Net Income Research Articles

Participation in land rental and labor markets and agricultural economic performance of banana farmers in China

The emerging marketization of agricultural factors allows farmers to expand agricultural production by renting in farmland from land rental market or purchasing services through labor market. Farmers’ transactions in the two markets can stimulate the agricultural transformation in developing countries, but may increase their financial burden in agriculture. Based on the primary data collected from banana farmers in China, this study attempts to clarify farmers categories based on their different choices regarding participation in land rental and labor markets for agricultural production, analyze the determinants of farmers’ simultaneous participation in the two markets, and explore heterogenous effects of farmers’ market participation on agricultural economic performances using the multinomial endogenous switching treatment regression model. The results show that farmer’s tie to retailers is highlighted as an important driving force behind farmers’ simultaneous participation in the two markets, while their participation choices are also varying due to different household head characteristics and family resource endowments. Farmers who participated in the two markets significantly reduce the cost of material input in agricultural production, but the total production cost of participants is higher than that of non-participants due to the high rent of land resource and cost of hired labor for production services. Interestingly, farmers’ participation in land rental market increases the yield of their farms, while participation in labor market has a negative impact on the yield. Farmers’ participation in both land rental and labor markets can significantly increase farm net income by nearly 67 %. In contrast, participation in labor market decreased farm net income by 22 %, whilst participation in land rental market increased farm net income by 186 %, though without statistical significance. The findings underscore the important role of land rental markets in boosting farm economic performance. Policymakers can facilitate land transfer among smallholder farmers in the land rental market and promote agricultural technologies to substitute labor force so as to reduce the adverse effect of labor market, thereby improving agricultural economic performances in developing regions.

Maize production scales and the impact of commercialization in the futures market on net operating income in Brazil

Maize is the second most cultivated grain in Brazil, and the crucial step for maize growers is when they have to define the right strategy to sell their maize. The challenge is finding a selling scenario that optimizes profits and reduces risks, when maize growers need to use the barter option, selling maize in exchange for agricultural inputs. Is have to find an appropriate balance between the quantities allocated to the barter, direct sales or future markets alternatives. The objective of this paper was to analyze the scale of maize production and calculate net operating revenue as a result of percentage variations in maize futures trading. Using data from maize growers in the State of São Paulo and estimates of their farms’ size, different scales and percentages of maize production sold in the futures market were used to establish the consequences on net revenues obtained from these marketing alternatives. The growth in net revenue is noticeable in all scenarios, however in those cases in which most of the production was negotiated in future markets presented an increased net operating revenue, while scenarios characterized by increased allocation of production in exchange for agricultural inputs showed a decreased net operating revenue. The growth of net revenue in all scenarios suggests that good negotiation strategies for maize sales not only prevent farmers from market fluctuations but also increase the maize grower's operating revenue.

Approach to the circular economy through agro-livestock waste composting with heat recovery and agricultural use of the resulting compost

In this work, plant waste and cow manure were co-composted to recover the heat generated during the thermophilic stage of composting by heating water through conducting heat exchangers buried in the pile. The parameters associated with the degradation and humification of organic matter during composting and the agronomic and economic value of the final compost were also determined. Furthermore, the effects of adding the obtained compost on soil agronomic characteristics and alfalfa yield and production profitability were compared with those of mineral fertilisation, cow manure and a control without amendment. The total energy recovered from composting was 14,528W or 0.105 MJ kg−1 dry matter of the initial waste mixture. Extracting heat from composting did not negatively affect the quality of the compost since this material had an adequate level of organic matter stability and maturity, notable nutrient content, low concentrations of potentially toxic elements and an absence of phytotoxicity. Moreover, applying compost to the soil increased its organic matter and nutrient content, contributing to greater alfalfa production. Increased alfalfa production led to a higher net income from using compost as an organic fertiliser (16,488 USD ha−1). Therefore, composting agricultural and livestock wastes is a viable method for managing these wastes, obtaining sustainable thermal energy and producing compost with adequate agricultural quality. This contributes to closing agricultural and livestock production cycles with notable economic benefits within a circular economy framework.

