Dan Rigby

CONSTRUCTING A FARM LEVEL INDICATOR OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE

Abstract There has been a concerted effort since the Rio Earth Summit to construct indicators to monitor progress towards sustainable development. This has included indicators of sustainable land management, land quality indicators and indicators of sustainable agriculture. It is argued in this paper that the design and use of such indicators can be extremely useful in that they force those involved in the discussion of sustainability to identify the key aspects of sustainable agriculture and to assign weights to them. In this process the discussion of sustainability may be coaxed from the realms of general discussion and abstraction to a more operational context, and ultimately to the discussion and classification of actual practices and farms. To this end, a farm-level indicator of agricultural sustainability, based on patterns of input use, is constructed for a sample of 80 organic and 157 conventional producers in the UK. The paper serves to highlight some of the conceptual issues, examines some of the technical issues and choices associated with indicator construction, and informs discussion of the relationship between organic production and agricultural sustainability.

Modelling the adoption of organic horticultural technology in the UK using Duration Analysis

Duration Analysis, which allows the timing of an event to be explored in a dynamic framework, is used to model the adoption of organic horticultural technology in the UK. The influence of a range of economic and non-economic determinants is explored using discrete time models. The empirical results highlight the importance of gender, attitudes to the environment and information networks, as well as systematic effects that influence the adoption decision over the lifetime of the producer and over the survey period.

The development of and prospects for organic farming in the UK

Abstract The organic sector in the UK is booming with the largest ever wave of farm conversions underway. Consumer demand is currently growing faster than supply. The evidence regarding the factors that have been critical, now and in the past, in causing producers to establish organic systems is reviewed. This review draws on the authors’ own work as well as that of other researchers in Europe and the USA. In the second part of the paper we report on a recent study of the factors that prompt organic producers to abandon registered organic production. This analysis is based on a survey of producers, formerly registered with the Soil Association, who have left the scheme since 1990. Finally, the paper considers the current policy regime with respect to organic farming, the scope for the continued growth of the sector and the debate regarding the design of future policy.

Entry of foreign banks in the People's Republic of China: a survival analysis

This study uses survival analysis to examine the factors determining the decision of a foreign bank to establish a branch in the PRC. Bank size and international diversification are found to have a significant positive impact on the probability of entry. Banks from Asia have particular cultural and locational advantages in this context and are found to be more likely to enter this market. Market conditions in the host economy, exemplified by an improved political environment and increasing levels of international trade, are also found to be significant determinants of the timing of entry. Access to Chinas banking sector will increase upon entry to the WTO and again cultural links and location are likely to play a key role for foreign entrants, particularly for those operating in local currency markets.

Risk as an Attribute in Discrete Choice Experiments: A Systematic Review of the Literature

BackgroundDiscrete choice experiments (DCEs) are used to elicit preferences of current and future patients and healthcare professionals about how they value different aspects of healthcare. Risk is an integral part of most healthcare decisions. Despite the use of risk attributes in DCEs consistently being highlighted as an area for further research, current methods of incorporating risk attributes in DCEs have not been reviewed explicitly.ObjectivesThis study aimed to systematically identify published healthcare DCEs that incorporated a risk attribute, summarise and appraise methods used to present and analyse risk attributes, and recommend best practice regarding including, analysing and transparently reporting the methodology supporting risk attributes in future DCEs.Data SourcesThe Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Econlit databases were searched on 18 April 2013 for DCEs that included a risk attribute published since 1995, and on 23 April 2013 to identify studies assessing risk communication in the general (non-DCE) health literature.Study Eligibility CriteriaHealthcare-related DCEs with a risk attribute mentioned or suggested in the title/abstract were obtained and retained in the final review if a risk attribute meeting our definition was included.Study Appraisal and Synthesis MethodsExtracted data were tabulated and critically appraised to summarise the quality of reporting, and the format, presentation and interpretation of the risk attribute were summarised.ResultsThis review identified 117 healthcare DCEs that incorporated at least one risk attribute. Whilst there was some evidence of good practice incorporated into the presentation of risk attributes, little evidence was found that developing methods and recommendations from other disciplines about effective methods and validation of risk communication were systematically applied to DCEs. In general, the reviewed DCE studies did not thoroughly report the methodology supporting the explanation of risk in training materials, the impact of framing risk, or exploring the validity of risk communication.LimitationsThe primary limitation of this review was that the methods underlying presentation, format and analysis of risk attributes could only be appraised to the extent that they were reported.ConclusionsImprovements in reporting and transparency of risk presentation from conception to the analysis of DCEs are needed. To define best practice, further research is needed to test how the process of communicating risk affects the way in which people value risk attributes in DCEs.

