There exists a large literature on spatial price transmission in agro-food sectors, but research on milk sector is relatively limited. In addition, we cannot generalize the results of these studies ...due to their diversity in terms of methodology, periods and countries. The aim of the paper is precisely to generalize, or at least broaden the evidence on horizontal price transmission in European Union dairy market. We employ two stages approach. First, we test whether Law of One Price exists among European Union member states. Second, we try to explain our findings based on gravity model framework in a binary choice setting. Our results are in line with theoretical expectations: the volume of milk traded and Eurozone membership positively, the geographical distance negatively affects the probability of perfect price transmission. In addition, we show that horizontal price transmission is dependent on political group variables (New Member States versus Old Member States).
This article investigates dairy farm investment behaviour and the presence of soft budget constraints in the dairy farms of Baltic and Central European transition countries - Estonia, Hungary and ...Slovenia - using individual dairy farm accountancy panel data for the years 2007-2015. The empirical results confirm that gross dairy farm investment is positively associated with gross dairy farm investment for the previous year for financially unconstrained dairy farms, and negatively for financially constrained dairy farms. It is also positively associated with public investment subsidies, and, except for Slovenia, with growth in real sales for financially unconstrained dairy farms. Mixed results are found for gross dairy farm investment squared and cash flow variables. A particularly significant negative cash flow regression coefficient implies significant soft budget constraints for financially unconstrained Estonian and Slovenian dairy farms, while insignificant cash flow regression coefficients imply weak soft budget constraints for financially unconstrained Hungarian dairy farms.
The poor performance of government‐managed irrigation systems still spills over into developing countries despite numerous attempts to improve efficiency through management transfer to farmers. Weak ...engagement of farmers in management is identified as one of the underlying causes of poor performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors determining farmers' engagement in irrigation management in the Mubuku smallholder scheme, Uganda. The paper presents an assessment of the governing institutions through a qualitative method and a quantitative analysis to identify enabling factors of famers' engagement in management. As results, the paper argues that the current institutional setting of the scheme is only partially in line with predefined principles of self‐governing irrigation schemes. Farmers are not considered as creating a two‐tiered management structure due to the weak enforcement mechanism towards free‐riders, insufficient monitoring of resources and activities, lack of effective means of conflict resolution, an underdeveloped de facto institution and lack of organizational layers. Based on a farmers' survey, the outputs of semi‐parametric (SML) and semi‐non‐parametric (SNP) models indicate that education and household size have a significant and positive impact on farmers' engagement in management, while land size large enough to require employees has a negative and significant impact on engagement.
Résumé
La mauvaise performance des systèmes d'irrigation gérés par le gouvernement se répercute encore dans les pays en développement malgré de nombreuses tentatives pour améliorer l'efficacité par le transfert de la gestion aux agriculteurs. Le faible engagement des agriculteurs dans la gestion est identifié comme l'une des causes sous‐jacentes des faibles performances. Le but de cet article est d'examiner les facteurs qui déterminent l'engagement des agriculteurs dans la gestion de l'irrigation dans le système de petits exploitants de Mubuku, en Ouganda. Le document présente l'évaluation des institutions dirigeantes à travers une méthode qualitative et une analyse quantitative pour identifier les facteurs favorables à l'engagement des agriculteurs dans la gestion. En conséquence, le document fait valoir que le cadre institutionnel actuel du système n'est que partiellement conforme aux principes prédéfinis des systèmes d'irrigation autonomes. Les agriculteurs ne sont pas considérés comme créant une structure de gestion à deux niveaux en raison de la faiblesse du mécanisme de mise en œuvre envers les passagers clandestins, du suivi insuffisant des ressources et des activités, du manque de moyens efficaces de résolution des conflits, d'une institution de facto sous‐développée et du manque de couches organisationnelles. Sur la base d'une enquête auprès des agriculteurs, les résultats des modèles semi‐paramétriques (SML) et semi‐non paramétriques (SNP) indiquent que l'éducation et la taille des ménages ont un impact significatif et positif sur l'engagement des agriculteurs dans la gestion, tandis que la taille des terres suffisamment grande pour nécessiter des employés a un impact négatif et significatif sur l'engagement.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a model to measure the effect of broadband availability on economic growth in developed OECD countries.Design methodology approach - The effect of ...the broadband availability-related variables on economic growth is analyzed by using cross-country panel data for 34 OECD countries over the years 1998-2009. The robustness of the results by the six econometric estimation approaches is compared. The preferable dynamic panel model with the system of Generalized Method of Moments is selected.Findings - The access channels per inhabitant and total broadband per inhabitant have improved over time, but vary across the analysed OECD countries. The improved access channels per inhabitant and gross capital growth (investment) play a positive and significant role in the per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Labour productivity growth has encouraged economic growth positively. These results are robust independently of the estimation procedure.Research limitations implications - The authors do not find a positive and significant role of the total broadband per inhabitant on the per-capita GDP growth. These findings and the results for control variables pertaining to trade openness and inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the growth equation are biased to the estimation procedure.Originality value - The conceptual-empirical value to the research of new connections made using the key elements of economic growth theory with focus on the effect of the broadband availability, main macroeconomic and economic openness variables on economic growth. This is one of the first studies that, in the growth equation, uses different broadband availability-related variables, which in addition to gross capital growth, government consumption, and inflation in the adjusted augmented growth model are controlled for labour productivity growth, trade openness, and inward FDI.
