...Explaining Land Allocation: Subsistence Maize Cultivation in Rural Mexico Aslıhan Arslan No. 1469 | December 2008 Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Düsternbrooker Weg 120, 24105 Kiel, Germany Kiel Working Paper No. 1469 | December 2008 Title* Author Aslihan Arslan Abstract: Economic models of land allocation may lead to expectations for farmer response that “surprisingly" do not materialize, if market prices fail to reflect the value of farmers' product. “Shadow prices" rather than market prices explain resource allocation better for farmers who attach significant non-market values to their own crops. I extend the theoretical model in Arslan and Taylor (2008) to explain why the land allocation of such farmers may not respond to market signals even if transaction costs are not binding. I estimate the proportion of land subsistence maize farmers allocate to traditional versus modern maize varieties using nationally representative rural household data from Mexico – the center of diversity of maize. I conclude that shadow prices explain land allocation better than market prices and discuss the importance of non-market values in understanding both farmers' supply response and on-farm conservation of traditional crops with non-market values. Keywords: Land allocation, shadow prices, non-market values, traditional crops, on-farm conservation, Mexico JEL classification: O12, O13, Q12, Q39 Aslıhan Arslan Kiel Institute for the World Economy 24100 Kiel, Germany Telephone:...
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...personally affected by this land alienation. This is because, ‘As women lost access and control of land they became more economically dependent on men. This led to an intensification of domestic patriarchy, reinforced by colonial social institutions.’ Among the Kikuyu of Kenya women were the major food producers and thus not only had ready access to land but also authority over how land was to be cultivated. Speaking about African women in general, Seenarine, in quoting Sacks explains that, ‘the value of women’s productive labor, in producing and processing food established and maintained their rights in domestic and other spheres – economic, cultural, religious, social, political, etc.’ The advent of the British colonialism and the settler economy negatively impacted Kikuyu women because the loss of land meant a loss of access to and authority over land. Kikuyu women found that they no longer had the variety of soils needed to grow indigenous foodstuffs. Traditionally, certain pieces of land were associated with the growth of certain crops. Thus the variety of soils was required to ensure food security . Moreover, land loss meant women were restricted to smaller tracts of land for cultivation. Continuous cultivation of these areas of land led to soil exhaustion and nutrient depletion which ultimately adversely affected crop yields. Land alienation reduced the economic independence enjoyed by women by compromising their economic productivity. As colonialism continue to entrench itself...
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...An economy or economic system consists of the production, distribution or trade, and consumption of limited goods and services by different agents in a given geographical location. The economic agents can be individuals, businesses, organizations, or governments. Transactions occur when two parties agree to the value or price of the transacted good or service, commonly expressed in a certain currency. In the past, economic activity was theorized to be bounded by natural resources, labor, and capital. This view ignores the value of technology (automation, accelerator of process, reduction of cost functions), and innovation (new products, services, processes, new markets, expands markets, diversification of markets, niche markets, increases revenue functions), especially that which produces intellectual property. A given economy is the result of a set of processes that involves its culture, values, education, technological evolution, history, social organization, political structure and legal systems, as well as its geography, natural resource endowment, and ecology, as main factors. These factors give context, content, and set the conditions and parameters in which an economy functions. The largest national economy in the Americas is the United States,[1] Germany in Europe,[2] Nigeria in Africa[3] and China in Asia.[4] A market-based economy is where goods and services are produced without obstruction or interference, and exchanged according to demand and supply between participants...
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...budget revenues.It is one of the largest oil producing countries in the world and petroleum income accounts for more than 50% of its budget revenues and 90% of earning from export. since the discovery of oil in 1930s the economy of south arabia has grown tremendously to a high level(Oxford,2012).Its economy has since shifted from subsistence farming to the service and oil industries. South arabia economy is ready for economic take off,with huge investment by government on infrastructure and other social amenities, high and stable income from oil and increase export of non-hydrocarbon (IMF,2012).The economist have projected this years economic growth to be 7% citing reasons such as increase oil revenues and massive government investment(Oxford,2012).In the recent past the government has rolled out plans of investing back Increased revenues from oil export into economy by announcing new development programmes like housing units,infrastructure and other economic stimuli programmes. South Arabias increase in economic growth is also being contributed to by government plans to diversify the economy, the government has invested heavily in industrial and agricultural sector, while also encouraging both local and foreign investors to invest in the economy(Worldbank,2012). The government has provided private sector participation through incentives and generous financing which has now led to huge private investment into telecom and energy generation industry. This government...
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...1. What are the primary differences between subsistence, capitalistic, and centrally planned economies? Subsistence economies are the place where individual lives are dependent on what can be gained from their property or land that our family owned and the land is worked or farmed by one’s self or family. Subsistence economies are different and rely on what is gained from the farmland and items that is self-produced or produced by the family. Subsistence does not use any resources that are non-renewable Capitalistic Societies is where companies of individuals produce goods or a product which provide services that are sold based on supply and demand. Centrally planned economies are resources that are used in distribution, enforced and decision made by the U.S. Government. The central planned and capitalistic societies will put a strain on the environment at an increasing rate, as the overall wealth of society increases and the population numbers rise and both rely on the government’s response. The United States is a much wealthier country and will use far more resources than a poorer country with a much larger population. Capitalistic and centrally planned societies tend to approach resource...
