Rural Investment Research Articles

The 2002 U.S. Farm Bill: What's In It For CAP and WTO Reform?

SummaryThe 2002 U.S. Farm Bill: What's In It For CAP and WTO Reform?The 2002 U.S. Farm Bill (the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act or FSRIA) provides considerably more government subsidies for U.S. agriculture than Congress envisaged when it passed the preceding 1996–2002 FAIR Act. We review the FAIR record, showing how government subsidies increased greatly beyond those originally scheduled. For FSRIA, we outline key commodity, trade, and conservation and environmental provisions. We expect that the commodity programmes will: (a) encourage production when the market calls for less; (b) significantly increase subsidies over FAIR baseline subsidies; (c) press against current WTO and possible Doha Round support limits; and (d) aggravate trading partners. Finally, we suggest two lessons from the U.S. policy experience that might benefit those working on CAP and WTO reform. First, past research shows that farm programmes have little to do with the economic health of rural communities. Second, programme transparency, and especially public disclosure of the level of payments going to individual farmers, by name, influences the farm policy debate. Personalized data show what economists have long maintained—that the bulk of programme benefits go to a relatively few, large, producers—but do so in a way that captures the public and policy‐makers' attention.La loi d'orientation agricole américaine de 2002: que peut on en tirer pour réformer la PAC et l'OMC?La loi d'orientation agricole américaine de 2002 (loi sur la securité et l'investissement rural, ou FSRIA) autorise beaucoup plus de subventions a l'agriculture des Etats Unis qu'il n'avait été envisagé par le congrès quand fut votée la loi d'orientation précédente, le “Fair Act” en vigueur de 1996 à 2002. L'examen du Fair Act réalisé ici montre que les subventions durant cette période avaient déjà augmenté beaucoup plus qu'il n‘était initialement prévu. Dans le cas du FSRIA, des provisions importantes sont prévues pour les produits clé, le commerce, la conservation des sols, et l'environnement. Il faut s'attendre à ce que les programmes par produit: (a): encouragent la production alors même que le marché en demanderait la réduction, (b) accroissent significativement les subventions par rapport au niveau de base du Fair Act (c) exercent une pression à la hausse sur les limites imposées aux soutiens, tant dans la réglementation actuelle de l'OMC que dans celle qui pourrait être adopté dans les négociation de Doha (d) lèsent gravement les partenaires commerciaux des Etats Unis. Pour finir, deux enseignements de la politique américaine pourraient être utiles à ceux qui, en Europe, songent à réformer l'OMC et la PAC: d'abord, l'histoire montre que les subventions n'ont pas grand chose à voir avec la santééconomique des communautés rurales. Ensuite, la transparence des programmes en question, et tout spécialement, l'affichage nominatif des bénéficiaires de subventions, est de nature à influer sur le débar de politique agricole. Les données personnalisées montrent ce que les économistes out toujours dit: les subventions bénéficient pour l'essentiel à un petit nombre de producteurs relativement riches, mais d'une façon telle qu'ils arrivent à mobiliser l'opinion et les décideurs politiques en leur faveur.Das US‐Landwirtschaftsgesetz von 2002: Wie wirkt es sich auf GAP und WTO‐Reform aus?Das US‐Landwirtschaftsgesetz von 2002 (FSRIA, Gesetz zur Absicherung von landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben und zur Förderung von Investitionen in ländlichen Räumen) sieht wesentlich höhere staatliche Subventionen für die Landwirtschaft der USA vor als es der Kongress bei tier Verabschiedung des FAIR‐Gesetzes (1996–2002) beabsichtigte. Die Subventionen haben während der Laufzeit des Gesetzes die vorgesehene Höhe weit überschritten. Für das FSRIA werden die Bestimmungen für die Hauptagrarprodukte, den Handel und den Umweltschutz kurz dargestellt. Es ist zu erwarten, dass die Programme (a) die landwirtschaftliche Produktion in Perioden anregen, in denen die Weltmarktpreise niedrig sind; (b) die Subventionen weit über den im FAIR‐Gesetz vorgesehenen Betrag hinaus erhöhen; (c) gegen das in der WTO festgeschriebene und zukünftig in der Doha‐Runde wahrscheinliche gekürzte Stützungsniveau verstoßon können und (d) die Missbilligung der Handelspartner hervorrufen werden. Aus der Erfahrung mit der US‐Politik greifen wir zum Schluss zwei Erkenntnisse heraus, die für diejenigen hilfreich sein können, die sich mit der GAP und der WTO‐Reform beschäftigen. Erstens zeigt die bisherige Forschung, dass die Programme zur Förderung von landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben nur wenig zum wirtschaftlichen Wohlergehen ländlicher Räume beitragen. Zweitens beeinflusst die Transparenz der Programme die politische Debatte in Bezug auf landwirtschaftliche Betriebe – insbesondere durch die öffentliche Nennung der Höhe der Zahlungssummen und der Namen der Empfänger. Diese personalisierten Daten zeigen, was Wirtschaftswissenschaftler bereits seit langem behaupten – dass relativ wenige Großerzeuger am meisten von den Programmen profitieren und dabei die Aufmerksamkeit der Öffentlichkeit und die der politischen Entscheidungsträger auf sich ziehen.

