Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Radek Zdeněk Author-Name: Jana Lososová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting and Finances, Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic Title: Investments of Czech farms located in less favoured areas after EU accession Abstract: This paper investigates the development and structure of the fixed assets of Czech farms and their investment behaviour. We use data from a long-term (2003-2016) survey of farms and categorise farms into three groups according to their share of agricultural land in less favoured areas. The development of tangible fixed assets and their structural development points to the importance of investments to agricultural holdings. Above all, there is an extensive trend of investing in the land, but purchases of land are likely to affect the growth of the relative age of tangible fixed assets, especially the obsolescence of buildings that are not sufficiently modernised by farms. Results of the accelerated model indicate that there is an absence of soft budget constraints but a presence of capital imperfections and high importance of both operating and investment subsidies when deciding on investments in fixed assets. Keywords: accelerated model, ageing, agriculture, assets, investments, subsidies Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 55-64 Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/212/2019-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/212/2019-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202002-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:66:y:2020:i:2:id:212-2019-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Aleksandra Marcikić Horvat Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Business Informatics and Quantitative Methods, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Author-Name: Bojan Matkovski Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Author-Name: Stanislav Zekić Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Author-Name: Boris Radovanov Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Business Informatics and Quantitative Methods, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Title: Technical efficiency of agriculture in Western Balkan countries undergoing the process of EU integration Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to compare the relative technical efficiency of agriculture in Western Balkan countries to those of the European Union and to propose ways to improve the position of Western Balkan countries. The group of Western Balkan countries includes Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania, which are candidate countries for European Union membership, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently a potential candidate. An input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis model with the variable return to scale was applied to an 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. Input variables used in the model included labour, land, and capital, and the output was presented as the value of agricultural production. The highest average technical efficiency was achieved by the EU15 countries for the entire eleven-year period, while the Western Balkan countries had the lowest score. The source of this inefficiency was identified in lower levels of agricultural performance, e.g. a lower-level use of the primary production factors - labour and land. Keywords: agriculture, Data Envelopment Analysis, European Union, Western Balkan Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 65-73 Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/224/2019-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/224/2019-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202002-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:66:y:2020:i:2:id:224-2019-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Chih-Chun Kung Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China Author-Name: Tao Wu Title: A spatial equilibrium analysis of using agricultural resources to produce biofuel Abstract: In order to alleviate the potential damage from climate change and fulfil the requirements contracted in the Paris Agreement (COP 24), China has promulgated the mandatory regulation on ethanol-blend gasoline to reduce current levels of CO2 emissions. Since large-scale bioenergy development involves various aspects such as feedstock selection (energy crops, crop wastes), technology alternatives (conventional and cellulosic ethanol, pyrolysis), government subsidy (land use, energy crop subsidy) and carbon trade mechanism, an analysis that integrates economic, environmental, and social effects is necessary to explore the optimal biofuel strategy and social effects. This study proposes a price endogenous, partial equilibrium mathematical programming model to investigate how the selection of bioenergy crops and bioenergy technologies influences the amount of net bioenergy production, carbon sequestration, government subsidies, and cultivation patterns. We show that the conjunctive use of agricultural wastes can be an effective addition to current biofuel production. The results also indicate that at high gasoline and emissions prices, more land used for the energy crop program results in a significant change in government expenditure. In addition, net emissions reduction and emissions offset efficiency can vary substantially when different bioenergy techniques are adopted. Keywords: carbon offset, ethanol, mathematical programming, resource utilisation, sustainability Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 74-83 Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/201/2019-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/201/2019-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202002-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:66:y:2020:i:2:id:201-2019-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Marwa Ben Abdallah Author-Name: Maria Fekete Farkas Author-Workplace-Name: Doctoral School of Management and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Szent Istvan University, Godollo, Hungary Author-Name: Zoltan Lakner Author-Workplace-Name: Doctoral School of Management and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Szent Istvan University, Godollo, Hungary Title: Analysis of meat price volatility and volatility spillovers in Finland Abstract: Unforeseen important changes in price can present a significant risk in the market. The price fluctuation of agricultural commodities has raised concern for studying the volatility of different agricultural products. A persistent volatility in prices causes continued uncertainty in the market. Higher price volatility is to be mitigated by higher management costs and the higher cost of risk mitigation is often converted into higher producer prices. The aim of this paper is to investigate the price volatility of producer and consumer meat prices and to capture the volatility spillover along the Finnish meat supply chain. The Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity - Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner (GARCH-BEKK) model is applied to analyse shocks and volatilities of the prices and to estimate whether the price volatility is flowing from the first price level (producer) to the second price level (consumer), using monthly price indices. An asymmetric volatility spillover effect was detected in the poultry meat and a unidirectional, volatility spillover effect, from consumer to producer, is observed for pork prices. The findings of this study could serve as a tool for forecasting meat producer and consumer prices, which could assist the Finnish government with endorsing policy options to alleviate the price volatility impact, to protect both consumers and producers from its negative effects. Keywords: asymmetric volatility spillovers, consumer price, GARCH-BEKK model, meat products, producer price Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 84-91 Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/158/2019-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/158/2019-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202002-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:66:y:2020:i:2:id:158-2019-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ihtiyor Bobojonov Author-Name: Ivan Duric Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany Author-Name: Thomas Glauben Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany Title: Heterogeneous impact of price spikes across countries and supply chain actors: An evidence from Central Asia and the Caucasus. A review Abstract: The causes of food price spikes are complex, and their impact on different countries varies depending on production levels and the varied policies in place. Countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) region have implemented a wide range of reforms that vary in form and speed. The existing scientific literature reports about the consequences of price spikes in CAC; however, to date, a comparison of impact between those countries has not been made in terms of the entire supply chain perspective. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of the price spikes on the entire wheat supply chain for the first time in CAC and discusses the role of policies. Another contribution of this study is an evidence-based analysis of the role of policy reformation in maintaining food security under price shocks. Our results indicate a very limited effect of price interventions and trade restrictions on dampening wheat prices in all countries. We find that only trade diversification policy had a positive effect on reducing the level of price spikes, and thus it might be a suitable policy measure for maintaining food security. Keywords: Caucasus, Central Asia, food security, price shocks, procurement policy, subsidies, wheat supply chains Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 92-100 Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Year: 2020 DOI: 10.17221/130/2019-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/130/2019-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202002-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:66:y:2020:i:2:id:130-2019-AGRICECON