Towards better policy monitoring: operational survey results on the impact of agricultural subsidies in Moldova

Keating M. and Stevenson L. (2006) Rural policy in Scotland after devolution, Regional Studies 40, 397–407. Governments across Europe, encouraged by the European Union, are moving from an agriculture policy, defined in sectoral terms, to a rural policy, with a spatial focus. Rural policy is a transversal policy, linking a number of sectoral concerns and interests. This makes it an interesting study, both of changing policy networks under devolution in the UK, and of the extent of policy distinctiveness in Scotland. Rural and agriculture policy are devolved in Scotland but ate also highly Europeanized. Devolution has led to a change in political and administrative structures and in policy communities, which are now more distinct and self-contained in Scotland. Scotland has gone its own way on several important issues, but Europe is a force for convergence of policy within the UK. Rural policy is still dominated by agriculture, and Scottish policy emphasizes maintaining the small farmers. There is, however, some evidence of a broadening of the agenda. Keating M. and Stevenson L. (2006) Rural policy in Scotland after devolution, Regional Studies 40, 397–407. Governments across Europe, encouraged by the European Union, are moving from an agriculture policy, defined in sectoral terms, to a rural policy, with a spatial focus. Rural policy is a transversal policy, linking a number of sectoral concerns and interests. This makes it an interesting study, both of changing policy networks under devolution in the UK, and of the extent of policy distinctiveness in Scotland. Rural and agriculture policy are devolved in Scotland but ate also highly Europeanized. Devolution has led to a change in political and administrative structures and in policy communities, which are now more distinct and self-contained in Scotland. Scotland has gone its own way on several important issues, but Europe is a force for convergence of policy within the UK. Rural policy is still dominated by agriculture, and Scottish policy emphasizes maintaining the small farmers. There is, however, some evidence of a broadening of the agenda. Politique rurale, Régionalisation, Ecosse Keating M. and Stevenson L. (2006) Rural policy in Scotland after devolution, Regional Studies 40, 397–407. Governments across Europe, encouraged by the European Union, are moving from an agriculture policy, defined in sectoral terms, to a rural policy, with a spatial focus. Rural policy is a transversal policy, linking a number of sectoral concerns and interests. This makes it an interesting study, both of changing policy networks under devolution in the UK, and of the extent of policy distinctiveness in Scotland. Rural and agriculture policy are devolved in Scotland but ate also highly Europeanized. Devolution has led to a change in political and administrative structures and in policy communities, which are now more distinct and self-contained in Scotland. Scotland has gone its own way on several important issues, but Europe is a force for convergence of policy within the UK. Rural policy is still dominated by agriculture, and Scottish policy emphasizes maintaining the small farmers. There is, however, some evidence of a broadening of the agenda. Ländliche Gebietspolitik, Dezentralisierung, Schottland Keating M. and Stevenson L. (2006) Rural policy in Scotland after devolution, Regional Studies 40, 397–407. Governments across Europe, encouraged by the European Union, are moving from an agriculture policy, defined in sectoral terms, to a rural policy, with a spatial focus. Rural policy is a transversal policy, linking a number of sectoral concerns and interests. This makes it an interesting study, both of changing policy networks under devolution in the UK, and of the extent of policy distinctiveness in Scotland. Rural and agriculture policy are devolved in Scotland but ate also highly Europeanized. Devolution has led to a change in political and administrative structures and in policy communities, which are now more distinct and self-contained in Scotland. Scotland has gone its own way on several important issues, but Europe is a force for convergence of policy within the UK. Rural policy is still dominated by agriculture, and Scottish policy emphasizes maintaining the small farmers. There is, however, some evidence of a broadening of the agenda. Política rural, Transferencia de competencias, Escocia

Purpose– Whether there exists an inverse relationship (IR) between farm size and its efficiency remains a hotly debated question among agricultural economists. In most studies to date, farm efficiency is measured by land productivity. Thus, the IR actually measures the relationship between farm size and land productivity. The purpose of this paper is to examine and understand the IR from a novel angle by using multiple definitions of farm efficiency indicators like labor productivity, profit ratio, total factor productivity (TFP) and technical efficiency (TE).Design/methodology/approach– By using the farm-level panel data from Hubei province in China from 1999 to 2003, this paper employs the two-way fixed effect model of panel data and the stochastic frontier analysis of Battese and Coelli model to investigate the relationship between farm size and its production efficiency derived from the multiple definitions of production efficiency indicators including land productivity, labor productivity, profit ratio, TFP and TE.Findings– The study confirmed the IR between land productivity and farm size, as in many formal studies. However, the relationship between farm size and other agricultural efficiency indicators may be positive, negative or uncorrelated at, depending on how the farm efficiency is defined. Therefore, the paper concluded that the relationship between farm size and its production efficiency is mixed. This paper provides economic explanations for the IR through the comprehensive study using the expansion of agricultural efficiency indicators.Practical implications– Because different agricultural efficiency indicators have different policy implications for China's future agricultural and land policy, the findings have tremendous policy implications, particularly in terms of the current debate on large or small farm development strategy, the also so-called “go big or small” agricultural strategy. In this sense, the Chinese household responsibility system has played a critical role in its agriculture and will continue to play a critical role in terms of social security and social equality. Any reform to this system should proceed with caution.Originality/value– While most existing studies only try to explain the IR from the perspective of land productivity, this paper attempts to propose a novel angle to examine the IR by using multiple definitions of agricultural efficiency and hopes to find some new conclusions.

