Hamish R. Gow

AGRICULTURAL CREDIT PROBLEMS AND POLICIES DURING THE TRANSITION TO A MARKET ECONOMY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Abstract This paper assesses the problems of financing Central and Eastern European agriculture during the present transitionary period and the role of government in this process. Initially the paper looks at why credit markets work imperfectly, even in well developed market economies, focusing on problems related to asymmetric information, adverse selection, moral hazard, credit rationing, optimal debt instrument choice and initial wealth. It shows why these and related problems may cause transaction costs to be so high that credit rationing and high interest rates are rational and efficient responses by lenders to the imperfect information problems of the agricultural sector. A series of specific, transition-related issues are then discussed which have worsened these problems within the Central and Eastern European agricultural sector. The potential roles of governments in solving these issues and actual observed interventions by Central and Eastern Europe governments through credit subsidies, loan guarantees and specialised agricultural lending institutions are analysed. Finally, the paper discusses how financial market innovations have solved some of the credit market problems and derives the implications for government policies.

Private Enforcement Capital and Contract Enforcement in Transition Economies

The enforcement of contracts is necessary for efficient exchange and investment in economic activities. There are many situations where public institutions are ineffective in enforcing contracts. This is the case in economies in transition where public enforcement institutions themselves are being reformed. Under such conditions private mechanisms could enforce contracts. “External” private enforcement is done by third parties, e.g., strong-arm private agents. Although such enforcement may be effective, it may have unwanted externalities. Alternatively, “internal” private enforcement can be done through the use of so-called private enforcement capital, i.e., private losses that result from breaching the contract. These losses result directly from contract termination, or non-renewal, and indirectly from reputational damage. By designing contracts such that these private losses from contract breach outweigh potential benefits, contracts can be made “self-enforcing.” In this article we first present a conceptual framework to interpret contracts and to analyze how the use of private enforcement capital can enforce contracts. Then we illustrate such (internal) private contract enforcement mechanisms with several case study examples of agri-business contracting in transition countries where public enforcement fails.

Transition and enterprise restructuring: The development of individual farming in Romania

Economic reforms have induced enterprise restructuring in transition countries. In agriculture, the most dramatic form of restructuring is the break-up of state and collective farms into individual farms. The development of individual farming varies strongly between countries, regions and households. This paper uses household-level data from a 1996 survey in Romania to analyze which household and regional characteristics determine the shift to individual farming. Individual farming is influenced by several household characteristics, such as the human capital (education, age, farming experience), physical capital endowments (ownership of land, buildings, machinery, livestock) and access to other finance sources (off-farm wages, pensions). Furthermore, environmental factors, such as infrastructure, local access to inputs, and the pre-reform importance of individual farming in the region, all affect the development of individual farming.

Economic and market issues on the sustainability of egg production in the United States: Analysis of alternative production systems

Conventional cage housing for laying hens evolved as a cost-effective egg production system. Complying with mandated hen housing alternatives would raise marginal production costs and require sizable capital investment. California data indicate that shifts from conventional cages to barn housing would likely cause farm-level cost increases of about 40% per dozen. The US data on production costs of such alternatives as furnished cages are not readily available and European data are not applicable to the US industry structure. Economic analysis relies on key facts about production and marketing of conventional and noncage eggs. Even if mandated by government or buyers, shifts to alternative housing would likely occur with lead times of at least 5 yr. Therefore, egg producers and input suppliers would have considerable time to plan new systems and build new facilities. Relatively few US consumers now pay the high retail premiums required for nonconventional eggs from hens housed in alternative systems. However, data from consumer experiments indicate that additional consumers would also be willing to pay some premium. Nonetheless, current data do not allow easy extrapolation to understand the willingness to pay for such eggs by the vast majority of conventional egg consumers. Egg consumption in the United States tends to be relatively unresponsive to price changes, such that sustained farm price increases of 40% would likely reduce consumption by less than 10%. This combination of facts and relationships suggests that, unless low-cost imports grew rapidly, requirements for higher cost hen housing systems would raise US egg prices considerably while reducing egg consumption marginally. Eggs are a low-cost source of animal protein and low-income consumers would be hardest hit. However, because egg expenditures are a very small share of the consumer budget, real income loss for consumers would be small in percentage terms. Finally, the high egg prices imposed by alternative hen housing systems raise complex issues about linking public policy costs to policy beneficiaries.

