Looking at the LEADER Programme from the Angle of Political Accountability: Evidence from Poland

The ‘LEADER community initiatives’ and the ‘LEADER approach’ have been commonly accepted as an innovative way for development of rural areas in the EU. It is widely assumed that promoting growth in rural areas can be achieved through partnerships between representatives of three classes of local actors: civil society, public administration and private/economic sector. While these partnerships certainly have the potential to improve coordination mechanisms that manage local resources, their existence is likely to have an impact on the distribution of political advantages and future economic rents of current incumbents. What follows, it is reasonable to assume that local political elites may either block or impede the adoption of this institutional innovation. This paper investigates these issues using the Pilot Programme LEADER+ experiences in Poland. The focus is on institutional aspects that are thought to affect the electoral process. Consistent with a large body of political economy literature, our results suggest that LEADER-type partnerships are more likely to occur in an environment where holding politicians to account is easier.political accountability, local government, rural development, Leader, Community/Rural/Urban Development, D72, D78, H77, O18,

Ład i nieład przestrzenny w metodyce zrównoważonego rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego (na przykładzie województwa kujawsko-pomorskiego)

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie metodyki i oceny ładu i nieładu przestrzennego w zrównoważonym rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczym oraz planowaniu i zagospodarowaniu przestrzennym. Problematyka kształtowania przestrzeni wynika z wielu czynników zarówno zewnętrznych (polityki państwa i władz samorządowych), jak i wewnętrznych, w tym zwłaszcza przyrodniczo-ekologicznych, architektoniczno-urbanistycznych, historyczno-kulturowych i społeczno-ekonomicznych. W artykule przedstawiono propozycję metodyki wyznaczania obszarów ładu i nieładu przestrzennego na podstawie 13 cech diagnostycznych obejmujących ww. czynniki dla 144 gmin województwa kujawsko-pomorskiego (w latach 2010–2015). Zastosowanie powyższej metodyki pozwoliło też na wyróżnienie jednostek administracyjnych oraz większych obszarów (kilku gmin) o wyjątkowych walorach i predyspozycjach dla kształtowania zintegrowanego ładu przestrzennego, dalszych planów rewitalizacji oraz audytu krajobrazu

Access to Credit, Factor Allocation and Farm Productivity: Evidence From the CEE Transition Economies

This paper analyses how farm access to credit affects farm input allocation and farm efficiency in the CEE countries. Drawing on a unique farm level panel data with 37,409 observations and employing a matching estimator we are able to control for the key source of endogeneity – unoberserved heterogeneity. We find that farms are credit constrained both in the short-run as well as in the long-run, but that credit constraint is asymmetric between inputs. Our estimates suggest that farm access to credit increases TFP up to 1.9% per 1000 EUR of additional credit. The use of variable inputs and capital investment increases up to 2.3% and 29%, respectively, per 1000 EUR of additional credit. Due to credit-financed investment in labour-saving farm equipment, labour use reduces for low level of credit Farms are found not to be credit constrained with respect to land.Access to credit, investment, factor allocation, productivity, transition countries, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Q12, P14,

Returns from Income Strategies in Rural Poland

In order to stabilize and improve their income situation, rural households are strongly encouraged to diversify their activities both in and outside the agricultural sector. Most often, however, this phenomenon takes on only moderate proportions. This paper addresses issues of rural households’ income diversification in the case of Poland. It investigates returns from rural households’ income strategies using propensity score matching methods and extensive datasets spanning 1998-2008. Results suggest that returns from combining farm and off-farm activities were lower than returns from specialization, namely, concentrating on farming or on off-farm activities. Generally, farming seems to be the most attractive option for rural households and income difference between farmers and those who combine farming and off-farm activities increased after Poland joined the EU.Income diversification, rural areas, propensity score matching, Poland, Community/Rural/Urban Development, D31, O15, Q12,

Democracy and Agricultural Protection: Parametric and Semi-parametric Matching Estimates

We estimate the effect of democratic transitions on agricultural protection in a sample of 74 developing and developed countries, observed in the 1955-2005 period. We employ both differences-in-differences regressions and semi-parametric matching methods, exploiting the time series and cross-sectional variation in the data. Our semi-parametric matching estimates show that parametric methods might underestimate the true effect of democracy on agricultural protection. We find a strong increase in agricultural protection (reduce in taxation) after a country transition to democracy. Specifically a democratic transition increases agricultural protection by about 9 percent points. However, the effect is asymmetric as the effect of leaving democracy on protection is close to zero. The evidence supports the redistributive nature of democratic institutions toward the majority and, therefore, it is not inconsistent with the median voter model of political behaviour.Democratic Reforms, Agricultural Distortions, Comparative Political Economics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Political Economy, D72, F13, O13, P16, Q18,

