The role of governance in agricultural expansion and intensification: a global study of arable agriculture

In this research we studied empirical relationships between agricultural production dynamics and six quantitative World Bank governance indicators for 173 countries between 1975 and 2007. It is hypothesized that in countries with lower quality of governance, agricultural production increases are more likely to be achieved by area expansions than by increases in yields. We distinguished four groups of countries: those with both area and yield increases; those with increasing yields but decreasing area; those with decreasing yields but a growing area; and those with both declines in yields and area. We analyzed differences between these four groups, and also analyzed governance-production relationships within these groups. On average, quality of governance is low in countries with both area and yield increases and high in countries with increasing yields but decreasing area. Countries with declining yields were too few in number to allow for quantitative analyses. The analysis of governance-production relationships within the four groups suggests that countries with a lower quality of governance are more inclined to achieve production increases by expanding agricultural area rather than increasing yields. Additional explanatory value of governance indicators to agricultural production dynamics is generally small, but nevertheless significant in most cases. Our results suggest that, in order for agricultural production to increase without excessive expansions of agricultural area, governance issues should be resolve

Does migration reshape expenditures in rural households? Evidence from Mexico

Migration reshapes rural economies in ways that may go beyond the contribution of migrant remittances to household income. Consumption and investment expenditures by migrant-sending households may transmit some of the impacts of migration to others inside and outside the rural economy, and they also may shape the potential effects of migration within the source household. Numerous studies have attempted to quantify the impact of migrant remittances on expenditures in migrant-sending households following one of two approaches. The first asks how migrant remittances are spent. It has the advantage of being simple but the significant disadvantage of ignoring the fungibility of income from migrant and nonmigrant sources. Remittances almost certainly have indirect effects on expenditures by way of their contribution to households'total budgets. The second uses a regression approach that considers remittances as an explanatory variable, in addition to total income and other controls, in a household expenditure demand system. It has the advantage of enabling one to test whether remittances affect expenditures in ways that are independent of their contribution to total income. But it does not take into account other ways, besides remittances, in which migration may influence expenditure patterns in households with migrants. It also may suffer from econometric bias resulting from the endogeneity of migration and remittance receipts. The same variables may simultaneously affect both remittances and household expenditures, and unless one controls for this, biased estimates may result.Investment and Investment Climate,Economic Theory&Research,Housing&Human Habitats,Remittances,Consumption

POPULATION AND LAND DEGRADATION

In this paper, we argue that there exist no significant direct links between human populations and their environments and that the intervening processes create the context within which land degradation occurs. We examine some of the intermediate mechanisms through which mounting demographic pressure leads to soil erosion and the depletion of soil fertility. The focus of attention is on set of variables defined in this paper as the structure of landholding (size of holdings, fragmentation/ dispersion, fragility, tenure, etc.). How demographically-induced changes in the structure of land-holding affect land management strategies (investments and land use) is key to understanding land degradation. Traditional perspectives on population and agricultural intensification, such as those developed by Malthus and Boserup, are incomplete at best. This is because they fail to fully incorporate the intermediate linkages both to and from the changing structure of landholding. As a result, avenues for policy research and intervention have been limited. On the population side, the answer has been to control growth (mostly through family planning). On the natural resources side, the thrust has been the dissemination of resource-saving technologies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this review for future research and policy action.Land Economics/Use,

Population and Sustainability: Understanding Population, Environment, and Development Linkages

The triple challenge of rapid population growth, declining agricultural productivity, and natural resource degradation are not isolated from one another; they are intimately related. However, strategic planning and development programming tend to focus on individual sectors such as the environment, agriculture, and population; they do not explicitly take into account the compatibilities and inconsistencies among them. Farm households and their livelihood strategies are at the core of the intersectoral linkages approach advocated in this chapter. Three key aspects of the population-environment-development debate are discussed: first, the finding that inconsistencies between public and individual household behavior regarding childbearing and family planning constitute a veritable "demographic tragedy of the commons;" second, the tendency to conceptualize population variables as "unmanageable," and exogenous to environmental and economic change; third, the importance of land markets and land tenure as critical population-sustainability policy issues.Africa, agriculture, Rwanda, population, sustainability, environment, food security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Q56,

The Energy Costs of Historic Preservation

We explore the impact of historical preservation policies on domestic energy consumption. Using panel data for England from 2006 to 2013 and employing a fixed effects strategy, we document that (i) rising national energy prices induce an increase in home energy efficiency installations and a corresponding reduction in energy consumption and (ii) this energy saving effect is significantly less pronounced in Conservation Areas and in places with high concentrations of Listed Buildings, where the adoption of energy efficiency instal lations is typically more costly and sometimes legally prevented altogether. The energy costs of preservation are substantial

The impact of population ageing on international capital flows

This paper is oriented to study the relationship between demographical factors and international capital flows. We analyse the impact of ageing on foreign direct investments (FDI) and foreign portfolio investments (FPI) on a bilateral level. Firstly we present a theoretical foundation of the relationship and then we test it by an empirical model. Theoretical foundations are based on the lifecycle hypothesis and overlapping generations model in a demographic context. The bilateral FDI and FPI are modelled by using fixed effects balanced panel data. The results suggest that the current and future age structure of the nation has significant effect on current international capital flows.International Capital Flows; Demography; Capital Mobility; FDI; Portfolio Investment

Gendered production and consumption in rural Africa

Recent research underscores the continued importance of gender in rural Africa. Analysis of interactions within households is becoming more sophisticated and continues to reject the unitary model. There is some evidence of discriminatory treatment of girls relative to boys, although the magnitudes of differential investments in health and schooling are not large and choices seem quite responsive to changes in opportunity costs. Social norms proscribing and prescribing male and female economic behavior remain substantial, extending into many domains, especially land tenure. Gender constructions are constantly evolving, although there is little evidence of rapid, transformative change in rural areas