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... (over 40% of the world’s population lives on less than 2 dollar per day). Subsistence Economy: an economy in which production is mainly for personal consumption and the standard of living yields little more than basic necessities of life—food, shelter and clothing. (A subsistence economy is a non-monetary economy which relies on natural resources to provide for basic needs, through hunting, gathering, and subsistence agriculture. "Subsistence" means supporting oneself at a minimum level; in a subsistence economy, economic surplus is minimal and only used to trade for basic goods, and there is no industrialization.) Development：The process of improving the quality of all human lives and capabilities by raising people’s levels of living, self-esteem, and freedom. Developing countries: Countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union, that are presently characterized by low levels of living and other development deficits. Used in the development literature as a synonym for less developed countries. Traditional economics: An approach to economics that emphasize utility, profit maximization, market efficiency, and determination of equilibrium. Political economy: The attempt to merge economic analysis with practical politics—to view economic activity in its political context. Development economics: The studies of how economies are transformed from stagnation to growth and from low-income to high-income status...
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...countries through colonialism. South Africa is influenced by all levels of economic activity including the primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary and quinary sectors which determine if South Africa’s commercial economy. These economic levels, along with the indicators of development, show whether or not South Africa is a developed nation and if so, how developed they are. This paper will present an overview of the economic activities in South Africa and analyze its state of development. Major Economic Activity in South Africa South Africa has a lot of influence throughout multiple levels of economic activity; from primary production to quinary services. Regarding the primary level of economic activity, they have a agriculture sector that covers both subsistence farms and commercial farms. Subsistence farms by definition consume what they produce in order to survive, whereas commercial farms produce a good in excess in order to sell it in a market for the purpose of gaining a profit (Doberstein, 2011). Through the influence of modern innovation and technology, South African farms are able to produce crops both for commercial trading and for local markets (Geography of Africa, 2008). Although the majority of these farms are commercial, South Africa also has a subsistence farming sector. Another primary industry is South Africa’s mining industry that produces a majority of Africa’s minerals (Geography of Africa, 2008). In this country, a lot of the products produced in the...
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...such as corn, coal, wood and iron. (A coal miner and a fisherman would be workers in the primary sector.) * Secondary: Involves the transformation of raw or intermediate materials into goods e.g. manufacturing steel into cars, or textiles into clothing. (A builder and a dressmaker would be workers in the secondary sector.) * Tertiary: Involves the supplying of services to consumers and businesses, such as baby-sitting, cinema and banking. (A shopkeeper and an accountant would be workers in the tertiary sector.) In the 20th century, it began to be argued that traditional tertiary services could be further distinguished from "quaternary" and quinary service sectors.[2] The quaternary sector of the economy is a way to describe a knowledge-based[1] part of the economy - which typically includes services such as information technology, information-generation and -sharing, media, and research and development, as well as knowledge-based services like consultation, education, financial planning, blogging, and designing.[2] The quaternary sector is based on knowledge and skill. It consists of intellectual industries providing information...
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...imperative, and the tools for an effective response are known. Nothing less than a sustained social mobilization is necessary to combat one of the most serious crises facing human development. Most recent findings show that HIV prevalence in the population is currently slightly on the down side in the case of Kenya . This not withstanding, given the massive scale of the problem and the concentration of effects on adults of prime working age, the pandemic has sharply influenced a host of economic and non-economic variables. In this paper I will review some of the available literature on the impact of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS has impacted several areas of society: 1. The family or the household 2. The Health sector 3. The work place 4. The economy 5. Stigma 1. The Impact on the Family/Household In almost all cases the first victim of HIV/AIDS is the immediate family. More often than not it is the poorest sector of the society that is most vulnerable to this epidemic. There will be an upsurge of medical bills which affects the family savings or money that can be best used on other investments. Children will probably drop out of school because of lack of school fees. Eventually when money for medication runs out the family becomes a burden to society and become dependent on others. It is estimated that on average the increase in the number of destitute homes in some societies contribute to at...
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...duty of the state is to enhance and maintain both national wealth and national power in order to defend the country and National Wealth consists solely or primarily in its supply of precious metals such as gold and silver. And the state or the government used to earn all this wealth by trade. Where the government encouraged exports and discouraged imports so that gold would be in the country which meant to them that they had more power since they are richer, and this will lead to the growth of the country. Whereas the physiocrats had a different idea on wealth and growth which was that wealth is in agricultural production and that growth is acquired when they had more crops which meant more production, and this will lead to a sustenance economy where the country consumes what it produces. Consumption and wages in the times of...
