Valuation of environmental impacts of the Rural Development Program - A hedonic model with application of GIS

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Valuation of environmental impacts of the Rural Development Program - A hedonic model with application of GIS

The payments within the Rural Development Programme 2007- 2013 seek to improve the environment and contribute to rural development and economic growth. These policy measures may therefore have visual effects on the rural landscape. To achieve a measure of willingness to pay for these effects, a hedonic pricing approach is applied. The prices for staying at holdings in the “Staying on farms” registry are used to quantify the valuation of these visual effects. The results of this study indicate that there is a relationship between the price of rental objects and spatial variables constructed in GIS. Riparian strips and animals at the farm are positively valued. Cultivated land, grazing and meadow lands close to the settings are negatively valued. Hence, this study indicate that there is a positive willingness to pay for payments addressing user values in a diversified landscape and a negative willingness to pay for actions leading to a more monotonous landscape, such as payments to extensive grazing systems.Hedonic Valuation, Rural landscape, Rural Development Program, GIS, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Q150, Q180, Q510,

Valuing Animal Welfare with Choice Experiments: An Application to Swedish Pig Production

In this paper, the demand for animal welfare attributes when buying pork fillet is investigated among Swedish respondents. More specifically, the coefficients of an indirect utility function and willingness to pay for animal welfare attributes are estimated. The utility function is estimated using a multinomial logit and a random parameter logit model. A realistic scenario when modeling consumer choices is to allow for heterogeneity in preferences. The random parameter logit model departs from the well known IIA property and allows for a more flexible taste distribution across individuals. The need for assuming randomness of some parameters are evaluated by using a specification testing procedure with artificial variables developed by McFadden and Train (2000). From this study it can be concluded that the preferences for some of the animal welfare attributes are heterogenous across the respondents. There exists both negative and positive wtp for animal welfare attributes. Further, the study reports on the distribution of individual wtp.pig production, consumer valuation, animal welfare, multinomial logit model, random parameter logit model, Livestock Production/Industries,

A farmer-controlled business from a farmer perspective

The ownership of food processing firms affects farmers supplying those firms with agricultural products. This study examined the effects of supplying either a farmer-controlled business (FCB) or competing investor-owned firms (IOFs). An FCB is owned and controlled partly by farmers and partly by external investors. Analysis of data obtained from a survey of pig producers in Sweden indicated that partial ownership by farmers resulted in them perceiving the FCB as having some co-operative traits. The FCB suppliers were less inclined to exit, used their voice more, and showed greater loyalty than the IOF suppliers. In the long term, however, the farmers' relatively positive view of FCBs might change because this organizational form contains inherent conflicts between the interests of the farmers and the external investors. As competition intensity increases and primary agriculture becomes increasingly concentrated, the co-operative features of an FCB are due to become vaguer over time. These problems may threaten the long-term existence of FCBs

Anthropogenic Geology and the Role of Public Sector Organisations

Anthropogenic geology (AG) is the study of geological materials and morphologies created, reshaped, or otherwise modified by humans and human activity. Geologists and geological surveys need to include anthropogenically created geology into their science discipline to sustainably resource classify human-made deposits driven by socioeconomic models rather than natural forces. Concepts coupled to anthropogenic geology like circular economy, geosystem services, secondary resources, etc., are important features for the implementation of AG into sustainable economics and resource handling. Thus, it is important for geological surveys and other public agents to gain deep knowledge into these concepts and how the public agents can support sustainable use of anthropogenic geological features

Horses in leisure events: a posthumanist exploration of commercial and cultural values

Artículo de investigaciónHorses currently play a leading role in many leisure events worldwide. However, their involvement in leisure activities raises various ethical questions. Based on a posthumanist approach, this study sought to explore the use and treatment of horses in a leisure event in Mexico. A participant observation method was adopted to conduct the research, revealing that horses become quite instrumental and commodified for humans, fulfilling intersecting entertainment, economic and cultural purposes. These results thus provide evidence of the prevailing anthropocentric and speciesist nature of horse-human interactions in leisure events. The findings include that, when horse-human relations become highly commercialised and are institutionally recognised as cultural heritage, a complete embracement of posthumanism is needed to dissolve basic horse-human dichotomies, but this remains a utopian ideal in tourism and leisure practices

Consumer valuation studies and structural modelling of the pig industry

In this thesis, animal welfare in the pig industry is investigated from an economic perspective. More specifically, the impact of the "Swedish model" on consumers and producer is examined. The "Swedish model" refers to the animal welfare promoting legislations and voluntary certification schemes that was adopted in Swedish pig production from the 1980's and onwards. The willingness to pay for animal welfare attributes among consumers is investigated in two studies. The attributes analyzed are all related to the "Swedish model" or are practiced experimentally. The consumer's willingness to pay for animal welfare attributes is mostly positive, with a particularly high value for mobile abattoirs and air-partition (fewer pigs per stable section). There is a negative willingness to pay for elimination of castration. Moreover, the heterogeneity of consumer preferences for animal welfare is investigated. Preferences are found to be heterogeneous and the results suggest that consumers' preferences could be divided into different segments. The division into segments is likely to depend on consumers' preferences for animal welfare and food safety issues. Moreover, the economic implications of the "Swedish model" are investigated in a structural equation model. It is found that the Animal Welfare Act of 1988, the ban of using growth promoters and the space requirements for sows in nursery have affected supply of pigs negatively. If these animal welfare regulations had not been adopted the total production would have increased moderately and the retail price of pork would be lower. Hence, the animal welfare regulations of the "Swedish model" have implied increased costs to the pork sector with higher prices and lower production levels

Valuing Animal Welfare with Choice Experiments: An Application to Swedish Pig Production

In this paper, the demand for animal welfare attributes when buying pork fillet is investigated among Swedish respondents. More specifically, the coefficients of an indirect utility function and willingness to pay for animal welfare attributes are estimated. The utility function is estimated using a multinomial logit and a random parameter logit model. A realistic scenario when modeling consumer choices is to allow for heterogeneity in preferences. The random parameter logit model departs from the well known IIA property and allows for a more flexible taste distribution across individuals. The need for assuming randomness of some parameters are evaluated by using a specification testing procedure with artificial variables developed by McFadden and Train (2000). From this study it can be concluded that the preferences for some of the animal welfare attributes are heterogenous across the respondents. There exists both negative and positive wtp for animal welfare attributes. Further, the study reports on the distribution of individual wtp