Although coffee is still an important agricultural commodity in Colombia, the coffee share of GDP has significantly declined over the past 40 years. Controlling for changes in relative prices, factor endowments, and technological change, we analyze the coffee share decline in conjunction with other agricultural output by applying a Vector Error Correction model. The results indicate that while market liberalization policies contributed to the declining coffee share of GDP, the decline was partly offset by the end of coffee export quotas. Our results support policies in favor of assistance for farmers to compete in international markets.

Discussions about increasing diversity in economics have ignored the role that associations play in the engagement of underrepresented economists. We continue work on diversity and inclusion in the Northeastern Agriculture and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) and other associations by analyzing membership and meeting attendance to promote diversity in economics. We estimate a vector error correction model (VECM) to identify the determinants of membership and meeting attendance and use member survey data to model membership and meeting attendance behavior. We find inequalities across gender, income, and professional status. Recommendations include locating meetings in accessible cities, increasing networking opportunities, and providing more services supporting underrepresented groups.

Despite a proliferation of articles focused on consumer willingness-to-pay for locally produced foods, few studies have systemically considered the role of food identity in the price premium of local foods. This article uses primary and secondary data to fill that gap. Using data from 9,329 U.S. households, we identify what foods each state considers a part of their collective food identity. We then compare each state's collective food identity to the actual production within the state. Finally, we utilize a discrete choice experiment (N = 484) focused on a state with one such collective food identity to test whether a consumer's preference for local foods is a function of the collective food identity within the state. Results from the open-ended survey suggest that each state connects with their food production in unique ways and that not all state identities are consistent with actual agricultural production. Results from the discrete choice experiment suggest that consumers are more willing to pay a premium for the local food that is a part of their local food identity than for a similar product that is not a part of their local food identity. Our findings imply that future research on consumer preferences for local food systems should consider the relationship between food culture and geography.

Several studies have tried to estimate the productivity and input use efficiency of cocoa farmers in Ghana, but they shed limited light on their chronic nature and other sources of low production. This study extends the literature by analyzing a unique nationally representative sample that constitutes 30 years of production. The results showed that pure farmer technical inefficiency is not only 8 percent points larger than the regional technology gap, but also consistently dominated the overall performance of farmers from 1987-2017. The policy implication of this finding at face value suggests that improving farmer managerial skills could increase output.

Nigeria has experienced bouts of violent conflict in different regions since its independence leading to significant loss of life. In this article, we explore the average effect of exposure to violent conflict generally on labor supply in agriculture. Using a nationally representative panel dataset for Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, in combination with armed conflict data, we estimate the average effect of exposure to violent conflict on a household's farm labor supply. Our findings suggest that on average, exposure to violent conflict significantly reduces total family labor supply hours in agriculture. We also find that the decline in family labor supply is driven by a significant decline in the household head's total number of hours on the farm.

Bolivia has disseminated several improved technologies in the rice sector, but the average rice productivity in the country is far below the average trend in Latin America in recent years. Although the economic literature has highlighted the role of agricultural technology adoption in increasing agricultural productivity, gaps remain in understanding how rice growers are deciding to adopt and benefit from available improved rice technologies. Most previous adoption studies have evaluated the uptake of individual technologies without paying attention to the complementarities that alternative improved rice technologies may offer to farmers who face multiple marketing and production needs. This study uses data from a nationally representative sample of Bolivian rice growers to analyze farmers' joint decisions in adopting complementary agricultural technologies controlling for potential correlations across these decisions, as well as the extent of adoption of these practices. Evidence suggests that the decisions on multiple technology adoption are closely related, with common factors affecting both adoption and the extent of adoption. Furthermore, there is a need to better target resource-poor farmers, improve information-diffusion channels on agricultural practices, and better use existing farmers' organizations to enhance rice technology adoption.

