THE IMPACT OF SHARE TENANCY ON RESOURCE ALLOCATION: EVIDENCE FROM NEPAL

A fully interactive two group model is used to examine the issue of resource allocation under alternative tenancy systems in Nepal. The results support the Marshallian hypothesis that both mixed and pure share tenants apply variable inputs less intensively in their rented-in plots than in owner operated plots. Keywords: Share tenancy, efficiency, input output intensitiesShare tenancy, efficiency, input output intensities, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

MARKET POWER AND ASYMMETRY IN FARM-RETAIL PRICE TRANSMISSION

A finite mixture model is used to examine whether price asymmetries exist in U.S. fresh strawberry markets. Two distinct pricing regimes are identified. Results show that price asymmetries exist only at 34 percent of the cases and market power has played an important role in generating such asymmetric price relationships.Marketing,

THE ROLE OF HEALTH INFORMATION ON FRUITS AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION

A three-equation partially-recursive econometric model is specified linking consumer awareness, beliefs, attitude, and dietary behaviors. The results show that older, better educated and higher income households are more likely to meet five-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables than those who are poor and less educated.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

TESTING FOR A CHANGE IN CONSUMER TASTES FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A STRUCTURAL LATENT VARIABLE APPROACH

This study uses a structural latent variable approach to examine whether the increased supply of health information has been successful in improving consumer tastes and preferences towards fruits and vegetables and if it has been successful in doing so, how this change in tastes is affecting the consumption of various produce commodities. The results show that consumers are responding to health messages by increasing consumption of some of the produce commodities but not all of them.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

The Economics of Sharecropping: A Study of Two Tarai Villages of Nepal

The issue of resource allocation under share tenancy system has always been a fruitful source of controversy in economic literature. The Marshallian economists believe that the share tenants apply variable inputs less intensively than the fixed rent tenants or owner operators while the Cheungian economists argue that there would be no difference in input intensity across the tenure systems. This study examines the empirical validity of these two approaches,using evidence from the two tarai villages of Nepal. In particular, this study examines the differences in input and output intensities among three different types of plots of the paddy farmers -- owned (A) and shared (B) plots of mixed share tenants and shared (C) plots of pure share tenants -- for three different cases i.e., A-B, A-C and C-B. Mixed share tenants are farmers who rent in land besides cultivating own land. Pure share tenants are farmers who rent in land with no land of their own.The significance of these differences in input and output intensities were measured by employing two test procedures. An F-test based on Hotelling's T2 statistic was employed to measure the significance of differences in input and output intensities. The second test, which is based on Shaban's methodology, measures the impact of tenancy on input and output intensities by isolating the pure tenancy effect from the total variation in input and output intensities. Shaban's methodology was modified to in corporate two new variables, variety of paddy and plot size, in the model. The findings of the study reveal that the total differences in input and output intensities are partly explained by the differences in plot specific characteristics and partly by tenancy effect. Among the plot specific characteristics, plot size is found to be the most important variable in accounting for the differences in input and output intensities. The results of the study also indicate that the share tenants (plots B and C) apply inputs less intensively than the owner operators (plot A). within sharecropping, the pure share tenants (plot C) use more non-shared inputs compared to the mixed share tenants (plot B). After accounting for the impact of plot size, soil quality and the variety of paddy, the impact of sharecropping is to use lower inputs and produce lower output. The impact of sharecropping is highly significant, especially in the case of non-shared inputs such as compost, bullock power and family labour. These findings support the Marshallian school in the sharecropping controversy. This is consistent with Shaban's conclusion

A SYSTEM-WIDE APPROACH FOR ANALYZING THE EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATES ON FRESH APPLE IMPORT DEMAND

This study examines the impact of changes in exchange rate and import market composition on fresh apple import demand using source differentiated import demand functions. We modify the standard Rotterdam model to incorporate exchange rate effects by revisiting Barten's fundamental matrix equation of consumer demand theory and viewing exchange rate as a "sticky" preference variable. The results show that the preference variable had a significant impact on UK but not on Malaysian and Saudi Arabian import demands.International Relations/Trade,

Profitability and Long-term Survival of Community Banks: Evidence from Texas

This study examines the impact of distance among competing bank locations on market their pricing behavior. A general spatial autoregressive model that nests both spatial autoregressive and spatial error models is used to examine the impact of distance on pricing behavior of 686 non-metro banks in Texas. Results show that non-metro banks exercise market power in pricing their products. An increase in spatial competition may reduce profitability and challenge long term survival of small community based financial institutions.Financial Economics,

Market Power in Non-Metro Banking

Banks in non-metropolitan areas compete in a spatially-differentiated environment. This paper estimates a structural model of the supply and demand of banking services in which pricing power depends on the distance between rival banks. A spatial econometric model finds that approximately 38.0% of economic surplus derives from spatial market power.Financial Economics,

Retail and Wholesale Market Power in Organic Foods

The demand for organic fresh fruits and vegetable continues to grow at a rate far higher than the rest of the produce industry. The cost of meeting organic certification standards, however, has meant that supply has been slow to adjust. With limited supply, we hypothesize that organic suppliers enjoy more market power in bargaining over their share of the retail-production cost margin for fresh apples. We test this hypothesis using a random parameters, generalized extreme value demand model (mixed logit) combined with a structural model of retail and wholesale pricing that allows conduct to vary by product attributes (organic or non-organic) and time. We find that organic growers do indeed earn a larger share of the total margin than non-organic growers, but this vertical market power is eroding over time as market supply adjusts.organics, market power, mixed logit, game theory, non-linear pricing., Industrial Organization, C35, D12, D43, L13, L41, Q13.,

Hysterisis in Food Safety Investments

Concerns regarding the safety and integrity of the fresh produce supply chain are becoming all too common in the media. In 2006, an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 from farms in Central California sickened almost two hundred people and lead to the deaths of three. Estimated costs to the industry ranged from $100 per month to$200 million until spinach sales returned to normal. By some accounts, the spinach industry has yet to recover and may not for years to come. The incident, however, has lead to a host of initiatives from industry officials, legislators and fresh produce retailers to ensure the safety of fresh produce. The necessary technology and best practices knowledge exists, yet some growers have not made the investment required to ensure that such outbreaks do not happen again in the future.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,