STATE TRADING IN AGRICULTURE: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

This paper highlights some of the recent concerns regarding agricultural state trading enterprises (STEs) and proposes an analytical framework to examine the trade impacts of such entities. Issues associated with discriminatory pricing, exclusive rights to sell and purchase commodities, and unfair competitive advantage vis-a-vis private traders are expected to be major concerns on the export side, while on the import side, the relevance of tariffication in the presence of STEs is being questioned. Our paper proposes that, in most instances, tariff equivalents are the most relevant methodology to quantify the trade impacts of agricultural STEs. But, obtaining empirical information that would enable the calculation of such measures is not an easy task. To that end, a classification scheme that highlights the different types of STEs in terms of their ability to distort trade is proposed. Quantification can then focus on those most likely to impact trade.International Relations/Trade,

THE CURRENT WTO AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS: OPTIONS FOR PROGRESS; SYNTHESIS

World Trade Organization, International Relations/Trade,

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE SINCE 1986

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Bringing Agriculture into the GATT: Assessing the Benefits of Trade Liberalization

International Relations/Trade,

Morphology of Atmospheric Particles over Semi-Arid Region (Jaipur, Rajasthan) of India: Implications for Optical Properties

The regional dust morphology and spectral refractive indices (RIs; governed by hematite, Fe2O3 content at short wavelengths) are key elements for ascertaining direct radiative forcing of mineral dust aerosols. To provide morphological features of background mineral dust from a semi-arid zone in the vicinity of the Thar Desert, we carried out an expedition to the Jaipur city during late winter of 2012. Morphological analysis reveals the predominance of "Layered", "Angular" and "Flattened" particles, while the frequency distribution of a total of 235 dust particles shows the aspect ratio, AR and circularity parameter, CIR (measures of particle's non-sphericity) typically similar to 1.4 and similar to 0.8, respectively. Sensitivity analysis at 550 nm wavelength reveals the equivalent sphere model may underestimate Single Scattering Albedo, SSA for the dust with low (similar to 1.1%) hematite by similar to 3.5%. Both underestimation (by similar to 5.6%) and overestimation (up to 9.1%) are probable in case of dust with high hematite content (similar to 5.68%). In addition, the effect of AR on the dust scattering is significant in case of dust with high hematite content. More such regionally representative dust morphological data are required for better estimation of regional radiative forcing of mineral dust aerosols

Taking stock of 10 years of published research on the ASHA programme: Examining India’s national community health worker programme from a health systems perspective

Background: As India’s accredited social health activist (ASHA) community health worker (CHW) programme enters its second decade, we take stock of the research undertaken and whether it examines the health systems interfaces required to sustain the programme at scale. Methods: We systematically searched three databases for articles on ASHAs published between 2005 and 2016. Articles that met the inclusion criteria underwent analysis using an inductive CHW–health systems interface framework. Results: A total of 122 academic articles were identified (56 quantitative, 29 mixed methods, 28 qualitative, and 9 commentary or synthesis); 44 articles reported on special interventions and 78 on the routine ASHA program. Findings on special interventions were overwhelmingly positive, with few negative or mixed results. In contrast, 55% of articles on the routine ASHA programme showed mixed findings and 23% negative, with few indicating overall positive findings, reflecting broader system constraints. Over half the articles had a health system perspective, including almost all those on general ASHA work, but only a third of those with a health condition focus. The most extensively researched health systems topics were ASHA performance, training and capacity-building, with very little research done on programme financing and reporting, ASHA grievance redressal or peer communication. Research tended to be descriptive, with fewer influence, explanatory or exploratory articles, and no predictive or emancipatory studies. Indian institutions and authors led and partnered on most of the research, wrote all the critical commentaries, and published more studies with negative results. Conclusion: Published work on ASHAs highlights a range of small-scale innovations, but also showcases the challenges faced by a programme at massive scale, situated in the broader health system. As the programme continues to evolve, critical comparative research that constructively feeds back into programme reforms is needed, particularly related to governance, intersectoral linkages, ASHA solidarity, and community capacity to provide support and oversight

A Simple Measure for Agricultural Trade Distortion

A simple measure is proposed that estimates the volume of trade distortion caused by the agricultural policies of trading countries. The index, called a TDS (Trade Distorted by support), would be useful for trade analysts to compare the trade impact of agricultural support policies across countries and commodities. The TDS index can be calculated largely from existing information on agricultural support. A TDS index might also be used to assess damages in trade dispute settlement cases

ECONOMIC WELFARE ANALYSIS: AN APPLICATION TO THE SWOPSIM MODELING FRAMEWORK

This report presents an overview of 'welfare economics relevant to international trade issues. It describes and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of various welfare measures commonly used in empirical trade research and concludes that the Marshallian welfare measures of consumer and producer surplus are best suited for use in the SWOPSIM modeling framework. The report then describes the procedure for creating and modifying specific spreadsheets for welfare analysis. This SWOPSIM welfare calculation framework can deal with a variety of theoretical issues in welfare analysis. These issues include the path dependency problem, producer and consumer subsidy equivalents in a multigood setting, the distinction between intermediate and final goods, joint products, and mandatory supply controls. The framework is useful for evaluating and measuring potential gains from trade, especially in the context of trade liberalization negotiations