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...indication of the economic welfare of a country. However, there are numerous problems involved when calculating the GNP. This is especially true in developing countries. The first problem that a developing country might encounter is the existing use of barter in the economy. Barter is not included in the proper records of economic activity. Therefore governments in developing countries find it hard to gather the statistics for the calculation of the GNP. It is even possible for countries to not even have proper records of economic activity. Furthermore, a developing country might lack the resources or skills required in order to collect the data needed. They may not be able to afford allocating skilled manpower and other resources to collect data. The government themselves may be incompetent or inefficient which may lead to inaccurate and unreliable measurements of the GNP. In developing countries, non-marketed goods and illegal goods may distort the values of the GNP. Unpaid services such as housewives, self-consumed output and payment in kind lead to the inaccuracy in the GNP. Since many developing countries depend on their primary sector heavily, such as farming, include goods that are kept for subsistence purposes. Such goods are not recorded in the GNP statistics. Even if the GNP statistics were accurate, there is a problem faced with interpreting these figures. It is still hard to reflect the standard of living of a country. The standard of living is also affected...
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...Richard Cantillon’s Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en Général Translated by Chantal Saucier Edited by Mark Thornton 4 An Essay on Economic Theory © 2010 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute and published under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Ludwig von Mises Institute 518 West Magnolia Avenue Auburn, Alabama 36832 mises.org ISBN: 978-1-61016-001-8 Foreword Robert F. Hébert Following a century of neglect, William Stanley Jevons, in the first blush of discovery, proclaimed Cantillon’s Essai, “the cradle of political economy.” Subsequent growth and development of economic thought has not really alerted us to the subtleties of this succinct appraisal. A cradle holds new life; and there can be little doubt that the Essai added new life to the organizing principles of economics. But “political economy” does not accurately describe the subject Cantillon addressed. Indeed, he scrupulously avoided political issues in order to concentrate on the mechanics of eighteenth-century economic life. When confronted by “extraneous” factors, such as politics, Cantillon insisted that such considerations be put aside, “so as not to complicate our subject,” he said, thus invoking a kind of ceteris paribus assumption before it became fashionable in economics to do so. This is merely one way in which Cantillon was ahead of his time. He preceded Adam Smith by a generation. Both writers made important foundational...
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...An economy consists of the economic systems of a country or other area; the labor, capital, and land resources; and the manufacturing, production, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area. A given economy is the result of a process that involves its technological evolution, history and social organization, as well as its geography, natural resource endowment, and ecology, as main factors. These factors give context, content, and set the conditions and parameters in which an economy functions. A market based economy may be described as a spatially limited social network where goods and services are freely produced and exchanged according to demand and supply between participants (economic agents) by barter or a medium of exchange with a credit or debit value accepted within the network. Capital and labor can move freely across places, industries and firms in search of higher profits, dividends, interest, compensations and benefits. Rent on land allocates this generally fixed resource among competing users. Contemporary Capitalism is a market economy in which most of the production capacity is owned and directed by the private sector. Government role is limited to provide for defense and internal security; administer justice and prisons; make laws and regulations; enforce contracts, laws and regulations; correct market imperfections and failures; ensure full employment without inflation; promote balance economic growth and development; provide...
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...Research Proposal Topic: THE IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORKING TO ENHANCE WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN SMEs Introduction In this dynamic business world entrepreneurship has inferred special significance, as it is a key driver to economic development. The objectives of industrial development, regional growth, and employment generation depend upon entrepreneurship. Consequently entrepreneurs are, thus the seeds of industrial development and the fruits of this development are greater employment job opportunities to unemployed people. Entrepreneurship leads to higher income, increases in per capita income, higher standard of living, and individual saving, revenue to the government in the form of various taxes. The recent concept of “entrepreneurial networking/social networking” has emerged as one of the contributing factors to growth of enterprises (Davidsson and Honig, 2003; Lam, Leibbrandt, & Mlatsheni, 2007). Information is a major resource for men and women entrepreneurs and can connect to marketplaces, suppliers; costs, technology, and networking have appeared as valuable for contributing assistance to entrepreneurs. The networking is becoming popular and a valuable way to get hold of relevant information to get competitive advantages. Networking provides entrepreneurs a variety of priceless sources not previously in ownership and assist to accomplish their goals (Hansen, 1995; Jenssen, 2001; Ripolles and Blesa, 2005; Welter and Kautonen, 2005). Networking can be...
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... Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean approximately 2,000 kms off the southeast coast of the African continent. The country is comprised of the island of Mauritius, Rodrigues, the islands of Agalega, and the archipelago of Saint Brandon. Since its independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculture based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. Mauritius is considered the only African country ranked as a “full democracy” in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index. Navin Ramgoolam of the Mauritius Labour Party has been Prime Minister since 2005, and Rajkeswur Purryag has been president since 2012. Economy: Development Mauritius has a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi cultured population. Vast majority of its population are immigrants from India, China and other African nations. The country has seen a very stable GDP growth rate of approx. 3.2% for the past 5 years, with the first quarter of 2015 witnessing a 3.5% growth. Mauritius is one of the top ten free economies in the world and ranks first out of the 46 Sub-Saharan African nations. This...
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