Smallholder agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is largely exposed to pervasive market failures, translating into missed opportunities and sub-optimal economic behavior. These failures can partly be traced to the importance of economies of scale in procuring inputs and marketing produce, where smallholders face disproportionately high transaction costs. Producer organizations could help to lessen transaction costs; however, only a few farmers in Uganda sell through them. We introduce two interventions aimed at promoting marketing via producer organizations: cash on delivery, and information on sales, and analyze their impacts in an RCT design: We find that providing cash on delivery increases the probability that a member chooses to sell through the group, and hence the volumes bulked by each group. This increase in volumes appears to have enabled groups to secure higher prices for their produce. No significant effect could be found for providing information on sales.

Immigration has changed the United States from having a predominantly white to a more ethnically diverse population. People who move to the U.S. may initially have diets unlike native-born Americans but gradually adopt eating patterns more like them. Using NHANES data and a censored gamma regression model, this study estimated the daily consumption of major food products among groups of immigrants and the corresponding groups born in the U.S. Results show that immigrants had lower consumption of meat and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, and immigrants’ consumption converged towards a less healthy American diet after five years in the U.S.

This study explores how higher temperatures influence corn yield response to planting density. Using 1990–2010 field trial data from Wisconsin and econometric models with a variety of specifications, we find that higher temperatures reduce the yield benefits of increasing planting density. However, these adverse high-temperature effects are smaller for genetically modified corn varieties, especially those with rootworm-resistant traits. Consistent with previous studies, these results support the notion that varietal improvements through genetic modification may have paved the way for higher planting densities in US corn production. Moreover, our results imply that expected in-season temperatures are important considerations when making planting density decisions.

Farm-level data from the Farm Financial Management Database (FINBIN) are used to evaluate the effectiveness of Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) insurance in diverse farming operations. A panel of diverse Minnesota farms is used to establish actual production history and compute hypothetical performance over three years. This study characterizes the relative riskiness between organic and conventional farms and their comparative insurance performances by avoiding potential adverse selection issues in other studies. Empirical evidence is provided to dispute past empirical findings suggesting that organic farms are riskier than conventional farms, as measured by lower loss ratios.

Trust is considered an important factor for successful collective action in groups of smallholder farmers. A prime example is collective commercialization of agricultural produce through producer organizations. While previous research has focused on trust as an exogenous determinant of participation in groups, this article tests whether trust within existing groups can be improved using a training program. We conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural Senegal to identify the effects of training members and/or leaders with respect to commercialization on intragroup trust. Our design allows identifying both direct treatment effects of having participated in the training and spillover effects on farmers who did not partake. Looking at different measures of trust in leaders’ competence and motives and of trust in members, we find that participating in the training significantly enhances both trust in leaders and trust in members. For trust in leaders, we also find a strong spillover effect. Our findings suggest that relatively soft and noncostly interventions such as group training appear to positively affect trust within producer organizations.

This study presents the environmental impacts of agricultural policy instruments as evidence from an ex-ante farm-level policy simulation model in Japan. Simulations did indicate that all types of agri-environmental payments achieved the environmental benefit for the land studied. Conversely, market price support does not inevitably increase nitrogen runoff or greenhouse gas emissions at any time since paddy fields themselves have the function of purifying water pollution and work as a biodiversity nursery. The direction and magnitude of the policy impacts are an empirical matter that should be considered carefully at a local level.

We investigate incumbent brands’ response to entry and increased competition in a large retail setting. We extend the nonprice competition and manufacturer stocking literatures by examining if incumbent brands increase quality, specifically increasing the number of varieties (product-line length), in response to entry of a new local brand in the ice cream market. We use the entry of a new, local, super-premium ice cream brand in a large supermarket chain as a quasi-natural experiment and empirically examine if incumbent ice cream brands increased the product-line length in stores carrying the new brand. Using Poisson difference-in-differences estimators, we find that incumbent brands increased the number of varieties offered by 0.9 (3 percent) after the new brand's entry, with most of the responses coming from super-premium ice cream, which increased the number of varieties offered by 2.9 (12 percent) product choices. These findings contribute new insights into quality changes, manufacturer stocking decisions, and nonprice competition associated with entry of a local brand into the food retail sector.

