Agricultural & Resource Economics

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    ESSAYS ON DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS
    (2013) Palacios Lopez, Amparo; Lopez, Ramon; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Chapter 1 shows the implications of credit and labor market imperfections on gender differences in agricultural labor productivity, especially highlighting how both imperfections negatively affect female productivity by discouraging off-farm income generating activities and restricting access to inputs. The paper theoretically models the relationship between gender differences in agricultural labor productivity and market imperfections and it provides empirical evidence consistent with our theoretical model by decomposing the contribution of different factors to such gender differences. We find that agricultural labor productivity is on average 44 percent lower on plots belonging to female-headed households than on those belonging to male-headed households; and that 34 percent of the agricultural labor productivity gap is explained by spillovers from labor market gender differences and 30 percent is explained by gender differences in the use of purchased inputs. Chapter 2 provides a decomposition analysis of the observed reductions in sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone concentrations, in the twelve richest European countries. It quantifies the proportion of the reductions that can be attributed to fiscal policies, trade, and energy taxes. We find that increasing the share of fiscal spending in GDP and shifting the emphasis towards spending in public goods and against non-social subsidies significantly lower the concentrations of sulfur dioxide and ozone but not nitrogen dioxide. At the same time, energy taxes reduce nitrogen dioxide concentrations but have no effect on ozone and sulfur dioxide. Finally trade openness has a direct effect on sulfur dioxide but no effect on nitrogen dioxide or ozone. Our estimates account for time-varying unobserved heterogeneity. Chapter 3 is the first paper that uses the nationally representative Malawi 2009/2010 dataset. Its purpose is the initial statistical verification of the obtained data and provides a first assessment of agricultural productivity and gender in Malawi. We find that while female-managed plots are, on average, 25 percent less productive, 82 percent of this mean differential is explained by differences in inputs, assets and household characteristics, mainly due to high-value crop cultivation and household adult male labor inputs.
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    The Impact of Agriculture on Maryland’s Economy
    (2013-04) Ferris, Jeffrey; Lynch, Lori
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    Factors Affecting Agricultural Expansion in Forest Reserves of Thailand: The Role of Population and Roads
    (2006-04-27) Puri, Jyotsna; Cropper, Maureen L; Bockstael, Nancy; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In this dissertation, I examine the role of population and transportation costs in determining agricultural expansion in 670 villages located in Forest Reserves of Thailand, over the period 1986-1996. Specifically, I examine the role of population and transportation costs as drivers of agricultural decisions regarding crop adoption and area planted, and in determining the intensity of cultivation and agricultural expansion. I also contrast the impact of these variables on two groups of villages in Forest Reserves - villages whose residents 'have no secure property rights' and those whose 'land rights are ambiguous'. I examine Feder et al.'s (1988) conclusions about the importance of property rights in Thai forest reserves and find that there is some evidence supporting their conclusions in this study. Differences in property rights account for some difference in the agricultural decisions of the two groups of villages, but that the nature of data does not allow a sharper distinction. Results reported in the study are consistent with other studies of the area. The study suggests that decisions regarding crop adoption and crop area are sensitive to population but the magnitudes of impact are small. Lack of significance of transport costs in determining cropping decisions suggests that rural road building programs will not necessarily promote deforestation in the study area, contrary to evidence in other parts of the world. This is particularly important given the large number of Forest Reserve residents in Thailand, and the fact that, Forest Reserves are the last bastions of forests, and consequently of biodiversity, in Thailand. One policy implication of this is that investments in roads that help to increase access to markets and aid poverty alleviation may not have the deleterious effects on forests that would otherwise be expected.