Welfare Impact Research Articles

Animal board invited review: The need to consider emissions, economics and pig welfare in the transition from farrowing crates to pens with loose lactating sows.

In the development and implementation of housing systems for pigs, there has been a significant focus on pig welfare including loose housing of lactating sows either indoors or outdoors. However, it is equally important to consider the environmental and economic aspects of housing systems to ensure sustainability in livestock production. The aim of this work was to review the sustainability (societal and animal welfare, environmental and economic impact) of different approaches for housing farrowing and lactating sows in indoor environments. The review illustrates that like outdoor systems, indoor housing systems are challenged in meeting the three pillars of sustainability when changing the housing of lactating sows from conventional crates with permanent confinement to systems with temporary or zero-confinement. Increased space allowance increases sow welfare, but in addition, pen designs with increased space increase ammonia emission, investment and running costs. Furthermore, indoor loose lactation systems come with an increased risk for piglet mortality, which unless effectively managed, reduces animal welfare and the economic sustainability of the system. If farms retrofit existing buildings, the larger space per loose farrowing pen leads to a reduction in pen numbers and therefore herd size, reducing the farm profitability. If farmers choose to reduce herd size to meet requirements, welfare will be reduced while emissions will be increased as more sows are brought into production again in other countries, often in conventional systems with fully slatted flooring, to meet the demand for animal protein to feed the growing global population. The review indicates there are ways to house lactating sows loose indoors with increased opportunity to perform highly motivated species-specific behaviours compared to the conventional crates with continuous confinement. These systems can offer a lower risk for environmental impact and economic risk through reducing piglet mortality. Nevertheless, a trade-off for continual freedom of sow movement may be required as zero-confinement increases the risk of piglet mortality and increased emissions. It is important to raise awareness among citizens and policy makers that loose farrowing and lactating systems if applied today, come with a higher production cost and the risk of increased environmental impact. More research and development is needed in relation to the environmental and economic impact of these systems in order to give farmers the best information to invest in new and more sustainable production systems.

Pareto-improving minimum corporate taxation

The international agreement on a minimum effective corporate tax rate, implementation of which is imminent, marks a profound change in global tax arrangements. The appropriate level of that minimum, however, has been, and remains, extremely contentious. This paper explores the strategic responses to a minimum tax, which – the policy objective being to change the rules of the tax competition game – are critical for assessing the design and welfare impact of this fundamental policy innovation. Analysis and calibration plausibly suggest sizable scope for minima that are Pareto-improving, benefiting low tax countries as well as high, relative to the uncoordinated equilibrium.

Precision technologies for the management of reproduction in dairy cows.

Precision livestock farming (PLF) utilizes information and communication technology (ICT) to continuously monitor, control, and enhance the productivity, reproduction, health, welfare, and environmental impact of livestock. Technological advancements have facilitated the seamless flow of information from animals to humans, enabling practical decision-making processes concerning health, reproduction management, and calving surveillance. With the increasing population of livestock per farm, it has become impractical for farmers to individually track every animal within these large groups. Historically, cattle management decisions heavily relied on human observation, judgment, and experience. However, it is impossible for a single individual to gather reliable audio-visual monitoring data round the clock. Presently, dairy cows exhibit subtler indicators of estrus, resulting in a substantial chance of missing an estrus cycle. Furthermore, calving complications sometimes go unnoticed on farms, resulting in a higher number of culled cattle. In addition, an increasing number of crossbred cows experience delayed return to estrus after calving due to low body condition scores (BCS). The decline in BCS during the dry period is associated with a reduced likelihood of pregnancy following the first and second postpartum inseminations. Precision technologies enable the monitoring and tracking of an individual cow's physiological behavior and reproductive parameters, thereby optimizing management practices and farm performance. Despite the exploration of various technologies, there are still some common challenges that need to be addressed, including battery lifespan, transmission range, specificity and sensitivity, storage capacity, and economic affordability. Nonetheless, the demand for these tools from farmers and researchers is growing, and the implementation of PLF in grazing systems can yield positive outcomes in terms of animal reproductive welfare and labor optimization. This review primarily focuses on the different aspects of reproduction management in dairy using sensors, automated cameras, and various computer software.

