Raja Chakir

Spatial Downscaling of Agricultural Land-Use Data: An Econometric Approach Using Cross Entropy

We propose a spatial disaggregation tool to help researchers make the best use of aggregated data in studies of land use. The proposed approach uses parcel-level agricultural data in conjunction with biophysical processes to break down agricultural regional data to the pixel level. It is a two-step procedure. First, we estimate a land-use model using a multinomial logit model. Second, we disaggregate the observed regional data using a generalized cross-entropy approach, taking the first-step predictions as priors. This procedure is applied to the French Picardie region. Results indicate a significant correlation between observed and estimated land-use shares. (JEL C11, C81, Q12, R14)

The Utilisation of EU and US Trade Preferences for Developing Countries in the Agri-Food Sector

We calculate various indicators of the utilisation of preferences granted to developing countries by the EU and the US in the agricultural, food and fisheries sector. We conclude that only a very small proportion of the imports eligible to these preferences is actually exported outside a preferential regime. The rate of utilisation is therefore high. However, the flow of imports from poorest countries remains very limited in spite of rather generous tariff preferences, which leads to question the overall impact of the preferential agreements. In addition, preferential regimes overlap, and in such cases some regimes are systematically preferred to others. We use econometric estimates of the (latent) cost of using a given preference in order to explain why particular regimes are used. We focus on possible explanations, such as the cumulation rules (that restrict the use of materials originating from other countries), fixed administrative costs, and differences in the preferential margin.

Valuing the Impacts of An Invasive Biological Control Agent: A Choice Experiment on the Asian Ladybird in France

Initially used as a biological control against aphids, the Asian ladybird has become highly invasive in many regions, including Europe. While biological control is usually considered as an environmentally-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides in controlling pests in crops, there is growing concern that these environmental benefits could be outweighed by the negative consequences of the invasion. These include (i) biodiversity losses as populations of native ladybirds suffer from intraguild predation and competition for resources; (ii) human nuisance in houses, including risks of allergy and (iii) potential losses to wine-growers. We provide an economic valuation of environmental and private characteristics affected by the Asian ladybirds invasion. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among a representative sample of the French population. Our results show that the consequences of the Asian ladybirds introduction do affect significantly the populations welfare. Among these, the impact on biodiversity through the threat on native species appears to be a significant concern.

Crop Insurance and pesticide use in French agriculture: an empirical analysis

This paper investigates the factors affecting the demand for crop–hail insurance and explores the potential relation with pesticide use for a sample of French farmers on the period 1993-2004, for the Meuse department. An econometric model involving two simultaneous equations with mixed censored/continuous dependent variables is estimated. Estimation results show that, in the case of rapeseed, insurance demand is significantly and positively related to pesticide use, but that the magnitude of this interaction is quite small. Insurance demand is positively influenced by the coefficient of variation of yield and the loss ratio, and is negatively influenced by Common Agricultural Policy subsidies and diversification of activity at farm level. These results shed light on the determinants of French farmers’ decisions related to risk management.