The changing economic scenario of the Indian economy posed new challenges to almost all the sectors of the economy, and the insurance sector is no exception. The introduction of insurance sector reforms not only eliminated the monopoly of life insurance sector, but opened up the insurance windows to the private players which increased the competition in many folds, especially since 2000. The reforms brought an overall increase in insurance penetration as well as insurance density in the country. As a result, the insurance industry is today more efficient and exerts considerable positive impacts on the growth of the Indian economy. The insurance sector contributes to a rise in labour productivity through efficient investments, and also generates productive employment opportunities. In this context, this paper examines dynamics of the relationship between the development of life insurance sector and the real economic growth in the changing policy regime in India, and provides the evidence of the positive and significant relationship between them. Therefore, it is suggested to prioritize the focus on the further development of the sector may be through the implementation of prudent policies to increase rural penetration of life insurance in India. Also, the inclusive growth strategy in the country can be effectively mobilized to enhance the development of the life insurance sector.

The paper is devoted to one of the most acute problems in the world economy - regional uneven development of agriculture. The author determined the system of indicators that describe the uneven distribution of agricultural production between different regions of the world, studied the factors of efficiency of agricultural production - labor productivity, land productivity, capital productivity (capital return). The article demonstrates further consolidation of the trend of the second half of the XX century that manifested in the redistribution of agricultural production from North America and Europe to Asia, Africa, and Australia. The GDP created in agriculture in Asia already exceeded other regions of the world in 2000, and by 2017 the gap was even wider. Africa, having surpassed Europe in this indicator, ranked second in the world. The unevenness of economic growth in world agriculture manifested itself in the disproportions between the factors of efficiency of agricultural production - labor productivity and land productivity. Labor productivity was lowest in Asia and Africa, and the highest in Australia. Land productivity was characterized by diametrically opposite dynamics: the highest values were achieved in Asia, and the lowest - in Australia. The paper explains the disparity between labor productivity and land productivity by various technological modes of production (TMP) that have historically developed in agriculture in the East and West: land-saving TMP - in the East, and labor-saving TMP - in the West. The influence of informal institutions operating in traditional rural societies on the uneven development of agriculture is also studied. The disproportions in the development of the livestock sector of agricultural production, affecting the regional uneven development of the agricultural economy, are considered. The main forms and methods of organization of the livestock sector - from high-intensity to traditional - are analyzed. Special attention is paid to nomadic cattle breeding, which is currently preserved in various forms in 50 countries of the world. It is considered as a special nomad production mode. The article concludes that there is a need for a multipronged approach to conducting an international comparative analysis of capital productivity (index of capital return) in the agricultural sector of the economy that takes into account capital-labor ration a large-scale increase in labor productivity - a strategically important factor of economic growth in any country in the world.

Increasing agricultural productivity in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is an important channel for reducing poverty and food insecurity. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to boost agricultural productivity by lowering transaction costs and enhancing access to information. Even though there are several micro‐level studies analysing the effects of ICT on agricultural productivity, there is scant research addressing the role of ICT in agricultural productivity at the global and regional levels. Using data from 86 countries for the period 2000 to 2019 and utilising a fixed effect panel regression with a feasible generalised least square approach, we find that globally there is a positive and significant association between ICT uptake and both land and labour productivity in agriculture. In each case, however, the magnitude of the effect is much smaller than other important determinants, such as human capital, access to inputs or environmental factors. At the regional level, the relationship between ICT uptake and land productivity is not significant in Africa and Asia, while we find a significant effect on labour productivity. This finding indicates that while ICT can provide valuable information and tools for land management, the effect on land productivity might be less immediate in these regions. Finally, we revisit the question of whether ICT expansion increases agricultural productivity gaps between high‐income nations and LMICs. In contrast to previous research, this study does not find significant differences in the effects of ICT on land and labour productivity between higher‐income and lower‐income countries.

