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  • Food Policy  (110)
  • Pathogens & Pathogenicity  (51)
  • Oxford University Press  (161)
  • Cambridge University Press
  • 1
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    A Wicked Problem? Cost Containment in the Women, Infants and Children Program (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-11
    Description: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program is a key part of America's safety net, but its structure fails to incentivize participants to be cost-conscious in their purchases and may cause retailers to attach excessive markups to WIC products. We investigate cost containment in the WIC Program, with a focus on California. Results show that smaller vendors often charge considerably higher prices for WIC foods than their larger counterparts. However, larger vendors do not mark up WIC foods more or promote them less than comparable control products. Cost containment can be improved by targeting WIC Program sales to larger vendors when it is possible to do so without compromising participant access, and using large-vendor prices as a benchmark to limit prices set by smaller vendors.
    Keywords: D12 - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis, I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 2
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    Simulating welfare effects of the European nutrition and health claims' regulation: the Italian yogurt market (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-05-26
    Description: With the enactment of Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006, 20 December 2006, ‘ On nutrition and health claims made on foods ’ several health claims can no longer be used on food products in European markets. We simulate the overall impact of the regulation on consumers and producers using the Italian yogurt market as a case study, and data prior to the introduction of the policy. We quantify welfare losses incurred if accepted claims were false, and simulate scenarios where rejected truthful health claims are removed, considering also the case where the products carrying them exit the market. We find that consumers can incur large welfare losses if approved claims are untruthful; if truthful claims are instead denied both consumers and producers may incur losses, with consumers being penalised more than producers.
    Keywords: L66 - Food ; Beverages ; Cosmetics ; Tobacco ; Wine and Spirits, M38 - Government Policy and Regulation, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 3
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    A human pathogenic bacterial infection model using the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-07-15
    Description: Invertebrate animal species that can withstand temperatures as high as 37°C, the human body temperature, are limited. In the present study, we utilized the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus , which lives in tropical and subtropical regions, as an animal model of human pathogenic bacterial infection. Injection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus into the hemolymph killed crickets. Injected P. aeruginosa or S. aureus proliferated in the hemolymph until the cricket died. The ability of these pathogenic bacteria to kill the crickets was blocked by the administration of antibiotics. S. aureus gene-knockout mutants of virulence factors, including cvfA, agr and srtA , exhibited decreased killing ability compared with the parent strain. The dose at which 50% of crickets were killed by P. aeruginosa or S. aureus was not decreased at 37°C compared with that at 27°C. Injection of Listeria monocytogenes , which upregulates toxin expression at 37°C, killed crickets, and the dose at which 50% of crickets were killed was decreased at 37°C compared with that at 27°C. These findings suggest that the two-spotted cricket is a useful model animal for evaluating the virulence properties of various human pathogenic bacteria at variable temperature including 37°C.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 4
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    A conserved OmpA-like protein in Legionella pneumophila required for efficient intracellular replication (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-07-31
    Description: The OmpA-like protein domain has been associated with peptidoglycan-binding proteins, and is often found in virulence factors of bacterial pathogens. The intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila encodes for six proteins that contain the OmpA-like domain, among them the highly conserved uncharacterized protein we named CmpA. Here we set out to characterize the CmpA protein and determine its contribution to intracellular survival of L. pneumophila . Secondary structure analysis suggests that CmpA is an inner membrane protein with a peptidoglycan-binding domain at the C-teminus. A cmpA mutant was able to replicate normally in broth, but failed to compete with an isogenic wild-type strain in an intracellular growth competition assay. The cmpA mutant also displayed significant intracellular growth defects in both the protozoan host Acanthamoeba castellanii and in primary bone marrow-derived macrophages, where uptake into the cells was also impaired. The cmpA phenotypes were completely restored upon expression of CmpA in trans . The data presented here establish CmpA as a novel virulence factor of L. pneumophila that is required for efficient intracellular replication in both mammalian and protozoan hosts.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 5