Do high drug prices fund pharmaceutical innovation?

Pharmaceutical companies claim that they need high drug prices to generate sufficient profits to invest in innovation. While this claim can be valid in principle, it is contradicted by the extent to which "Big Pharma" companies in the United States (US) distribute profits to shareholders in the form of cash dividends and stock buybacks. For 2013-2022, the 14 US-based pharmaceutical companies in the S&P 500 Index paid out 54% of net income as dividends and another 51% as buybacks. Incentivizing senior corporate executives to allocate resources in this financialized manner is, as we document, their stock-based compensation. In effect, these companies use high stock prices to boost stock yields at the expense of investing in innovation and compensating workers and taxpayers who make value-creating contributions to the corporation. Given the prominence of US-based pharmaceutical corporations in Canada, we explain how their financialization results in high Canadian drug prices and underinvestment in pharmaceutical research and development in Canada.

How can information and communication technologies influence farmers’ agricultural income and labor productivity? Micro evidence from China

ABSTRACT Based on a panel data from the National Rural Fixed Point Survey of China, this study explored the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on agricultural income and labour productivity of Chinese farmers using fixed effects models and two-stage least square estimations. The results indicate that the deployment of mobile 3 G led to a reduction in both farmers’ agricultural income and agricultural net income by CNY 560.64 and 331.2, respectively, because ICTs prompted farmers to engage in off-farm employment, thereby allocating less time and input to farming activities. Village access to Internet and 3 G increased farmers’ labour productivity, measured by agricultural net income per day, with increments of CNY 2.09 and 11.15, respectively. ICTs also decreased farmers’ grain production, production cost, fertilizer use, and increased grain productivity. Furthermore, ICTs exhibited a spill-over effect, with non-users in Internet-connected villages demonstrating higher labour productivity compared to those in villages without Internet access. These results imply that agricultural labour productivity can be enhanced by employing ICTs for China and countries with small-scale farms. Nonetheless, greater attention should be paid to the potential trade-offs between the income growth facilitated by ICTs in rural out-migration and the decline in agricultural income and grain production.

Thermodynamic and economic analyses of nuclear power plant integrating with seawater desalination and hydrogen production for peak shaving

An integrated system incorporating a nuclear unit, multi-stage flash desalination, and proton exchange membrane electrolyzer is proposed for peak shaving. The extraction steam is used for seawater desalination to produce freshwater, the generator output power is employed to drive the electrolyzer for hydrogen production, and the electrolyzer outlet water heats the feedwater for power boosting. Thermodynamic analysis shows that 53.76 MW is used for seawater desalination-hydrogen production (electrolyzer voltage =2.0 V). The system efficiency is 37.44 % with output hydrogen energy of 37.86 MW, and the specific energy consumption is 4.72 kWh/Nm3. The electrolyzer exergy efficiency of the integrated system is 81.94 %, higher than the standalone electrolyzer with 61.17 %. Sensitivity analysis shows higher voltage and lower water flow rates are conducive to higher hydrogen production rates. Economic analysis shows that the cost of hydrogen production is 15.16 CNY/kg and the annual net income can reach 7.68·106 CNY.

A Novel Hybrid ANFIS-NARX and NARX- ANN models to Predict the profitability of Egyptian Insurance Companies

The use of fuzzy logic models with machine learning (ML) models have become common in many areas, especially insurance field. This study aims to compare between non-hybrid models such as artificial neural network (ANN) model, adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model, nonlinear auto-regressive external input (NARX) model, and the following hybrid models (ANFIS-NARX) and (NARX-ANN) to predict the profits of the insurance activity which represent the important indicator of the good performance of Egypt's 39 insurance companies in the period from 1st January 2009 to 31 December 2022 , monthly .This prediction based on the following factors (net premiums, reinsurance commissions, net income from earmarked investments, other direct income, net compensation, production cost commissions and general and administrative expenses) that help decision makers to make appropriate decisions . The results found that the (ANN) model is given good results compared with the following models (ANFIS), (NARX), hybrid (ANFIS-NARX) and (NARX-ANN) models according to the following prediction accuracy measures (RMSE, MAPE, MAE and Theil inequality). The explanatory ability (R2) was appeared (0.79, 0.61) respectively for training and testing phases in persons insurance companies. The explanatory ability also was appeared (0.83, 0.68) respectively in property insurance companies.

