Monetary policy and food inflation in South Africa: A quantile regression analysis
Publication date: Available online 11 January 2020Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Abdul-Aziz Iddrisu, Imhotep Paul AlagidedeAbstractAlthough optimal monetary policy stabilizes food inflation theoretically, empirical studies remain limited not only in the context of volumes and the estimation approaches, but are focused on selected advanced and emerging countries to the neglect of Africa where poverty and dominance of food in the consumption basket are more pronounced. We provide empirical evidence in the context of South Africa using quantile regressions. Rising food prices are destabilized even further by restrictive moneta...
Source: Food Policy - January 11, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Do firms leverage the FDA nutrient label rounding rules to generate favorable nutrition fact panels or health claims?
Publication date: Available online 9 January 2020Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Melissa A. Wright, Timothy K.M. Beatty, Hayley H. ChouinardAbstractThe increasing incidence of nutrition related health concerns has made food labeling an important policy issue. Previous work suggests the importance of communicating nutrition information to consumers through product packaging. This paper investigates the role of labeling guidelines, which allow the rounding of calorie and nutrient levels on nutrition fact panels and affects front of package claims. We examine ready-to-eat cereal products as a bundle of nutrient attributes, and ...
Source: Food Policy - January 10, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
The impact of agricultural commercialisation on household welfare in rural Vietnam
Publication date: Available online 8 January 2020Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Chiara Cazzuffi, Andy McKay, Emilie PergeAbstractCommercialisation by smallholder farmers has played a major role in agricultural development in many Asian countries, and while there are assumptions that this has led to welfare improvement, in fact there is relatively little evidence on this question. In this paper we use high quality panel data to examine the welfare impact of agricultural commercialisation in a leading Asian producer, Vietnam. We use the five-wave Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) panel data set from 2008 to...
Source: Food Policy - January 10, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Where’s the beef? Cattle producers’ response to endangered species listings
In this study, we measure the effect of ESA listings on beef cattle production in the central United States. Results suggest that listing likely has a small positive effect on cattle stocks. (Source: Food Policy)
Source: Food Policy - January 8, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Viewpoint: International agriculture’s needed shift from energy intensification to agroecological intensification
Publication date: Available online 8 January 2020Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Rebecca Nelson (Source: Food Policy)
Source: Food Policy - January 8, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Changes in food purchases at retirement in France
Publication date: Available online 3 January 2020Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Olivier Allais, Pascal Leroy, Julia MinkAbstractWe estimate the impact of retirement on food expenditure and food quantities purchased, using detailed home-scan panel data on food purchases and household characteristics in France. We identify a causal relationship by exploiting the French legal minimum age for retirement as an exogenous shock to retirement behavior. Upon retirement, households significantly decrease their expenditure on food and the amount of food purchased. Households with lower pre-retirement income appear to be more severely ...
Source: Food Policy - January 4, 2020 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Shocks and agricultural investment decisions
This study explores the impact of weather shocks on the investment decisions of farmers. We distinguish between the long-term effect of exposure to weather shocks, measured as past exposure to deviations in average rainfall levels, and the effect of weather-related shocks that have recently occurred. We examine how households cope with shocks in the short term, in terms of consumption smoothing and the depletion of liquid assets, and whether over the longer-term shock exposure impacts on household investment decisions and welfare. Our results show that households on average manage to smooth consumption in the face of recen...
Source: Food Policy - December 26, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
The effects of trust and land administration on economic outcomes: Evidence from Viet Nam
Publication date: Available online 24 December 2019Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Duc Anh Dang, Kim Khoi Dang, Vuong Anh Dang, Thi Lan VuAbstractThis paper examines how the interaction of social trust and institutions, such as land administration, affects household economic decisions in Viet Nam. Using a panel dataset of rural households from 2008 to 2014, we show that negative consequences of the duration of land administration on agricultural investment have been lower in rural households with higher level of trust. Higher-trust households, when facing higher barrier from land administration, tend to invest more on agricu...