Operational efficiency of Asia–Pacific airports

Abstract Airports are important drivers of economic development and thus under tremendous pressure from emerging competitors. However, few studies have analysed the operational efficiency of Asia–Pacific airports. This study therefore evaluated the operational efficiency of 21 Asia–Pacific airports between 2002 and 2011. A two-stage method was used: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess airport efficiency, followed by the second-stage regression analysis to identify the key determinants of airport efficiency. The first-stage DEA results indicated that Adelaide, Beijing, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Shenzhen are the efficient airports. The second-stage regression analysis suggested that percentage of international passengers handled by an airport, airport hinterland population size, dominant airline(s) of an airport when entering global airline strategic alliance, and an increase in GDP per capita are significant in explaining variations in airport efficiency.

Agricultural production credit clubs in Armenia: facilitating investment through market linkages, social capital, and microcredit

Armenia’s 1991 privatization and land redistribution process handed ownership and control of agricultural production to over 300,000 inexperienced, financially distressed, subsistence farmers operating extremely small fragmented plots, and the processing sector to similarly distressed managers. As seen elsewhere across Eastern Europe, the result was chaotic turmoil characterized by pervasive delayed payments, massive disinvestment, and rapid output declines. However, unlike elsewhere, Armenia could not rely upon the entry of FDI to correct channel incentives and revitalize its agricultural and rural financial markets. Instead, an alternative exogenous stimulus was required. This study analyzes the instrumental case of how a quasi-public third party, the USDA Market Assistance Program and Agricultural Production Credit Clubs, successfully imitated FDI-induced incentive structures through market linkages, social capital, and microcredit to establish economically sustainable marketing channels. The findings provide important insights into the design of market-linked microcredit programs.

The Value of a Positional Advantage for Agricultural SMEs

Abstract Marketing and strategy scholars have established the importance of a market orientation and innovativeness as drivers of firm performance. This study examines how a market orientation, innovativeness, entrepreneurship, organizational learning, and a cost focus contribute to a positional advantage within the context of agricultural SMEs. Using a sample of 307 Illinois beef farmers, we empirically measure and test the construct of positional advantage and examine the relationship between positional advantage and firm performance. Our results indicate that market orientation, entrepreneurship, innovativeness, organizational learning and a cost focus are first-order indicators of positional advantage and that organizational learning, market orientation, and experience are positively related to firm performance.

Foreign Direct Investment and Vertical Contracting in the Agri-Food Sector of Transition Economies

Total flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into transition countries (TCs) increased significantly during the early 1990s.i FDI has a positive impact on industry in TCs because it provides capital essential for restructuring and modernization, as well as bringing managerial and technological skills, which are in short supply within the region (OECD, 1998). Agri-food sector FDI has accounted for a substantial share of total FDI. The vast majority of agri-food FDI has been directed to the agro-industry, not to primary agriculture, but FDI is still having a major impact on primary agriculture.

Investment responses to third-party market facilitation in Armenia

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of a third-party market facilitation strategy in creating sustainable market linkages and revitalizing an important agri-food sector in a developing country setting. More specifically, this study evaluates a third-party facilitator’s ability to assist producers and processors in developing internal private enforcement mechanisms through stimulating investments in relationship-specific assets. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper uses mixed methods approach. The research is grounded by a case study of the USDA Marketing Assistance Program (MAP) in the Armenian dairy industry. Qualitative evidence from the case study is combined with data from a survey of 745 Armenian dairy farmers to examine the impact of participation in the USDA MAP-facilitated marketing channel on farm-level investments. Findings - – The main results indicate that over the four-year period of the USDA MAP facilitation of dairy supply chain, farms linked to the formal milk marketing channel have invested in approximately twice as many assets specific to milk production compared to farms in the informal channel. This finding supports the hypothesis that third-party market facilitation strategy pursued by the USDA MAP has stimulated investments in private enforcement capital between dairy producers and processors and implies that an external third-party market facilitator can play an important role in enhancing performance of supply chain linkages. Originality/value - – These findings and the lessons from the case of USDA MAP contribute to better understanding of third-party market linkage facilitation strategies and will be useful for the development community and agribusiness decision makers.

Third-party facilitation of supply chain linkages: evidence from the Armenian vegetable industry

This paper presents an empirical examination of investment responses to external facilitation of supply chain linkages between agricultural producers and processors. Specifically, it analyzes the impact of participation in the USDA Marketing Assistance Program (MAP) facilitated formal marketing channel on farm-level investments in tomato production. The analysis involves mixed method approach utilizing a case of the USDA MAP in the Armenian vegetable industry and the survey data from 427 Armenian tomato growers. The main results indicate that the tomato growers linked to USDA MAP facilitated formal marketing channel (i.e. processors) invested significantly more in expanding tomato planting area compared to growers in informal channel (i.e. direct-to-consumer markets, middleman, and barter). The lessons from the USDA MAP’s supply chain facilitation strategy and the results of quantitative analysis provide insights on incentive structures and enforcement mechanisms for designing more effective supply chain ...