Investigating the potential domino effect of a dazzling fiscal-period on CSR performance: a luxury brand scenario

A consensus and buying pattern regarding luxury brands has endured a paradigm shift from being envied to being questioned or entirely overlooked. The pandemic has led to a fair share of economic implications. Brands are forced to watch their product range fully, except for reserving a portion of merchandise optimistic for brand jingoism. The study aims to quantify the impacts of financial metrics utilized to gain goodwill amidst an average consumer’s mindset. A composite Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) score represents the extent of a luxury brand’s efforts in contributing to social and environmental concerns. The CSR score is hypothesized against these brands’ financial and brand-value metrics. A Few Research questions are proposed on the same. A Panel-level analysis is undertaken to quantify the dependence and obtain insights. Relevant data is collected, with metrics identified from financial statements. The impacts of financial metrics and the firm’s age on the CSR score are determined. While the Profit Margin, firm size, Tobin’s Q, and Firm Age contribute positively to the CSR score, the firm’s Return on Assets has a surprising negative influence. The impact of net income accrued is negligible, as inferred.

Assessing the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Anaerobic Digestion for Municipal Organic Waste: A Case Study of Minamisanriku Town, Japan

Anaerobic digestion (AD), or biogas technology, is an optimal method for municipal organic waste (MOW) treatment, recovering both material and energy. This study takes a life cycle assessment perspective and examines the economic and environmental impacts of a BIO facility in Minamisanriku Town, Japan, which has utilized MOW (kitchen/food waste and surplus sludge from sewage) as local biomass resources since 2012. Stakeholder interviews were conducted to gather data on material flows and impacts. Scenario analysis considered various conditions, such as pre- and post-operation of the BIO facility, the use and non-use of digestate as liquid fertilizer, and the facility’s 100% operational efficiency. The results indicate that full operation of the BIO facility and marketing of value-added products, such as branded rice grown using liquid fertilizer, could significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower integrated environmental costs, improve the regional economy, and increase net income. In the business as usual (BAU) scenario with a 56% operation rate of the BIO facility, there is an over 10% improvement in economic and environmental impacts compared to the pre-operation baseline. This study underscores the importance of maximizing biomass utilization to develop value-added uses by enhancing, extending, and expending stakeholder collaboration.

Productivity of hybrid rice (Mestizo 27) under different water and nutrient management systems

This study examines the productivity of hybrid rice under different water and nutrient management systems. At Isabela State University, Cabagan, Isabela, we conducted a field experiment to determine the productivity of hybrid rice production under different water and nutrient management strategies. It was laid out in a split-plot design with four replications. Water management schemes as main plot consisted of alternate wetting and drying at -15 cm (A1), alternate wetting and drying at -20 cm (A2), field capacity (A3), and continuous flooding (A4), while nutrient management strategies as subplot consisted of recommended rate (B1), leaf color chart (B2), critical growth periods (B3), and rice crop management (B4). The Mestizo 27 subjected to nutrient management through the leaf color chart (B2) gained highest on the number of productive tillers, filled grains, biomass weight, and grain yield. Similarly, the interaction effect of field capacity and leaf color chart (A3xB2) resulted in numerous productive tillers, which increased the yield, net income, and return on investment. Moreover, water management through the field capacity (A3), continuous flooding (A4), and AWD-15 (A1) in combination with leaf color charts (B2) produced highest grain yield among treatments. Hence, the use of leaf color chart in combination with different water management schemes was seen as effective in increasing the yield of Mestizo 27 even beyond safe AWD-15.