This paper investigates the level, composition, and differences in agro-food relative trade advantages/disadvantages for eight Central European and Balkan countries on the European Union (EU) markets ...and their implications for food policy. Higher and more stable relative trade advantages are found for bulk primary raw agricultural commodities and less for consumer-ready foods, implying competitiveness shortcomings in food processing and in international food marketing. Duration analysis shows that the EU enlargement has a negative impact on agro-food relative trade advantages for all eight analyzed countries. Estimations imply that the duration of agro-food relative trade advantages are the highest for Hungary and Poland, and for Bulgaria in differentiated products, indicating their agro-food trade potentials in the EU-15 markets.
Summary
Countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) that joined the European Union (EU) since May 2004 have recorded rapid increases in their agri‐food exports. While this increase in ...participation in international trade has been global, the CEE‐11 countries have mainly targeted the EU market. Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Romania are among those countries that have increased their agri‐food exports the most. We find that many CEE‐11 countries, especially Czechia and the Slovak Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Poland, have achieved their export expansion along the intensive margin, i.e. the expansion of average exports per existing product with existing trade partners. The extensive margin, i.e. an increase in the number of exported products with existing and new trade partners, along with a degree of product diversification in established markets was important for Lithuania, Romania and Estonia. We also note that in order to further benefit from an increased participation in trade, CEE countries need to switch from predominantly exporting traditional products towards penetrating more innovative product segments, along with new varieties of established products; and thus base their export expansion to a larger extent on the extensive margin.
Les pays d'Europe centrale et orientale (PECO) qui ont rejoint l'Union européenne (UE) depuis mai 2004 ont enregistré une augmentation rapide de leurs exportations agroalimentaires. Bien que cette participation accrue au commerce international ait été mondiale, les 11 PECO ont principalement ciblé le marché de l'UE. La Pologne, la Hongrie, la République tchèque et la Roumanie sont parmi les pays qui ont le plus augmenté leurs exportations agroalimentaires. Nous constatons que dans nombre des 11 PECO, en particulier les Républiques tchèque et slovaque, l'Estonie, la Hongrie et la Pologne, les exportations ont augmenté le long de la marge intensive, c'est‐à‐dire par une hausse des exportations moyennes pour chaque produit déjà échangé avec des partenaires commerciaux existants. La marge extensive, c'est‐à‐dire une augmentation du nombre de produits exportés avec des partenaires commerciaux existants et nouveaux, ainsi qu'une certaine diversification des produits sur les marchés établis, ont été importantes pour la Lituanie, la Roumanie et l'Estonie. Nous notons également que pour bénéficier davantage d'une participation accrue au commerce, les PECO doivent passer d’exportateurs prédominants de produits traditionnels à nouveaux participants à des segments de produits plus innovants, ainsi que de nouvelles variétés de produits établis. Ainsi, ils fonderaient davantage l’expansion de leurs exportations sur la marge extensive.
