Local Supply Research Articles

The Impact of Imported Timber Price Fluctuations on the Margins of Wood Forest Product Exports: Empirical Evidence from Provincial-Level Data in China

This paper adopts a comprehensive approach to integrating the wood forest product trade of China's provinces with the global market, utilizing over four million records of trade data from the Chinese Customs database and the United Nations Trade and Commerce database, creating a three-dimensional panel dataset structured by year—province—importing country. The paper decomposes the export trade share into extensive margin, quantity margin, and price margin, collectively referred to as the ternary margins of export, to analyze the impact of imported timber price fluctuations on these export margins of wood forest products. The findings indicate that fluctuations in imported timber prices increase uncertainty, thereby suppressing the growth of China's wood forest product export share, extensive margin, and quantity margin while increasing the price margin. Heterogeneity tests further reveal that the impact of imported timber price fluctuations is more pronounced for southern forest regions, labor-intensive wood products, and countries without a free trade agreement. Mechanism tests suggest that increasing forestry fixed asset investment intensity and enhancing timber supply capacity can help mitigate the uncertainty effects associated with imported timber price fluctuations. The paper proposes policy implications, including enhancing local timber supply resilience, strengthening government support for forestry, and reinforcing the supply chain.

Mapping agents: A spatial economic analysis of agent location in the Federal Crop Insurance Program

AbstractCrop insurance is delivered to farmers and ranchers through a partnership among the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), part of the United States Department of Agriculture, and the crop insurance industry. The FCIC offers financial incentives, through reinsurance and subsidies, to private insurance companies for insurance contracts sold in accordance with the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA). Crop insurance agents play an important role in the delivery of the federal crop insurance program, acting as intermediaries between farmers and crop insurance companies. Little is understood about the supply of crop insurance agents and the role of government policy in the provision of agent services, particularly after the 2010 SRA. We model the equilibrium supply of crop insurance agents to derive testable hypotheses about the factors that influence agent concentration across space. We evaluate our model using spatial econometric techniques and a novel dataset of crop insurance agent locations by county. Generally, forces that raise agent compensation, including the degree of competition among insurance companies, are shown to increase the local supply of agents. Results vary by government‐defined reinsurance regions. Notably, historical average premium rates, which both reflect actuarial risk and influence farmer insurance demand, are negatively related to agent competition in the low‐risk Group 1 states, which contributes over 40% of insured liabilities. These factors produce spatial spillovers, suggesting the presence of agglomeration effects in the market for agent services. Proposed changes to the SRA should consider impacts on the regional distribution and local supply of agents.

Analysis of critical raw materials policy for electrical and electronic equipment: Planning for a truly circular economy

The European Union's objectives under the Green and Digital transitions, are contingent on the decarbonisation of essential sectors such as energy, transportation, and communications. At present, the EU does not have sufficient identified mineral resources, nor processing capacity, to supply many of its strategically defined materials. The success of these objectives hinges on the EU's ability to secure a stable and consistent supply of critical raw materials (CRM). Using a systematic three-part assessment of mandated and non-mandated EU policies, European Commission communications, and a review of CRM, the findings reveal that despite efforts to enhance local supply and diversify foreign sources of CRM, there is a lack of cross-sector coherence across social, economic, and technical aspects of recycling. This is further exacerbated by inefficient retention of waste-hosted critical raw materials. Failure to adopt integrative policy measures may result in the EU's continued dependency on undiversified foreign sources for its supply of critical raw materials, thereby compromising its strategic autonomy as well as the goals of the Green and Digital transitions. Improved design of electrical and electronic equipment and processing of waste from these products could conceivably provide a mechanism for a continuous and retained supply of critical raw materials, culminating in a potentially significant resource stream for the Union. The EU can improve resource efficiency, reduce its dependence on imports, and facilitate a truly circular economy by adopting a comprehensive and symbiotic policy framework that quantifies material resources in waste and that recognises the product design stage as an integral facet of the product recycling stage, herein referred to as “forwardcycling”.