A Life Cycle and Economic Assessment of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice for Environmental and Economic Sustainability

This paper applies selected methodologies for the measurement of the environmental and economic sustainability of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (PGC) in Venice with a view to assessing the PGC’s sustainability and commitment to implementing selected SDGs. To assess environmental sustainability, a life cycle assessment (LCA) has been carried out. The museum is conceptualized as a “firm” that produces several outputs and needs several inputs. The results provide the number of annual CO2e (and other pollutants) emissions linked to the regular activity of the museum. The environmental cost (in EUR), linked to the impacts obtained from LCA, has been calculated. To assess economic sustainability, a survey and econometric methods were used to value services directly generated by the museum, and input/output methods were used to compute the direct and indirect impacts on the local economy. Nonetheless, PGC visitors (those who travel to Venice with the main objective of visiting the PGC) contribute to around 1.2%/1.4% of Venice’s GDP. The results from input–output tables show that, although the final demand generated by the PGC’s own activities amounted to about EUR 620 million in 2022, the economic benefits of the PGC beyond this final demand are significant and very positive due to carry-over effects. Specifically, the PGC leads to an increase in GDP of around EUR 1.200 million, with a multiplier of 1.9. In terms of employment, around 8200 jobs are associated with the presence of the PGC. The net public finance revenue also clearly benefits, with a net income of around EUR 150 million in 2022. Comparing both the environmental and economic impacts of the PGC, one can conclude that the annual activities performed by the museum are highly sustainable, with the economic pillar strongly offsetting the costs generated using natural resources. The creation of economic value, therefore, is generated in respect of environmental boundaries, even if some minor flaws can be highlighted. The connection between museums and sustainable development goals is highly recognized. The findings show the PGC’s commitment to achieving and implementing selected SDGs, including SDG 4, SDG 11, and SDG 16, by implementing actions and strategies that are aligned with these goals.

Crop geometry and nutrient (N-P-K-S) management for kharif onion bulb (Allium cepa) crop

The experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) seasons of 2020 and 2021 at College of Agriculture (Agriculture University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan), Sumerpur, Pali, Rajasthan to find out the optimal quantity of N-P-K-S nutrients and appropriate crop geometry to maximize the productivity and bulb quality of onion (Allium cepa L.). The experiment was conducted in split-plot design (SPD) by means of 3 levels of N-P-K-S nutrients in main plots and 5 crop geometries under sub-plot, replicated thrice. Widest crop geometry (15 cm × 15 cm) with highest level of nutrients (140 N-80 P-80 K-40 S) resulted in highest tallness of plant (97.8 cm), maximum leaves (19/plant), root length (9.9 cm), number of roots/plant (139.8), average bulb weight (133.9 g) and harvest index (51.2). Saleable bulbs (43.6 t/ ha), total income (6753.8 USD), net income (5462.6 USD) and Benefit: cost (B:C) ratio (4.23) was the highest in 10 cm × 10 cm geometry with highest level of N-P-K-S nutrients. Maximum biological production (125.8 t/ha), bulb production (61.8 t/ha) was observed at closest geometry (7.5 cm × 7.5 cm) with highest level of N-P-K-S nutrients. It was confirmed by experimentation, that the onion seedling should be transplanted at 10 cm × 10 cm geometry with 140 N-80 P-80 K-40 S kg/ha nutrients in medium fertile sandy loam soil in arid agro-climatic condition for maximum saleable good quality onion bulbs production.

A three-level nested portfolio optimization model with position allocation

Existing portfolio optimization models cannot well capture the real position allocation requirement, leading to limited impact in practice. To overcome this challenge, we propose a three-level nested portfolio optimization model with position allocation. Within this model, the inner and middle levels collaboratively determine the optimal portfolio, while the outer level focuses on optimizing the holding proportion of each stock in the optimal portfolio. Compared with existing models with portfolio weights, the proposed model imposes the position allocation constraint that precisely characterizes the limitations on holding each stock. This constraint is crucial for investors to obey securities trading regulations involving position limitations and to mitigate the potential impact of market risks. To address the nonlinear and nonconvex nature of the novel model, we develop an intelligent optimization algorithm by effectively hybridizing the support vector regression and the enhanced grey wolf optimizer. We comprehensively evaluate its performance using eight metrics, including accumulative return, annual return, Sharpe ratio, maximum drawdown, absolute and relative win ratios, predictive precision and accuracy. The experimental results indicate that (i) the proposed model can achieve more excess returns than those stock selection models not considering position allocation, especially for the large-cap stocks; (ii) compared with other state-of-the-art meta-heuristics, the enhanced grey wolf optimizer can yield better portfolio in conjunction with the support vector regression; (iii) in the context of the Chinese A-share stock market, specific financial indicators such as return on equity, inventory turnover rate, net income growth rate, and debt-to-equity ratio should be given greater consideration compared to other financial metrics.