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    A secretome view of colonisation factors in Shiga toxin-encoding Escherichia coli (STEC): from enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) to related enteropathotypes (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-08-05
    Description: Shiga toxin-encoding Escherichia coli (STEC) regroup strains that carry genes encoding Shiga toxin (Stx). Among intestinal pathogenic E. coli , enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) constitute the major subgroup of virulent STEC. EHEC cause serious human disease such as haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic-uremic syndrome. While EHEC have evolved from enteropathogenic E. coli , hybrids with enteroaggregative E. coli have recently emerged. Of note, some enteroinvasive E. coli also belong to the STEC group. While the LEE (locus of enterocyte effacement) is a key and prominent molecular determinant in the pathogenicity, neither all EHEC nor STEC contain the LEE, suggesting that they possess additional virulence and colonisation factors. Currently, nine protein secretion systems have been described in diderm-lipopolysaccharide bacteria (archetypal Gram-negative) and can be involved in the secretion of extracellular effectors, cell-surface proteins or assembly of cell-surface organelles, such as flagella or pili. In this review, we focus on the secretome of STEC and related enteropathotypes, which are relevant to the colonisation of biotic and abiotic surfaces. Considering the wealth of potential protein trafficking mechanisms, the different combinations of colonisation factors and modulation of their expression is further emphasised with regard to the ecophysiology of STEC.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 6
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    In vitro activity of levofloxacin against planktonic and biofilm Stenotrophomonas maltophilia lifestyles under conditions relevant to pulmonary infection in cystic fibrosis, and relationship with SmeDEF multidrug efflux pump expression (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-06-23
    Description: The activity of levofloxacin against planktonic and biofilm Stenotrophomonas maltophilia cells and the role played by the multidrug efflux pump SmeDEF were evaluated under conditions relevant to the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung. MIC, MBC and MBEC of levofloxacin were assessed, against five CF strains, under ‘standard’ (CLSI-recommended) and ‘CF-like’ (pH 6.8, 5% CO 2 , in a synthetic CF sputum) conditions. Levofloxacin was tested against biofilms at concentrations (10, 50 and 100 μg mL –1 ) corresponding to achievable serum levels and sputum levels by aerosolisation. smeD expression was evaluated, under both conditions, in planktonic and biofilm cells by RT-PCR. The bactericidal effect of levofloxacin was decreased, in three out of five strains tested, under ‘CF-like’ conditions (MBC: 2–4 vs 8–16 μg mL –1 , under ‘standard’ and ‘CF-like’ conditions, respectively). Biofilm was intrinsically resistant to levofloxacin, regardless of conditions tested (MBECs ≥ 100 μg mL –1 for all strains). Only under ‘CF-like’ conditions, smeD expression increased during planktonic-to-biofilm transition, and in biofilm cells compared to stationary planktonic cells. Our findings confirmed that S. maltophilia biofilm is intrinsically resistant to therapeutic concentrations of levofloxacin. Under conditions relevant to CF, smeD overexpression could contribute to levofloxacin resistance. Further studies are warranted to define the clinical relevance of our findings .
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 7
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    Auranofin and N-heterocyclic carbene gold-analogs are potent inhibitors of the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-06-23
    Description: Auranofin is an FDA-approved gold-containing compound used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Recent reports of antimicrobial activity against protozoa and bacteria indicate that auranofin targets the reductive enzyme thioredoxin reductase (TrxR). We evaluated auranofin as well as five auranofin analogs containing N- heterocyclic carbenes (instead of the triethylphosphane present in auranofin) and five gold-carbene controls for their ability to inhibit or kill Helicobacter pylori in vitro . Auranofin completely inhibited bacterial growth at 1.2 μM. Purified H. pylori TrxR was inhibited by auranofin in a cell-free assay (IC 50 ~88 nM). The most active gold(I)- N- heterocyclic carbene compounds exhibited MICs comparable to auranofin against H. pylori (2 μM), while also exhibiting lower toxicities for human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293T cells). Median toxic concentrations (TC 50 ) were 13–20-fold higher compared to auranofin indicating that they were less cytotoxic. The N- heterocyclic carbene analogs maybe well tolerated, but further evaluation is needed in vivo . Finally, auranofin was synergistic with the antibiotic amoxicillin, suggesting that targeting both the reductive enzyme TrxR and cell wall synthesis may be effective against H. pylori infections.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 8
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    Colony types and virulence traits of Legionella feeleii determined by exopolysaccharide materials (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-05-08