Techno-Economic Analysis of Territorial Case Studies for the Integration of Biorefineries and Green Hydrogen

To achieve sustainable development, the transition from a fossil-based economy to a circular economy is essential. The use of renewable energy sources to make the overall carbon foot print more favorable is an important pre-requisite. In this context, it is crucial to valorize all renewable resources through an optimized local integration. One opportunity arises through the synergy between bioresources and green hydrogen. Through techno-economic assessments, this work analyzes four local case studies that integrate bio-based processes with green hydrogen produced via electrolysis using renewable energy sources. An analysis of the use of webGIS tools (i.e., Atlas of Biorefineries of IEA Bioenergy) to identify existing biorefineries that require hydrogen in relation to territories with a potential availability of green hydrogen, has never been conducted before. This paper provides an evaluation of the production costs of the target products as a function of the local green hydrogen supply costs. The results revealed that the impact of green hydrogen costs could vary widely, ranging from 1% to 95% of the total production costs, depending on the bio-based target product evaluated. Additionally, hydrogen demand in the target area could require an installed variable renewable energy capacity of 20 MW and 500 MW. On the whole, the local integration of biorefineries and green hydrogen could represent an optimal opportunity to make hydrogenated bio-based products 100% renewable.

Exploring the impact of university-driven supplier development interventions on supplier performance: a case of the garment industry

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of university-driven knowledge transfer initiatives in enhancing the capabilities and performance of local suppliers in the garment industry. By focusing on the impact of UDIs in Myanmar, this research aims to provide empirical evidence on how these initiatives can foster supplier development and performance improvement through targeted capability enhancement strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a combination of surveys and an experimental design to evaluate the impact of university-driven supplier development interventions (UDIs) based on Lean principles in Myanmar’s garment industry. Nine garment suppliers were assessed before and after the UDI program. The research employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the direct, indirect and mediating effects of UDIs on supplier performance, focusing on the role of supplier capability enhancement as a mediating factor.FindingsThe study found that the UDI program significantly improved supplier capabilities, which in turn led to enhanced performance. The analysis revealed partial mediation, indicating that while UDIs directly impact supplier performance, their effect is significantly amplified through the enhancement of supplier capabilities. These findings highlight the critical role of targeted capability development in achieving substantial performance improvements among local suppliers.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of university-driven supplier development initiatives in a developing country context. It validates the indirect role of UDIs in boosting supplier performance via capability enhancement, emphasizing the importance of industry-specific and capability-focused development strategies. The findings underscore the value of structured knowledge transfer programs in supporting local suppliers, offering practical insights for policymakers and educational institutions aiming to enhance industrial performance through strategic interventions.

Improving On-farm Energy Use Efficiency by Optimizing Machinery Operations and Management: A Review

AbstractThe energy use and emissions from direct fossil fuel combustion on-farms to power farm machinery was critically reviewed. Approximately, 15% of agricultural production costs on-farm are energy-related. A potential solution to more sustainable energy use is a shift toward biofuels from renewable resources. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the substitution of diesel oil with biodiesel depends on the feedstock, the inter-esterification process, the storage period, and ambient conditions. In modern tractors, increased fuel use efficiency (or reduced fuel consumption) has been achieved by power/load matching and the use of variable transmission. Engine management systems that are capable of continuously communicating with the engine and transmission to make appropriate adjustments based on inputs received from the tractor allow for quick and precise responses to changing conditions. As a result, maximum efficiency and productivity can be obtained from the tractor operating similarly to the traditional ‘gear-up and throttle-back’ methods of a proficient operator. The future for autonomous tractors is promising, though not new. Electric-powered tractors are near to commercialization or are already commercially available. Hybrid electric driven tractors present some advantages in terms of increased energy use efficiency and functionalities. Increased efficiency can lead to a reduction in diesel fuel consumption and hence, a concurrent decrease in CO2 emission. Where the local electricity supply has a low-carbon emission factor, this can also result in significant emission reductions. Small light-weight robotic equipment can potentially perform functions currently undertaken by tractor-drawn and other heavy equipment with high-fuel consumption, provided field operating capacity was not compromised. However, the size and weight limitations inherent in current harvesting and transport technology mean that soil compaction will still be a problem with robotic units. The robotic operation of medium-scale equipment within a precision-controlled traffic farming environment should offer more feasible and energy-efficient alternatives.

