Is Area-Wide Pest Management Useful? The Case of Citrus Greening.

Citrus greening currently poses a severe threat to citrus production worldwide. No treatment or management strategy is yet available to cure the disease. Scientists recommend controlling the vector of the disease, and area-wide pest management has been proposed as a superior alternative to individual pest management. We analyzed a unique dataset of farm-level citrus yields that allowed us to test this hypothesis. We found that yields of blocks located in an area with higher participation in coordinated sprays were 28%, 73% and 98% percent higher in 2012/13, 2013/14, and 2014/15, respectively, compared to the yields of blocks under the same management but located in an area with lower participation; providing evidence on the efficiency of a well-performing pest management area to deal with HLB. However, participation in CHMAs has not been commensurate with this evidence. We present survey data that provide insights about producers’ preferences and attitudes toward the area-wide pest management program. Despite the economic benefit we found area-wide pest management can provide, the strategic uncertainty involved in relying on neighbors seems to impose too high of a cost for most growers, who end up not coordinating sprays

Competitiveness: From a Dangerous Obsession to a Welfare Creating Ability with Positive Externalities

The attempt to define the term “competitiveness of nations” has reached the phase of decreasing returns. Fortunately, the literature seems to be converging slightly, a tendency, we hope to accelerate. We propose (1) defining competitiveness as “the ability of a country or location to create welfare.” We maintain (2) that a comprehensive evaluation contains an output evaluation and a process evaluation. We claim (3) that the output evaluation (competitiveness achieved) is closely related to a welfare assessment, with a specific slant and stepwise operationalisations. Furthermore, (4) process evaluation (investigating the ability) is related to the analysis of production and technology functions, adding qualitative elements like strategies, and the strengths and weaknesses of a country. This consensus is at variance with the concept of price competitiveness; it sidelines the importance of external balances, while the productivity approach to competitiveness is nested within. Dangerous obsessions and wrong policy conclusions can never be excluded, but are much less likely if we use this approach to competitiveness—as compared to concepts focusing on price competitiveness or on external balances. Specifically, the greater competitiveness of one country must not necessarily go hand in hand with lower competitiveness in other countries. In advanced countries specifically, policies promoting the ability to create welfare will create positive spillovers into other economies. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006competitiveness, welfare evaluation, innovation, Lisbon strategy, F10, F15, F43, O31, O40, O57,