Bilateral trade agreements between Japan and major wine-exporting countries have resulted in tariff eliminations in Japan. This raises questions about how tariffs affect the competitiveness of wine-exporting countries. The generalized dynamic Rotterdam model was used in estimating Japanese wine demand by source. Estimates were then used to project the impact of tariffs on imports of Australian, Chilean, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and U.S. wine. Tariff reductions primarily benefit affected countries, with limited adverse effects on competing countries. The elimination of tariffs on U.S. wine should offset any losses from competing trade agreements.

Consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for yogurt attributes was evaluated using a survey targeted to be nationally representative within the United States. A novel approach was used to allow for self-selection into the choice experiment for commonly purchased types of yogurt, either Greek or traditional, based on what consumers purchase. They were willing to pay a positive amount for requiring pasture access and not permitting dehorning/disbudding (which references the removal of horns or horn buds) for both traditional and Greek yogurt. Respondents had positive WTP for Greek yogurt labeled free of high-fructose corn syrup and a higher WTP for low-fat yogurt when compared to nonfat for both yogurt types.

Economic experiments have been widely used to elicit individuals' evaluation for various commodities. Common elicitation methods include auction and posted price mechanisms. A field experiment is designed to compare willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates between these two mechanisms. Despite both of these formats being theoretically incentive compatible and demand revealing, results from 115 adult consumers indicate that WTP estimates obtained from an auction are 32–39 percent smaller than those from a posted price mechanism. A comparison in statistical significance shows that auctions require a smaller sample size than posted price mechanisms in order to detect the same preference change. Nevertheless, the signs of marginal effects for different product characteristics are consistent in both mechanisms.

This article examines whether racial disparities exist in travel distances and travel times to grocery stores in Seattle, WA. In contrast to the findings of studies conducted in other metropolitan cities, Seattle, WA, has few food deserts. We find that disparities in travel distance and travel time to supermarkets vary with the percentage of specific racial and ethnic populations. Greater Asian populations in a census tract are associated with shorter travel distance to the grocery, low income, and low vehicle access. For the Hispanic population, a greater percentage in a census tract increases the predicted travel distances and travel times to grocery stores. Greater income in tracts with more Hispanic population is associated with a shorter distance, and those tracts with more Asian population are associated with a longer distance, possibly due to cultural differences in diet.

The agriculture and food sectors contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. About 15 percent of food-related carbon emissions are channeled through restaurants. Using a contingent valuation (CV) method with double-bounded dichotomous choice (DBDC) questions, this article investigates U.S. consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for an optional restaurant surcharge in support of carbon emission reduction programs. The mean estimated WTP for a surcharge is 6.05 percent of an average restaurant check, while the median WTP is 3.64 percent. Our results show that individuals have a higher WTP when the surcharge is automatically added to restaurant checks. We also find that an information nudge—a short climate change script—significantly increases WTP. Additionally, our results demonstrate that there is heterogeneity in treatment effects across consumers’ age, environmental awareness, and economic views. Our findings suggest that a surcharge program could transfer a meaningful amount of the agricultural carbon reduction burden to consumers that farmers currently shoulder.

Understanding how farm household consumption responds to adverse income shocks can provide insight into household well-being and appropriate agricultural policy. Using a split-sample survey of Indiana specialty producers, where we randomly assign respondents to treatments that vary the size of a hypothetical income shock, we estimate the relationship between income loss and household consumption. Given that postdisaster producers' risk preferences are important for business decisions, we elicit producers' risk preferences. We find that food and miscellaneous expenses are the most sensitive to income losses. We also find evidence for decreasing absolute risk aversion among producers after the income loss shock.