Modeling tuberculosis transmission flow in China, 2010–2012

BackgroundChina has the third largest number of TB cases in the world, and the average annual floating population in China is more than 200 million, the increasing floating population across regions has a tremendous potential for spreading infectious diseases, however, the role of increasing massive floating population in tuberculosis transmission is yet unclear in China.Methods29,667 tuberculosis flow data were derived from the new smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases in China. Spatial variation of TB transmission was measured by geodetector q-statistic and spatial interaction model was used to model the tuberculosis flow and the regional socioeconomic factors.ResultsTuberculosis transmission flow presented spatial heterogeneity. The Pearl River Delta in southern China and the Yangtze River Delta along China’s east coast presented as the largest destination and concentration areas of tuberculosis inflows. Socioeconomic factors were determinants of tuberculosis flow. Some impact factors showed different spatial associations with tuberculosis transmission flow. A 10% increase in per capita GDP was associated with 10.2% in 2010 or 2.1% in 2012 decrease in tuberculosis outflows from the provinces of origin, and 1.2% in 2010 or 0.5% increase in tuberculosis inflows to the destinations and 18.9% increase in intraprovincial flow in 2012. Per capita net income of rural households and per capita disposable income of urban households were positively associated with tuberculosis flows. A 10% increase in per capita net income corresponded to 14.0% in 2010 or 3.6% in 2012 increase in outflows from the origin, 44.2% in 2010 or 12.8% increase in inflows to the destinations and 47.9% increase in intraprovincial flows in 2012. Tuberculosis incidence had positive impacts on tuberculosis flows. A 10% increase in the number of tuberculosis cases corresponded to 2.2% in 2010 or 1.1% in 2012 increase in tuberculosis inflows to the destinations, 5.2% in 2010 or 2.0% in 2012 increase in outflows from the origins, 11.5% in 2010 or 2.2% in 2012 increase in intraprovincial flows.ConclusionsTuberculosis flows had clear spatial stratified heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation, regional socio-economic characteristics had diverse and statistically significant effects on tuberculosis flows in the origin and destination, and income factor played an important role among the determinants.

Эффективность протравливания семян тритикале препаратами защитного действия в Приамурье

Abstract. The purpose is to establish a productive seed disinfectant for spring triticale varieties with a protective and stimulating effect. During field experiments methods were used that tested pesticides and determined the economic efficiency of using research results in agriculture. The relevance and national and economic significance of the development is determined by farmers’ demand in the extreme conditions of the Far East to increase the efficiency of treating triticale seeds, identifying protective agrochemicals against a complex of diseases that help to improve biological and economic indicators when cultivating triticale. The scientific novelty of research is associated with the establishment of effective agrochemicals to protect seedlings from pathogens of the genus Fusarium and reduce grain losses of spring triticale varieties in years of different meteorological conditions. Results. Biological effectiveness of agrochemicals against fungal diseases Fusarium spp., Alternaria spp. and B. sorokiniana was revealed in laboratory conditions. High biological effectiveness was reveled for “Maxim”, average – for “Kinto Duo” and low – for “Inshur Perform”. The greatest effect from treating seeds with agrochemicals was in Ukro variety, followed by Karmen and Yarilo. Significantly high effectiveness of agrochemicals “Maxim” and “Kinto Duo” against strains of fungi from the genus Fusarium in field conditions was revealed on seedlings of Ukro and Yarilo varieties. The prevalence of diseases in triticale seedlings depended by 24.1 % on year conditions, by 7.7 % on genotype and by 42.3 % on agrochemicals. Fungicidal seed disinfectants “Kinto Duo” and “Maxim” (2 l/t) confirmed the effect declared by the manufacturers and statistically significantly surpassed the seed disinfectant “Inshur Perform” (0.5 l/t) in biological effectiveness and positive effect on grain yield of triticale varieties. They contributed to obtain grain yields that significantly exceeded the control level by 0.3 and 0.33 t/ha. Their conditionally net income in comparison with the option without a fungicides reached +3298.8 and +2314.1 rubles/ha, respectively.

