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Daniel Lema

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EconomistProfessor in agricultural economics and applied econometrics at the Universidad del CEMA (UCEMA) and researcher in agricultural economics at the Institute of Economics of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA-Argentina). Consultant for international organizations as the FAO, the CGIAR, the CFC, World Bank and the IADB. Fields of interest: technological change, agricultural policies and economic evaluation of public policies.

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Amare Haileslassie

International Livestock Research Institute

Nathaniel Makoni Makoni

Jan van der Lee

Wageningen University and Research Centre

Mohamed Taher SRAÏRI

Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II

University of Adelaide

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Papers by Daniel Lema

Climate variability and agricultural production in Argentina: the role of risk-transfer mechanisms

La investigación relacionada con la variabilidad climática es particularmente importante en las c... more La investigación relacionada con la variabilidad climática es particularmente importante en las condiciones actuales de la agricultura argentina. Éstas incluyen (a) una mayor especialización en la soja, con la consiguiente reducción de las posibilidades de reducción del riesgo a través de efectos "cartera", (b) mayor importancia de la producción de cultivos en la agricultura argentina, (c) inestabilidad macroeconómica que resulta en una severa contracción e incremento de las tasas de interés del crédito y (d) tendencia al alza en el uso de insumos y en los costos de producción por acre, con el consecuente aumento del rendimiento de las cosechas. Este trabajo resume las investigaciones recientes relacionadas con la variabilidad de la producción en la agricultura argentina, así como las consecuencias de esta variabilidad en la eficiencia y asignación de recursos y presenta una visión general de las estrategias para hacer frente a los eventos climáticos adversos. Estimamos la voluntad de pagar (WTP) de los productores agrícolas por los mecanismos de seguro tipo índice, y esbozamos los requisitos para el desarrollo de un mercado de transferencia de riesgo para los productores agrícolas.

Crecimiento y productividad total de factores en la agricultura : Argentina y países del cono sur 1961-2013

Forest fires and economic incentives: Impact of forest protection laws in Argentina

This paper evaluates the potential impact of the recently enacted forest protection laws on the n... more This paper evaluates the potential impact of the recently enacted forest protection laws on the number of forest fires in Argentina. The forest protection laws (at a federal and provincial level) restricts the use of forestry land in several ways, and limit the expansion of the agricultural frontier. This restriction can make forest arson potentially profitable to clear land and to expand the agricultural frontier circumventing the laws. We present a conceptual model based in the economic theory of crime to analyze forest arson decisions, and to predict individual behavior. Using panel data from 2002 to 2014 at a provincial level we present empirical evidence of systematic effects in the occurrence of forest fire as a function of the new regulation and its sequential implementation. Fixed effects and difference-in-differences estimates show that the number of fires increased transitory some 100% -200% in the main crop producer provinces during the law implementation process (2009-20...

Argentine Agricultural Policy: Economic Analysis and Impact Assessment Using the Producer Support Estimate (PSE) Approach

2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy, 2015

This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support receive... more This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support received by producers and consumers. We present a summary of developments in the agricultural policy environment that have occurred in the last decades in Argentina, as well as the resulting performance of the agricultural sector. The concepts of Producer Support Estimates, Consumer Support Estimates, General Services Support Estimates, Producer Nominal Assistance Coefficient and Nominal Protection Coefficient are used to analyse different dimensions of transfers occurring between agricultural producers, consumers and taxpayers in the period 2007-2012. Total transfers from producers have averaged US$ 11.000 million annually or 26% of total gross farm receipts. Support flowing from the public sector to producers in the form of R&D, infrastructure and other "public good" type of inputs totalize some 500 million annually.

Procesos decisorios y eficiencia productiva: ganadería argentina

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2018

During the last decades substantial increases in both output as well as productivity have taken p... more During the last decades substantial increases in both output as well as productivity have taken place in Argentine cereal and oilseed production. This has not been the case of livestock production, where both output as well as productivity increases have been modest. This paper – of an exploratory nature – analyzes some of the challenges involved in estimating productivity differences in livestock enterprises. The objective is to point out data needs to (i) quantify productivity differences and (ii) explain why these differences exist. This paper is a part of a research project focused on the measurement of efficiency of livestock production using farm-level data. Resumen: Las ultimas decadas han sido testigo de importantes aumentos de produccion y productividad en la produccion de cereales y oleaginosas argentina. Lo mismo no ha ocurrido en la produccion ganadera, donde los incrementos tanto de produccion como de productividad han sido modestos. Este trabajo – de naturaleza exploratoria – analiza algunos de los desafios implicitos en estimar productividad en empresas ganaderas. El objetivo plantear que datos serian necesarios a fin de (i) cuantificar diferenciales de productividad, y (ii) explicar las razones por las cuales estos diferenciales existen. El trabajo forma parte de un proyecto mas amplio de investigacion sobre medicion de eficiencia en ganaderia utilizando datos a nivel empresa.