The effects of carbon taxes on the welfare of households using multiple energy sources

Households use a variety of energy services by combining several sources of energy, such as electricity, gas, and kerosene. However, the effects of carbon taxes on the welfare of households using multiple energy sources have not yet been fully investigated. In this study, we propose a residential energy consumption model where the elasticity of substitution between energy sources is influenced by weather conditions and the relative evaluation of energy sources differs between households with different socioeconomic characteristics. We then conduct a household-level data analysis to estimate the elasticity of substitution, and the relative evaluation of electricity, city gas, LP gas, and kerosene. The empirical results show that the elasticity of substitution between energy sources increases as outside temperature drops, and households with different socioeconomic characteristics evaluate energy sources differently. Specifically, using the estimation results, we assess the impact of carbon taxation on household welfare. Assuming that total energy expenditure remains unchanged after carbon taxation, we compare the welfare impact of carbon taxation among households using different energy source combinations. The simulation results predict that households using electricity and kerosene in rural areas are most severely affected by carbon taxation.

GDP-linked bonds and economic growth

We analyze the implications of introducing GDP-linked bonds for economic growth. First, we model a stochastically growing small open economy. The government borrows from the international financial market, collects tax revenue, and provides a public infrastructure good. Sovereign debt may be both conventional and indexed to GDP. Second, we calibrate the model for a developing country. The introduction of GDP-linked bonds increases the optimal debt-to-GDP ratio, public-to-private capital ratio, and tax rate. It also exerts a small negative effect on the mean GDP growth rate as well as a small positive welfare impact.

Shifting attitudes on animal ‘ownership’: Ethical implications for welfare research and practice terminology

The roles companion animals have played in our lives has dramatically changed over the last few decades. At the same time, the terms we use to describe both the people and animals in these human-animal relationships have also changed. One example includes the use of the terms ‘owner’ or ‘guardian’ to refer to the human caretaker. While preferences by society appear to indicate increased interest in referring to companion animal caretakers as ‘guardians’, others have cautioned against its use or attempted to restrict it. Additionally, the use of animal welfare terminology has direct implications for how we conduct both welfare research and practice. Our paper examines the use of ‘owner’ and ‘guardian’ with respect to (1) the implications for changing terminology on the function, clarity and uniformity of their use, and (2) the ethical and welfare impact that coincides with each term’s use. Our goal is to propose terminological considerations that could influence future welfare research, as well as help guide our interactions with companion animals.

Analysis of social welfare impact of crop pest and disease damages due to climate change: a case study of dried red peppers

Climate change can affect agricultural production both directly and indirectly. The direct impact is through climate change itself while the indirect impact is through the outbreak of pests and diseases (P&D) affected by climate change. We measured the difference in social welfare change of dried red peppers in monetary values between these two effects based on constructed three models. In the P&D damage model, the effects of climatic factors on P&D damages were analyzed. In the yield model, the direct and indirect effects of climatic factors on the dried red pepper yields were analyzed. Lastly, the effect of rising temperatures on the social welfare of dried red peppers was measured in monetary values using the equilibrium displacement model (EDM). As a key result, although these rising temperatures increase the yields and social welfare, there are differences in social welfare change between with and without P&D damages, and the difference increases over time. This implies that global climate change can affect agricultural production around the world, which can affect food security around the world beyond changes in crop prices and social welfare. So rigorous pest control and damage predictions are needed.

An Empirical Assessment of the Welfare Impacts of the Rising Global Price of Food: The Case of Haiti

Global food price inflation has serious implication toward welfare and food and nutrition security in developing countries where most of the population are classified as low-income and are net-food importers. Haiti is one such nation which depend heavily on trade for food, making them extremely vulnerable to global food price increase. This study aims to investigate the welfare impact of rising global prices of imported food on Haitian consumers using annual data from 1980-2021. The LA-AIDS model was employed to estimate Hicksian price and income elasticities for the five major imported food categories, and compensating variation was used to assess the welfare impacts of rising global food prices on Haitian consumers. The study finds that all imported food categories were import price inelastic, except for meat which was price elastic. Cross-price elasticities indicated substitution and complementary relationships between various pairs of imported food categories. Income elasticities showed that demand for cereals and dairy was income inelastic, while demand for meat, vegetable oil, and sugar was income elastic. The welfare exercise revealed that price increases between 2006-2008, 2010-2013, and 2020-2021 resulted in welfare losses of around US$223.91 million, US$89.33 million, and US$458.50 million, respectively. It was also discovered that imported cereals and vegetable oil accounted for most of the lost welfare during the study periods. The results of this study provide valuable information for policymakers to develop policy intervention strategies that aims to safeguard the welfare of Haitian consumers.