    Description: Legionella feeleii is a Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium that causes Pontiac fever and pneumonia in humans. When L. feeleii serogroup 1 (ATCC 35072) was cultured on BCYE agar plates, two types of colonies were observed and exhibited differences in color, opacity and morphology. Since the two colony types are white rugose and brown translucent, they were termed as white rugose L. feeleii (WRLf) and brown translucent L. feeleii (BTLf), respectively. They exhibited different growth capacities in BYE broth in vitro , and it was found that WRLf could transform to BTLf. Under the electron microscope, it was observed that WRLf secreted materials which could be stained with ruthenium red, which was absent in BTLf. When U937 macrophages and HeLa cells were infected with the bacteria, WRLf manifested stronger internalization ability than BTLf. Intracellular growth in murine macrophages and Acanthamoeba cells was affected by the level of initial phagocytosis. WRLf was more resistant to human serum bactericidal action than BTLf. After being inoculated to guinea pigs, both organisms caused fever in the animals. These results suggest that ruthenium red-stained materials secreted in the surroundings may play a crucial role in determining L. feeleii colony morphology and virulence traits.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 9
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    Resistance-nodulation-division efflux pump acrAB is modulated by florfenicol and contributes to drug resistance in the fish pathogen Piscirickettsia salmonis (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-05-12
    Description: Piscirickettsia salmonis is a fastidious intracellular pathogen responsible for high mortality rates in farmed salmonids, with serious economic consequences for the Chilean aquaculture industry. Oxytetracycline and florfenicol are the most frequently used antibiotics against P. salmonis , but routine use could contribute to drug resistance. This study identified differentiated florfenicol susceptibilities in two P. salmonis strains, LF-89 and AUSTRAL-005. The less susceptible isolate, AUSTRAL-005, also showed a high ethidium bromide efflux rate, indicating a higher activity of general efflux pump genes than LF-89. The P. salmonis genome presented resistance nodulation division (RND) family members, a family containing typical multidrug resistance-related efflux pumps in Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, efflux pump acrAB genes were overexpressed in AUSTRAL-005 following exposure to the tolerated maximal concentration of florfenicol, in contrast to LF-89. These results indicate that tolerated maximum concentrations of florfenicol can modulate RND gene expression and increase efflux pump activity. We propose that the acrAB efflux pump is essential for P. salmonis survival at critical florfenicol concentrations and for the generation of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 10
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    The ferrichrome receptor A as a new target for Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence attenuation (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-05-12
    Description: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, known to develop robust biofilms. Its biofilm development increases when antibiotics are presented at subminimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for reasons that remain unclear. In order to identify genes that affect biofilm development under such a sublethal antibiotic stress condition, we screened a transposon (Tn) mutant library of PAO1, a prototype P. aeruginosa strain. Among ~5000 mutants, a fiuA gene mutant was verified to form very defective biofilms in the presence of sub-MIC carbenicillin. The fiuA gene encodes ferrichrome receptor A, involved in the iron acquisition process. Of note, biofilm formation was not decreased in the pchpvd mutant defective in the production of pyochelin and pyoverdine, two well-characterized P. aeruginosa siderophore molecules. Moreover, fiuA , a non-polar fiuA deletion mutant, produced a significantly decreased level of elastase, a major virulence determinant. Mouse airway infection experiments revealed that the mutant expressed significantly less pathogenicity. Our results suggest that the fiuA gene has pleiotropic functions that affect P. aeruginosa biofilm development and virulence. The targeting of FiuA could enable the attenuation of P. aeruginosa virulence and may be suitable for the development of a drug that specifically controls the virulence of this important pathogen.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 11
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    Grain Promotion and Food Consumption: Analysis of Chinese Provincial Data (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-12
    Description: China has long struggled to achieve food security. In the era of a planned economy, local self-sufficiency was dictated by policy. With China's transition to a market economy, however, different policy schemes have been utilized, with greater emphasis placed on the role of market forces, especially in conjunction with China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Nevertheless, self-sufficiency in grain production remains a deeply rooted goal, and interventionist measures geared towards its achievement are still viewed as the most direct and effective means of food security. This paper examines how the well-being of China's rural population, proxied by measures of food consumption, is affected by the promotion of grain production. Our findings suggest that targeted households bear a disproportionate burden of food security policy, as it is currently implemented.