Climate variability and agricultural production in argentina: the role of risk-transfer mechanisms

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Oct 1, 2016

Variabilidad climática y seguros paramétricos en la agricultura del Cono Sur

Este trabajo analiza las posibilidades y limitaciones que tendrían los seguros paramétricos como ... more Este trabajo analiza las posibilidades y limitaciones que tendrían los seguros paramétricos como herramienta para contribuir a la adaptación al riesgo climático en la producción agropecuaria en los países del Cono Sur de América Latina. Se describen los principales eventos climáticos extremos y su impacto agregado en los países de la región y se presenta una revisión del estado de desarrollo de los seguros climáticos paramétricos en el mundo y en la región, así como las limitaciones para su adopción. La revisión de las experiencias sobre seguros índices como mecanismo de manejo de riesgos sugiere algunas razones para explicar el escaso desarrollo hasta el presente. Las principales razones identificadas son el riesgo base, las coberturas incompletas, los costos de diseño, las restricciones de liquidez por parte de los productores, la falta de comprensión del mecanismo y la falta de confianza en los proveedores de coberturas. Para fomentar la adopción de coberturas paramétricas se sug...

Political budget cycles and voting within a federal country: The influence of political alignment

Economics & Politics, 2020

While the impact of distributive politics on political budget cycles (PBCs) has been well studied... more While the impact of distributive politics on political budget cycles (PBCs) has been well studied at the national level, its impact on PBCs and voting behavior within federal countries has barely been investigated. 1 The literature on PBCs analyzes how incumbents may use expansionary fiscal policy to ap-1 We are aware of only two studies that deal with the interconnections of subnational PBCs with distributive politics. Lema (2006) empirically studies PBCs in Argentine provinces during the 1985-2001 period, finding that the national government favors copartisan districts with more transfers in gubernatorial election years, but he does not control for what happens in non-electoral years. Motivated by the pattern of national and state transfers to municipalities in Brazil between 1999 and 2004, Ferreira and Bugarin (2007) develop a model where municipal PBCs and voting are affected by partisan-motivated transfers from the state government.

Analysis of Agricultural Policies in Argentina 2007-2016

be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work ... more be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Argentine Agricultural Policy: Producer and Consumer Support. Estimates 2007-2012

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Oct 1, 2014

This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support receive... more This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support received by producers and consumers. We present a summary of developments in the agricultural policy environment that have occurred in the last decades in Argentina, as well as the resulting performance of the agricultural sector. The concepts of Producer Support Estimates, Consumer Support Estimates, General Services Support Estimates, Producer Nominal Assistance Coefficient and Nominal Protection Coefficient are used to analyse different dimensions of transfers occurring between agricultural producers, consumers and taxpayers in the period 2007-2012. Total transfers from producers have averaged US$ 11.000 million annually or 26% of total gross farm receipts. Support flowing from the public sector to producers in the form of R&D, infrastructure and other "public good" type of inputs totalize some 500 million annually.

Climate Variability and Agricultural Production in Argentina: The Role of Risk-Transfer Mechanisms

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Políticas agrícolas en México: una visión agregada y un análisis de programas clave

Costos de eficiencia de la aplicación de Derechos de Exportación Diferenciales sobre productos agropecuarios

Revista Argentina de Economía Agraria 20 (1) : 50-69. (2019), Dec 17, 2019

El trabajo analiza los costos de eficiencia de la imposición de derechos de exportación diferenci... more El trabajo analiza los costos de eficiencia de la imposición de derechos de exportación diferenciales para estimular el agregado de valor en el caso del complejo sojero argentino. Mediante un enfoque microeconómico de cálculo de excedentes sociales, se demuestra la ineficiencia de la utilización de derechos de exportación diferenciales para la promoción del valor agregado. Finalmente, utilizando este marco conceptual se presenta una estimación de los costos de eficiencia y de las transferencias de ingresos asociadas a la promoción del biodiesel en Argentina. Las estimaciones empíricas para el caso del biodiesel en Argentina muestran transferencias desde los productores primarios hacia la industria y los países importadores por un valor de 2139 millones de dólares entre 2010 y 2018.

