Sources of the rural-urban productivity disparities and the policy implications on rural development in Korea

This paper investigates the effect of trade cost changes on the spatial productivity distribution in Korea. Data on gross value added and primary factors for 163 spatial units during 2000-2005 are assembled to estimate local TFP using a value-added function. In our application, we control for agglomeration economies so as to identify factors shifting the regional raw-productivity distribution over time. The TFP estimation results show that the Korean regional economy exhibits constant returns to scale, along with significant localization economies. We find that and trade costs reduction and infrastructure improvement significantly shift to the right all percentile values of the regional productivity distribution, while amenity does not affect the movement of the distribution. An important policy implication of this study is that a country pursuing foreign market opportunities to boost economic growth and to raise incomes, like Korea, should also consider the consequent spatial realignment of resources. Also, productivity enhancements along with transfers to alleviate adjustments to trade-cost changes cannot be space blind.agglomeration economies, spatial productivity distribution, trade cost, Community/Rural/Urban Development, F1, R3,

Adjustment Capacity of Korean Farm Household

Structural adjustment is defined as the farm household’s behavior of changing its existing farm asset distribution toward more specialized or diversified directions. Farm households are classified into agricultural or non-agricultural based ones. Estimated expected income through switching regression model reveals that higher revenue is expected when adjustment paths toward more specialization and more non-agricultural based activities are chosen.trade policy reform, structural adjustment, expected income, switching regression model, farm household, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q100, Q180,

The Dynamics of Agricultural Productivity and Industrial Transformation in Transition Countries

Relying on the frontier production approach, we investigated the performance of the agricultural sector in 28 transition countries and its changes over time, especially focusing on the dynamics of productivity changes and the effects of reform policy. Our findings are: (i) Asian and CEE transition countries performed better than CIS countries, while the performance improvement of CEE countries seems to be more prominent compared to that of Asian and CIS countries; (ii) The productivity growth is mainly attributable to the technical progress, particularly in CEE countries; (iii) Reform policy and industrial transformation seems to have positive effects on the performance of agricultural sector and its changes; (iv) The initial conditions do matter.transition countries, efficiency, productivity, directional distance function, agricultural reform, initial condition, industrial transformation, Productivity Analysis,

Productivity Before and After Exports: The Case of Korean Food Processing Firms

In this article, we analyze the export decision of Korean manufacturing firms with emphasis on those in the food processing sector. A dynamic discrete choice model based on sunk (entry or exit) costs is specified for export behavior. Data for 1996-2002 on 1022 Korean firms, of which 95 are in the food processing sector, are assembled. A nonparametric measure of firm productivity is derived for use in the export-behavior (probit) model. Results show the significant effects of sunk costs on the export decision of Korean firms. A firm-size effect on export behavior is identified for food processing firms, unlike in the case of their manufacturing counterparts. We also find a firm-size effect on productivity in all manufacturing firms.Agribusiness,

Agricultural Policy Reform and Structural Adjustment: Historical Evidence from Korean Experience

Korean agriculture has been facing several structural problems resulting from rapid structural changes since 1960's, some of which are preventing a smooth policy reform in accordance with the WTO regime. Political burden from rice monoculture, policy ineffectiveness from too large farm employment, and inflexibility in policy options from high dependency of farm household income on farm income are pointed out and discussed in detail.direct payment, market price support(MPS), producer support estimate(PSE), rice monoculture, two-tier price scheme, Agricultural and Food Policy,

The Degree of Decoupling of Direct Payments for Korea's Rice Industry

Agricultural and Food Policy,

The Dynamics of Productivity Changes in Agricultural Sector of Transition Countries

Relying on frontier production approach (e.g., Luenberger's shortage function), we investigated the performance of agricultural sector in transition countries and its changes over time, especially focusing on the dynamics of productivity changes. We found that; (i) CEE countries have improved their performance during the sample period whereas CIS have not; (ii) productivity changes in the last decade was attributable to the technical progress; (iii) overall performance was decelerated for the second 5-year sub-period (1997-2001) in both regions; (iv) agricultural reform has positive effects on the productivity and its components especially in CEE countries.transition countries, productivity, directional distance function, agricultural reform, Productivity Analysis,

Major policies to enhance the competitive strength of Korean higher education

노트 : Workshop on Agricultural Policy Reform and Adjustment Imperial College, Wye October 23-25, 200

Agricultural policy reform and structural adjustment

노트 : Workshop on Agricultural Policy Reform and Adjustment Imperial College, Wye October 23-25, 200

Blockade of cannabinoid 1 receptor improves glucose responsiveness in pancreatic beta cells

Cannabinoid 1 receptors (CB1Rs) are expressed in peripheral tissues, including islets of Langerhans, where their function(s) is under scrutiny. Using mouse beta-cell lines, human islets and CB1R-null (CB1R(-/-)) mice, we have now investigated the role of CB1Rs in modulating beta-cell function and glucose responsiveness. Synthetic CB1R agonists diminished GLP-1-mediated cAMP accumulation and insulin secretion as well as glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in mouse beta-cell lines and human islets. In addition, silencing CB1R in mouse cells resulted in an increased expression of pro-insulin, glucokinase (GCK) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), but this increase was lost in cells lacking insulin receptor. Furthermore, CB1R(-/-) mice had increased pro-insulin, GCK and GLUT2 expression in cells. Our results suggest that CB1R signalling in pancreatic islets may be harnessed to improve beta-cell glucose responsiveness and preserve their function. Thus, our findings further support that blocking peripheral CB1Rs would be beneficial to beta-cell function in type 2 diabetes