An economic study of small pigholders in Vietnam: some insights gained and the scope for further research

Some relevant background to this research project is provided by outlining selected features of Vietnam’s pig industry. Then the main findings (in the view of the author) from this ACIAR-funded research are presented. These results include (1) natural protection given to Vietnam’s pig producers from imports as a result of the nature of the preferences of Vietnamese consumers: (2) the importance of household labour, especially that provided by females, in the husbandry of pigs held by households; (3) the existence, or otherwise, of scale economies as a function of the number of pigs held by households, (4) the import dependence for pig food of Vietnam’s pig industry and the way in which it varies with the number of pigs kept by households; (5) specialization in pig production, (6) regional differences in the economics of pig production; (7) economic discrimination in the supply of inputs to household producers of pigs and in their sale of pigs; (8) the size of pig-holdings and the use of professional services, such as veterinary services and extension services; and (9) findings about miscellaneous matters, such as the genetic composition of the pig stock. Scope for future research in relation to these aspects is also highlighted, and the need is raised for considering the economics of increasing quality standards and certifying the quality of pork. The economics of increasing the scale of pig producing units is given particular attention

Response of coconuts to fertilizer and advice to Sri Lankan growers. an aggregative approach

Aggregative approach appears to be an useful alternative in modelling fertilizer response under non-experimental conditions. The results obtained using this approach seem to support some of the earlier findings on economically optimal rates of application. Response of palms to fertilizer under non-experimental conditions appear to be encouraging. For moderate rainfall conditions the profit maximising quantitiy of fertilizer appeared to be markedly stable under the market conditions which prevailed during 1956 to 1981. The simple estimation procedure developed here can be extended to measure profitability under different rainfall conditions if held data is available for coconut growing areas giving the nut production from unfertilized coconut lands under different rainfall conditions. Once this information is available definite statements on profit maximising quantity of fertilizer and the profitability aspect of fertilizer use in coconut production can be made in advisory pamphletes

Market-Related Reforms and Increased Energy Efficiency in Transition Countries: Empirical Evidence

Energy efficiency improvement is a desirable response to growing climate change and security of energy supply concerns. This article studies the impacts of a varied set of macro-level market-oriented reforms as well as structural change on economy-wide measure of energy efficiency across a group of the transition countries. These countries experienced a rapid marketization process, which, since the early 1990s, transformed their economies from central planning towards market-driven models. We use a bias-corrected fixed-effect analysis technique to estimate this effect for the period 1990 to 2010. The results suggest that reforms aimed at market liberalization, financial sector and most infrastructure industries drove energy efficiency improvements. We find significant differences in improvements in energy efficiency between transitional Central European and Baltic States, South East Europe ones and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The reasons for these differences are also discussed

Marine Development and Socio-Economic Conflicts (Internal and External) of the Maldives

The Republic of Maldives is an archipelago consisting of 26 coral atolls, situated in the lndian Oecan, south-west of India. Its closest neighbour is India, which lies 595 km from the northern most atoll and the next closest is Sri Lanka, which is 670 km from the capital Male. The twenty-six coral atolls contain about 1,190 very small islands of which only 203 are inhabited. The longest island Gan, in Addu atoll, is about 7.2 km long. Male, the capital, occupies an island about 1.6 km long on the eastern side of Hale atoll. The total land area is only 298 square km, even though the area covered by the Republic is 90,000 square km. Because of this limited land mass and because of its lack of mineral and oil reserves and because of the fact that the agricultural potential is limited due to the alkaline nature of the soil, its poor water retention capacity and its lack of nitrogen, (Butany, 1976), the Maldives has a narrow resource base (Sathiendrakumar and Tisdell, 1985). Its main natural resources consist of fisheries and a marine environment conducive to international tourism. In general, the opportunities for alternative employment in coral based island economies are quite limited (Tisdell and Fairbairn, 1983). Thus the main prospect for economic development of Maldives lies in the possibility of exploiting the economic potential of its marine resources

Structural economic changes in China and Vietnam: Policy issues and consequences for agriculture.

This paper outlines sectoral economic changes that have occurred in China and Vietnam following their market reforms and rapid economic growth. Bothe economies have experienced increased urbanization and a decline in the relative contribution of agriculture to GDP and to employment. There has been considerable movement of labor from agricultural to non-agricultural employment. Such movements are, however, not costless to farm families, particularly if migration is involved. The role of China‟s town-and-village enterprises in facilitating switching from agricultural to non-agricultural employment is discussed. Economic growth has resulted in considerable alterations in the composition of agriculture in China and Vietnam. A prominent trend is the expansion of livestock production relative to crop production. However, domestic livestock supplies have been outpaced by rising demand and in recent years their prices have risen. This has led some policy makers to argue that the heavy dependence of China and Vietnam on small-scale household producers of agricultural products is the main bottleneck. They favor policies to increase production by commercial enterprises. It is argued here that because both the economies of China and Vietnam are still in transition, it is economic to have agricultural products for which there is a high demand supplied by both households and commercial enterprises, even though this dual system is likely to disappear eventually