The welfare impact of Euro on European consumers

This research uses a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System, combined with a Difference-in-Differences model with time-varying staggered treatments, to assess the impact of the European common currency on consumers’ welfare. Based on a panel of 29 European Union member countries from 1996 to 2022, results indicate that consumers in the Eurozone lost between 1.13% and 2.26% in annual per capita consumer welfare after adopting the euro.

The dynamics of strategically important food preference in Indonesia: An empirical evaluation of consumption pattern and welfare loss

This study evaluated regional heterogeneity in food consumption patterns across Indonesia. The demand system for strategically important food commodities was estimated for five regions: Sumatera, Java-Bali, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara-Maluku-Papua (Nusmapua). A two-step budgeting procedure based on the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) framework was used to estimate the unconditional elasticities of each food item in each regional setting, together with household data from the 2018 national socio-economic survey by Statistics Indonesia. The results showed that elasticities differ significantly across the regions, suggesting that regional heterogeneity needs to be considered when estimating demand structure. The estimated elasticities were used to conduct a welfare impact analysis of a simulated price increase, which showed that disregarding regional heterogeneity can overstate or understate welfare loss caused by price increases.

Comparison of non-medicinal delousing strategies for parasite (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) removal efficacy and welfare impact on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) hosts

AbstractSince salmon lice have developed resistance to pesticides, non-medicinal delousing treatments have become increasingly used to remove the parasite from fish on salmon farms in Norwegian waters. These novel techniques are an important means of controlling epidemics of lice at farms for maintaining the health of farmed fish and for preventing the spread of lice to wild salmonid populations. However, some treatments are associated with higher mortality rates and negative welfare impacts on the host fish. Furthermore, it is unclear how effective each treatment is in removing lice compared to alternatives. Here, in a controlled laboratory environment, we tested the efficacy of mechanical, warm water (28 °C and 34 °C), and freshwater treatments alone and in combination, and examined their welfare impact on host fish. Regardless of treatment group or control, the handling of fish through the experiment led to a reduction in lice load and decline in fish welfare. Among the treatments examined, the freshwater bath alone and in combination with other treatments had the greatest delousing efficacy. The 34 °C warm water baths also significantly reduced lice loads but led to worse welfare outcomes with fish having a higher prevalence of injuries and reduced growth and condition factor. Delousing treatments were however not associated with long-term effects on neuroendocrine parameters or stress coping ability, suggesting that immediate welfare impacts from these procedures are generally reversible. It was also found that sedating fish prior to treatment was shown to mitigate the welfare impact. These findings are useful for the needed optimization of delousing strategies for greater delousing efficacy and reduced welfare impact on fish.

Price‐endogenous technology, producer welfare, and ex ante impact assessment: The case of industrial hemp

AbstractThe emerging hemp industry is an example of an important class of agricultural products where the market extent is limited, in hemp's case by laws and regulations, causing technology adoption to interact through prices with market‐level equilibrium. In this paper, we show that the equilibrium adoption rate and producer welfare impact of new technology, such as improved hemp genetics and management, are determined by the interaction between market prices and the spatial distribution of returns of both current and new technologies in the farm population. Price changes affect adoption and welfare through shifts in both the location (mean) and dispersion (variance and higher moments) of the spatial distribution of gains to the new technology. We show that an output price change may either increase or decrease the adoption rate of a new technology and in turn impact the elasticity of the market supply function. Additionally, we derive market‐equilibrium measures of welfare change for both adopters and non‐adopters and show how these welfare measures are affected by the spatial distribution of returns to a new technology. Our finding suggests that the interplay between new technologies and price changes is likely to have empirically important effects on regional supply and farm welfare.