Returns to Managerial Ability and Technical Efficiency in Argentina Dairy Farms

This paper explores the returns to managerial ability and his role in determining efficiency in A... more This paper explores the returns to managerial ability and his role in determining efficiency in Argentina dairy farms. Using an unbalanced panel data from 2003 through 2009 we estimate production frontiers and technical efficiency effects. Most studies analyzing the impact of human capital in agriculture use the measure of years of schooling of the producer as a proxy for decision-making skills. An alternative measure is used in this paper. The measure was derived by grading decision-making and execution skills of the farmers. Grades were assigned by farm advisors knowledgeable of each farm and producer characteristics. Assigned grades were then used in the production frontiers as inputs to estimate the impact of management skills on firm-level results. A very significant impact of these skills on firm results and on technical efficiency and was found. Acknowledgement :

A Meta-Frontier Approach to Measuring Technical Efficiency and Technology Gaps in Beef Cattle Production in Argentina

In this paper the stochastic metafrontier method is applied to estimate technical efficiency (TE)... more In this paper the stochastic metafrontier method is applied to estimate technical efficiency (TE) and metatechnology ratios (MTR), in beef cattle production for three distinct regions in Argentina. A deterministic stochastic metafrontier production function model is estimated that envelops the individual stochastic frontiers of the three regions. Our results show that firms from Pampean region, the most favored in terms of environment conditions, have an average (TE) of 53.7%, meanwhile for others regions the TE is around 58.9-66.97%. The average MTR for Pampean region is 96.8%, in contrast, the others regions have an average MTR of 42%. Our results suggest that, farms in the Pampean region could improve their performance through a better management using the available technologies and resources. In regions II and III the improvement of the productivity is likely to require additional investment in research to adapt and develop new technologies.

Agricultural Productivity in Argentina

The main objective of this paper is to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the... more The main objective of this paper is to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the Argentine agricultural sector. First, the paper examines trends and changes in aggregate agricultural production, sources of growth and productivity over the period 1913-2010. It then analyzes the productivity growth in the two main subsectors in argentine agriculture, grains and livestock, for the period 1961-2010. TFP was calculated using the Törnqvist index, which is a discrete approximation to the Divisia index. The data used to estimate the output and input indexes are prices and quantities for 4 grain crops, livestock, and for four inputs —labor, land, capital and fertilizers. The results for aggregate agricultural sector show that the annual rate of annual for the period 1913-2010 was 1.8% and 0.3%, for products and inputs respectively. Therefore, the TFP grew at an average annual rate of 1.5%. Finally, the paper examines the dominant growth profile, either extensive (factor accu...

Contracts, Transaction Costs and Agricultural Production in the Pampas

This paper presents an analysis of agricultural contracts using a transaction costs approach. We ... more This paper presents an analysis of agricultural contracts using a transaction costs approach. We contend that in a context of modern agriculture, with well defined property rights, agricultural contracts must balance costs and benefits, aligning tenant and landlord incentives towards a similar objective. The study debates the potential effects of tenancy status and duration of contracts, over soil conservation and input use. We present empirical evidence about the effects over the soil and input use in tenant (fixed rent or sharecropping) and owner-operator farms using farm level data from the 2002 National Agricultural Census of Argentina. The empirical results show some differential effects but do not support a general and clear negative effect for tenancy arrangements. Our intuition is that the interaction among specific characteristics of farmers (education, experience, assets, etc.), the natural resources endowment (soil fertility) and the economic and institutional environment...

El consumo de carnes en Argentina 1950-2012

Desarrollo Economico-revista De Ciencias Sociales, 2016

espanolEste trabajo brinda algunas precisiones sobre la evolucion del consumo de carnes en Argent... more espanolEste trabajo brinda algunas precisiones sobre la evolucion del consumo de carnes en Argentina entre 1950 y 2012, con particular referencia al impacto causado por la incorporacion de la avicultura industrial desde la ultima decada del siglo XX. El analisis se encuadra en una vision panoramica de la evolucion de las principales fuentes proteicas de origen animal en el nivel mundial en las ultimas seis decadas tanto en su composicion como en su distribucion geografica. Se identifican cuatro cambios de importancia durante el periodo estudiado: (i) la paulatina caida de la participacion de la carne vacuna en el consumo total de carne, (ii) la reduccion de la variabilidad del consumo de la carne vacuna, (iii) el desarrollo agroindustrial de la avicultura y (iv) el reciente progreso de la produccion porcina. En el trabajo se presenta tambien una estimacion de la demanda de carne vacuna para el periodo 1950-2012 y se calcula una elasticidad precio en todo el periodo de -0,36. Entre 1...