    Keywords: O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 12
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    Measuring Food Access and Food Deserts for Policy Purposes{dagger} (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-12
    Description: Policymakers have dedicated increasing attention to whether Americans have access to healthful food. As a result, various methods for measuring food store access at the national level have been developed to identify areas that lack access. However, these methods face definitional, data, and methodological limitations. The focus on neighborhoods instead of individuals underestimates the barriers that some individuals face in accessing healthy food, and overestimates the problem in other neighborhoods. This paper reviews and critiques currently available national-level measures of food access. While multiple measures of food access are needed to understand the problem, we recommend greater attention be paid to individual measures of food store access.
    Keywords: I14 - Health and Inequality, I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 13
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    Decomposing the Farmer's Share of the Food Dollar (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-12
    Description: The Canadian farm share for five crop-based products and seven livestock-based products from 1997 to 2010 is calculated using a supply chain IO analysis. Significant differences exist in farm shares across food commodities with higher farm shares for livestock products and lower farm shares for grain-based products. The decline in the Canadian farm share for food consumed at home is driven in large part by the food purchasing habits of consumers. This paper also addresses the hypothesis that the decline in the Canadian farm share could be partially driven by rising input costs in post-farmgate processes or rising input costs that have greater impact on downstream sectors than primary agricultural producers. Three experiments were conducted to assess the impact of an increase in the cost of corn, energy, and farm labor would have on commodity output prices, farm returns, food expenditure, and farm share. In all three cases, the overall farm share increases, albeit by a small amount, suggesting that these shocks have a larger relative impact on the prices of agricultural commodities than the prices of marketing commodities used in post-farmgate activities. A two-period comparison of these simulations shows that energy (corn and farm labour) price shocks would have had a greater (lower) impact on the farm share in 2007 than 1997.
    Keywords: Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 14
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    Food Insecurity and Food Access in U.S. Metropolitan Areas (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-12
    Description: Household food insecurity in the United States has reached its highest levels to date. As public and private initiatives have emerged to help improve diets by fostering access to food, the availability of more food stores may result in lower levels of food insecurity. In this article, we assess the relationship between adult food insecurity and food store density in metropolitan areas of the United States. We find that while small grocery/convenience stores show a mitigating effect on adult food insecurity across different samples of households, the effects of large supermarkets/grocery stores and supercenters vary. We also find that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation and food access can have a simultaneously beneficial effect in reducing adult food insecurity. Implications for policies aiming to improve food security by fostering access to food stores are discussed.
    Keywords: I14 - Health and Inequality, L81 - Retail and Wholesale Trade ; e-Commerce, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 15
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    Tariffs and non-tariff frictions in the world wine trade (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-12-29
    Description: This article empirically investigates the impact of trade barriers on the world wine trade focusing on trade costs impeding exports, including transport, tariffs, technical barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. A gravity model is estimated using data from the main importing and exporting countries for the years 1997–2010. The Poison pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator accounts for heteroskedasticity and the presence of zero trade flows. Our results identify which regulations can adversely affect trade providing useful information to policy-makers involved in negotiations on trade frictions. While SPS measures do not seem to obstruct exports, technical barriers have a varying impact on trade. A decreasing trend for tariffs has largely been compensated by more stringent technical barriers. The overall result is that frictions in the world wine trade have not changed during the past 15 years.
