The new institutional economics

This paper summarizes the potential contributions of the new institutional economics to agricultural policy research, with particular emphasis on developing countries. The paper provides an overview of the new institutional economics and its several branches of thought. It then describes the future challenges facing world agriculture and shows the potential applications of new institutional and transaction costs economics to agricultural policy analysis in this new world environment. The paper concludes by providing specific examples of interest in the area of agricultural market research in developing countries that can be analyzed using the new institutional economics.Institutional economics. ,Agricultural policy Developing countries. ,Research ,

The sequencing of agricultural market reforms in Malawi

The paper analyzes the welfare impacts of alternative sequencing scenarios of agricultural market reforms in Malawi using a profit maximization approach. The simulation results show that, contrary to the sequencing path adopted in the 1980's, Malawi's Government should have liberalized the maize sector first, followed by the groundnut export sector, and once a supply response was generated, input subsidies could have been phased out, without generating a negative impact on producers' welfare and food security.Agricultural economics. ,Food security Malawi. ,

Adjustment of wheat production to market reform in Egypt

In response to slow growth in the agricultural sector and as part of a general shift towards a more market-oriented economy, the Government of Egypt started liberalizing the agricultural sector in 1987. Controls over wheat production and marketing were eliminated and wheat producer prices were brought closer to international levels. As a result, there has been remarkable increases in wheat crop area and yields, causing wheat production to triple from 1986 to 1998. This study analyzes the results of a survey of 800 Egyptian wheat farmers in order to address three issues that are of interest to agricultural reform policy in Egypt. First, what are the patterns in wheat production and marketing that have emerged following the economic reforms? Second, why is the government unable to purchase more than a small portion of national wheat production? Third, how does wheat supply and input demand respond to wheat and input prices? The survey indicates that Egyptian wheat production is based on small-scale farms, yet these farms are highly commercialized and the use of inputs such as labor, fertilizer and irrigation, is intensive. The government has problems reaching its wheat procurement target because most of the wheat produced is consumed in the rural areas and farmers prefer to sell to traders because of better prices and location. Econometric analysis of the survey data suggests that wheat farmers respond significantly to crop and input prices. The estimated own-price supply elasticity is 0.3, implying that the use of price policy alone to pursue wheat self-sufficiency would be costly and ill-advised.Small farmers. ,Wheat Yields Egypt. ,Econometrics. ,Agricultural policy Egypt. ,

Fiscal Decolonization-Indigenous Fiscal Autonomy and Tax Jurisdiction

This thesis focuses on the relationship between Indigenous fiscal autonomy and self-determination. Indigenous nations’ ability to achieve self-determination is dependent upon their ability to autonomously finance self-government. Unfortunately, Canada’s colonial policies have weakened Indigenous economies and rendered them dependent upon the Crown. Due to Indigenous nations’ lack of fiscal autonomy, Crown policies designed to promote Indigenous self-government have proven inadequate. This thesis argues for using the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a blueprint for developing more equitable economic relations. While there are various elements to Crown-Indigenous economic relations, this thesis focuses on the distribution of tax jurisdiction between the federal government and the provinces to the exclusion of Indigenous nations. Taxation is an important factor in wealth creation and distribution that can play an integral role in helping Indigenous nations achieve fiscal autonomy. However, current laws influencing Indigenous taxation rights and exemptions are a continuation of Canada’s colonization project. Therefore, facilitating Indigenous fiscal autonomy requires a reassessment of laws influencing taxation rights and exemptions as they apply to Indigenous nations. This thesis argues for using the principles contained within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a blueprint for developing laws recognizing Indigenous nations inherent right to control tax policy within their jurisdiction. The recognition of Indigenous nations’ inherent right to control tax policy within their jurisdiction can be achieved by (1) exempting from federal and provincial taxation the personal property of members of Indigenous nations, without qualification; and (2) by signing agreements recognizing Indigenous nations’ inherent right to tax corporate profits made on Indigenous lands

U.S. TRADE THREATS: RHETORIC OR WAR?

