The Economics of Production in Chinsse Rubber Smallholdings in Peninsular Malaysia

In this study standard production function techniques are used to analyse the economics of production in Chinese rubber smallholdings in Peninsular Malaysia. The data used were taken from two surveys, the 1963/64 RRI Survey and the 1978 Survey conducted by the author in the state of Selangor. Considering the importance of the rubber smallholding sector in the Malaysian economy, it is surprising that there has been only one production function study on rubber smallholdings in Malaysia thus far. The probable reason for dearth of research in this area is the difficulty in handling the perennial nature of the rubber tree. A variable must be specified to capture the capital service flow accruing from the live capital tree-stock. In this thesis, "expected yields" estimated from yield profiles of various clonal material are used as proxies for the capital service flows. The yield profiles were drawn from published yield records of various selected commercial estates. Estates are more advanced technologically in rubber production than smallholdings. Thus the "expected yields" estimated will be higher than the real capital service flows

Sharecropping in perfectly competitive markets: a contradiction in terms

The plan of this lecture is as follows. In section 2,the sharecropping model is outlines. In sections 3 and 4, the Marshallian and Cheungian positions are described. A reconciliation of the opposing viewpoints is given in Sections 5. Empirical evidence is provided in Section 6. In section 7, some unconventional approaches to solve the sharecropping problem are cited. The last Section has the concluding remarks

Transactional framework of sharecropping: empirical evidence

Chew [Chew, Tek-Ann, 1991. Share contracts in Malaysian rubber smallholdings. Land Econ., 67: 85–98; Chew, Tek-Ann, 1993. The Transactional framework of sharecropping: further implications. Can. J. Agric. Econ., 41: 209–221.] proposed a transactional framework of sharecropping that accommodates both the Marshallian and the Cheungian equilibria. An important conclusion arising thereof is the hypothesis that Cheung's sharecropping equilibrium is the rarity while the Marshallian equilibrium is the norm. In this paper, we collated some recent evidences to verify this hypothesis. The evidences support the Marshallian equilibrium, thereby providing indirect support for the transactional framework of sharecropping

An econometric analysis of cocoa prices: a structural approach

The world market model for cocoa was developed to examine the factors affecting cocoa prices. The models were used to analyse the interrelationship between the economic variables of supply, demand, price and stocks. The findings indicate that the important determinants of cocoa prices are the stock levels and consumption

Keseimbangan Marshallian atau Cheungian dalam sewakongsi: kajian empirik di Nepal

The issue of resource allocation under share tenancy system has always been a rich source of controversy in the economic literature. The Marshallians believe that the share tenants apply variable inputs less intensively than the fixed rent tenants or owner-operators, while the Cheungians argue that there would be no difference in input intensity across different tenure systems. This study examines the empirical validity of these approaches, using evidence from two tarai villages of Nepal. Using a model proposed by Shaban, the differences in input and output intensities in owner-occupied and sharecropped land were analysed. The results of this study indicate that share tenants apply variable inputs less intensively than owner-operators. This study, therefore, supports the Marshallian school in the sharecropping controversy

Resource use efficiency in rubber estates: a methodological note

A barrier to the successful use of formal production function / regression techniques to analyse latex production problems in rubber estates is the difficulty in standardising data from different tapping systems. It is proposed in this paper that this problem can be overcome by using the "total surface area of the tapping cut" as the standardisation variable. We advance various arguments to show the merits in this proposal

Transactional framework of sharecropping: empirical evidence

Share contracts in Malaysian mbber smallholdings. Land Econ., 67: 85-98; Chew, Tek-Ann, 1993. The Transactional framework of sharecropping: further implications. Can. J. Agric. Econ., 41: 209-221.] proposed a transactional framework of sharecropping that accommodates both the Marshallian and the Cheungian equilibria. An important conclusion arising thereof is the hypothesis that Cheung's sharecropping equilibrium is the rarity while the Marshallian equilibrium is the norm. In this paper, we collated some recent evidences to verify this hypothesis. The evidences support the Marshallian equilibrium, thereby providing indirect support for the transactional framework of sharecropping