Tourism and productivity in NUTS regions: revisiting the tourism-led-efficiency hypothesis

ABSTRACT We employ data on 155 NUTS regions over 1996–2018 and assess the relationship between tourism and regional total factor productivity (TFP). We expand in two directions the literature on the Tourism-Led-Efficiency hypothesis at a sub-national level: methodologically, we are the first to use a large panel dataset framework; conceptually, this is the first study to disentangle the productivity effects of domestic tourism from those of foreign tourism. Our analysis reveals that domestic tourism is the key contributor to TFP. A large number of domestic tourists and the ease with which they can interact with local suppliers are primarily behind the contribution of domestic tourism to productivity gains. There is some evidence that foreign tourism can be associated with greater productivity in regions that are relatively open to foreign tourists, with a dynamic and competitive tourism industry that weighs significantly in the regional economy.

Practices of maize handling and nixtamalization to reduce fungal toxin exposure in rural Guatemala

Fungal toxins in local food supplies are a critical environmental health risk to communities globally. To better characterize hypothesized toxin control points among households, we conducted household surveys across four departments (first administrative division) in Guatemala. Data gathered included maize harvesting, processing, storage, and traditional nixtamalization practices. In total, n = 33 households participated in the survey and were from 4 unique departments, 17 unique municipalities, and represented 4 different languages. The results suggested that the majority of households consumed a combination of personally cultivated and purchased maize. There was significant variation in how this maize was stored, in regards to pre-processing (kernel vs whole cob), as well as storage system type. For nixtamalization, the largest differences in practices (e.g., cooking time) were based on household size while the majority of households reported practices that aligned with previously reported best practices. Lastly, all reported maize-based food products produced by households utilized the nixtamalization process except one. Current maize handling and nixtamalization practices reported by a majority of households aligned with best practices, however, with locally tailored and culturally sensitive guidance disseminated by key stakeholders, the prevalence of best practice use among households can be improved. Further community-based research on traditional farming and nixtamalization practices can improve these recommendations.

Analysis of Paddy Field Changes (1989–2021) Using Landsat Images and Flooding-Assisted MLC in an Urbanizing Tropical Watershed, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Paddy fields are essential for food security and sustaining global dietary needs, yet urban expansion often encroaches on agricultural lands. Analyzing paddy fields and land use/land cover changes over time using satellite images provides critical insights for sustainable food production and balanced urban growth. However, mapping the paddy fields in tropical monsoon areas presents challenges due to persistent weather interference, monsoon-submerged fields, and a lack of training data. To address these challenges, this study proposed a flooding-assisted maximum likelihood classification (F-MLC) method. This approach utilizes accurate training datasets from intersecting flooded paddy field maps from the rainy and dry seasons, combined with the Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI) to distinguish natural water bodies. The F-MLC method offers a robust solution for accurately mapping paddy fields and land use changes in challenging tropical monsoon climates. The classified images for 1989, 2000, 2013, and 2021 were produced and categorized into the following five major classes: urban areas, vegetation, paddy fields, water bodies, and other lands. The paddy field class derived for each year was validated using samples from various sources, contributing to the overall accuracies ranging from 83.6% to 90.4%, with a Kappa coefficient of between 0.80 and 0.88. The study highlights a significant decrease in paddy fields, while urban areas rapidly increased, replacing 23% of paddy fields between 1989 and 2021 in the watershed. This study demonstrates the potential of the F-MLC method for analyzing paddy fields and other land use changes over time in the tropical watershed. These findings underscore the urgent need for robust policy measures to protect paddy fields by clearly defining urban expansion boundaries, prioritizing paddy field preservation, and integrating these green spaces into urban development plans. Such measures are vital for ensuring a sustainable local food supply, promoting balanced urban growth, and maintaining ecological balance within the watershed.