    Keywords: F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations, Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 16
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    ATF3 provides protection from Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes infections (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-04-08
    Description: Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a stress-induced transcriptional regulator in eukaryote. The role of ATF3 in cancer has been well defined, but how ATF3 functions in bacterial infection is not well understood. Pneumococcal infection has been shown to induce ATF3 expression, which subsequently enhances cytokine production and provides protection from lethal Streptococcus pneumoniae infection, but the role of ATF3 in other Gram-positive (G + ) infections remains unclear. Here, we report that infection with other G + bacteria ( Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes ) and with G – bacteria (uropathogenic Escherichia coli ) also significantly induced ATF3 expression. Moreover, the production of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF]-α, interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6 and interferon [IFN]-) was enhanced by ATF3 in S. aureus and L. monocytogenes infection, but decreased in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) infection. In addition, in S. aureus and L. monocytogenes infections, ATF3 WT mice cleared bacteria more efficiently and had higher survival rates than ATF3 knockout mice. However, in UPEC infection, no significant difference was found in survival rate. Taken together, these data suggest that ATF3 provides protection from S. aureus and L. monocytogenes infections; however, the role of ATF3 in UPEC infection is more complicated and should be further elucidated.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 17
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    Following Up on Smallholder Farmers and Supermarkets in Kenya (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-07-10
    Description: In many developing countries, supermarkets are expanding rapidly. This affects farmers’ marketing options. Previous studies have analyzed welfare effects of smallholder participation in supermarket channels from a static perspective, using cross-section data. We develop a conceptual framework and use panel data to better understand participation and impact dynamics. The analysis focuses on vegetable producers in Kenya. Participation in supermarket channels is associated with income gains. However, many farmers have dropped out of the supermarket channel due to various constraints. The initial income gains cannot be sustained when returning to the traditional market. Organizational support may be needed to avoid widening income disparities.
    Keywords: L24 - Contracting Out ; Joint Ventures ; Technology Licensing, O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 18
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    Diet Quality, Child Health, and Food Policies in Developing Countries (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-07-15
    Description: Although the importance of diet quality for improving child health is widely recognized, the roles of environmental factors and the absorption of nutrients for children's physical growth and morbidity have not been adequately integrated into a policy framework. Moreover, nutrient intakes gradually affect child health, so it is helpful to use alternative tools to evaluate short-term interventions versus long-term food policies. This article emphasizes the role of diet quality reflected in the intake of nutrients such as protein, calcium, and iron for children's physical growth. Vitamins A and C are important for reducing morbidity. Children's growth and morbidity affect their cognitive development, which is critical for the future supply of skilled labor and economic growth. Evidence on these issues from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Kenya, the Philippines, and Tanzania is summarized. The supply of nutritious foods is appraised from the viewpoint of improving diet quality. Finally, the roles of educational campaigns and indirect taxes on unhealthy processed foods consumed by the affluent in developing countries are discussed.
    Keywords: O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, I15 - Health and Economic Development, I25 - Education and Economic Development, J10 - General, Q01 - Sustainable Development, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0257-3032
    Electronic ISSN: 1564-6971
    Topics: Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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  • 19
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    Molecular dissection of blaKPC-2-bearing plasmids evolving in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated at one teaching hospital in Shanghai, China (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-07-02
    Description: The presence of carbapenemase gene bla KPC-2 in a wide variety of plasmids, especially conjugative plasmids, is key to the rapid, worldwide spread of carbapenemase enzymes. Thirty-eight, non-duplicated, carbapenem-resistant, clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were collected, all carrying bla KPC-2 -bearing plasmids. Relaxase analysis was used to classify these plasmids; 8 and 30 plasmids belonged to the MOB P3 and MOB F12 subfamilies, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two genetic subclades in the MOB F12 subfamily and suggested that these subclades might not have originated from the same ancestor. Crossing PCR, used to sequence fully the type IV secretion system (T4SS, essential structures for conjugative plasmids) of the MOB F12 plasmids, found that T4SSs were distinctively different in certain functional genes, e.g. traS and traG. In conclusion, this study delineated the evolution of bla KPC-2 -bearing plasmids at Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, China. The plasmids bearing bla KPC-2 were diverse and the MOB F12 plasmids were dominant in clinical K. pneumoniae isolates.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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  • 20
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    Estimating the Relationship between Food Prices and Food Consumption--Methods Matter (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-08-20
    Description: Concerns about the growing prevalence of obesity worldwide have led researchers and policy makers to investigate the potential health impact of fiscal policies such as taxes on unhealthy foods. A common instrument used to measure the relationship between food prices and food consumption is the price elasticity of demand. Using meta-regression analysis we assessed how differences in methodological approaches to estimating demand affected food price elasticities. Most methodological differences had a statistically significant impact on elasticity estimates, which stresses the importance of using meta-estimates or testing the sensitivity of simulation outcomes to a range of elasticity parameters before drawing policy conclusions.
