Abdullahi O. Abdulkadri

An investigation of technical inefficiency of production of farmers under the National Directorate of Employment in Ondo State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to investigate technical inefficiency of production among the food crop farmers of the National Directorate of Employment in Ondo state of Nigeria. The study considers translog stochastic frontier production functions in which the technical inefficiency effects are defined by three different sub models. Given the specifications of the stochastic frontier production function, the null hypothesis, that the frontier is adequately represented by the Cobb-Douglas function, is accepted, but the null hypothesis that the farmers are fully technically efficient, which implies that inefficiency effects are absent from the model, is rejected. Further, the null hypothesis of half-normal distribution for the inefficiency effects is rejected. Predicted technical efficiencies vary widely across farms, ranging between 21.7% anal 87.8% and a mean technical efficiency of 67%.

Estimating risk aversion coefficients for dry land wheat, irrigated corn and dairy producers in Kansas

The risk attitudes of dry land wheat, irrigated corn, and dairy producers in Kansas are examined using the nonlinear mean–standard deviation approach. Results of analyses indicated that dryland wheat and dairy producers are characterized by increasing absolute and increasing relative risk aversion while irrigated corn producers are characterized by constant absolute and increasing relative risk aversion. Both crop enterprises exhibited constant returns to scale technology while the dairy enterprise exhibited decreasing returns to scale. Gross farm income was significant and positively related to relative risk aversion.

Empirical properties of duality theory

This research examines selected empirical properties of duality relationships. Monte Carlo experiments indicate that Hessian matrices estimated from the normalised unrestricted profit, restricted profit and production functions yield conflicting results in the presence of measurement error and low relative price variability. In particular, small amounts of measurement error in quantity variables can translate into large errors in uncompensated estimates calculated via restricted and unrestricted profit and production functions. These results emphasise the need for high quality data when estimating empirical models in order to accurately determine dual relationships implied by economic theory.

Using farm consumption data to estimate the intertemporal elasticity of substitution and relative risk aversion coefficients

A farm household consumption model based on the life‐cycle permanent income hypothesis (LPIH) has been specified and the Euler equations derived in this analysis. Estimation of the of the Euler equations using farm household consumption data provided estimates for the intertemporal elasticity of substitution and the coefficient of relative risk aversion. These parameters differ among the farm enterprises in which the households were engaged. Estimates for the intertemporal elasticity of substitution and the coefficient of relative risk aversion ranged from 0.158 to 0.351 and from 2.849 to 6.329, respectively. Results also provide further evidence that the LPIH is valid for modeling farm household consumption.

Developing alternative farm plans for cropping system decision making

Abstract Declining trend of domestic food production has led to the establishment of a national agricultural programme under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Nigeria. The programme is envisaged to result in increased food production by engaging educated persons in food crop farming. The programme participants, due to their level of education, are also expected to be more efficient in their use of farm resources. In this study, we have generated optimal farm plans for NDE farmers in three different locations in Ondo state, Nigeria, assessed the resource-use efficiency of the sampled farmers, and provided alternative farm plans that are nearly-optimal, and more likely to be acceptable to the farmers when considerations for risk and uncertainty are introduced, using an approach known as Modelling to Generate Alternatives (MGA). Results of our analyses suggested sole cropping as the optimal cropping system for the three locations and non-attainment of optimal gross margins ranged from 24 to 37% among the locations. Although the optimal plans suggested sole cropping, the alternative farm plans provided for mixed cropping when the resulting gross margins were allowed to decrease by as little as 1% from the optimal values. These alternative plans represent various levels of enterprise diversification depending on a particular farmers risk attitude.

Excess Cardiovascular Risk Burden in Jamaican Women Does Not Influence Predicted 10-Year CVD Risk Profiles of Jamaica Adults: An Analysis of the 2007/08 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey.

Background Black Caribbean women have a higher burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors than their male counterparts. Whether this results in a difference in incident cardiovascular events is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the 10 year World Health Organization/International Society for Hypertension (WHO/ISH) CVD risk score for Jamaica and explore the effect of sex as well as obesity, physical activity and socioeconomic status on these estimates. Methods and Findings Data from 40–74 year old participants in the 2007/08 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey were used. Trained interviewers administered questionnaires and measured anthropometrics, blood pressure, fasting glucose and cholesterol. Education and occupation were used to assess socioeconomic status. The Americas B tables were used to estimate the WHO/ISH 10 year CVD risk scores for the population. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated. Data from 1,432 (450 men, 982 women) participants were analysed, after excluding those with self-reported heart attack and stroke. The women had a higher prevalence of diabetes (19%W;12%M), hypertension (49%W;47%M), hypercholesterolemia (25%W;11%M), obesity (46%W;15%M) and physical inactivity (59%W;29%M). More men smoked (6%W;31%M). There was good agreement between the 10-year cardiovascular risk estimates whether or not cholesterol measurements were utilized for calculation (kappa –0.61). While 90% had a 10 year WHO/ISH CVD risk of less than 10%, approximately 2% of the population or 14,000 persons had a 10 year WHO/ISH CVD risk of ≥30%. As expected CVD risk increased with age but there was no sex difference in CVD risk distribution despite women having a greater risk factor burden. Women with low socioeconomic status had the most adverse CVD risk profile. Conclusion Despite women having a higher prevalence of CVD risk factors there was no sex difference in 10-year WHO/ISH CVD risk in Jamaican adults.

Estimating economies of scope and scale under price risk and risk aversion

This study uses duality to examine the effects of excluding output price risk and risk aversion on cost structures. Using data for Kansas wheat and beef-cow operations, a dual risk model was used to determine multi-product and product-specific scale economies, and economies of scope. Estimates for these measures were compared with those obtained from a deterministic model. The results show that product-specific scale economies are over-estimated and economies of scope and multi-product scale economies are under-estimated for the deterministic model compared to the risk model.

Empirical exercises in estimating the effects of different types of financial institutions’ functioning on economic growth

While recent studies of the finance-growth nexus have focused on the use of proxies which more accurately capture the theorized functioning of the financial sector, they have tended to focus either on the functioning of the financial sector as a whole, or on the dominant institutions within the sector. Little attention has been paid to a comparison of the relative effects of different types of financial institutions on economic growth. This article attempts to get a deeper understanding of the finance-growth process by disaggregating the total financial sector impact and examining the individual and relative effects of each type of institution in the financial sector. We explore the empirical properties of alternative specifications of models of the impact of financial institutions’ functioning on economic growth, by conducting a number of exercises. These exercises experiment with various model specifications to represent the long- and short-run impacts of the financial institutions’ functioning on economic growth, using cointegration and error correction methodologies.

Hydroxyurea use in prevention of stroke recurrence in children with sickle cell disease in a developing country: A cost effectiveness analysis

We undertook a cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) of hydroxyurea (HU) in preventing stroke recurrence and/or death. We followed 43 children with sickle cell disease from 2000 to 2009 after having a first clinical stroke, of whom 10 opted for HU therapy. HU use led to decreased stroke recurrence and death without significantly increasing the annual cost of care per patient (J

Modelling the Effects of Financial Sector Functions on Economic Growth in a Developing Country: A Cointegration and Error Correction approach

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