Achieving agricultural productivity growth will not be possible without developing and disseminating improved agricultural technologies that can increase productivity to smallholder agriculture farm. It is significantly important to identify the factors that affect agricultural productivity and find the methods of the rural household income improvements. Therefore, the objective of this article is to review and summarize the different factors that affects agricultural productivity and rural household income in Ethiopia based on studies conducted by different scholars so far. Land-labor ratio, use of fertilizer, use of extension service, use of pesticide, manure, number of oxen used and household size are found to be the most significant variables that affect agricultural labor and land productivity. However, drought has statistically significant and has negative effect on both labor and land productivity by the same magnitude. Labor productivity, non-farm income and land productivity are found to be the most determinants of household income. However, number of dependency ratio is significantly and negatively affecting the rural household income. Sex of the household head is the main socio-economic factor for the variation of income among the rural households. The review also concludes that, Labor productivity is the most potent for factor of production and rural household income enhancement. Then increasing land-labor ratio is important for agricultural productivity enhancement and promotion of both farm labor and non-farm income are best focusing to speed up for the enhancement of rural household income. Keywords : labor productivity; land productivity, rural household income DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-18-01 Publication date: September 30 th 2020

This paper aims at investigating the determinants of agricultural productivity and rural household income in Ethiopia. Three econometric models namely: Pooled ordinary least square (POLS), fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) model were used to examine the relationship between productivity and income; using Ethiopian socio-economic survey of 2011/12 and 2013/14 data, collected by CSA of Ethiopia in collaboration with the World Bank. Results showed that, Land-labor ratio, use of fertilizer, use of pesticide, manure and household size are found to be the most significant variables that affect agricultural labor and land productivity. However, drought has statistically significant and has negative effect on both labor and land productivity by the same magnitude. Labor productivity, non-farm income and land productivity are found to be the most determinants of household income. However, number of dependency ratio is significantly and negatively affects the rural household income. Sex of the household head is the main socio-economic factor for the variation of income among the rural households. The study also concludes that, Labor productivity is the most potent for factor of production and rural household income enhancement. The policy implication of the study is that, increasing land-labor ratio is important for agricultural productivity enhancement and promotion of both farm labor and non-farm income are best focusing to speed up for the enhancement of rural household income. Keywords: Labor productivity, Land productivity; Rural household income, Rural household panel data, Fixed effect model

The increasing size of farms, specialisation and growing scale of production are the primary factors in the improvement of resource utilisation in agriculture. In this context, the aim of this study is to assess and compare the efficiency of resource management in farms differing in land area size and specialising in the production of milk and cattle for slaughter. This assessment was based on data from farms participating in the FADN agricultural accountancy system in 2019. The efficiency of utilised factors of production in the researched farms was evaluated based on indexes of productivity and profitability of land, labour and capital. In dairy farms, the productivity of land was considerably higher and was growing with an increase in their size, whereas in beef cattle type farms it generally deteriorated. Productivity of labour and capital was also much greater and was growing faster in dairy farms. The highest profitability of land was recorded for medium-sized farms of both production types, while the profitability of labour and capital was highest in the largest farms. It needs to be stressed that the income and economic efficiency of farms specialising in the production of cattle for slaughter are determined by financial support within the EU Common Agricultural Policy.

Irrigation settlements in Sri Lanka were characterized by equal sized allotments among settlers at the time of their establishment. Over time, informal land markets were created and land fragmentation and consolidation occurred simultaneously. This resulted in cultivation of a number of small plots by an individual farmer as well as that of large extents by one or more farmers. This paper assesses the effects of such sub-divisions and consolidations on paddy land productivity in irrigation settlements in Sri Lanka. Specific objectives were to examine the effects of land size on land productivity, labor productivity and use of machinery in paddy farming. Primary data gathered from 1,230 lowland plots covering 935 paddy farms from three irrigated settlements in Anuradhapura district were used for the analysis. Land and labour productivities of plots and farms were regressed against land size and other plot-specific and farm-specific characteristics respectively to test the nature of relationships between productivity and land size. Bivariate probit models were estimated to determine the effects on land size on the likelihood of machinery use in paddy farming. The results of the econometric estimation of the above models provided mixed results with respect to the inverse relationship between land size and productivity found in many developing countries. Though the relationship between plot size and land productivity was clearly positive, an inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity was noted as land size increased beyond a certain limit. The relationship between labor productivity and land size was also similar: labor productivity first increased with land size and then decreased. This observation was equally valid for both plots and farms. The results further indicated that mechanized farms were more productive and that the likelihood of mechanization increases with farm size. Measures to consolidate small land plots until they reach their maximum potential are recommended in order to enhance agricultural productivity in irrigated settlements in Sri Lanka.