Welfare impact of improved maize varieties adoption among smallholder farmers in Amuru district of Horo Guduru Wollega, Ethiopia

Government policy strategies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), are aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, which could contribute to improve household welfare. Hence, understanding smallholder farmers’ low and variable crop yields has been a central research and policy priority in addressing food security. Likewise, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of adopting improved maize varieties on productivity and food insecurity in Amuru district of Horo Guduru Wollega, Ethiopia. The study utilized cross-sectional household data collected in 2020/2021 from 263 randomly selected sample households. The probit model’s findings indicate that factors that positively influenced households’ adoption of the improved maize varieties included the household head’s education level, the amount of livestock owned, access to credit, access to training, farm size, access to extension agents, and access to information from farmers associations, while factors that negatively influenced adoption included family size and market distance. The endogenous treatment effect model’s findings also showed that IMV adoptions considerably improve smallholder farmers’ welfare by lowering food insecurity and raising their average calorie intake and net crop values. Thus, it is advised that governments and other interested institutions should promote the adoption of improved maize varieties on a larger scale in order to boost maize yield and lower rural household food insecurity.

Optimal tariffs with endogenous vertical structure: Uniform versus discriminatory tariffs

Using the export-rivalry model, we examine the welfare impact of two tariff regimes when firms’ vertical structure is endogenously determined via the strategic behavior of each firm. First, with discriminatory tariffs, if the degree of imperfect substitutability is sufficiently low, the rent-shifting effects of vertical separation becomes less important and firms chooses vertical integration to enjoy lower tariffs, and vice versa if the degree of imperfect substitutability is sufficiently high. However, an asymmetrical vertical structure, i.e., low (high)-cost firm chooses vertical separation (integration), emerges only in the uniform tariffs. Thus, the existence of firms’ diverse vertical structure between tariff systems can arise. Second, although firms are better off if they choose vertical separation, each firm chooses vertical integration in the discriminatory tariffs (i.e., prisoners’ dilemma). Third, if firms choose vertical integration in the discriminatory tariffs but vertical separation in the uniform ones, they prefer the uniform tariffs as far as cost differential between firms is not large; and the global welfare is greater in the discriminatory than in the uniform tariffs.

COVID-19 and Microeconomic Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Study on Ethiopian and Nigerian Households

The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic on overall welfare depends on the resilience of microeconomic units, particularly households, to cope and recover from the shocks created by the pandemic. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where the pandemic has been less pervasive, the pandemic is expected to increase food insecurity, vulnerability, and ultimately poverty. To accurately measure the welfare impact of the pandemic on the macroeconomy, it is important to account for the distributional impact on households and the ability of households to cope with it, which reflects their microeconomic resilience. In this paper, we seek to determine the differential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household microeconomic resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa. We use direct measurements of economic indicators to measure the impact of the pandemic on 6249 households across Ethiopia and Nigeria. Given that resilience is a latent variable, the FAO’s Resilience Index Measure Analysis (RIMA) framework is utilized to construct the resilience index. We hypothesize that the pandemic created differential economic impacts among households and ultimately household microeconomic resilience. Study findings show that government containment measures improved household microeconomic resilience, while self-containment measures lowered microeconomic resilience. Additionally, households that relied on wage employment and non-farm businesses as their main source of livelihood were found to be more microeconomic resilient.

Striving for humane deaths for laboratory mice: hypobaric hypoxia provides a potential alternative to carbon dioxide exposure.

Killing is often an unavoidable and necessary procedure for laboratory mice involved in scientific research, and providing a humane death is vital for public acceptance. Exposure to carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is the most widely used methodology despite well proven welfare concerns. Consequently, the continued use of CO2 and its globally permitted status in legislation and guidelines presents an ethical dilemma for users. We investigated whether killing with hypobaric hypoxia via gradual decompression was associated with better welfare outcomes for killing laboratory mice. We compared the spontaneous behaviour of mice exposed to CO2, decompression or sham conditions, and used analgesic or anxiolytic interventions to determine their relative welfare impact. Gradual decompression resulted in longer times to unconsciousness and death and the pharmacological interventions support the notion of a minimally negative animal experience, while providing further evidence for pain and anxiety associated with exposure to CO2. Decompression resulted in moderate ear haemorrhage, but our welfare assessment suggests this may happen when mice are unconscious. Hence, gradual decompression could be the basis of significant refinement for killing laboratory mice. Future work should corroborate behaviour with neurobiological markers of loss of consciousness to verify the conscious phase of concern for animal welfare.