Operationalising Strong Sustainability: Definitions, Methodologies and Outcomes

While acknowledging the absence of a single definition or theory of sustainability, this paper argues that a discussion of sustainability which refers only to definitions is pointless without an understanding of how the definitions are operationalised. In this context, the paper considers the operationalisation of strong sustainability. The definitions and operationalisation of strong sustainability most closely associated with (i) neoclassical environmental economics and (ii) ecological economics are discussed and compared. This analysis raises questions about the extent to which ecological economics has been able to influence real-world decisions and policy. The paper ends by considering whether the economic and political power structure taken as given by ecological economics is compatible with its policy perspective.

The Role of Qualitative Research Methods in Discrete Choice Experiments: A Systematic Review and Survey of Authors

Background. The use of qualitative research (QR) methods is recommended as good practice in discrete choice experiments (DCEs). This study investigated the use and reporting of QR to inform the design and/or interpretation of healthcare-related DCEs and explored the perceived usefulness of such methods. Methods. DCEs were identified from a systematic search of the MEDLINE database. Studies were classified by the quantity of QR reported (none, basic, or extensive). Authors (n = 91) of papers reporting the use of QR were invited to complete an online survey eliciting their views about using the methods. Results. A total of 254 healthcare DCEs were included in the review; of these, 111 (44%) did not report using any qualitative methods; 114 (45%) reported “basic” information; and 29 (11%) reported or cited “extensive” use of qualitative methods. Studies reporting the use of qualitative methods used them to select attributes and/or levels (n = 95; 66%) and/or pilot the DCE survey (n = 26; 18%). Popular qualitative methods included focus groups (n = 63; 44%) and interviews (n = 109; 76%). Forty-four studies (31%) reported the analytical approach, with content (n = 10; 7%) and framework analysis (n = 5; 4%) most commonly reported. The survey identified that all responding authors (n = 50; 100%) found that qualitative methods added value to their DCE study, but many (n = 22; 44%) reported that journals were uninterested in the reporting of QR results. Conclusions. Despite recommendations that QR methods be used alongside DCEs, the use of QR methods is not consistently reported. The lack of reporting risks the inference that QR methods are of little use in DCE research, contradicting practitioners’ assessments. Explicit guidelines would enable more clarity and consistency in reporting, and journals should facilitate such reporting via online supplementary materials.

Whatever Happened to Organic? Food, Nature and the Market for "Sustainable" Food

The development of the organic movement has been littered with debates, arguments and fall-outs. One can go back to the formation of the Soil Association (SA) in 1946/47 and the refusal of Sir Albert Howard (the ‘‘inventor of compost’’ and the official Imperial Economic Botanist) to join the fledgling organization because of his view that it was too lenient in its restrictions on chemical use in agricultural production. However, tensions in the organic movement* in both the EU and U.S.*that have been growing for a decade or so have finally boiled over. One could identify several areas where these tensions are being played out (for example, the regulation of organic egg and broiler production). However, the most notable outbreak of hostilities in the U.K. concerns the certification*or not*of farmed fish.

Investigating Heterogeneity in the Characterization of Risks Using Best Worst Scaling

This research proposes and implements a new approach to the elicitation and analysis of perceptions of risk. We use best worst scaling (BWS) to elicit the levels of control respondents believe they have over risks and the level of concern those risks prompt. The approach seeks perceptions of control and concern over a large risk set and the elicitation method is structured so as to reduce the cognitive burden typically associated with ranking over large sets. The BWS approach is designed to yield strong discrimination over items. Further, the approach permits derivation of individual-level values, in this case of perceptions of control and worry, and analysis of how these vary over observable characteristics, through estimation of random parameter logit models. The approach is implemented for a set of 20 food and nonfood risks. The results show considerable heterogeneity in perceptions of control and worry, that the degree of heterogeneity varies across the risks, and that women systematically consider themselves to have less control over the risks than men.

Environmental Regulation and Industry Location

This paper estimates the effect of environmental regulation on industry location and compares it with other determinants of location such as agricultural, education and R&D country characteristics. The analysis is based on a general empirical trade model that captures the interaction between country and industry characteristics in determining industry location. The Johnson-Neyman technique is used to fully explicate the nature of the conditional interactions. The model is applied to data on 16 manufacturing industries from 13 European countries. The empirical results indicate that the pollution haven effect is present and that the relative strength of such an effect is of about the same magnitude as other determinants of industry location. A significant negative effect on industry location is observed only at relatively high levels of industry pollution intensity.