A Relatively Easy-Access Description of the Logistics, Purposes and Function of the Sector Model KRAM

This working paper describes the design of KRAM; a model of the Danish agricultural sector that has been developed in a research project at KVL between 1997 and 2000. The purpose of this paper is to give a general and non-technical overview of the model. The paper is directed at people who want a more detailed knowledge of the model, but without addressing the underlying formulas and programs. The paper focuses on the logistics of the model. This includes how data are produced and utilized within the model and how the various submodels are designed and work together. Furthermore the calibration and solving procedures and the time aspects of the models are described. Some of these descriptions may appear somewhat interim due to the fact that the model itself was not fully operational when this paper was published.Agribusiness,

Testing over-representation of observations in subsets of a DEA technology

This paper proposes a test for whether data are over-represented in a given production zone, i.e. a subset of a production possibility set which has been estimated using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. A binomial test is used that relates the number of observations inside such a zone to a discrete probability weighted relative volume of that zone. A Monte Carlo simulation illustrates the performance of the proposed test statistic and suggests good estimation of both facet probabilities and the assumed common inefficiency distribution in a three dimensional input space.Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); Over-representation; Data density; Binomial test; Convex hull

Railway reforms: Do they influence operating efficiency?

This paper considers railway operations in 23 European countries during 1995-2001, where a series of reform initiatives were launched by the European Commission, and analyses whether these reform initiatives improved the operating efficiency of the railways. Efficiency is measured using Multi-directional Efficiency Analysis, which enables investigation of how railway reforms affect the inefficiencies of specific cost drivers. The main findings are that the reform initiatives generally improve operating efficiency but potentially differently for different cost drivers. Specifically, the paper provides clear empirical evidence that accounting separation is important for improving operating efficiency for both material and staff costs, whereas other reforms only influenced one of these factors.European railways; reforms; operating efficiency; Multi-directional Efficiency Analysis (MEA)

Women's participation on the boards of farmer-owned cooperatives

Initiatives and specific measures aimed at increasing the presence of women on corporate boards have become widespread. However, not much academic attention has been paid to this subject up till now, when it comes to farmer-owned cooperatives. The article shows that farmer-owned cooperatives do have special problems when it comes to women on boards. The farmer-owned cooperatives in Denmark have been chosen as cases in this article, as they are quite big, exposed to international competition and have substantial market power. Based on annual reports from 25 farmer-owned cooperatives and two of their investor-owned subsidiaries in the years 2005–2022, inputs from present and former board members of farmer-owned cooperatives, CSR-reports etc. a number of conclusions are drawn. Cooperatives have particular challenges with regard to gender diversity on boards due to their specific structure and requirements—compared to investor-owned companies. Different types of barriers that limit women's representation on boards can be identified: (1) Institutional barriers in terms of statutes and cooperative principles. (2) Structural barriers in the form of a narrow or skewed recruitment base. (3) Historical and cultural barriers, where agriculture is typically a male-dominated business. Women's representation on boards of farmer-owned cooperatives is relatively low but increasing. From 2005 to 2021 the weighted average share of female board members has increased from about 1–20%. Gender diversity in farmer-owned cooperatives is consistently less than in listed companies. The increasing representativeness of women is primarily due to the presence of more female external members. Since 2013 the proportion of women has increased, and in 2021 there were more female than male external board members. Female board members are more common in the large farmer-owned cooperatives than in the small. A positive correlation between the size of the companies and the representation of women is identified. This is supported by large cooperatives' greater focus in annual reports and CSR strategies on women's representativeness. Based on the cooperatives' diversity policy, their explicit and specific goals for women's representativeness on boards, interviews with board members etc. a clear awareness of the challenge of gender diversity on the boards is identified