Ciclos electorales en política fiscal

Primero usamos casos empiricos concretos para motivar la discusion de los ciclos electorales en p... more Primero usamos casos empiricos concretos para motivar la discusion de los ciclos electorales en politica fiscal. Luego presentamos una revision teorica y econometrica de la literatura. Teoricamente, los ciclos se pueden interpretar en terminos de un problema de inconsistencia temporal que enfrentan los gobiernos bajo informacion asimetrica: no es creible que los gobiernos respeten una regla de presupuesto equilibrado antes de las elecciones, a menos que existan actores de veto legislativos que limiten la discrecionalidad del poder ejecutivo. Empiricamente, esta literatura muestra que aunque los ciclos electorales en politica fiscal estan presentes en todo tipo de democracias, estan condicionados por las caracteristicas institucionales de cada pais.

Impacto económico de la investigación agropecuaria en Argentina. El caso del INTA

Impacto económico de la investigación agropecuaria en Argentina. El caso del INTA. Resumen En est... more Impacto económico de la investigación agropecuaria en Argentina. El caso del INTA. Resumen En este trabajo presentamos una estimación cuantitativa del impacto sobre la productividad agropecuaria de la investigación pública en ciencia y tecnología calculando tasas internas de retorno y ratios beneficio costo. Las estimaciones muestran una elasticidad de la TFP con respecto al stock de conocimiento público que varían en un rango entre 0.20 y 0.34 dependiendo de las especificaciones. Estos valores son similares a los reportados en trabajos previos que utilizan metodologías comparables. También consistente con la literatura previa se muestra que la inversión en investigación agrícola tiene tasas de retorno positivas y significativas. Las TIR estimadas varían entre el 6% y el 12% dependiendo de las tasas de descuento y especificaciones definidas. Asimismo, los ratios Beneficio-Costo estimados son relativamente elevados, entre 35 y 63, para los distintos escenarios definidos, implicando también un alto retorno asociado a los gastos en actividades de investigación.

Climate variability and agricultural production in Argentina: the role of risk-transfer mechanisms

La investigación relacionada con la variabilidad climática es particularmente importante en las c... more La investigación relacionada con la variabilidad climática es particularmente importante en las condiciones actuales de la agricultura argentina. Éstas incluyen (a) una mayor especialización en la soja, con la consiguiente reducción de las posibilidades de reducción del riesgo a través de efectos "cartera", (b) mayor importancia de la producción de cultivos en la agricultura argentina, (c) inestabilidad macroeconómica que resulta en una severa contracción e incremento de las tasas de interés del crédito y (d) tendencia al alza en el uso de insumos y en los costos de producción por acre, con el consecuente aumento del rendimiento de las cosechas. Este trabajo resume las investigaciones recientes relacionadas con la variabilidad de la producción en la agricultura argentina, así como las consecuencias de esta variabilidad en la eficiencia y asignación de recursos y presenta una visión general de las estrategias para hacer frente a los eventos climáticos adversos. Estimamos la voluntad de pagar (WTP) de los productores agrícolas por los mecanismos de seguro tipo índice, y esbozamos los requisitos para el desarrollo de un mercado de transferencia de riesgo para los productores agrícolas.

Crecimiento y productividad total de factores en la agricultura : Argentina y países del cono sur 1961-2013

Forest fires and economic incentives: Impact of forest protection laws in Argentina

This paper evaluates the potential impact of the recently enacted forest protection laws on the n... more This paper evaluates the potential impact of the recently enacted forest protection laws on the number of forest fires in Argentina. The forest protection laws (at a federal and provincial level) restricts the use of forestry land in several ways, and limit the expansion of the agricultural frontier. This restriction can make forest arson potentially profitable to clear land and to expand the agricultural frontier circumventing the laws. We present a conceptual model based in the economic theory of crime to analyze forest arson decisions, and to predict individual behavior. Using panel data from 2002 to 2014 at a provincial level we present empirical evidence of systematic effects in the occurrence of forest fire as a function of the new regulation and its sequential implementation. Fixed effects and difference-in-differences estimates show that the number of fires increased transitory some 100% -200% in the main crop producer provinces during the law implementation process (2009-20...

