AN EXAMINATION OF TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC AND ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY OF SMALL FARMS: THE CASE STUDY OF CASSAVA FARMERS IN OSUN STATE OF NIGERIA

This study examined empirically production effi ciency of cassava farms in Osun state of Nigeria using farm level data. The stochastic frontier production and cost function model was used to predict the farm level technical and economic effi ciencies respectively. The predicted technical effi ciency and economic effi ciency are the basis for estimating allocative effi ciency of the farms. Estimated results however, show that cassava farms in the study area exhibit decreasing positive return-to-scale giving the value of return to scale (RTS) of 0.840 obtained from the analysis, meaning that cassava farmers were effi cient in allocating their resources. Additionally, the analysis reveal that predicted effi ciency measure disaggregated into technical (TE), economic (EE) and allocative effi ciency (AE) with a view of examining not only TE but EE and AE when measuring productivity shows that mean TE, EE and AE of 0.903,0.89 and 0.807 were obtained from the analysis respectively meaning that TE appears to be more signifi cant than AE as a source of gain in EE. The policy implication of these fi ndings point to the fact that cassava farms in the study area were effi cient in allocating their resources considering their scope of operation and the limited resources

Economics of Technology Innovation for Sustainable Growth – With reference to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

Innovation economics is geared towards harnessing the good in human ingenuity to bring about dynamic efficiency that result in changed habit formation of consumer choices in the market, together with high quality / performance of goods and services consumed by economic agents. In as much as the worries or concern that innovation bring, given its characteristics of creatively destroying existing ideas or product existence in the market, it can still be seen as the way forward in accumulating wealth creation, while increasing welfare opportunities for those who are ready to embrace change in a fiercely competitive environment. Figure 1 below provide a simple illustration of how cost-reducing innovation and technological change can be utilised to bring about positive gains in producer and consumer surplus (Riley, Online) which eventually result in lower prices, and the scope for an increase in real income of households or individuals

Economic Globalization, Nutrition and Health: a review of quantitative evidence

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy dietary patterns have in recent decades contributed to an endemic-level burden from non-communicable disease (NCDs) in high-income countries. In low- and middle-income countries rapid changes in diets are also increasingly linked to malnutrition in all its forms as persistent undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies continue to coexist with a rising prevalence of obesity and associated NCDs. Economic globalization and trade liberalization have been identified as potentially important factors driving these trends, but the mechanisms, pathways and actual impact are subject to continued debate. METHODS: We use a ‘rigorous review’ to synthesize evidence from empirical quantitative studies analysing the links between economic globalization processes and nutritional outcomes, with a focus on impact as well as improving the understanding of the main underlying mechanisms and their interactions. FINDINGS: While the literature remains mixed regarding the impacts of overall globalization, trade liberalization or economic globalization on nutritional outcomes, it is possible to identify different patterns of association and impact across specific sub-components of globalization processes. Although results depend on the context and methods of analysis, foreign direct investment (FDI) appears to be more clearly associated with increases in overnutrition and NCD prevalence than to changes in undernutrition. Existing evidence does not clearly show associations between trade liberalization and NCD prevalence, but there is some evidence of a broad association with improved dietary quality and reductions in undernutrition. Socio-cultural aspects of globalization appear to play an important yet under-studied role, with potential associations with increased prevalence of overweight and obesity. The limited evidence available also suggests that the association between trade liberalization or globalization and nutritional outcomes might differ substantially across population sub-groups. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers do not necessarily face a trade-off when considering the implications of trade or economic liberalization for malnutrition in all its forms. On the contrary, a combination of nutrition-sensitive trade policy and adequate regulation of FDI could help reduce all forms of malnutrition. In the context of trade negotiations and agreements it is fundamental, therefore, to protect the policy space for governments to adopt nutrition-sensitive interventions

Food Assistance and child food security

The data is publically available extrated from the Household pulse survey conducted by the U.S Census,THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

An investigation of factors that influence the technical efficiency of soybean production in the Guinea savannas of Nigeria

The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of technical efficiency (TE) of soybean production in the Guinea savannas. A stochastic frontier production function, using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique was applied in the analysis of data collected in 2006 from a sample of 182 soybean farmers in the guinea savannas of Borno State, Nigeria. The MLE results revealed that farm size, seeds, family labour, hired labour and fertilizer were the major factors that were associated with change in the output of soybeans and were significant (p = 0.05). About 78% variations in the farmers output can be attributed to differences in their technical efficiency. The mean farmers TE index was found to be 0.79. The implication is that soybean production could be increased by approximately 21% through the improved use of available resources, given the current state of technology. Farmer-specific efficiency factors, which comprise age, gender and use of animal traction and market accessibility, were the significant factors that account for the observed variation in efficiency among the farmers. The policy implication of this finding is that providing farmers with effective market linkage, access to education, especially extension education and credit facilities to purchase animal traction will strengthen their present level of TE and the productivity potential of the soybean farmers in the study area

COVID-19 Vaccination and economic outcomes

We employed the Household Pulse Survey covering 549, 950 and 57, 892 vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, respectively. For the causal analysis, we control the differences between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups using propensity score matching (PSM) and weighing methods. Economic outcomes include whether individuals work on-site, telework or work from home, in-store shopping, job loss, and food sufficient. We also consider whether individuals experience mental health distress and receive mental health services as a potential outcome.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Estimating confidence intervals for technical efficiency of rainfed rice farming system in Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the technical efficiency (TE) of the rainfed rice farming system in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – Special attention is directed to the construction of confidence interval (CI) for individual efficiency estimates using stochastic frontier production model. Findings – The results show that the coefficient of the regression monotonically and significantly increased output level, while returns-to-scale (RTS) of 0.943 suggest decreasing RTS in the study. An average point estimate of TE of 0.669 is obtained from the analysis. CI show that the TE intervals are quite wide, as the assumption that farms originally identified to be on the frontier, or very close to the frontier, by the point estimate may be below the frontier. Age and years of schooling of the farmers are efficiency-increasing policy variables found in the study. Originality/value – Contrary to the previous efficiency studies, the present study demonstrates that economic inferences drawn on the basis of CI seem plausible to provide much more fruitful and insightful information about the TE of farms in the country, rather than the point estimation alone.Agriculture, Labour efficiency, Nigeria, Resource efficiency, Rice