    Keywords: D11 - Consumer Economics: Theory, H31 - Household, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 21
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    Virulence determinants in enteroaggregative Escherichia coli from North India and their interaction in in vitro organ culture system (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-08-28
    Description: Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an important diarrhoeal pathogen causing diseases in multiple epidemiological and clinical settings. In developing countries like India, diarrhoeal diseases are one of the major killers among paediatric population and oddly, few studies are available from Indian paediatric population on the variability of EAEC virulence genes. In this study, we examined the distribution of plasmid and chromosomal-encoded virulence determinants in EAEC isolates, and analysed cytokines response generated against EAEC with specific aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAF) type in duodenal biopsies using in vitro organ culture (IVOC) mimicking in vivo conditions. Different virulence marker combinations among strains were reflected as a function of specific adhesins signifying EAEC heterogeneity. fis gene emerged as an important genetic marker apart from aggA and aap . Further, EAEC infection in IVOC showed upregulation of IL-8, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and TLR-5 expression. EAEC with AAFII induced significant TLR-5 and IL-8 response, conceivably owing to more pathogenicity markers. This study sheds light on the pattern of EAEC pathotypes prevalent in North Indian paediatric population and highlights the presence of unique virulence combinations in pathogenic strains. Thus, evident diversity in EAEC virulence and multifaceted bacteria-host crosstalk can provide useful insights for the strategic management of diarrhoeal diseases in India, where diarrhoeal outbreaks are more frequent.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Topics: Biology
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    Transfer of mupirocin resistance from Staphylococcus haemolyticus clinical strains to Staphylococcus aureus through conjugative and mobilizable plasmids (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-06-17
    Description: Coagulase-negative staphylococci are thought to act as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes that can be transferred to Staphylococcus aureus , thus hindering the combat of this bacterium. In this work, we analyzed the presence of plasmids conferring resistance to the antibiotic mupirocin—widely used to treat and prevent S. aureus infections in hospital environments—in nosocomial S. haemolyticus strains. About 12% of the 75 strains tested were resistant to mupirocin, and this phenotype was correlated with the presence of plasmids. These plasmids were shown to be diverse, being either conjugative or mobilizable, and capable of transferring mupirocin resistance to S. aureus . Our findings reinforce that S. haemolyticus , historically and mistakenly considered as a less important pathogen, is a reservoir of resistance genes which can be transferred to other bacteria, such as S. aureus , emphasizing the necessity of more effective strategies to detect and combat this emergent opportunistic pathogen.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
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    Topics: Biology
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    A new biotype of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici race 2 emerged by a transposon-driven mutation of avirulence gene AVR1 (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-06-17
    Description: Emergence of races in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici ( Fol ) is caused by loss or mutation of at least one avirulence ( AVR ) gene. The product of AVR1 is a small protein (Avr1) secreted by Fol in tomato xylem sap during infection. This protein triggers Fol race 1 specific resistance (I) in tomato, indicating that AVR1 is an AVR gene. Deletion of AVR1 in race 1 resulted in the emergence of race 2, and an additional mutation in AVR2 generated race 3. Previously, we reported a new biotype of race 3, KoChi-1, in which AVR1 was truncated by a transposon Hormin , which suggested a new route to evolution of races in Fol . However, to date no race 2 isolate carrying Hormin -truncated AVR1 has been reported. In this report, we describe such isolates, represented by Chiba-5, in which Hormin insertion occurred in AVR1 at a position different from that in KoChi-1. AVR1 truncation in both isolates resulted in production of defective Avr1 proteins. Chiba-5 and KoChi-1 belong to different phylogenetic clades, A1 and A2, respectively, suggesting that insertion of Hormin in AVR1 in Chiba-5 and KoChi-1 occurred as independent evolutionary events.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Characterization of a highly toxic strain of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki very similar to the HD-73 strain (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-09-02