The presentation of income and other comprehensive income in the IAS Conceptual Framework

Introduction. The articulation of profit or loss and other comprehensive income increases the usefulness and faithfully represent information in financial statements. The IAS Conceptual Framework assigns primacy to the reflecting changes measurement assets and liabilities, expressed in terms of rights or requirements with respect to profit or loss. The result of this balance-sheet approach is that net income is determined as a by-product of the recognition and measurement of net assets in the balance sheet. At the same time recognized other comprehensive income. However, other comprehensive income, due to its lack of firm theoretical underpinnings, removes only the incoherencies related to capital- maintenance adjustments, is a debated question that remains unresolved what determines the relevance of the research and enables the formation of its purpose. The purpose of the article is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of applying the balance-sheet approach in determining net income or loss and to study their impact on the accounting practice of non-financial companies. Methods. The methodological basis of the study is the application of a systematic approach to improving the application of the balance-sheet model when determining net profit with the recognition of total income, comparative analysis, scientific generalization – for the study of the approaches proposed by scientists to the calculation of net profit and the use of the principle of matching between revenues and expenses, structural-logical and semantic analysis – to determine the shortcomings of the application of the balance-sheet model for non-financial companies, induction and deduction, abstract-logical – to improve the methodology of using the balance-sheet model taking into account the principles of accrual and compliance, tabular – to determine the list of transactions, as a result of which other aggregate income is recognized and establish the advantages of using the model balance. Results. The determined that the number of operations that require adjustment of assets and liabilities according to requirements IAS increases. As a consequence, profit conventional (realised) and other comprehensive income (unrealised) are recognized, which is not sufficiently represented by the Conceptual Framework. Taking the first step in the above, considered the merits of the concept of the balance-sheet approach: separate presentation of realized and unrealized income or losses (other comprehensive income), accounting for changes in the value of assets and liabilities in the longterm, control over adjustments of previously unrealized income and losses, separate presentation of revaluation results of assets and of articles that are to be reclassified, true presentation of the amount of net assets in the balance-sheet for each reporting date, separation of taxable and of nontaxable income, reduction of uncertainty. Conclusions and prospects. Installed, that the balance-sheet approach in the Framework is a good starting point for evaluating issues of recognition and measurement net assets, profit or loss. However, taking into the implications of а common practice, the of a pure balance-sheet approach cannot be used satisfactorily in non-financial companies without taking into account principles for accrual and matching in the part of the main operating activity. The informative income statement should convey a measure of profit from sales and that requires some form of matching. Mixed approach is more comprehensive, allowing for complementary roles for balance-sheet of an income statement. Common using in practice matching when determining income from operating activities and the balance-sheet method requires more detailed research in subsequent scientific work.

Behavioral Efficiency and Residential Electricity Consumption: A Microdata Study

Sustainability requires that policy makers be able to use market signals to implement energy and environmental policy and that energy consumers respond rationally to these signals. Therefore, it is essential to understand how consumers’ responses to market signals are formed. We propose a new model to measure behavioral efficiency in residential electricity consumption derived from the individual householder indirect utility function. This leads to a pair of simultaneous stochastic demand frontiers for electricity consumption (kWh) and power demand (kVA). Each is a function of power demand (standing) charges and energy demand (running) charges together with the net income after demand charges, the stock of appliances and household characteristics. We estimate the model using two samples of household responses, each of which represents around one percent of the total national population available, and we also pool these samples using pseudo-panel data procedures. We demonstrate how the resulting elasticity and efficiency estimates are related to the theory of behavioral agents from recent developments in behavioral economics. These developments also use the individual indirect utility function to derive propositions based on internality and hyperbolic discounting. The econometric estimates permit the calibration of the individual welfare effects of policy initiatives using carbon tax and price incentives with behavioral agents.