Effects of certain risk factors on presence and severity of carcass bruising in cattle: A study in Turkey

The aim of the study was to examine the effects of some pre-slaughter factors on the total carcass bruise severity score and the presence of carcass bruises. Bruises on 1027 cattle carcasses were evaluated with the “The Australian Carcass Bruise Scoring System,” and at least one bruise score was determined in 92.7% of the carcasses. The total carcass bruise severity score increased as the animal's age, transport time, and AWACT (the Welfare Impact Score of Stockperson Actions) score increased (P < 0.001). The probability of the presence of carcass bruising increased 2.751 times in the autumn (P = 0.031) and 2.200 times in the summer (P = 0.072) compared to the winter. Carcass bruises tended to be 1.747 times more common in females than males (P = 0.065), and 65.9% less in the Simmental than Brown Swiss breed (P = 0.060). Human contact (OR = 1.685; P = 0.079) and electric goad using (OR = 1.762; P = 0.069) on the slaughter corridor tended to increase the probability of the presence of carcass bruises. In conclusion, to reduce the presence and severity of carcass bruises, it may be beneficial to focus on the improvement of handling and coercion practices applied by the stock person, to slaughter the cattle in the nearest slaughterhouse, and to pay more care to the handling of culled cattle.

Kontribusi Kesejahteraan Masyarakat, Investasi dan Dampak Pandemi COVID-19 Terhadap Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja Generasi Z

Generation Z has different characteristics compared with other generations. They prefer technology, flexibility, and intelligence and are more tolerant of cultural diversity. This writing uses panel data to analyze the contribution of people's welfare, investment, and COVID-19 impact on Generation Z labor intake. The corresponding panel data model is the Random Effect Model. The study showed that the people welfare variable has a significant negative influence at the amount of 0.64 upon Generation Z labor intake. While investment has a significant positive effect of 0.71 and the variable of COVID-19 impact resulted in a negative of 0,002 however it is not considered a significant number.

Consumer Attitudes and Concerns about Beef Consumption in Argentina and Other South American Countries

In South America, modifications in beef consumption habits, mainly related to economic reasons, new lifestyles, and new eating behaviors, are being observed. If this trend continues, beef consumption could continue to fall or there would be a greater share of cheaper types of meat. In general, consumer concerns related to health, animal welfare, and environmental impact are increasing. Most of the population in South America follows an omnivorous diet, with a minority of vegetarians/vegans. In Argentina, around 30% consider themselves as flexitarians and around 5% as vegetarians/vegans, with centennials and millennials being the ones that mostly follow these types of behaviors. For flexitarians, the main reason that leads them to adopt this diet is the search for healthier eating. In general, consumers consider livestock production to be a sustainable activity; although, ethical concerns are growing among the younger generations. Finally, around 30% of the total population is willing to partially replace the consumption of beef to avoid animal slaughter and 8% would abandon it for this reason. The current trend would indicate that, if the conditions defined by the present scenarios continue, the motivations to consume less beef could be strengthened.

Immigration, skill acquisition, and fiscal redistribution in a search equilibrium model

AbstractAs recent immigration flows are reshaping the host countries workforce composition, this paper aims to assess whether age composition and skill adjustment dynamics play a relevant role in the welfare impact of immigration. To this end, we build and simulate a search and matching model that allows for endogenous natives’ skill acquisition and intergenerational transfers to analyze the welfare effects of immigration on a selected group of 19 OECD countries. The obtained results are then compared with those obtained under different assumptions on age composition and skill adjustment dynamics. Our comparative statics analysis shows that stronger job creation effects take place when natives adjust their skill in response to immigration. Moreover, taking into account age composition plays a key role in assessing the fiscal impact of immigration, which turns out to be positive when we include intergenerational transfers to retirees and immigration is high-skilled. Finally, we find that our model yields more optimistic welfare effects than standard search models that abstract from skill decision and intergenerational redistribution.