Supply response of potato in Bangladesh: a vector correction approach

An attempt has been made in this study to examine the supply response of potato in Bangladesh by using the vector error correction approach. The short-run price elasticity was 0.45 while the long run elasticity was 0.62. Price policies are effective in obtaining the desired level of output for potato. If intervention in the market is of necessity, then it must be implemented during the harvest season for altering price expectations. Also emphases should be given to increase potato export and establishing export oriented potato processing industries

Demand elasticities for different food items in Bangladesh

To identify the magnitude of food demand which would be helpful for demand projection and to assist government planning authority and researcher present study was under taken. The study estimated demand elasticities for different food items in the context of Bangladesh by using Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model with corrected Stone Price Index. The income elasticity of demand for cereal, pulse, edible oil, vegetable, fish, meat, fruit, milk and spices were 0.51, 0.72, 1.77, 0.50, 1.30, 2.46, 1.96, 1.86 and 1.60, respectively. The compensated and uncompensated own price elasticity indicated that all food items (except edible oil and spices) were price inelastic. The estimated uncompensated own-price elasticity of demand for cereal, pulse, edible oil, vegetable, fish, meat, fruit, milk and spices indicated that if the price fell by 10% then the demand for cereal, pulse, edible oil, vegetable, fish, meat, fruit, milk and spices would increase by 2.73, 7.25, 13.92, 3.14, 4.32, 6.70, 6.11, 3.45 and 14.47%, respectively. The estimates of cross price elasticity indicate that substitution effects of price change were not quite strong. Consequently government price interventions may not lead to considerable price repercussions in the economy. Simultaneously no systematic differences in the absolute magnitudes of the expenditure elasticity and own price elasticity were found. This implies that a combination of income and price policies may be more effective in influencing consumption pattern than those based solely on an individuality basis without taking into consideration the other factor

Technical efficiency of chili production

Scarcity of resources has led to production economists to think about the reallocation of existing resources to produce a prescribed level of output with the minimum cost without changing the production technology. But there is a lack of information about the efficient use of inputs in chili production. Except for a few descriptive studies, econometric analysis has yet to be conducted to examine the production function for chili cultivation and its potential for future improvement in Bangladesh. Approach: In this study an effort was made to assess the level of technical efficiency required for chili production in the administrative district of Jamalpur and also analyzed the status of resource allocation for its production. The Cobb-Douglas stochastic production frontier model was used to analyze the data. Results: The study revealed that cultivation of chili is highly profitable. The net return against cultivating of chili was Tk 73,164 ha-1 while the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) was 1.93. However, all the farmers were not very close to the maximum frontier outputs (efficiency levels varying from 11-96% and their mean efficiency was 77%). Conclusion: On an average, 23% technical inefficiency appears which implies that the output per farm can be increased on an average by 23% through chili production using the prevailing technology and without incurring any additional production cost. Side by side advanced technology (high yielding variety, disease and pest management) could be adapted to increase production of this particular spice

PRICE INTEGRATION IN POTATO MARKETS OF BANGLADESH

The paper examined the pricing efficiency of potato markets in Bangladesh using EngleGranger test (EG), Cointegration Regression for Durbin Watson (CRDW) test and Error Correction Methods (ECM). For the test of pricing efficiency of potato markets, the wholesale prices were used to test cointegration using data from January 1993 to December 2005 yielding a total of 676 observations. Engle-Granger test was used to estimate the integration among the potato markets in Bangladesh. In the cointegrating set up, error correction method estimated the long-run relationship between reference markets (Dhaka) and selected markets. The cointegration regression for Durbin Watson test revealed that the wholesales potato markets in Bangladesh were integrate

PRICE INTEGRATION IN POTATO MARKETS OF BANGLADESH

The paper examined the pricing efficiency of potato markets in Bangladesh using EngleGranger test (EG), Cointegration Regression for Durbin Watson (CRDW) test and Error Correction Methods (ECM). For the test of pricing efficiency of potato markets, the wholesale prices were used to test cointegration using data from January 1993 to December 2005 yielding a total of 676 observations. Engle-Granger test was used to estimate the integration among the potato markets in Bangladesh. In the cointegrating set up, error correction method estimated the long-run relationship between reference markets (Dhaka) and selected markets. The cointegration regression for Durbin Watson test revealed that the wholesales potato markets in Bangladesh were integrate

Supply response of wheat in Bangladesh: cointegration and vector error correction analysis

Numerous past studies on wheat cultivation in Bangladesh is criticized for using the weaker Nerlovian Partial Adjustment models and also for analytical interpretation through Ordinary Least Square (OLS) creating spurious results for time series data. This problem can be avoided if Econometric technique of co-integration is used. It is for this the present paper estimates the supply response of wheat in Bangladesh by using the modern technique of co-integration with Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). Our unit root analysis indicates that underlying data series were not stationary and are all integrated of order one, that is I(1). The Johansen multivariate co-integration approach indicates the presence of a co-integrating relationship in the supply response model. Wheat acreage is significantly influenced by price of wheat, and other competing crops such as Boro rice. The non-price factors weather has a highly positive effect on wheat area in the short-run. The wheat supply elasticity’s are found to be inelastic both in the short-and long-run. The long-run and short run price elasticity’s were 0.95 and 0.47, respectively

Genetic Variation of Vibrio cholerae during Outbreaks, Bangladesh, 2010–2011

Cholera remains a major public health problem. To compare the relative contribution of strains from the environment with strains isolated from patients during outbreaks, we performed multilocus variable tandem repeat analyses on samples collected during the 2010 and 2011 outbreak seasons in 2 geographically distinct areas of Bangladesh. A total of 222 environmental and clinical isolates of V. cholerae O1 were systematically collected from Chhatak and Mathbaria. In Chhatak, 75 of 79 isolates were from the same clonal complex, in which extensive differentiation was found in a temporally consistent pattern of successive mutations at single loci. A total of 59 isolates were collected from 6 persons; most isolates from 1 person differed by sequential single-locus mutations. In Mathbaria, 60 of 84 isolates represented 2 separate clonal complexes. The small number of genetic lineages in isolates from patients, compared with those from the environment, is consistent with accelerated transmission of some strains among humans during an outbreak