Economic and financial viability of the production of Brazilian somalis sheep fed with different nutritional plans.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic and financial viability of finishing of two sexes of Brazilian Somalis sheep in feedlot receiving diets with 0 and 15% reduction in the total digestible nutrients and crude protein contents. A completely randomized design was adopted, in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with treatments consisting of two sexes (non-castrated males (21.13 ± 5.00kg) and females (17.99 ± 3.79kg) and two diets (0 and 15% reduction in the levels of total digestible nutrients and crude protein). Four simulations of productive scenarios were carried out: non-castrated males receiving the diet with 0% reduction; non-castrated males receiving the diet with 15% reduction; females receiving the diet with 0% reduction and females receiving the diet with 0% reduction, for a period of 70 days in feedlot. The highest costs of the system were with feeding and other costs, mainly the acquisition of animals. For both sexes, the 0% reduction diet showed the highest total cost, total revenue, break-even point. Non-castrated males fed a non-reduced diet and females fed a 15% reduction diet had higher net income, rate of return, total productivity, net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index and profitability rate. Less favorable situations were not profitable for any scenario. However, the increase in sales price favorability makes the activity viable. The reduction of total digestible nutrients and crude protein affects the economic and financial viability of Brazilian Somalis sheep. For non-castrated males it is recommended the diet without reduction and for females the diet with 15% reduction of nutrients.

Relevance of farm-scale indicators and tools for farmers to assess sustainability of their mixed crop-ruminant livestock systems

Ensuring the sustainability and circularity of mixed crop-ruminant livestock systems is essential if they are to deliver on the enhancement of long-term productivity and profitability with a smaller footprint. The objectives of this study were to select indicators in the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability of crop-livestock systems, to assess if these indicators are relevant in the operational schedule of farmers, and to score the indicators in these farm systems. The scoring system was based on relevance to farmers, data availability, frequency of use, and policy. The study was successful in the assemblage of a suite of indicators comprising three dimensions of sustainability and the development of criteria to assess the usefulness of these indicators in crop-ruminant livestock systems in distinct agro-climatic regions across the globe. Except for ammonia emissions, indicators within the Emissions to air theme obtained high scores, as expected from mixed crop-ruminant systems in countries transitioning towards low emission production systems. Despite the inherent association between nutrient losses and water quality, the sum of scores was numerically greater for the former, attributed to a mix of economic and policy incentives. The sum of indicator scores within the Profitability theme (farm net income, expenditure and revenue) received the highest scores in the economic dimension. The Workforce theme (diversity, education, succession) stood out within the social dimension, reflecting the need for an engaged labor force that requires knowledge and skills in both crop and livestock husbandry. The development of surveys with farmers/stakeholders to assess the relevance of farm-scale indicators and tools is important to support direct actions and policies in support of sustainable mixed crop-ruminant livestock farm systems.

Rent control and neighborhood income. Evidence from Vienna, Austria.: Rent control and neighborhood income.

Rent control is a highly controversial housing policy. For Vienna, Austria, we show how rent control impacts block-group income distributions as the share of residents with rental contracts subject to a cap increase. Using regression with spatial fixed effects, we find that a 1%-point increase in residents with rental contracts subject to a cap reduces the average net income of the block-group by 52.70 Euro/year. For the typical block-group containing 861 residents, this implies a reduction in total block-group income of 45,375 Euro/year. This suggests increasing numbers of lower income residents are locating in block-groups with rental caps. We further show the effect of capped rents on average income is heterogeneous across and within block-groups, with greater reductions in higher income block-groups compared to lower income block-groups. Our results demonstrate that the rent control policy in Vienna impacts residents’ location choice and the resulting spatial income distribution despite the lack of means testing.