Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Nadja El Benni Author-Workplace-Name: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland Author-Name: Robert Finger Author-Workplace-Name: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland Author-Name: Stefan Mann Author-Workplace-Name: Research Station Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART, Ettenhausen, Switzerland Author-Name: Bernard Lehmann Author-Workplace-Name: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland Title: The distributional effects of agricultural policy reforms in Switzerland Abstract: This paper analyses the effects of Swiss agricultural policy reforms and the effects of farm income, off-farm income and direct payments on the distribution of the farm household income. To this end, the farm-level income records from the FADN data for the period 1990-2009 are used to calculate Gini coefficients and Gini elasticities. Bootstrap sampling procedures are applied to test for significant differences of the estimated parameters over time. The Gini coefficients estimated in our analysis show that the household income inequality in Swiss agriculture only slightly increased from 0.21 to 0.24, but the farm income inequality strongly increased from 0.27 to 0.38 in the considered period. We find furthermore that increasing off-farm incomes and direct payments would decrease the household income inequality. Especially direct payments that support farmers producing under adverse production conditions in the hill and mountain regions have found to be well targeted and thus contribute to the reductions in income inequality in agriculture. Keywords: agricultural policy reform, direct payments, Gini coefficient, income inequality Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 497-509 Volume: 58 Issue: 11 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/215/2011-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/215/2011-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201211-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:11:id:215-2011-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Fabio SFORZI Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Economics, University of Parma, Parma, Italy Author-Name: Maria Cecilia MANCINI Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Economics, University of Parma, Parma, Italy Title: The reinterpretation of the agri-food system and its spatial dynamics through the industrial district Abstract: The industrial district theory has brought to the development economics the opportunity to interpret the economic change through places, where it actually is formed, as a result of the join action of the local and extra-local social, economic and institutional forces. This paper sets out to discuss the contribution that the industrial district theory can make to the debate on the spatial dynamics of agri-food systems in the age of globalisation. To this end, the first part of the paper analyses the contribution of the industrial district approach in the relationship between industry and territory; the second part studies the evolution of the concept of the agri-food system and the main determinants of the spatial dynamics in modern agri food systems. This paper supports that the industrial district theory can shed a new light on the spatial dynamics of agri-food systems, and can offer an alternative to the mainstream approach. In using the local community as a unit of analysis, the ID theory gives a key role to human agents of production and their knowledge and the agri-food system can be seen as 'a global network of places', each place being specialized in a different component of the system. Keywords: agri-food system, globalisation, industrial district, spaces, spatial dynamics, territory Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 510-519 Volume: 58 Issue: 11 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/146/2011-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/146/2011-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201211-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:11:id:146-2011-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Hana BOHUŠOVÁ Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and taxes, faculty of business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Patrik SVOBODA Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and taxes, faculty of business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Danuše NERUDOVÁ Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and taxes, faculty of business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Biological assets reporting: Is the increase in value caused by the biological transformation revenue? Abstract: Agricultural activity differs from other activities carried out by business units to achieve the profit. Agricultural activity is in comparison with other activities of business subjects dependent on the natural and environmental conditions, and therefore the agriculture specialization is narrowly connected with geographical position. The aim of the paper is to identify the possible obstacles in the practical application of the International Accounting Standard 41 (IAS 41) and to suggest the possible ways of their elimination. The comparative analysis of the currently applied rules for agricultural activity reporting and the analysis of the current accounting treatment of agricultural activity under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were the starting point of the research. This part serves as the basis for own research in which the authors are trying to identify the specifics of agricultural production, biological assets and biological transformation. More suitable methods for their recognition, measurement and reporting were suggested as an alternative to the current treatments. At the end, the results are also confronted with contemporary scientific literature on that topic, which is not very broad. The main reason for the research of the authors in this area is the possible elimination of obstacles in the practical application of the IAS 41. Keywords: agricultural produce, biological assets, biological transformation, IFRS, revenue Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 520-532 Volume: 58 Issue: 11 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/187/2011-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/187/2011-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201211-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:11:id:187-2011-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Štefan BOJNEC Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia Title: Agricultural and rural capital markets in Turkey, Croatia and the FYR of Macedonia Abstract: This paper analyses the agricultural and rural capital factor markets in the three European Union (EU) candidate countries: Turkey, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia. Agricultural and rural capital markets share similarities with the general capital market developments, but agricultural and rural capital markets are facing specific credit constraints related to agricultural assets and rural fixed asset specificities, which constrain their mortgages and collateral use. Credit constraints form a limited access to the investment credits necessary for the restructuring of small-scale individual farms. Government transfers are used to differing extents in the different candidate countries, but generally they tend to increase over time. Remittances and donor funds have also played an important role in the agricultural and rural economy investments. Keywords: agriculture and rural areas, candidate countries, capital market, European Union Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 533-541 Volume: 58 Issue: 11 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/195/2011-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/195/2011-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201211-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:11:id:195-2011-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Lucie SEVEROVÁ Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economic Theories, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jan CHROMÝ Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Marketing and Media Communication, Institute of Hospitality Management, Czech Republic Author-Name: Bohuslav SEKERKA Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economic Theories, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Alexandr SOUKUP Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economic Theories, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Microeconomic aspects of government subsidies in the agricultural market Abstract: It is known from the Czech practice that a very actual problem of economic policy is created by the subsidies on the prices of agricultural products. A price subsidy of agricultural product causes the price to be kept above its equilibrium level. We will use the microeconomic knowledge about the behaviour of average and marginal costs curves in the short-run and long-run. We assume two agricultural firms in a perfect competition market. The agricultural large-scale company reaches a normal profit, but the small family firm has higher costs, therefore it runs at a loss. Using the subsidy can ensure that the prices of agricultural products are set at a level, at which the farmers have appropriate incomes. However, a loss of efficiency can occur because of the subsidy as the surplus, which is purchased by the government, and actually stays unused. Keywords: efficiency, equilibrium, long-run average costs, long-run marginal costs, price intervention programs, subsidy of agricultural products Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 542-548 Volume: 58 Issue: 11 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/212/2011-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/212/2011-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201211-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:58:y:2012:i:11:id:212-2011-AGRICECON