Improving Reproductive Success in Captive Marmosets Through Active Female Choice.

The recent upsurge in the use of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) as a desirable model for high-priority biomedical research has challenged local and global suppliers struggling to provide sufficient numbers of marmosets for large-scale projects. In laboratories, random male-female pairings are often unsuccessful, with intervals of several months before attempting alternate pairings. Here we address this challenge through a behavioral task that promotes self-directed female selection of potential mates to increase the efficiency of breeding in captive marmosets. We created a partner preference test in which nulliparous females (n = 12) had the opportunity to select between two eligible males (n = 23) at a time, in a forced choice test. In this test, both males and females displayed sexual solicitations. However, the females displayed a clear preference for one male by directing affiliative behaviors toward him including proceptive tongue-flicking, approach, and grooming. Her preference remained consistent across three consecutive test sessions. This method resulted in a 2.5-fold improvement in breeding success within 90 days compared to random pairings. This cost-effective and straightforward pairing practice can be used to enhance breeding efficiency in both small and large marmoset colonies.

Director Liability Protection and the Quality of Independent Directors

We study whether legal liability protection helps companies to recruit and retain high-quality independent directors. We conduct difference-in-differences analyses exploiting the 1999 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling on the Silicon Graphics case, which substantially raised the bar for filing securities class action (SCA) lawsuits as a shock. We document supporting evidence for the talent attraction hypothesis by showing improvements in newly recruited independent director quality following the ruling, but only for candidates who are previously not exposed to SCA litigation risk. The effects are stronger for firms facing greater litigation risk ex ante or smaller local supplies of director candidates. Results are more evident for experience-based quality dimensions. We also analyze a sample of voluntary independent director departures and find little support for the talent retention hypothesis, suggesting that more complex factors enter into a director’s continuation decision once a director is already exposed to SCA litigation risk. A policy implication is that liability protection can be useful in attracting more unexposed high-quality candidates to the pool of public boards but does little to attract high-quality candidates who are already in the pool of public firms. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance. Funding: H. Zou acknowledges the financial support from a competitive General Research Fund (GRF) grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China [Project No. HKU 17513816]. S. Shen acknowledges the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72202164 and 72332003]. The work was partially carried out while R. W. Masulis visited the University of Hong Kong as an FBE visiting researcher, and he thanks the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Hong Kong for its sponsorship. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.03743 .

JUE Insight: The labor market effects of place-based policies: Evidence from England’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

Neighbourhood renewal programs are a type of place-based policy that aim to revive underperforming localities. The literature on place-based policies has found mixed results regarding their effects on local labor market outcomes, but there are relatively few studies of policies that aim to improve local labor supply. In this paper we examine the labor market effects of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, which targeted 88 of the most deprived areas in England during the early 2000s as part of the Labour government’s National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. The fund disbursed almost £3 billion for spending on community safety, education, healthcare and worklessness, with supply-side interventions making up the bulk of the program’s spending on worklessness. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find statistically significant impacts on local employment. Our results suggest that policy interventions to improve local labor supply can be a successful strategy for neighborhood renewal.

Impact of COVID-19 on Airbnb occupancy rate in Bandung, Indonesia

The emergence of sharing economy, especially accommodation platform has enable people to rent and capitalize on their private properties by renting to others. However, with the covid-19 pandemic and proximity to first-tier city it is crucial to examine how these sharing accommodation properties survives.The paper investigates how urban neighbourhoods, Airbnb characteristics and urban mobility restrictions determine rental occupancy rates in Bandung, a second-tier city, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines; (i) the dynamics of determinant factors of occupancy rates before and after the pandemic and (ii) the impact of mobility and spatial proximity to first-tier city on sharing accommodations’ occupancy rates. This study uses econometric and spatial analysis with more than 2200 Airbnb property listings registered between 2016 and 2020 in Bandung city.Our study found a shift of preferences in a more urban direction and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) variables continuing with a slight decline in the pandemic. Comparison between before and during the pandemic suggests the persistent of high occupancy rate concentration only in in private listings, and located near to tourist attractions and a variety of amenities. Our finding calls for urban policies that limits the geographical distribution of short-term rental (STR) properties to avoid wider gentrification, safety risks, and pressure to the local housing supply.