Dairy supply chain restructuring and its impact on farmers' revenues in Poland

Supply chain restructuring and its impact on farmers’ situation have become the subject of vast interest among agricultural economists. However, there have been relatively few studies trying to quantitatively asses this issue. This paper analyses the impact of supply chain modernisation on dairy farmers in Poland. It is shown that joining the modern marketing channel positively affects farmers’ revenues. The decision to enter the modern channel is crucially dependent on access to funds and facilitated by having larger cow herds.Supply chain, restructuring, dairy sector, Poland, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

Fruit and vegetables producer organisations – some insights on their functioning based on data from Poland

The literature on producer organisations in the agro-food sector mainly focuses on factors facilitating their establishment. Much less attention instead, is paid to investigate the way in which these organisations function. This concerns in particular their market behaviour. For example, we have only limited knowledge about marketing channels used by these organisations and about the range of products they offer. This report attempts to address these weaknesses and improve our understanding in both these respects. To do so, the report explores market behaviour of fruit and vegetables producer organisations. The specific example that the report presents comes from Poland, a country which is among the biggest producers of fruit and vegetables in the European Union.JRC.D.4-Economics of Agricultur

Data driving the top quark forward--backward asymmetry with a lepton-based handle

We propose that, within the standard model, the correlation between the $t\bar{t}$ forward--backward asymmetry $A_{t\bar t}$ and the corresponding lepton-based asymmetry $A_l$ -- at the differential level -- is strong and rather clean both theoretically and experimentally. Hence a combined measurement of the two distributions as a function of the lepton $p_T$, a direct and experimentally clean observable, would lead to a potentially unbiased and normalization-free test of the standard model prediction. To check the robustness of our proposal we study how the correlation is affected by mis-measurement of the $t\bar t$ system transverse momenta, acceptance cuts, scale dependence and compare the results of MCFM, POWHEG (with & without PYTHIA showering), and SHERPA's CSSHOWER in first-emission mode. We find that the shape of the relative differential distribution $A_{l} (p^{l}_{T}) [A_{t\bar{t}} (p^l_T)]$ is only moderately distorted hence supporting the usefulness of our proposal. Beyond the first emission, we find that the correlation is not accurately captured by lowest-order treatment. We also briefly consider other differential variables such as the system transverse mass and the canonical $t\bar t$ invariant mass. Finally, we study new physics scenarios where the correlation is significantly distorted and therefore can be more readily constrained or discovered using our method.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure

Koncepcja typologii i regionalizacji turystyczno-rekreacyjnej w ujęciu krajowym (Polska) i globalnym (świat

The article presents the concept of typology and regionalization of tourism and recreation in the context of Poland and the World. The tourism and recreation types were identified based on specific criteria, related mainly to geographical environment, cultural resources, development of tourist and recreation, as well as tourist traffic and income. Having indicated dominance or co-dominance of individual types, Poland was divided into 8 regions and 60 sub-regions pertaining to tourism and recreation. As far as regionalization of the world is concerned, particular attention was drawn to the natural and cultural values, tourist-recreational development and current geopolitical division. The presented model distinguishes 6 mega-regions (continents), 31 macro-regions and 196 mesoregions.W artykule przedstawiono koncepcję typologii i regionalizacji turystyczno-rekreacyjnej dla Polski i świata. Podstawą wyróżnienia odpowiednich typów turystyczno-rekreacyjnych są przyjęte kryteria klasyfikacji, oparte głównie na środowisku geograficznym, zasobach kulturowych, zagospodarowaniu turystyczno-rekreacyjnym, ruchu turystyc-znym oraz dochodach z turystyki. Na podstawie dominacji lub współdominacji odpowiednich typów dokonano podziału Polski na 8 regionów i 60 podregionów turystyczno-rekreacyjnych. Z kolei w regionalizacji świata obok dominujących typów turystyki i rekreacji uwzględniono walory przyrodniczo-kulturowe, zagospodarowanie turystyczno-rekreacyjne oraz aktualny podział geopolityczny. W przedstawionej koncepcji wyróżniono 6 megaregionów (odpowiadających poszc-zególnym kontynentom), 31 makroregionów i 196 mezoregionów