China's rural electrification and poverty reduction

This paper aims at quantifying the impact of rural investment in power sector on the rural economic development and poverty reduction in China. An econometric model was developed and six Chinese provinces with different economic background are studied. These provinces comprise Jiangsu and Liaoning with well-developed rural economy, Hebei and Henan with medium-developed rural economy, and Shannxi and Xinjiang with the least-developed rural economy. Over 20-yr historical data for the six provincial rural areas—counties and below, was collected in rural economic development, households, population, per capita income, community infrastructure development, capital investment, electricity consumption, output values in agriculture sector, and township and village enterprises. SPSS V10.0 software program was used in the research. This paper concludes that priority of capital investment in rural power sector should be given to Jiangsu and Liaoning if the objective of the investment is to develop rural economy, and that the priority should be given to Hebei and Henan if the objective is to reduce poverty in rural area.

RANKING EFFICIENCY OF RURAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT PROJECTS USING MULTICRITERIA DECISION METHODS/DAUGIAKRITERINIS KAIMO STATINIŲ INVESTICINIŲ PROJEKTŲ, EFEKTYVUMO VERTINIMAS

Many researchers are right considering economic effect of investments as the key indicator, however, ranking other social, ecological and technical indicators of efficiency separately and leaving them outside of investment ranking criteria system. The authors suggest using together all known efficiency criteria plus some specific of rural property: Payback period, Net present value, Internal rate of return, Profitability index, Business perspective, Rural property purchase price, Rural property reconstruction price, Number of workspace, Taxes, Social level of villagers, Fascination of village. Ranking rural property investment project does not mean deciding which criterion is preferred to another one. Therefore in this situation we use ELECTRE IV approach, because it's objective is to rank the options, but without any weighting criteria. The authors have made some alternatives of rural property revival: Heating and airing systems factory, Fish products manufacture, Woodworker manufacture. On the basis of calculation results the following partial ranking of the alternative projects is suggested: Fish products manufacture; Heating and airing systems factory; 3. Rural property; 4. Woodworker manufacture; 5. Sport and leisure centre.

Round-up for IUFRO Durban 2000

Abstract The Minister in his address highlighted the importance of forestry as one of the largest rural investments in South Africa, The country also has the largest plantation area in the world that has been certified as sustainably managed. The forest manager was exhorted to maximize return on the investment in forestry including the efficient use ofwater and the alleviation of poverty; the researcher was exhorted to direct his research towards the manager's needs to accomplish these goals. I believe that the presentations and the discussions at this conference responded to these calls extraordinarily well.

