Technical Versus Institutional Innovation in Andalusian Olive Tree Orchards: An Adoption Modelling Analysis

A survey carried out among olive tree growers in different districts of southern Spain allows the identification and analysis of factors related with adoption of several technical and institutional innovations. At that respect, a composite numerical index has been performed including all innovations considered, among then the following: changes in orchard structure, non or reduced tillage, use of tree vibrators for harvesting, non conventional methods for fighting pests and diseases, keeping an accounting systems, annual farm planning, level of information and awareness of the European CMO in relation to olive oils, etc. Structural and managerial variables of the orchard and personal characteristics of the grower, related to the composite innovation index, have been identified. In a second step, two similar separate analysis have been made for both technical and institutional innovations, and several conclusions have, finally, been drawn concerning factors that should enhance both types of innovations adoption in Spanish olive orchards.Innovation adoption, institutional and technological innovations, olive tree growers, Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Social ex-post evaluation of local development programs: application of a contingent valuation approach to the Guadix-Marquesado LEADER area (Spain)

As part of the evaluation of the activity of a district’s local development group (LAG), valuation by local society could be a potential element of interest. In this paper we present a social valuation of the LAG activity in the Guadix-Marquesado district (south-eastern Spain), where the contingent valuation method is one of the analytical elements used. A number of results show how the LAG has now become part the institutional network closest to local society, which values the increased welfare that its activity generates slightly more than its actual annual operating expenses. This somehow socially legitimizes the public funding it receives. Other results pertaining to change perception, familiarity with LAG activities and the scalar valuation of its social impact are also included.Social evaluation, Rural development, Contingent valuation method, Willingness to pay., Agricultural and Food Policy, O43, R11,

Food Labeling Use and Differentiated Consumers Behavior: A Survey Analysis in Spanish Food Market

Research on consumer’s use of food labels have been heavily increasing in the last 20 years from some pioneering works in the eighties. Different analytical approaches to the subject may be identified in the scientific literature, among them, the analysis of the use of different types of information often labeled in food markets, and its relationship with some consumer characteristics. The paper fall into the scope of this type of approach. From a survey to 1500 Spanish consumers, stratified by regions (zone) and type of habitat (rural, urban and metropolitan), a composite index, made by aggregating reading frequencies of nine different types of information (calories, ingredients, expiry date, nutritional composition, etc.) has been calculated, and both an OLS and a ordered multinomial Probit models have been estimated trying to find out the relationship between the intensity of using food labels and some characteristics and features of consumers. From this analysis some conclusions have, finally, been drawn.food labels, aggregate use index, consumer behavior, Consumer/Household Economics,

Adoption of Soil Conservation Practices in Olive Groves: The Case of Spanish Mountainous Areas

This paper presents some results from a survey carried out in 2004 among 223 olive tree farmers from mountainous areas in the Spanish Southern provinces of Granada and Jaen regarding the adoption of soil conservation and management practices. Olive tree groves in mountainous areas are subject to a high risk of soil erosion and have to incur in higher costs of soil conservation. This results in greater difficulties to comply with cross-compliance and to benefit from agri-environmental schemes. Our main objectives are to analyse the current level of adoption of soil conservation practices and to analyse which socio-economic and institutional factors determine such adoption. Three Probit models are estimated. Dependant variables are three different soil conservation practices, namely tillage following contour lines, maintenance of terraces with stonewalls, and non-tillage with weedicides.olive groves, soil conservation, technology adoption, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q12, Q24,

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Food Labeling Use and Differentiated Consumers Behavior: A Survey Analysis in Spanish Food Market

Research on consumer’s use of food labels have been heavily increasing in the last 20 years from some pioneering works in the eighties. Different analytical approaches to the subject may be identified in the scientific literature, among them, the analysis of the use of different types of information often labeled in food markets, and its relationship with some consumer characteristics. The paper fall into the scope of this type of approach. From a survey to 1500 Spanish consumers, stratified by regions (zone) and type of habitat (rural, urban and metropolitan), a composite index, made by aggregating reading frequencies of nine different types of information (calories, ingredients, expiry date, nutritional composition, etc.) has been calculated, and both an OLS and a ordered multinomial Probit models have been estimated trying to find out the relationship between the intensity of using food labels and some characteristics and features of consumers. From this analysis some conclusions have, finally, been drawn

Social ex-post evaluation of local development programs: application of a contingent valuation approach to the Guadix-Marquesado LEADER area (Spain)

As part of the evaluation of the activity of a district’s local development group (LAG), valuation by local society could be a potential element of interest. In this paper we present a social valuation of the LAG activity in the Guadix-Marquesado district (south-eastern Spain), where the contingent valuation method is one of the analytical elements used. A number of results show how the LAG has now become part the institutional network closest to local society, which values the increased welfare that its activity generates slightly more than its actual annual operating expenses. This somehow socially legitimizes the public funding it receives. Other results pertaining to change perception, familiarity with LAG activities and the scalar valuation of its social impact are also included

Technical Versus Institutional Innovation in Andalusian Olive Tree Orchards: An Adoption Modelling Analysis

A survey carried out among olive tree growers in different districts of southern Spain allows the identification and analysis of factors related with adoption of several technical and institutional innovations. At that respect, a composite numerical index has been performed including all innovations considered, among then the following: changes in orchard structure, non or reduced tillage, use of tree vibrators for harvesting, non conventional methods for fighting pests and diseases, keeping an accounting systems, annual farm planning, level of information and awareness of the European CMO in relation to olive oils, etc. Structural and managerial variables of the orchard and personal characteristics of the grower, related to the composite innovation index, have been identified. In a second step, two similar separate analysis have been made for both technical and institutional innovations, and several conclusions have, finally, been drawn concerning factors that should enhance both types of innovations adoption in Spanish olive orchards