This study examined the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in labor productivity dynamics. The following ICT components were analyzed: the share of organizations using computers and the share of organizations using the internet. The purpose of the study was to analyze labor productivity in the Russian economy in the context of digital transformation, taking into account two dimensions: temporal and spatial. We investigated the impact of organizations’ use of ICT on labor productivity, the relationship between labor productivity and high-tech production, and spatial effects in the dynamics of labor productivity. We used a spatial autoregressive model (SAR) and a panel vector autoregressive model (PVAR) to analyze data for the period 2010–2018. The findings show that digitalization of business processes and an increase in the share of organizations using internet technologies leads to an increase in labor productivity. Certain socioeconomic indicators were also found to be significant, namely, real wages and the percentage of people with higher education in the workforce. Exogenous variables acting as external shocks did not exert significant effects. The results have important implications for managers who develop strategies to increase labor productivity and production efficiency. Such strategies should focus on internetization, business digitalization, and e-commerce.

Since 1800, there have been enormous changes in mechanical technologies farmers use and in the relative contributions of human and animal muscles and machines to farm work. We develop a database from 1800 to 2012 of on-farm physical work in world agriculture from muscles and machines. We do so to analyze how on-farm physical work has contributed to changes in land and human labor productivities. We find two distinct periods. First, from 1800 to around 1950, land productivity (measured as kcal food supply per hectare of cropland) was relatively stagnant at about 1.7 million kcal/ha, in part due to a scarcity of on-farm physical work. During this period, physical work was scarce because most of on-farm physical work (approximately 80% in 1950) was being powered by low power, low energy efficiency muscle work provided by humans and draft animals. From 1950 to 2012, land productivity nearly tripled as more machine-based work inputs became available. The additional machine-based work inputs have contributed to the growth in land and labor productivities, as they have enabled farmers to control more physical work enabling more irrigation and agrochemical applications. However, the tripling of land productivity has required a near 4.5-fold increase in physical work per hectare, suggesting diminishing returns. Farmers accomplished this extra work with less final energy because they transitioned from low-efficiency muscle work to high-efficiency machines which drove farm-wide energy conversion efficiency up fourfold from 1950 to 2012. By 1990, machine conversion efficiencies started to plateau. Given diminishing returns and plateauing efficiencies, we predict that fuel and electricity usage on farms will increase to continue raising land productivity.

Chapter 13 - Agricultural Output and Productivity of Labour and Land in Latin America

This paper examines the effects of farm size, soil erosion, and soil conservation investments on land and labor productivity and allocative efficiency in Rwanda. There were several key results. First, there is a strong inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity, and the opposite for labor productivity. For smaller farms, there is evidence of allocative inefficiency in use of land and labor, probably due to factor market access constraints. Second, farms with greater investment in soil conservation have much better land productivity than average. Those with very eroded soils do much worse than average. Smaller farms are not more eroded than larger farms, but have twice the soil conservation investments. Third, land productivity benefits substantially from perennial cash crops, and the gains to shifting to cash crops are highest for those with low erosion and high use of fertilizer and organic matter. Program and policy effort to encourage and enable farmers to make soil conservation investments, to use fertilizer and organic matter, and to participate in cash cropping of perennials will have big payoffs in productivity. Land markets that allow smaller farmers to buy land could also increase aggregate productivity.

This paper examines the effects of farm size, soil erosion, and soil conservation investments on land and labor productivity and allocative efficiency in Rwanda. There were several key results. First, there is a strong inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity, and the opposite for labor productivity. For smaller farms, there is evidence of allocative inefficiency in use of land and labor, probably due to factor market access constraints. Second, farms with greater investment in soil conservation have much better land productivity than average. Those with very eroded soils do much worse than average. Smaller farms are not more eroded than larger farms, but have twice the soil conservation investments. Third, land productivity benefits substantially from perennial cash crops, and the gains to shifting to cash crops are highest for those with low erosion and high use of fertilizer and organic matter. Program and policy effort to encourage and enable farmers to make soil conservation investments, to use fertilizer and organic matter, and to participate in cash cropping of perennials will have big payoffs in productivity. Land markets that allow smaller farmers to buy land could also increase aggregate productivity.

The aim of the paper was a comparative assessment of the agricultural sector of Poland and Norway, in terms of its economic significance, production potential and changes in efficient utilisation, considering the specificity of agricultural policy. The source material was data retrieved from the FAOSTAT database, Statistics Norway (SSB), reports by the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), and Statistics Poland (GUS). Studies have shown that due to natural conditions, Poland has a much greater potential for agricultural output, and in particular crop output. However, Norwegian agriculture features higher land and labour productivity. Despite the high growth rate of the analysed ratios in Polish agriculture, the difference in their level between these countries remains more than threefold and more than twofold in favour of Norway, respectively for labour and land productivity. Due to its large production potential of agriculture, Poland also has much greater agricultural export opportunities than Norway.