Source: Food Policy - December 24, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
What is the intrinsic value of fertilizer? Experimental value elicitation and decomposition in the hill and terai regions of Nepal
Publication date: Available online 19 December 2019Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Patrick S. Ward, Shweta Gupta, Vartika Singh, David L. Ortega, Shriniwas GautamAbstractWe use Becker-DeGroot-Marshak value elicitation methods to derive the intrinsic value that farmers in Nepal place on fertilizers. Eliciting values under three distinct procurement scenarios, we are able to decompose the total intrinsic value of fertilizer into a willingness-to-pay (WTP) to travel to procure fertilizer, a WTP for assured fertilizer supplies, and a WTP for the productivity benefits of fertilizer. Disaggregating our sample according to location...
Source: Food Policy - December 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Geographical indications in the UK after Brexit: An uncertain future?
Publication date: Available online 19 December 2019Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Craig Prescott, Manuela Pilato, Claudio BelliaAbstractThe protection of geographical indications (‘GIs’) within the UK is placed into doubt by the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (‘Brexit’). The default legal position is that after Brexit, there would be no legal provision for GIs in UK law. This default position can only be changed if the UK and the EU agree the terms of the UK’s withdrawal and then their future relationship. The article considers the implications of the draft withdrawal agreement which, inter alia ensures...
Source: Food Policy - December 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Estimating the effects of agri-environmental measures using difference-in-difference coarsened exact matching
Publication date: Available online 19 December 2019Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Danilo Bertoni, Daniele Curzi, Giacomo Aletti, Alessandro OlperAbstractThis paper studies the effect of agri-environmental measures (AEMs) in improving greener farming practices. We focus on the quantification of the effectiveness of AEMs implemented in the Rural Development Programme of the Lombardy Region, during the 2007–2013 programming period. Our work attempts to address the well-known potential failures of these kinds of policy instruments – such as adverse selection effects – by relying on an innovative matching procedure, the co...
Source: Food Policy - December 19, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Crop prices and the individual decision to migrate
Publication date: Available online 18 December 2019Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Gaia NarcisoAbstractThis paper investigates the effect of commodity prices, in particular rice and coffee, on the decision of migrating at the individual level. As most coffee production is sold by households for exports, we would expect that coffee price shocks would have a direct effect on the probability to migrate. On the other hand, we would anticipate that fluctuations in rice prices have little or no effect on migration decisions, given that rice is mainly produced for household consumption. We test these hypotheses drawing evidence fro...
Source: Food Policy - December 19, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Does farm structure affect rural household incomes? Evidence from Tanzania
This study exploits inter-district variation in farm landholding patterns in Tanzania to determine how differences in localized farmland structure affect rural household incomes using nationally representative household panel survey data. Because farm structure is a multifaceted concept, five alternative indicators of farmland structure are defined for 142 districts in Tanzania: (i) the Gini coefficient; (ii) skewness; (iii) coefficient of variation; (iv) share of controlled farmland under medium-scale farms; and (v) share of controlled farmland under large farms. These alternative farm structure variables are included in ...
Source: Food Policy - December 13, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Impact of the eKutir ICT-enabled social enterprise and its distributed micro-entrepreneur strategy on fruit and vegetable consumption: A quasi-experimental study in rural and urban communities in Odisha, India
Publication date: Available online 4 December 2019Source: Food PolicyAuthor(s): Laurette Dubé, Cameron McRae, Yun-Hsuan Wu, Samik Ghosh, Summer Allen, Daniel Ross, Saibal Ray, Pramod K. Joshi, John McDermott, Srivardhini Jha, Spencer MooreAbstractThis paper reports results of a quasi-experimental study designed to assess the impact of an information and communication technology (ICT) –enabled ecosystem, led by the social enterprise eKutir, on household fruit and vegetable consumption in Odisha, India. eKutir aims at providing self-sustaining solutions to poverty and undernutrition in developing countries by leveraging I...
Source: Food Policy - December 5, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Sugary drink excise tax policy process and implementation: Case study from Saudi Arabia
In conclusion, there were several factors unique to the Saudi environment that facilitated tax implementation. However, our study highlights the importance of explicitly articulating a clear evidence-based rationale for SSB tax administration to enhance sustainability. (Source: Food Policy)
Source: Food Policy - November 27, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