Argentine Agricultural Policy: Economic Analysis and Impact Assessment Using the Producer Support Estimate (PSE) Approach

2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy, 2015

This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support receive... more This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support received by producers and consumers. We present a summary of developments in the agricultural policy environment that have occurred in the last decades in Argentina, as well as the resulting performance of the agricultural sector. The concepts of Producer Support Estimates, Consumer Support Estimates, General Services Support Estimates, Producer Nominal Assistance Coefficient and Nominal Protection Coefficient are used to analyse different dimensions of transfers occurring between agricultural producers, consumers and taxpayers in the period 2007-2012. Total transfers from producers have averaged US$ 11.000 million annually or 26% of total gross farm receipts. Support flowing from the public sector to producers in the form of R&D, infrastructure and other "public good" type of inputs totalize some 500 million annually.

Procesos decisorios y eficiencia productiva: ganadería argentina

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2018

During the last decades substantial increases in both output as well as productivity have taken p... more During the last decades substantial increases in both output as well as productivity have taken place in Argentine cereal and oilseed production. This has not been the case of livestock production, where both output as well as productivity increases have been modest. This paper – of an exploratory nature – analyzes some of the challenges involved in estimating productivity differences in livestock enterprises. The objective is to point out data needs to (i) quantify productivity differences and (ii) explain why these differences exist. This paper is a part of a research project focused on the measurement of efficiency of livestock production using farm-level data. Resumen: Las ultimas decadas han sido testigo de importantes aumentos de produccion y productividad en la produccion de cereales y oleaginosas argentina. Lo mismo no ha ocurrido en la produccion ganadera, donde los incrementos tanto de produccion como de productividad han sido modestos. Este trabajo – de naturaleza exploratoria – analiza algunos de los desafios implicitos en estimar productividad en empresas ganaderas. El objetivo plantear que datos serian necesarios a fin de (i) cuantificar diferenciales de productividad, y (ii) explicar las razones por las cuales estos diferenciales existen. El trabajo forma parte de un proyecto mas amplio de investigacion sobre medicion de eficiencia en ganaderia utilizando datos a nivel empresa.

Climate variability and agricultural production in argentina: the role of risk-transfer mechanisms

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Oct 1, 2016

Variabilidad climática y seguros paramétricos en la agricultura del Cono Sur

Este trabajo analiza las posibilidades y limitaciones que tendrían los seguros paramétricos como ... more Este trabajo analiza las posibilidades y limitaciones que tendrían los seguros paramétricos como herramienta para contribuir a la adaptación al riesgo climático en la producción agropecuaria en los países del Cono Sur de América Latina. Se describen los principales eventos climáticos extremos y su impacto agregado en los países de la región y se presenta una revisión del estado de desarrollo de los seguros climáticos paramétricos en el mundo y en la región, así como las limitaciones para su adopción. La revisión de las experiencias sobre seguros índices como mecanismo de manejo de riesgos sugiere algunas razones para explicar el escaso desarrollo hasta el presente. Las principales razones identificadas son el riesgo base, las coberturas incompletas, los costos de diseño, las restricciones de liquidez por parte de los productores, la falta de comprensión del mecanismo y la falta de confianza en los proveedores de coberturas. Para fomentar la adopción de coberturas paramétricas se sug...

Political budget cycles and voting within a federal country: The influence of political alignment

Economics & Politics, 2020

While the impact of distributive politics on political budget cycles (PBCs) has been well studied... more While the impact of distributive politics on political budget cycles (PBCs) has been well studied at the national level, its impact on PBCs and voting behavior within federal countries has barely been investigated. 1 The literature on PBCs analyzes how incumbents may use expansionary fiscal policy to ap-1 We are aware of only two studies that deal with the interconnections of subnational PBCs with distributive politics. Lema (2006) empirically studies PBCs in Argentine provinces during the 1985-2001 period, finding that the national government favors copartisan districts with more transfers in gubernatorial election years, but he does not control for what happens in non-electoral years. Motivated by the pattern of national and state transfers to municipalities in Brazil between 1999 and 2004, Ferreira and Bugarin (2007) develop a model where municipal PBCs and voting are affected by partisan-motivated transfers from the state government.

