Kristine Van Herck

Small farmers, standards, value chains, and structural change: panel evidence from Bulgaria

Purpose – In the past decade, there has been a dramatic decline in agricultural employment in Bulgaria and several reports have pointed at supply chain modernisation and poor milk quality as the main reasons for the dramatic decline in the number of farms. However, to date the policy debate is been based on ad hoc claims, while there is relatively little micro-level evidence. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of structural change in the Bulgarian dairy sector in the period 2003-2009. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses the determinants of structural change in the Bulgarian dairy sector in the period 2003-2009, using a unique panel survey of 296 farm households in the North and South Central Region of Bulgaria. In order to control for sample attrition bias, the authors use a two-step Heckman model of farm survival and growth model. Findings – The data confirms the rapid outflow of agricultural labour from dairy farming activities: 55 per cent of the farm households supp...

Capitalization of direct payments in land rents: evidence from New EU Member States

This paper analyzes the impact of increasing direct payments (DPs) on land rents in six New European Union (EU) Member States. In these countries, agricultural subsidies largely increased as a result of EU accession. We find that up to 25 percent of DPs are capitalized in land rents. In addition, the results show that capitalization of DPs is higher in more credit-constrained markets, while capitalization of DPs is lower in countries where more land is used by corporate farms, reflecting a stronger bargaining position of corporate farms and unequal access to subsidies in these countries.

Direct Payments and Land Rents: Evidence from New Member States

This Factor Markets Working Paper analyses the impact of increasing direct payments on land rents in six new EU member states in which agricultural subsidies largely increased as a result of their EU accession. The authors find that up to 25 eurocents per additional euro of direct payments is capitalised in land rents. In addition, the results show that capitalisation of direct payments is higher in more credit constrained markets, while capitalisation of direct payments is lower in countries where more land is used by corporate farms.

How the East Was Won: The Foreign Take-Over of the Eastern European Brewing Industry

Eastern Europe is an important player in the European and even in the world beer market. In 2008, the whole of Europe accounted for 32% of total beer production in the world and Eastern Europe accounted for more than half of this (17%). Within Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic are the major beer producers and consumers. Russia, by itself, is the third largest producer of beer in the world and accounted for more than 6% of the world beer production in 2009.

The Diversity of Land Markets and Regulations in Europe, and (some of) its Causes

Abstract The creation of optimal land institutions attracted renewed attention in the 1990s because of its central role in the transition process in former Communist countries in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and more recently because of large-scale land investments in developing countries. This article documents the existence of large variations in land institutions (markets and regulation) using current and historical data from Western and Eastern Europe. It then offers explanations for these differences and draws implications for the role and optimality of land institutions in development (with special reference to the current debate on large scale land acquisitions).

The Experience Economy as the Future for European Agriculture and Food

As recently as a century ago, one out of two people in Europe was employed in the agricultural sector. Today agriculture represents only a small fraction of total employment in most EU member states. What makes this decline in agricultural employment even more striking is that this evolution has occurred despite substantial EU subsidies to support farmers’ income. Given the apparent ineffectiveness of government support in keeping agricultural employment steady, it is worth considering which farming activities are likely to be successful in the economy of the 21st century. We argue in this paper that a potential growth path for European agriculture is the “experience economy” in which consumers are willing to pay premium prices for products and services that provide additional intangible “experiences”. We discuss the growth potential of the “experience economy” in the agricultural sector and conclude that it is worthwhile to consider the experience economy as a pathway for future farm growth.

The Diversity of Land Institutions in Europe

The creation of optimal land institutions attracted renewed attention in the 1990s because of its central role in the transition process in former Communist countries in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and more recently because of large-scale land investments in developing countries. This paper documents the existence of large variations in land institutions (markets and regulation) using current and historical data from Western and Eastern Europe. It then offers explanations for these differences and draws implications for the role and optimality of land institutions in development (with special reference to the current debate on large scale land acquisitions).

Land Market Regulations in Europe

Land regulations have a major impact on economic development, especially in agrarian societies, and they continue to affect the efficiency of the rural economy when economies further develop. This paper aims to give an overview of the regulations that are present in the land market in the EU member states and builds a land regulatory index to quantify the extent of regulations of agricultural land sales and rental markets.