Understanding metabolic responses to forearm arterial occlusion measured with two-channel broadband near-infrared spectroscopy.

Broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (bbNIRS) is useful for the quantification of cerebral metabolism. However, its usefulness has not been explored for broad biomedical applications. We aimed to quantify the dynamic responses of oxidized cytochrome c oxidase ( ) within the mitochondria to arterial occlusion and the dynamic correlations between hemodynamic ( ) and responses during and after occlusion in forearm tissues. We recruited 14 healthy participants with two-channel bbNIRS measurements in response to a 5-min forearm arterial occlusion. The bbNIRS system consisted of one shared white-light source and two spectrometers. The modified Beer-Lambert law was applied to determine the occlusion-induced changes in and in the shallow- and deep-tissue layers. During the 5-min occlusion, dynamic responses in hemodynamics exhibited the expected changes, but remained constant, as observed in the 1- and 3-cm channels. A linear correlation between and was observed only during the recovery phase, with a stronger correlation in deeper tissues. The observation of a constant during the cuff period was consistent with two previous reports. The interpretation of this observation is based on the literature that the oxygen metabolism of the skeletal muscle during arterial occlusion remains unchanged before all oxy-hemoglobin (and oxy-myoglobin) resources are completely depleted. Because a 5-min arterial occlusion is not adequate to exhaust all oxygen supply in the vascular bed of the forearm, the local oxygen supply to the muscle mitochondria maintains redox metabolism uninterrupted by occlusion. We provide a better understanding of the mitochondrial responses to forearm arterial occlusion and demonstrate the usefulness of bbNIRS.

RECYCLING OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES: THE BLACK SPOT OF THE GREEN DEAL

Progress towards a decarbonized economy is dependent on the development of energy storage devices enabling the deployment of new strategies in the transport and energy sectors. Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) play a key role in facilitating the shift from fossil fuels to renewables based on ubiquitous sources of decentralized energy. However, the rapidly increasing demand for batteries has generated environmental concerns regarding recycling, and raw materials depletion and exhaustion. Moreover, the level of extraction and processing of battery raw materials from local resources is almost negligible, inducing geopolitical concerns regarding potential threats to production and the stability of local manufactures. Finally, the storage and processing of hazardous wastes remains a difficult challenge in the circular economy concept. Recycling, therefore, is beneficial to the environment and has a high economic value via strengthening local supply chains. This work presents an alternative, comprehensive, and holistic review of LIB recycling technologies; from traditional metallurgy strategies to innovative, direct recycling methods and pioneering in-production and design-for-recycling approaches. It identifies new directions for making recycling efficient and techno-economically profitable and sustainable - including the vital role of robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Keywords: Lithium Ion Batteries, Recycling, Design for Recycling, In-production Recycling, Artificial Intelligence

What do urban consumers want? Findings from a discrete choice experiment on the preference for locally produced staple food in Central Africa: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

ABSTRACT A discrete choice experiment in Kinshasa (DRC) investigated urban consumers' preferences between imports and local options for five staple foods – cassava, rice, maize, sugar and cooking oil – under a random utility model. We also examined how distance, packaging and price influenced consumer choice. To assess whether preferences could be manipulated, we introduced two treatment groups – local, import – and a control group. We did not find support for a preference for imports. Instead, there is a statistically significant preference for local products, with the exception of sugar. Respondents are willing to pay 28% more for local food, a premium quantified at 1540 CF (.93 USD) per kg for maize and 1091CF (.66 USD) per litre for oil. Packaging is an attribute of influence as the willingness to pay (WTP) in full remains positive when products interact with packaging and with price. There is demand for local products for which consumers are willing to pay a premium. Yet, DRC imports 1.5 billion dollars of food yearly with only 10% of its arable land exploited. The increased urban consumption of imports does not signify a bias against local products, but rather points to structural issues undermining local supply. DRC needs to develop local value chains linking rural farmers to urban markets through the transformation of local foods to meet urban needs and to convert the WTP into a producer surplus benefiting rural livelihoods.

