Liesbeth Dries

Institutional Reform and Labor Reallocation During Transition: Theory Evidence From Polish Agriculture

Abstract Reallocation of agricultural labor during transition differs widely between regions and countries. Our analysis shows that agricultural labor reallocation in Poland is determined by: (a) the dramatic adjustment of prices and production costs caused by price liberalization and subsidy cuts; (b) regional differences in farm organization and the impact of institutional reforms on these organizations; (c) structural problems constraining intersectoral mobility. The latter limit the benefits from the institutional reforms. Long-term efficiency gains and sustainable rural development are conditional upon reducing such structural constraints and improving the functioning of the labor market.

Foreign Investment, Supermarkets, and the Restructuring of Supply Chains: Evidence from Eastern European Dairy Sectors

The combination of transition and globalization since the early 1990s has caused dramatic changes in supply chains globally. This paper uses survey evidence from several Eastern European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Russia) on how these forces affect the dairy sector. In many countries dairy farms are small family farms. Investments by foreign companies in processing and retailing and the opening to international markets have introduced higher standards, leading, in turn, to extensive contracting and vertical coordination in the dairy chain. In countries close to the EU the restructuring of the dairy chain was mostly driven by investments in dairy processing, while in countries further from the EU, and less advanced in transition, retail investments are playing a more important role in driving change throughout the dairy chain. There have been significant efficiency gains, and the vertical coordination had positive effects on farm investments and productivity, especially since the late 1990s. Evidence suggests that small dairy farms have generally benefited from the vertical coordination processes.

Self‐reported Resilience of European Farms With and Without the CAP

type=main xml:id=jage12062-abs-0001> Firms are able to survive only if they adapt appropriately in response to disturbances. The ability of a farm to continue after a disturbance is defined as resilience. To analyse the resilience of EU farms we explore exit and the number of adaptation strategies that farmers follow under two scenarios. The current CAP will be continued in the base scenario, while it will be abolished in scenario 2. The outcomes show that under both scenarios large, more specialised farms with young farm heads are most resilient, and small more diversified farms headed by old farmers are least resilient.

Are in-house and outsourcing innovation strategies interlinked? Evidence from the European agri-food sector

We analyse European agri-food firms’ choices about innovation in-house or through outsourcing and provide empirical evidence about the correlation between these strategies. The relationship between the innovation strategy and firm-, industry- and innovation-specific characteristics is analysed through a bivariate probit model, which uses firm data from the EFIGE Bruegel-UniCredit dataset. Transaction cost, resource base and knowledge governance arguments are used to explain the choice of innovation strategy. Our results show that the decisions to innovate in-house or through outsourcing are independent from each other. In addition, we find that several organisational characteristics such as communication systems, human resource practices and specialisation are likely to influence both strategies. Conversely, organisational characteristics such as the allocation of authority and the business network do not seem relevant in determining the innovation strategies of the European agri-food sector.