RANKING EFFICIENCY OF RURAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT PROJECTS USING MULTICRITERIA DECISION METHODS

Summary Many researchers are right considering economic effect of investments as the key indicator, however, ranking other social, ecological and technical indicators of efficiency separately and leaving them outside of investment ranking criteria system. The authors suggest using together all known efficiency criteria plus some specific of rural property: Payback period, Net present value, Internal rate of return, Profitability index, Business perspective, Rural property purchase price, Rural property reconstruction price, Number of workspace, Taxes, Social level of villagers, Fascination of village. Ranking rural property investment project does not mean deciding which criterion is preferred to another one. Therefore in this situation we use ELECTRE IV approach, because it's objective is to rank the options, but without any weighting criteria. The authors have made some alternatives of rural property revival: Heating and airing systems factory, Fish products manufacture, Woodworker manufacture. On the b...

Poverty, Policies, and Deforestation: The Case of Mexico

This study examines the determinants and policy implications of deforestation in Mexico and includes a brief review of the relevant empirical literature and a description of the theoretical model. Land use patterns and socioeconomic and physiogeographic factors are determinants. Data were obtained from digital maps of land use and soils and the 1990 Population and 1991 Agricultural Censuses. A simple 2-period equation formalizes the relationship between deforestation and poverty government policies and local land tenure. In Period 1 representative producers in municipalities have 4 options in allocating labor time: wage generation; agricultural production; deforestation on land without clear property rights; and investment in technology. During Period 2 the options are to farm on available land and deforested areas or work in the wage sector. Findings reveal that: 1) communal land tenure (ownership by the ejido) did not increase deforestation; 2) pricing that favors maize production which is very land intensive increased deforestation and technical assistance reduced deforestation; and 3) poverty was related to higher rates of deforestation. Prices were the most important immediate factor in unsustainable resource use but other factors had an impact. The government policy mix did not support sustainable development. Reduced subsidies would benefit the environment. The government should provide safety nets to increase the level of rural investment and reduce poverty and should improve land productivity with technical inputs. Trade liberalization and elimination of subsidies should be sensitive to the poors need for real wages.

The state and peasant farmers’ leverage in Kenya

Limited capitalist development has meant that social classes in independent Sub-Saharan Africa are comparatively weak and the peasant farmers are the weakest of all. Isolated and divided, imbued with ethnic as opposed to class or broad policy consciousness, the peasant farmers may be politically unruly, but they are usually at the mercy of those in power. A by-product of peasant farmers political weakness in Africa generally is their economic exploitation by the state and dominant classes in the form of low prices for agricultural goods coupled with high prices for the manufactured products and a relatively high preference for urban over rural investment. Self-help initiative in Kenya is a politically valuable as a semi-autonomous peasant farmer-based institution oriented towards state policy. But self-help initiative is not a simple instrument of any class or the state. It is a contested terrain and embraces all the contradictions of the Kenyan political economy. Self-help has been a useful development strategy for peasant farmers. The Kenyan case study points to the need to examine what peasant farmers are doing for themselves, how they unite, form coalitions and manipulate state structures to their advantage. Finally, there are important struggles taking place quietly in the rural areas, the outcomes of which are by no means certain.

Some Considerations on Rural Investment, Employment, and Consumption in the Post-Reform Period in China

Some Considerations on Rural Investment, Employment, and Consumption in the Post-Reform Period in China

Thailand’s Internationalization and Its Rural Sector

The recent boom in the Thai economy is attributable mainly to three factors in the its exter nal sectors, namely its export growth, its increase in revenue from tourism, and its increase in direct foreign investment. These developments have changed the Thai economic structure, and affected rural poverty and income inequality. Although the country has become more urbanized, most of the people still live in rural areas and have not fully benefited from the overall economic development. Employment migration to Bangkok, other cities and foreign countries has helped to augment rural income but at great personal costs. The government attempt to industrialize the rural areas in the past had not been successful due to the lack of rural infrastructure, economic agglomeration, and rural fiscal autonomy. However, the re cent rise in the input cost of industrial production in Bankok and the success of the new rural investment promotion initiatives could speed up rural industrialization and improve the life of the rural people.