    Description: The LBIT-1200 strain of Bacillus thuringiensis was recently isolated from soil, and showed a 6.4 and 9.5 increase in toxicity, against Manduca sexta and Trichoplusia ni , respectively, compared to HD-73. However, LBIT-1200 was still highly similar to HD-73, including the production of bipyramidal crystals containing only one protein of ~130 000 kDa, its flagellin gene sequence related to the kurstaki serotype, plasmid and RepPCR patterns similar to HD-73, no production of β-exotoxin and no presence of VIP genes. Sequencing of its cry gene showed the presence of a cry1Ac -type gene with four amino acid differences, including two amino acid replacements in domain III, compared to Cry1Ac1, which may explain its higher toxicity. In conclusion, the LBIT-1200 strain is a variant of the HD-73 strain but shows a much higher toxicity, which makes this new strain an important candidate to be developed as a bioinsecticide, once it passes other tests, throughout its biotechnological development.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Evaluation of gastrointestinal leakage using serum (1-〉3)-{beta}-D-glucan in a Clostridium difficile murine model (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-09-14
    Description: Gastrointestinal (GI) leakage in Clostridium difficile -associated diarrhea (CDAD) is well known but is not routinely assessed in clinical practice. Serum (1-〉3)-β-D-glucan (BG), a fungal cell wall component used as a biomarker for invasive fungal disease, was tested in a CDAD mouse model with and without probiotics. Higher serum fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran) and spontaneous gram-negative bacteremia, GI leakage indicators, were frequently found in CDAD mice, which died compared with those which survived. BG, serum macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and FITC-dextran but not quantitative blood bacterial count differentiated the clinical severity. Interestingly, a specific dose of Lactobacillus rhamnosus L34 attenuated CDAD and decreased serum BG and FITC-dextran, but not other parameters. BG also showed a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for 7-day mortality than FITC-dextran. Fifty-five percent of CDAD mice with BG ≥ 60 pg/ml (the human negative cut-off value for invasive fungal disease) at 1 day after C. difficile gavage died within 7 days. In conclusion, s erum BG was elevated in mice with severe CDAD, an established model of GI leakage with a strong association with mortality rate. BG monitoring in patients with CDAD is of interest as both a potential prognostic tool and a therapeutic efficacy indicator.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Topics: Biology
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    Cuba's Agricultural Transition and Food Security in a Global Perspective (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-08-20
    Description: This paper reviews the situation in the agricultural sector and food security in Cuba, and particularly the transformations that have (not) taken place since 1990. We compare the Cuban transition with transitions in other "transition countries" and show that Cuba does not easily fit into one of the transition patterns, and, in a way, has characteristics of "a bit of everything". To conclude, we discuss the (potential) effects of the recent policy changes and the new economic reforms that were announced.
    Keywords: O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, P21 - Planning, Coordination, and Reform, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The role of NOD1 and NOD2 in host defense against chlamydial infection (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-08-28
    Description: Chlamydial species are common intracellular parasites that cause various diseases, mainly characterized by persistent infection, which lead to inflammatory responses modulated by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The best understood PRRs are the extracellular Toll-like receptors, but recent significant advances have focused on two important proteins, NOD1 and NOD2, which are members of the intracellular nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain receptor family and are capable of triggering the host innate immune signaling pathways. This results in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which is vital for an adequate host defense against intracellular chlamydial infection. NOD1/2 ligands are known to derive from peptidoglycan, and the latest research has resolved the paradox of whether chlamydial species possess this bacterial cell wall component; this finding is likely to promote in-depth investigations into the interaction between the NOD proteins and chlamydial pathogens. In this review, we summarize the basic characteristics and signal transduction functions of NOD1 and NOD2 and highlight the new research on the roles of NOD1 and NOD2 in the host defense against chlamydial infection.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Topics: Biology
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    Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida strains isolated from Chinese freshwater fish contain a novel genomic island and possible regional-specific mobile genetic elements profiles (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-08-28
    Description: Two strains of Aeromonas salmonicida , YK and BG, were isolated from largemouth bronze gudgeon and northern whitefish in China, and identified as A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida based on phylogenetic analysis of vapA and 16S rRNA gene sequences. YK and BG originated from freshwater fish, one of which belonged to the cyprinid family, and the strains showed a difference in virulence. Subsequently, we performed whole genome sequencing of the strains, and comparison of their genomic sequences to the genome of the A449 reference strain revealed various genomic rearrangements, including a new variant of the genomic island AsaGEI in BG, designated as AsaGEI2c . This is the first report on a GEI of A. salmonicida strain from China. Furthermore, both YK and BG strains contained a Tn7 transposon inserted at the same position in the chromosome. Finally, IS-dependent rearrangements on pAsa5 are deemed likely to have occurred, with omission of the resD gene in both strains as well as omission of genes related to the IncF conjugal transfer system in the YK isolate. This study demonstrates that A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida can infect non-salmonids (cyprinids) in addition to salmonids, and that AsaGEI2c might be useful as a geographical indicator of Chinese A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida isolates.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Topics: Biology