The Impact of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict on Food and Economy in Gaza

The continuous Israeli-Palestinian conflict has had a destructive impact on Gaza, resulting in a serious food crisis and economic collapse. The military operations and the following blockade resulted in more than 30000 Gazans being killed and over 1.1 million Gazans faced catastrophic hunger, which had a huge impact on the economy. As the fundamental sector of Gaza’s economy, the agricultural department was attacked by Israel’s military operations and impacted by the destruction of agricultural infrastructures including greenhouses, and irrigation facilities. The current situation led to a striking decrease in local food production and supply and also resulted in a complete social and economic collapse. This paper discusses the consequences of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The paper emphasizes that in order to solve the serious humanitarian crisis requires international aid and diplomatic efforts, ensuring the agricultural department can operate normally and reopening the supply routes at the same time to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Exploring Trust Ecology in a Public-Private Partnership for Agricultural Innovation in the United States Bioeconomy

United States (US) federal agencies are endorsing public-private partnerships (PPPs) to link public institutions with industry to develop local supplies of biofuel and build a domestic bioeconomy. Although trust is a critical factor within effective PPPs, few studies have addressed the different types of trust needed to cultivate these partnerships. Employing a mixed-method design, we explore a PPP in the Southeast US through the lens of trust ecology. We describe how participants perceive trust types within different project spaces and how trust changed during the partnership. Our findings highlight the role that different interactive spaces can play in cultivating types of trust that accumulate in an additive fashion. We offer insights on process-design mechanisms and project management strategies that can bolster trust in PPPs.

Can overarching rules and coordination in polycentric governance help achieve pre‐identified institutional goals over time? Evidence from farmland governance in southeastern France

AbstractThe question of the performance of polycentric governance over time is insufficiently addressed in the literature. By performance, we refer to the ability of polycentric governance actors to design rules and engage in coordination processes that allow them to achieve their goals. Through an institutional analysis, this paper seeks to answer a question that remains unresolved in the field, namely the effectiveness of the overarching set of rules and coordination relationships in their ability to drive institutional and organizational change in polycentric governance processes. To this end, we conduct an in‐depth case study of farmland governance in southeastern France. Through the attributes of polycentric governance, we examine the changes brought about by the goal of local food supply comparing it with other historical goals such as farmland preservation. We show that farmland governance is characterized by an institutional mismatch that prevents its actors from moving closer to the objective of local food supply. We argue that the evolution of farmland governance comes down to organizational change that does not lead to an evolution of rules‐in‐use. We discuss this result in light of the findings of the literature on polycentric governance and its implications for public policy.

A comprehensive analysis of India’s electric vehicle battery supply chain: barriers and solutions

This study investigates challenges and solutions for India’s battery supply chain in the growing electric vehicle (EV) market. Key obstacles include raw material dependency, supply chain complexity, production costs, environmental impacts, rapid technological changes, and skilled workforce shortages. Methods involve reviewing current supply chains, evaluating government policies like the FAME and PLI schemes, and analyzing strategic partnerships with countries rich in lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Results show heavy reliance on imports exposes India to geopolitical risks and price volatility, while a fragmented supply chain hinders coordination and quality control. Establishing gigafactories is crucial but requires substantial investment. The study recommends enhancing domestic production, securing raw materials through exploration and international partnerships, investing in R&D for advanced technologies and alternative chemistries, and developing a skilled workforce through specialized training. Implementing these strategies will ensure a robust and sustainable battery supply chain, supporting EV market growth and positioning India as a leader in electric mobility. Further research should focus on long-term environmental impacts and the economic implications of a localized supply chain.