Analysis of Agricultural Policies in Argentina 2007-2016

be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work ... more be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Argentine Agricultural Policy: Producer and Consumer Support. Estimates 2007-2012

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Oct 1, 2014

This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support receive... more This paper analyzes agricultural policy in Argentina and calculates the degree of support received by producers and consumers. We present a summary of developments in the agricultural policy environment that have occurred in the last decades in Argentina, as well as the resulting performance of the agricultural sector. The concepts of Producer Support Estimates, Consumer Support Estimates, General Services Support Estimates, Producer Nominal Assistance Coefficient and Nominal Protection Coefficient are used to analyse different dimensions of transfers occurring between agricultural producers, consumers and taxpayers in the period 2007-2012. Total transfers from producers have averaged US$ 11.000 million annually or 26% of total gross farm receipts. Support flowing from the public sector to producers in the form of R&D, infrastructure and other "public good" type of inputs totalize some 500 million annually.

Climate Variability and Agricultural Production in Argentina: The Role of Risk-Transfer Mechanisms

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Políticas agrícolas en México: una visión agregada y un análisis de programas clave

Costos de eficiencia de la aplicación de Derechos de Exportación Diferenciales sobre productos agropecuarios

Revista Argentina de Economía Agraria 20 (1) : 50-69. (2019), Dec 17, 2019

El trabajo analiza los costos de eficiencia de la imposición de derechos de exportación diferenci... more El trabajo analiza los costos de eficiencia de la imposición de derechos de exportación diferenciales para estimular el agregado de valor en el caso del complejo sojero argentino. Mediante un enfoque microeconómico de cálculo de excedentes sociales, se demuestra la ineficiencia de la utilización de derechos de exportación diferenciales para la promoción del valor agregado. Finalmente, utilizando este marco conceptual se presenta una estimación de los costos de eficiencia y de las transferencias de ingresos asociadas a la promoción del biodiesel en Argentina. Las estimaciones empíricas para el caso del biodiesel en Argentina muestran transferencias desde los productores primarios hacia la industria y los países importadores por un valor de 2139 millones de dólares entre 2010 y 2018.

Returns to Managerial Ability and Technical Efficiency in Argentina Dairy Farms

This paper explores the returns to managerial ability and his role in determining efficiency in A... more This paper explores the returns to managerial ability and his role in determining efficiency in Argentina dairy farms. Using an unbalanced panel data from 2003 through 2009 we estimate production frontiers and technical efficiency effects. Most studies analyzing the impact of human capital in agriculture use the measure of years of schooling of the producer as a proxy for decision-making skills. An alternative measure is used in this paper. The measure was derived by grading decision-making and execution skills of the farmers. Grades were assigned by farm advisors knowledgeable of each farm and producer characteristics. Assigned grades were then used in the production frontiers as inputs to estimate the impact of management skills on firm-level results. A very significant impact of these skills on firm results and on technical efficiency and was found. Acknowledgement :

A Meta-Frontier Approach to Measuring Technical Efficiency and Technology Gaps in Beef Cattle Production in Argentina

In this paper the stochastic metafrontier method is applied to estimate technical efficiency (TE)... more In this paper the stochastic metafrontier method is applied to estimate technical efficiency (TE) and metatechnology ratios (MTR), in beef cattle production for three distinct regions in Argentina. A deterministic stochastic metafrontier production function model is estimated that envelops the individual stochastic frontiers of the three regions. Our results show that firms from Pampean region, the most favored in terms of environment conditions, have an average (TE) of 53.7%, meanwhile for others regions the TE is around 58.9-66.97%. The average MTR for Pampean region is 96.8%, in contrast, the others regions have an average MTR of 42%. Our results suggest that, farms in the Pampean region could improve their performance through a better management using the available technologies and resources. In regions II and III the improvement of the productivity is likely to require additional investment in research to adapt and develop new technologies.

Agricultural Productivity in Argentina

The main objective of this paper is to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the... more The main objective of this paper is to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the Argentine agricultural sector. First, the paper examines trends and changes in aggregate agricultural production, sources of growth and productivity over the period 1913-2010. It then analyzes the productivity growth in the two main subsectors in argentine agriculture, grains and livestock, for the period 1961-2010. TFP was calculated using the Törnqvist index, which is a discrete approximation to the Divisia index. The data used to estimate the output and input indexes are prices and quantities for 4 grain crops, livestock, and for four inputs —labor, land, capital and fertilizers. The results for aggregate agricultural sector show that the annual rate of annual for the period 1913-2010 was 1.8% and 0.3%, for products and inputs respectively. Therefore, the TFP grew at an average annual rate of 1.5%. Finally, the paper examines the dominant growth profile, either extensive (factor accu...

