Suchergebnisse

In this article we aim at quantifying the impact of the crop diversification measure implemented in France as part of the 2013 CAP greening reform. While numerous studies assess the impact of the measure using simulation models, none uses causal treatment methods or ex-post data. We exploit a discontinuity in the constraints imposed on farms over and under 30ha, respectively, and apply an OLS-FE method with a regression discontinuity setup on land use data collected from a representative sample of French farmers before and after reform implementation. We find that the crop diversification measure increases both compliance with the measure and the number of crops grown by farms greater than 30ha. Furthermore, graphical analyses suggest that farms over and under 30ha responded differently to the reform.

In this article we aim at quantifying the impact of the crop diversification measure implemented in France as part of the 2013 CAP greening reform. While numerous studies assess the impact of the measure using simulation models, none uses causal treatment methods or ex-post data. We exploit a discontinuity in the constraints imposed on farms over and under 30ha, respectively, and apply an OLS-FE method with a regression discontinuity setup on land use data collected from a representative sample of French farmers before and after reform implementation. We find that the crop diversification measure increases both compliance with the measure and the number of crops grown by farms greater than 30ha. Furthermore, graphical analyses suggest that farms over and under 30ha responded differently to the reform.

International environmental agreements require negotiation and cooperation among countries. This paper attempts to analyze the presence and nature of inter-country interactions in the process of ratifying such agreements. We develop a theoretical argument based on the notions of strategic substitutability and strategic complementarity and study the interactions among three different peer types: geographic neighbors, trading partners and green investment projects partners (in our case, clean development mechanism projects partners). We test for the presence of interactions by taking into account a temporal dimension, which constitutes a methodological contribution. To this end, we introduce spatially lagged endogenous variables into a parametric survival model and apply the proposed framework to the Kyoto Protocol ratification process. Our data sample covers 164 countries for the period 1998 to 2009. We find evidence that, while countries' ratification decisions are basically strategic substitutes, they become strategic complements once we focus on the ratification decisions of specific peers. Adapted from the source document.

Is there a strategically beneficial time for political leaders to make international environmental commitments? Based on the political cycles theory we argue that leaders have incentives to delay costly ratification of international environmental agreements to the post-electoral period. However, the cost of participating in these agreements are often lower for developing countries, and they may benefit from indirect gains, which may make them more prone to ratifying in the pre-electoral period. These hypotheses are empirically assessed by studying the ratification process of 48 global environmental agreements censused in the ENTRI database from 1976 to 1999. We use a duration model in which time is measured on a daily basis, enabling us to precisely identify pre- and post-electoral periods -- a significant challenge in political cycles studies. Our investigation reveals the existence of political ratification cycles that are of substantial magnitude and non-linear over the pre- and post-electoral years.

Is there a strategically beneficial time for political leaders to make international environmental commitments? Based on the political cycles theory we argue that leaders have incentives to delay costly ratification of international environmental agreements to the post-electoral period. However, the cost of participating in these agreements are often lower for developing countries, and they may benefit from indirect gains, which may make them more prone to ratifying in the pre-electoral period. These hypotheses are empirically assessed by studying the ratification process of 48 global environmental agreements censused in the ENTRI database from 1976 to 1999. We use a duration model in which time is measured on a daily basis, enabling us to precisely identify pre- and post-electoral periods -- a significant challenge in political cycles studies. Our investigation reveals the existence of political ratification cycles that are of substantial magnitude and non-linear over the pre- and post-electoral years.

Assembling a group of researchers having different theoretical backgrounds, academic fields and cultural origins or nationalities is a complex matrix. This paper discusses the conditions and strategies that can make complex research groups work together in a productive way. The authors refer to the distinction between explaining and understanding as a useful illustration of the kinds of differences found within similar groups. Different basic purposes of international research projects are also taken into account. The authors also argue that developing a research instrument that produces data useful to the different theoretical frameworks might be a better procedure than coming to terms with complex issues such as whether paradigms are compatible or not. Finally, the authors discuss the kind of learning which can be extracted from the experience of working in an international research team.

Can agricultural extension policies be improved by leveraging the power of peer influence? In this study, we evaluate the performance of the French Ecophyto plan aimed at reducing pesticide use, focusing on its flagship scheme, which has provided technical assistance to 3,000 volunteer pilot farms enrolled as peer groups since 2011. We use panel data collected from a representative sample of vineyards, known to be among the heaviest consumers of pesticides. We apply a variety of quasi-experimental approaches to estimate the impact of program participation on pesticide use and crop yields of enrolled vineyards. We find that participants have used 8 to 22 percent lesser pesticides than they would have used in the absence of the program. Moreover, we find that this change of practices resulted in a decrease in yields for only a fraction of enrolled peer farms, while others appear to have maintained their yields. Altogether these results suggest that providing technical assistance to peer groups can be effective in significantly reducing pesticide use in France, and presumably in developed countries more generally, for a cost per hectare that is not greater than that of the average European agri-environmental scheme.