International Relations/Trade,

Fertilizer market reform and the determinants of fertilizer use in Benin and Malawi

Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced or eliminated fertilizer subsidies and liberalized input marketing as part of the reform process that began in the early 1980s. The effect on fertilizer prices and use is one of the most frequently mentioned criticisms of liberalization. The effect of these reforms, however, has varied widely across countries. The study finds that fertilizer use is closely related to crop mix and access to inputs on credit, but not to household income.. In Benin, 88 percent of the fertilizer purchased by farmers is bought on credit through the integrated cotton marketing system managed by the parastatal SONAPRA. However, almost one third of this fertilizer is diverted to maize and other crops. In Malawi, tobacco is the most important cash crop among smallholders, but less than half the tobacco growers are able to purchase fertilizers on credit. Maize accounts for about 60 percent of the fertilizer use, compared to less than a third for tobacco. This difference in the tradability of the main crop being fertilized helps explain some of the difference in performance. The results demonstrate some of the paths by which cash crop and food crop production may be complementary. This can occur through the residual effect of fertilizer on food crop production, through the alleviation of cash constraints for the purchase of fertilizer, and through the availability of inputs on credit.Thus, the benefits of export liberalization must be weighed against the risk that it will weaken the enforceability of seasonal agricultural credit, with indirect consequences for food crop productivity.Cash crops Developing countries Case studies. ,Fertilizer industry. ,Subsidies. ,

Wheat policy reform in Egypt: adjustment of local markets and options for future reforms

Many developing countries are in transition from a state-dominated to a more market-oriented economy. Because agriculture is of primary importance in most developing countries,the state is usually heavily involved in both input and output markets and in controlling prices and trade. However, concerns that market liberalization will result in higher consumer food prices and hurt the poor means that many countries, such as Egypt, have, at best, undertaken only partial agricultural sector reforms. It has been argued that such concerns are unwarranted and that further market liberalization is not only needed, but achievable without increasing impoverishment. IFPRI Research Report 115 sheds light on these critical issues through an analysis of wheat policy reform in Egypt.Consumers Egypt., Wheat trade Government policy Egypt., Food supply Government policy Egypt., Agricultural policies, Markets Prices., Developing countries. ,

Reforming agricultural markets in Africa

"Since the early 1980s, almost all African governments have embarked on economic reform programs to reduce state intervention in the economy and to allow markets to play a larger role. In the agricultural sector these programs were designed to eliminate price controls on agricultural commodities, disband or privatize state farms and state-owned enterprises, reduce the heavy taxation of agricultural exports, phase out subsidies on fertilizer and other inputs, and allow greater competition in agricultural markets. These measures have been highly controversial. Proponents argue that the reforms have improved market efficiency, reduced budget deficits, stimulated export production, and increased the share of the final price received by farmers. Opponents argue that the reforms have destabilized agricultural prices, widened the income distribution gap, and reduced access to low-cost inputs. Reforming Agricultural Markets in Africa by Mylène Kherallah, Christopher Delgado, Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Nicholas Minot, and Michael Johnson, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press for IFPRI, reviews the experience of the last 20 years. It evaluates the degree to which the reforms have actually been implemented, their impact on agricultural production and prices, and the net effect on the well-being of African households." Author's Introduction.

The road half traveled

During the past two decades, most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa undertook extensive economic reforms to reduce the role of the government and increase the role of the market in their economies. Because of the importance of the agricultural sector in the region, agricultural market reforms occupied a central place in these liberalization efforts. Agricultural reforms included the removal of price controls, deregulation of agricultural marketing, closure of state-owned enterprises that monopolized agricultural trade, and changes in the foreign exchange market to provide greater incentives for exports. The expectation was that improving price incentives for farmers and reducing government intervention in the agricultural sector would be enough to generate a supply response and allow well-functioning markets to emerge quickly. Almost two decades later, the general consensus is that the reform programs in Sub-Saharan Africa have not met expectations. At the beginning of the 21st century, Sub-Saharan Africa confronts a number of daunting problems: extensive hunger, malnutrition, poverty, resource degradation, and the spread of AIDS. Because the majority of the region's population remains dependent on agriculture for its livelihood, well-functioning and efficient agricultural markets continue to be key to improving Sub-Saharan Africa's economic health. This report reviews the extensive evidence on agricultural market reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa and summarizes the impact reforms have had on market performance, agricultural production, use of modern inputs,and poverty. The report offers eight recommmendations for completing the reform process and developing a new agenda for agricultural markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.