Contracts, Transaction Costs and Agricultural Production in the Pampas

This paper presents an analysis of agricultural contracts using a transaction costs approach. We ... more This paper presents an analysis of agricultural contracts using a transaction costs approach. We contend that in a context of modern agriculture, with well defined property rights, agricultural contracts must balance costs and benefits, aligning tenant and landlord incentives towards a similar objective. The study debates the potential effects of tenancy status and duration of contracts, over soil conservation and input use. We present empirical evidence about the effects over the soil and input use in tenant (fixed rent or sharecropping) and owner-operator farms using farm level data from the 2002 National Agricultural Census of Argentina. The empirical results show some differential effects but do not support a general and clear negative effect for tenancy arrangements. Our intuition is that the interaction among specific characteristics of farmers (education, experience, assets, etc.), the natural resources endowment (soil fertility) and the economic and institutional environment...

El consumo de carnes en Argentina 1950-2012

Desarrollo Economico-revista De Ciencias Sociales, 2016

espanolEste trabajo brinda algunas precisiones sobre la evolucion del consumo de carnes en Argent... more espanolEste trabajo brinda algunas precisiones sobre la evolucion del consumo de carnes en Argentina entre 1950 y 2012, con particular referencia al impacto causado por la incorporacion de la avicultura industrial desde la ultima decada del siglo XX. El analisis se encuadra en una vision panoramica de la evolucion de las principales fuentes proteicas de origen animal en el nivel mundial en las ultimas seis decadas tanto en su composicion como en su distribucion geografica. Se identifican cuatro cambios de importancia durante el periodo estudiado: (i) la paulatina caida de la participacion de la carne vacuna en el consumo total de carne, (ii) la reduccion de la variabilidad del consumo de la carne vacuna, (iii) el desarrollo agroindustrial de la avicultura y (iv) el reciente progreso de la produccion porcina. En el trabajo se presenta tambien una estimacion de la demanda de carne vacuna para el periodo 1950-2012 y se calcula una elasticidad precio en todo el periodo de -0,36. Entre 1...

Ciclos electorales en política fiscal

Primero usamos casos empiricos concretos para motivar la discusion de los ciclos electorales en p... more Primero usamos casos empiricos concretos para motivar la discusion de los ciclos electorales en politica fiscal. Luego presentamos una revision teorica y econometrica de la literatura. Teoricamente, los ciclos se pueden interpretar en terminos de un problema de inconsistencia temporal que enfrentan los gobiernos bajo informacion asimetrica: no es creible que los gobiernos respeten una regla de presupuesto equilibrado antes de las elecciones, a menos que existan actores de veto legislativos que limiten la discrecionalidad del poder ejecutivo. Empiricamente, esta literatura muestra que aunque los ciclos electorales en politica fiscal estan presentes en todo tipo de democracias, estan condicionados por las caracteristicas institucionales de cada pais.

Impacto económico de la investigación agropecuaria en Argentina. El caso del INTA

Impacto económico de la investigación agropecuaria en Argentina. El caso del INTA. Resumen En est... more Impacto económico de la investigación agropecuaria en Argentina. El caso del INTA. Resumen En este trabajo presentamos una estimación cuantitativa del impacto sobre la productividad agropecuaria de la investigación pública en ciencia y tecnología calculando tasas internas de retorno y ratios beneficio costo. Las estimaciones muestran una elasticidad de la TFP con respecto al stock de conocimiento público que varían en un rango entre 0.20 y 0.34 dependiendo de las especificaciones. Estos valores son similares a los reportados en trabajos previos que utilizan metodologías comparables. También consistente con la literatura previa se muestra que la inversión en investigación agrícola tiene tasas de retorno positivas y significativas. Las TIR estimadas varían entre el 6% y el 12% dependiendo de las tasas de descuento y especificaciones definidas. Asimismo, los ratios Beneficio-Costo estimados son relativamente elevados, entre 35 y 63, para los distintos escenarios definidos, implicando también un alto retorno asociado a los gastos en actividades de investigación.