Moral Hazard, Financial Constraints and Sharecropping in El Oulja

This paper develops a theory of sharecropping which emphasizes the dual role of moral hazard in the provision of effort and financial constraints. The model is compatible with a large variety of contracts as observed in the region of El Ouija in Tunisia. Using an original set of data including financial data, various tests of the theory are realized. The role of financial constraints in the explanation of which type of contract is selected (as well as its implications that financial constraints affect effort and therefore output) are strongly supported by the data

Moral Hazard, Financial Constraints and Sharecropping in El Oulja

This paper develops a theory of sharecropping which emphasizes the dual role of moral hazard in the provision of effort and financial constraints. The model is compatible with a large variety of contracts as observed in the region of El Ouija in Tunisia. Using an original set of data including financial data, various tests of the theory are realized. The role of financial constraints in the explanation of which type of contract is selected (as well as its implications that financial constraints affect effort and therefore output) are strongly supported by the data

Impacts de la salinité sur l'efficience technique de l'agriculture irriguée : application au cas des Oasis de Nefzaoua en Tunisie

This work focuses on determining the performance in terms of technical efficiency of oasis irrigation in southern Tunisia using a parametric stochastic frontier approach. Date palm yield is explained by four factors : water quantity applied, labor, farmyard manure, and phosphate. The elasticity of demand for irrigation water is estimated to be -1.17 ; this leads us to suggest that appropriate pricing of irrigation water could contribute to the conservation of this increasingly rare resource. Further, estimation of the technical inefficiency model shows that salinization has a negative impact on technical efficiency. The mean value of technical efficiency is estimated to be 0.653.La détermination de la performance productive des irrigants dans des oasis du sud Tunisien en utilisant l’approche paramétrique de frontière stochastique de production constitue la base de ce travail. En effet, la production des dattes sur pied s’explique par quatre facteurs : la quantité d’eau appliquée, le travail, le fumier et le phosphate. L’élasticité de la demande d’eau d ’ irrigation est estimée à -1,17, ce qui nous permet de suggérer qu’une tarification appropriée de l’eau d’irrigation pourrait contribuer à conserver la ressource de plus en plus rare. En outre, l’estimation du model d’inefficience technique a montré que la salinisation affecte négativement l’efficience technique. La valeur moyenne estimée des indices d’efficience technique est égale à 0,653.Salah Matoussi Mohamed, Belloumi Mounir. Impacts de la salinité sur l'efficience technique de l'agriculture irriguée : application au cas des Oasis de Nefzaoua en Tunisie. In: Économie & prévision, n°177, 2007-1. pp. 77-89

A Stochastic Frontier Approach for Measuring Technical Efficiencies of Date Farms in Southern Tunisia

The main objective of this research is to compare estimates of technical efficiency obtained from the stochastic frontier approach for two samples of farmers of private and water user associations in the Nefzaoua Oases region (Tunisia), which are characterized by a severe scarcity of water and especially a high degree of salinity. Technical inefficiency effects are modeled as a function of farm-specific socioeconomic factors. Results suggest that both systems are technically inefficient. On average, the private system is found to be slightly more efficient than the associative one. Date yield could be explained mainly by four variables: water quantity applied per palm tree, labor per palm tree, phosphate per palm tree, and water salinity. Output elasticities of all inputs are found to be positive and significant except for the farmyard manure. Water salinity has a considerable negative impact on date productivity. For the technical inefficiency model, none of the socioeconomic variables seem to matter

Pooling surveys in the estimation of income and price elasticities: An application to Tunisian households

This paper presents a methodological extension of Deaton's (1990) model for estimating price elasticities, by pooling Tunisian data from several surveys to improve the inter-cluster variability of unit values which is one of the key elements used in the derivation of these elasticities. Since the surveys cover a relatively long period, possible structural changes in consumption behaviour occurring over time are accounted for by postulating that certain response coefficients of the basic model vary from one survey to the other. The own price and cross price elasticities calculated using appropriate estimates of the extended model are satisfactory both from the economic point of view of their sign and the statistical point of view of their significance and superior to those obtained using a single survey. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003Key words: pooling cross-sections, consumer demand system, unit value, price elasticity., JEL classification code: D12,

A Stochastic Frontier Approach for Measuring Technical Efficiencies of Date Farms in Southern Tunisia

The main objective of this research is to compare estimates of technical efficiency obtained from the stochastic frontier approach for two samples of farmers of private and water user associations in the Nefzaoua Oases region (Tunisia), which are characterized by a severe scarcity of water and especially a high degree of salinity. Technical inefficiency effects are modeled as a function of farm-specific socioeconomic factors. Results suggest that both systems are technically inefficient. On average, the private system is found to be slightly more efficient than the associative one. Date yield could be explained mainly by four variables: water quantity applied per palm tree, labor per palm tree, phosphate per palm tree, and water salinity. Output elasticities of all inputs are found to be positive and significant except for the farmyard manure. Water salinity has a considerable negative impact on date productivity. For the technical inefficiency model, none of the socioeconomic variables seem to matter.salinization, private and GIC systems, technical efficiency, Nefzaoua oases, date production, groundwater management, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis,

Moral Hazard, Financial Constraints and Sharecropping in El Oulja

This paper develops a theory of sharecropping which emphasizes the dual role of moral hazard in the provision of effort and financial constraints. The model is compatible with a large variety of contracts as observed in the region of El Oulja in Tunisia. Using an original data set including financial data, various tests of the theory are undertaken. Production functions stressing the role of effort are estimated. The data support the theory which predicts lower efficiency when the tenant's share of output is lower. The role of financial constraints in explaining which type of contract is selected (as well as the implications that financial constraints have upon effort and therefore output) are supported by the data