Fabio Gaetano Santeramo

Food security composite indices: implications for policy and practice

Food security is a major topic in academic and international debates. Numerous indicators have been proposed in order to establish which countries are in need of improved food security status, but the lack of consensus as to which indicator of food insecurity is the most appropriate has motivated scholars to propose composite indexes. Building composite indexes involves multiple choices. This Viewpoint warns how discretional choices of algorithms to compute composite indexes for food security may alter the findings. By commenting on the implications that different measurement choices may have in terms of global indexes, the Viewpoint raises provocative practical and political concerns.

Farmer Participation, Entry and Exit Decisions in the Italian Crop Insurance Programme

The factors affecting the demand for agricultural insurance in the USA have been extensively studied over the last two decades. However, the determinants of a farms entry and exit decisions in the insurance market have received relatively little attention. Turnover in the insurance book of business is an important issue in most private and public crop insurance plans. Moreover, insurance markets in the EU are still largely under-investigated. We investigate empirically the determinants of crop insurance participation in Italy. We show that the participation rate is high for large firms and that it is negatively correlated with crop diversification, which is itself a form of insurance. High premiums tend to inhibit both entry and exit from the insurance market. Larger and wealthier farms are more likely to adopt insurance and renew coverage over time. We discuss implications of our results for public intervention and the private industry. In particular, we demonstrate that the decision to drop coverage by an insured grower may differ significantly from the corresponding decision to enroll in an insurance programme by an uninsured farmer. To the extent that policymakers want to encourage participation in subsidized crop insurance programmes, education and outreach efforts toward uninsured farmers may differ substantially from those directed toward keeping insured farmers enrolled in the programme. We investigate these differences.

The income-elasticity of calories, macro and micro nutrients: What is the literature telling us?

Food security and nutrition have become central to the policy agendas of governmental and non-governmental organizations due to their consequences on health and economic development. Changes in consumption patterns in response to price and income changes could impact on nutrient intake with related positive or negative consequences. This article aims to systematically review the elasticity of calories, macronutrients and micronutrients to income in developing and developed countries. We consider a large set of estimates on income elasticity for calories, protein, fat, zinc, iron and vitamin A. This is one of the few reviews that examines the estimates for income elasticity of calories, micronutrients, and micronutrients on a comparative basis. Moreover, we investigate the determinants of the heterogeneity in estimates by means of a rigorous and popular approach of meta-analysis. We found a substantial publication bias, and, in particular, we found that the quality of data is very important as it is able to influence estimates.

Certification Labels Versus Convenience Formats: What Drives the Market in Aquaculture Products?

ABSTRACT A priority for the new Common Fishery Policy will be to enhance the competitiveness of EU aquaculture in compliance with high standards of consumer protection, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. Consumer expectations in relation to food quality present new business opportunities for EU aquaculture producers who are willing to differentiate their products. In particular, new convenience formats and certification labels are likely to influence consumer choices. This study uses the choice experiment method to investigate consumer preferences and willingness to pay for new convenient formats and certification labels for oysters. Cross-sectional data were collected through a web-based consumer survey carried out in Italy in 2015. The main result of the study is that certification labels are decisively more effective than new convenient preparation formats to differentiate high-quality products. However, some heterogeneity was detected in consumer preferences. JEL Codes: Q11, Q18, Q22, Q28.

Modelling tourism flows through gravity models: a quantile regression approach

Gravity models are widely used to study tourism flows. The peculiarities of the segmented international demand for agritourism in Italy are examined by means of a novel approach: a panel data quantile regression. We characterize the international demand for Italian agritourism with a large data set, by considering data of 33 countries of origin, from 1998 to 2010. Distance and income are the major determinants, but we also found that mutual agreements and high urbanization rates in countries of origin are associated with larger flows of incoming tourists.

Research Note: Promoting the International Demand for Agritourism: Empirical Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Data Model

Tourism is a major economic activity for Italy, and one of its most important income sources. In recent years, tourism supply has changed considerably and rural tourism has been growing rapidly. Studies of agritourism are increasing, but the determinants of the international demand for rural tourism remain largely under-investigated. This paper empirically investigates the determinants of the international demand for agritourism in Italy. It shows the luxury nature of rural tourism and demonstrates that international flows are demand-driven. To the extent that entrepreneurs and policy makers wish to encourage rural tourism, subsidies, policy interventions and marketing campaigns may differ substantially according to the foreign countries targeted. The paper investigates these differences.

Trade Competitiveness in Table Grapes A Global View

International trade in table grapes has expanded tremendously over the last few decades, with out-of-season fresh produce now being traded and consumed globally. Trade intensification has been driven by emerging traders who have changed the economic geography of table grape production. Improving competitiveness in global markets is a driving objective for entrepreneurs and policy makers. However, while the global trade in table grapes has become very important, empirical papers on the topic are limited. In this study, the authors investigate the global dynamics in the trade of table grapes between 1961 and 2011 and characterize the time series properties of the market shares for leading table grape-exporting countries. The analysis shows how trends in the market shares of historical exporters and emerging countries have changed over the past few decades. The paper provides new and useful insights for forecasting the prospects for the international fresh food trade.

Integrating Agricultural Risks Management Strategies in Selected EU Partner Countries: Syria, Tunisia, Turkey

Dynamics and transitions in the agricultural sector of emerging countries are not well understood yet. A decade of major political and economic changes is challenging the Mediterranean Economies, affecting the primary sectors of transition economies which are largely influenced by recent trends. The resulting exposure of agriculture to risks has called great attention on risk management strategies and public intervention. We explore their role in three different economies with a view to a unified policy framework. The analysis is conducted through a field activity in Syria, Tunisia and Turkey that has allowed to understand the key issues. The experts’ opinions draw a clear picture of retrospect and prospects and stimulate a comparative analysis that widens the current knowledge of risk management in the EU Partner Countries.

Crop Insurance Subsidies and Environmental Externalities: Evidence from Southern Italy

Rapid environmental changes can affect agriculture by introducing additional sources of uncertainty. Conversely, policy interventions to help farmers cope with risks can induce strong impacts on the environment. In this paper, the authors evaluate the effects of public risk management programmes, particularly subsidies on crop insurance, on fertilizer use and land allocation. They implement a mathematical programming model based on data collected from 1,092 farms in the Puglia region of southern Italy. The results show that, under the current crop insurance programmes, input use is expected to increase, while the effect on production is likely to be crop-specific. The policy and environmental implications of subsidies on crop insurance are discussed.

Imperfect information and participation in insurance markets: evidence from Italy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how experience in insurance contracts may influence participation in the Italian crop insurance market. Design/methodology/approach From Italian farm-level data, the author estimates a dynamic discrete choice model of participation to investigate the role of experience. The methodology, coupled with exploratory analysis of the data, allows one to compare the relevance of different sources of experience in the crop insurance decision-making process. Findings The author found that experience tends to be a catalyst for insurance participation. Policy implications are discussed, in particular, the author discusses on the importance of bolstering uptake to exploit the advantages of the inertia that emerge from experience, and the importance of initiatives to increase the knowledge of crop insurance instruments. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, the role of experience has been underinvestigated. The analysis has the specific contribution of modeling the potential role of experience (exploited after buying an insurance contract) on uptake in crop insurance programs.