Die Länder Mittel‐ und Osteuropas (MOEL), die der Europäischen Union (EU) seit Mai 2004 beigetreten sind, haben einen rasanten Anstieg ihrer Agrar‐ und Lebensmittelexporte verzeichnet. Während die Teilnahme am internationalen Handel weltweit zugenommen hat, haben sich die MOEL‐11 hauptsächlich auf den EU‐Markt konzentriert. Polen, Ungarn, die Tschechische Republik und Rumänien gehören zu den Ländern, die ihre Agrar‐ und Lebensmittelexporte am stärksten steigern konnten. Wir stellen fest, dass viele MOEL‐11, insbesondere die Tschechische und die Slowakische Republik, Estland, Ungarn und Polen, ihr Exportwachstum durch die Ausweitung der durchschnittlichen Exporte pro bestehendem Produkt mit bestehenden Handelspartnern erreicht haben („intensive Marge“). Für Litauen, Rumänien und Estland war hingegen die „extensive Marge“ von Bedeutung: Hierbei wurde die Anzahl der exportierten Produkte mit bestehenden und neuen Handelspartnern in Verbindung mit einem gewissen Grad an Produktdiversifizierung in bereits etablierten Märkten ausgeweitet. Wir stellen außerdem fest, dass die MOEL von der Ausfuhr vorrangig traditioneller Produkte auf die Erschließung innovativerer Produktsegmente umschwenken müssen. Nur so können sie weiterhin von einer verstärkten Teilnahme am Handel profitieren. Die MOEL sollten darüber hinaus die Produktvielfalt der bestehenden Produkte erhöhen, um eine Ausweitung ihrer Exporte in größerem Umfang auf die extensive Marge zu stützen.
This paper analyses the forestry industry trade of the New Member States (NMS-11) of the European Union (EU) on the enlarged EU-27 markets, focusing on three groups of wood products: raw wood, ...semi-finished and finished wood products in the 1999–2010 period. The best performing NMS-11 country in the forestry industry trade with the enlarged EU-27 is Cyprus with a trade surplus mostly based on finished or at least semi-finished wood products. The results suggest a convergence in the forestry industry trade specialisation of the NMS-11 countries. A significant variation in the mobility of the forestry industry trade specialisation is found, but with a deterioration in forestry industry trade specialisation patterns over time. The results suggest the crucial role that the wood-processing and furniture industries can play with finished wood products and their backward linkages to raw wood and semi-finished wood products for forestry industry competitiveness. Forestry industry management should focus on better quality and greater trade competitiveness in the vertical wood industry supply chains from lower to higher value-added and marketed wood products.
•Relative comparative trade advantage index as a competitiveness measure•Kaplan–Meier survival rates and Markov transition probability matrices differ.•Degree of wood processing affects wood chain international competitiveness.•Finished wood products are crucial for competitive forestry industry trade.•More efficient wood chain management is a challenge for new member states.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) led to an increase in regional development differences, challenging the EU structural policy. Whilst there are numerous papers discussing international and ...cross-EU development convergence, the issue seems under-researched at national level, especially when small territorial units are considered. This paper aims to partially fill this gap by using low aggregation (Local Administrative Unit 1, LAU1) territorial data between 2002 and 2013 a period that comprises Hungary’s EU accession and also the years of the recent Global Financial Crisis. We employ a novel approach to circumvent the lack of income, productivity or competitiveness data at LAU1 level by deriving two Regional Development Indices (RDI) resting on the estimation of internal migration functions. Once the RDIs are estimated, we proceed to a test sigma, beta and unit root convergence. Our results point towards regional divergence with rather bleak consequences for Hungarian and indeed European cohesion aims.
The effectiveness of support directed to less developed regions is a timely question more than halfway through the 2014–2020 programming period. We present an analysis of the impact of rural ...development support on the well-being of Hungarian LAU1 regions between 2008 and 2013. The aim was to measure the overall impact of all of the Rural Development Funds, covering all measures within the program. Two indices of local well-being were used: the multi-dimensional, local-variables-based Regional Development Index that measures the overall level of regional development and a simple, migration-based index as a proxy for perceived quality of life. Generalized propensity score matching, and difference-in-differences estimation techniques were employed to evaluate the impact of subsidies. Irrespective of how the amount of support was calculated, the measure of local well-being, or the methodology employed, the impact was not significant, and was sometimes even negative. This casts doubt on the effectiveness of Rural Development Policy in Hungary.
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