Productive Efficiency in Water Usage: An Analysis of Differences among Citrus Producing Farms Sizes in Tunisia

The objective of this paper is to measure productive efficiency of irrigation water efficiency based on the concept of technical efficiency and compared among different sizes farms. The proposed methodology is applied to a randomly selected sample of 144 citrus growing farms located in Nabeul (Tunisia) and differentiated by size (small, medium and large farms). A stochastic production frontier approach, based on Battese and Coelli’s (1995) inefficiency effect model, is used to obtain farm-specific estimates of technical and irrigation water efficiency. The last step of the analysis consists on the identification of the factors influencing irrigation water efficiency differentials across citrus growing farms on the basis on a second-stage regression approach. Empirical results show that estimated mean technical efficiency ranges from a minimum of 12.82% to a maximum of 90.69% with an average estimate of 67.73%. This result means that 32.3% increase in production is possible with the present state of technology and unchanged input uses, if technical inefficiency is completely removed. Thus, improving technical efficiency will result to significant increases in framer’s revenue and profit. On the other hand, mean irrigation water efficiency is found to be 53%, which is much lower than technical efficiency and also exhibits greater variability ranging from 1.6% to 98.87%. The estimated mean irrigation water efficiency implies that the observed quantity of marketable citrus could have been maintained by using the observed values of other inputs while using 47.0% less of irrigation water. This means that farmer’s can achieve significant savings in water use by improving the utilisation of irrigation system and by utilizing more advanced irrigation technologies.Water Efficiency, stochastic frontier production function, small, medium and large citrus farms, Tunisia, Crop Production/Industries,

Multiple Large Shareholders and Earnings Informativeness

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to add to our understanding of the monitoring role of multiple large shareholders by examining their impact on the informativeness of firms' earnings. Design/methodology/approach - We use regression models that relate earnings to stock returns for a sample of 402 French publicly traded firms covered during 2003-2007. Findings - We show that earnings informativeness is significantly positively related to the owner's ultimate cash flow rights. Consistent with the alignment effect, stock ownership aligns management and shareholders interests which reduces managers' incentives to manipulate accounting information. We also find that earnings informativeness is significantly negatively related to the excess control of the ultimate controlling shareholder. This result supports the entrenchment effect and suggests that controlling shareholders have greater incentives to obscure accounting figures when expropriation is likely. Finally, control contestability of the largest controlling shareholder mitigates information asymmetry problems thereby enhancing earnings informativeness. Limitations/implications - Our findings stress the importance of MLS in enhancing internal monitoring and mitigating agency costs. Because France is characterized by a weak legal system, highly concentrated ownership structures and excess control, our results provide valuable insights to mitigate extreme agency problems. Originality/value - The paper adds to the literature on corporate governance and the quality of accounting information by investigating strategic interactions between various blockholders and their impact on earnings informativeness. The study complements prior studies on the monitoring role of MLS by demonstrating that both their presence and control size translate into significantly greater earnings informativeness.Earnings, Earnings informativeness, Excess control, France, Multiple large shareholders, Stock returns

Productivity and Economic Growth in Tunisian Agriculture: An Empirical Evidence

This paper analyse the patterns of productivity and economic growth in the Tunisian agriculture during the 19612000. Results indicated that agriculture output growth where high in both the 19611970 and the 19711980 periods but decreased during the 19912000 period. Average output growth exceeded 6% during the 19811990 period, the average output growth during 19912000 had fallen to 4%. Over the whole period, capital was the most important contributor to output growth and labour is considered as the least significant contributor to economic growth. Total factor productivity contribution to output growth decreased from 4.64% in 19611970 to 2.86% in 19711980. In contrast, this contribution increased in 1981-1990 to close the 4.38%. In the last period, namely 1991-2000, TFP decreased. On average, productivity growth increased by less that 3.6% per year. One major source of the low productivity might be the low level of intermediate input use.Production function, Translog, Agriculture, TFP, Tunisia, International Development, Productivity Analysis, C8, O13, O14,

Effects of food prices and consumer income on nutrient availability: An application of the demand for dairy products in Tunisia

Number of Tunisian food demand studies have measured the influence of traditional variables, such as income and prices, and in some cases some socio-demographic variables. However, given increasing concerns about health, other important factors, such as the nutritious quality and the nutrient content of food, have also been shown to determine consumer choices. This paper analyses the effect of these factors on the demand for dairy products. The nutritious quality of dairy products is measured by an index that relates nutrient content of each product with the standards suggested by the National Academy of Science. A demand system is estimated and nutrient demand elasticities with respect to prices and expenditure are obtained. Results differ from traditional studies in the sense that higher prices do not indicate lower consumption but a shift to a higher quality demand.Dairy products demand, health awareness, nutrients, price/quality index, Tunisia, Agricultural and Food Policy, D12, I12,