The Effects of Agricultural Policy Reform on Poverty in Brazil

Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty,

Global Trade Reforms and Income Distribution in Developing Countries

This paper examines the effects of trade and domestic agricultural policy reforms on the distribution of incomes in six developing countries: Brazil, China, India, Malawi, Mexico and South Africa. The aggregate results from a global trade model are fed into separate national models. The insights available from alternative model types are evaluated. The distributional impacts of reform are found to be complex and to vary between countries. Given that it is typically impossible to reform (or equally not reform) without hurting some households with lower incomes, the conclusion is that it makes sense to help these households with targeted policies.trade reform, liberalisation, agriculture, income distribution, poverty, general equilibrium, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade,

Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Ghana

Distorted incentives, agricultural and trade policy reforms, national agricultural development, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, Q17, Q18,

STRATEGIES FOR SMALLHOLDERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: COMMERCIALISATION, DIVERSIFICATION AND EXIT

This paper proposes a strategic framework for policies to assist smallholders in developing countries. It describes the inevitable features of structural change in the agricultural and rural economy, the associated pressures that these changes place on smallholders, and the consequent need for policies to facilitate rather than impede adjustment. A key premise of the framework is that, for the majority of smallholders, the long term (i.e. inter-generational)future lies outside the sector. Hence, long-term policies need to make a distinction between those who potentially have a competitive future in the sector and those who do not. In either case, many of the necessary policies will not be agriculture-specific, so it is important that agricultural policies are framed in a broader economy-wide framework. In addition, a clear distinction needs to be made between short-term policies to reduce poverty and food insecurity and long-term policies to stimulate development. This is because there are intertemporal trade-offs (as well as complementarities) between policies that are likely to be effective in the short-run, and those promising most impact over the long-term. The paper discusses the role of different agricultural and non-agricultural policies in providing the appropriate policy mix in countries at different stages of development.smallholders, rural development, agricultural policy, structural change, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, O20, Q18, R23,

Effect of Forest Opening Characteristics, Prey Abundance, and Environmental Factors on Bat Activity in the Southern Appalachians

Early successional habitat (ESH) is important for many wildlife species. Over the past century, land use changes have caused ESH to decline in hardwood forests of the eastern United States. The decline of ESH and ESH dependent wildlife has caused concern among land managers and scientists. Bats, which utilize ESH for foraging, are also a conservation concern, however little information is available on how ESH restoration affects bats. My objective was to determine how opening size, presence of edge, prey abundance, vegetation structure, and environmental factors affect bat activity in forest openings. In June-August 2014 and May-August 2015, I placed Anabat SD2 bat detectors at the interior and edge of small (0.2-1.6 ha), medium (2.1-5.6 ha), and large (6.2-18.5 ha) forest openings in the Nantahala National Forest Cheoah Ranger District, Graham County, North Carolina. Call files recorded were filtered using AnalookW and identified to species using Kaleidoscope Pro. Townes-style Malaise insect traps were paired with each bat detector and insects captured were counted and identified to order. iButton temperature loggers were also paired with each bat detector and used to determine mean nightly temperature. Vegetation surveys were conducted to quantify vegetation structure. Difference in insect abundance, bat activity, and bat species richness were tested using mixed effects general linear models. Opening size and presence of edge did not affect total insect abundance, however there was a positive effect of live and dead tree basal area and mean nightly temperature. Overall bat activity was significantly higher at opening edges compared to opening interiors, was positively related to mean nightly temperature, and was negatively related to vegetation structure. Activity of open-adapted species was also negatively related to vegetation structure. These results suggest that opening size and prey abundance do not affect bat activity in the southern Appalachian Mountains, however vegetation structure and environmental factors are important. Open-adapted bats may select foraging patches with less vegetation structure because they can forage more efficiently in these environments, whereas clutter-adapted bats can forage efficiently in both cluttered and open environments. When creating ESH, land managers should maintain an open vegetation structure to benefit open-adapted bat species, focus on creating openings at lower elevations, and configure openings to maximize edge relative to opening area

An analysis and visualization of the output mode-matching requirements for squeezing in Advanced LIGO and future gravitational wave detectors

The sensitivity of ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors will be improved in the future via the injection of frequency-dependent squeezed vacuum. The achievable improvement is ultimately limited by losses of the interferometer electromagnetic field that carries the GW signal. The analysis and reduction of optical loss in the GW signal chain will be critical for optimal squeezed light-enhanced interferometry. In this work we analyze a strategy for reducing output-side losses due to spatial mode mismatch between optical cavities with the use of adaptive optics. Our goal is not to design a detector from the top down, but rather to minimize losses within the current design. Accordingly, we consider actuation on optics already present and one transmissive optic to be added between the signal recycling mirror and the output mode cleaner. The results of our calculation show that adaptive mode-matching with the current Advanced LIGO design is a suitable strategy for loss reduction that provides less than 2% mean output mode-matching loss. The range of actuation required is +47 uD on SR3, +140 mD on OM1 and OM2, +50 mD on the SRM substrate, and -50 mD on the added new transmissive optic. These requirements are within the demonstrated ranges of real actuators in similar or identical configurations to the proposed implementation. We also present a novel technique that graphically illustrates the matching of interferometer modes and allows for a quantitative comparison of different combinations of actuators.Comment: Matches version accepted in PR

MODELLING THE DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL POLICIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE DEVELOPMENT POLICY EVALUATION MODEL (DEVPEM)

The purpose of the Development Policy Evaluation Model (DEVPEM) is to provide an appropriate modelling structure for analysing the welfare and distributional implications of alternative agricultural policies in developing countries. The aim of the model is to provide illustrative results that show how structural diversity among developing countries, and systemic differences from developed OECD countries, can affect the outcomes of alternative policy interventions. The model is relatively stylised, seeking to capture, as simply as possible, four critical aspects of rural economies in developing countries that are important when evaluating the impacts of agricultural and trade policies. These are: (1). The role of the household as both a producer and a consumer of food crops. (2). High transaction costs of participating in markets, resulting in a subsistence sector that often is important in terms of the number of households and the amount of food production it encompasses. (3). Market linkages that can transmit impacts of policy and market shocks among heterogeneous rural producers and consumers, particularly via factor markets (for labour, land or capital, when those markets exist). (4). The imperfect convertibility of land from one use to another.International Relations/Trade,