The spatial contribution to income inequality in rural China

An income function analysis is conducted of the 2,400 (rural) counties of China, using cross-section data. Income inequality among counties is considerable and accounts for the major part of inequality among rural households in China. County income per capita is well explained by province, terrain, agricultural type, location, and the relative importance of non-agriculture. Non-agricultural activity, in turn, is strongly assisted by agricultural success. An analysis of time-series data suggests that a process of cumulative causation operated in the decade after the rural reforms of 1978, increasing spatial inequality in rural investment, industrialization, and income. Fiscal redistribution from richer to poorer areas weakened the process but failed to stem it. Copyright 1993 by Oxford University Press.

Housing investment and chinese rural development: Preliminary results from a survey in jiangsu province

AbstractThe high propensity of rural households to invest in housing following economic reforms in China is a consequence of increasing household income, the changing environment for investment in farm and non‐farm production in rural areas, and inflation experienced in China in recent years. The housing boom has important implications for rural investment and output, and for the development of rural construction and related industries.

Urban bound migration and rural investment: the case of Mexico.

The authors investigate an agriculturally based policy for improving rural incomes and for retarding the rural-urban migration flow. The production of agricultural goods is characterized by a production function in which output increases with increases in agricultural labor inputs, capital, public infrastructure, land, and technology. Differences among regions in agricultural technology will reflect regional differences in education, the institutionalized form of productive organization, and differences in access to technological information channeled through more technically advanced cities. To pick up the effect of out-migration changes in state agricultural labor supply and upon agricultural output, the state's agricultural out-migration rate is included together with the agricultural labor force. The gross migrant flow between 2 locations is hypothesized to depend upon a set of variables influencing the individual's perception of the economic rate of return to be gained by moving, a set of variables reflecting the individual's propensity to relocate, the labor displacement effects of investments, and the at risk population at 1 location available to migrate. It is also taken into account that individuals differ in their response to information about origin and destination wage differentials and that individuals may or may not perceive a new ecnomic gain from migration but may base the decision on other considerations. Results of a statistical analysis using data from the Mexican census of population for 1960 and 1970 are: 1) size of the rural labor force was negatively associated with agricultural wages, contrary to expectations; 2) small farmers have benefited from the expansion of irrigation in Mexico; and 3) higher urban wages attract migration, and higher growth rate of agricultural income retards rural-urban migration. With respect to the 1950-60 decade both agricultural income and rural out-migration impacts could have been substantial but both the impact on local urban growth and on the rate of in-migration to the primate city would have been slight.

Traditional agricultural capital formation

An explanatory assessment of the characteristics, extent, and the actual and potential significance of traditional agricultural capital formation is made. Fairly strong evidence is found for an inverse relationship between capital stock per acre and farm size. Insecure land tenure and other factors tend to distort markedly the asset mix away from socially more optimal patterns. Tenure insecurity and inequality inhibit rural investment in aggregate. It is also deduced that technologies which necessitate purchase, vs those which allow non-monetary labour-investment, are innately biased against smaller farmers, regardless of government policy or risk aversion.

The Milk Income Loss Contract Program for Dairy Producers

The Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program financially compensates dairy producers when domestic milk prices fall below a specified level. The program is authorized by the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act and has no set funding level. Eligible dairy producers are those who, anytime from December 1, 2001, to September 30, 2005, commercially produce and market cow milk in the United States or produce milk in the United States and commercially market the milk outside the United States. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers the program. This document is AN152, one of a series of the Animal Science Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date August 1, 2004.

Pasture Improvement, Stocking Rates and Rural Investment

Research Fellow in the Institute of Applied Economic Research and is a review of some result from part of the institute's Primary Production Research Project. The study was the subject of a paper presented to the annual conference of the Australian Agricultural Economic Society in February 1969 and will be published by the Institute as Technical Report No. 2.

Où en est-on des projets de Sociétés d'investissement foncier

The micro and macro rural investment corporations aim to lighten the land cost for the farmers. Though often still at the planning stage, they have had to face a strong opposition. Through an appropriate structuring, recourse to savings, laws and tax regulations, these corporations will be able to pass the experimental stage and attain real efficiency.

The Paradox of Rural Land Investment in Britain

The Paradox of Rural Land Investment in Britain