maredia, Andrew Jones, David Tschirley
{"title":"A mixed methods assessment of technical and financial assistance to small- and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya's food sector","authors":"Eduardo Nakasone, Maria Porter, Mywish K. Maredia, Andrew Jones, David Tschirley","doi":"10.1002/aepp.13426","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aepp.13426","url":null,"abstract":"<p>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.</p>","PeriodicalId":8004,"journal":{"name":"Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy","volume":"46 2","pages":"435-455"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aepp.13426","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140054269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}