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    Who Really Benefits from Agricultural Subsidies? Evidence from Field-level Data (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-07-09
    Description: If agricultural subsidies are largely capitalized into farmland values through their effect on rental rates, then expanding support for agriculture may not benefit farmers who rent the land they farm. Existing evidence on the incidence of subsidies on cash rental rates is mixed. Identification is obscured by unobserved or imprecisely measured factors that tend to be correlated with subsidies, especially land quality and time-varying factors like commodity prices and adverse weather events. A problem that has received less attention is the fact that subsidies and land quality on rented land may differ from owned land. Since most farms possess both rented and owned acreage, farm-level measures of subsidies, land values, and rental rates may bias estimated incidence. Using a new, field-level data set that, for the first time, precisely links subsidies to land parcels, we show that this bias is considerable: where farm-level estimates suggest an incidence of 42–49 cents of the marginal subsidy dollar, field-level estimates from the same farms indicate that landlords capture just 20–28 cents. The size of the farm and the duration of the rental arrangement have substantial effects. Incidence falls by 5–15 cents when doubling total operated acres, and the incidence falls by 0.1–0.8 cents with each additional year of the rental arrangement. Low incidence of subsidies on rents combined with the farm-size and duration effects suggest that farmers renting land have monopsony power.
    Keywords: H22 - Incidence, Q14 - Agricultural Finance, Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Trade Policy Coordination and Food Price Volatility (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-07-09
    Description: Many countries adjust their trade policies counter-cyclically with food prices, to the extent that the use of restrictions by food-exporting countries has occasionally threatened the food security of food-importing countries. These trade policies are inconsistent with the terms-of-trade motivation often retained to characterize the payoff frontier of self-enforcing trade agreements, as they can worsen the terms of trade of the countries that apply them. This article analyzes trade policy coordination when trade policies are driven by terms-of-trade effects and a desire to reduce domestic food price volatility. This framework implies that importing and exporting countries have incentives to deviate from cooperation at different periods: the latter when prices are high and the former when prices are low. Since staple food prices tend to have asymmetric distributions, with more prices below than above the mean but with occasional spikes, a self-enforcing agreement generates asymmetric outcomes. Without cooperation, an importing country uses its trade policy more frequently because of the concentration of prices below the mean, but an exporting country has a greater incentive to deviate from a cooperative trade policy because positive deviations from the mean price are larger than negative ones. Thus, the asymmetry of the distribution of commodity prices can make it more difficult to discipline export taxes than tariffs in trade agreements.
    Keywords: F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations, Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Burkholderia pseudomallei rpoS mediates iNOS suppression in human hepatocyte (HC04) cells (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-07-09
    Description: Burkholderia pseudomallei is an intracellular Gram-negative bacterial pathogen and the causative agent of melioidosis, a widespread disease in Southeast Asia. Reactive nitrogen, in an intermediate form of nitric oxide (NO), is one of the first lines of defense used by host cells to eliminate intracellular pathogens, through the stimulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Studies in phagocytotic cells have shown that the iNOS response is muted in B. pseudomallei infection, and implicated the rpoS sigma factor as a key regulatory factor mediating suppression. The liver is a main visceral organ affected by B. pseudomallei , and there is little knowledge about the interaction of liver cells and B. pseudomallei . This study investigated the induction of iNOS, as well as autophagic flux and light-chain 3 (LC3) localization in human liver (HC04) cells in response to infection with B. pseudomallei and its rpoS deficient mutant. Results showed that the rpoS mutant was unable to suppress iNOS induction and that the mutant showed less induction of autophagy and lower co-localization with LC3, and this was coupled with a lower intracellular growth rate. Combining these results suggest that B. pseudomallei rpoS is an important factor in establishing infection in liver cells.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
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    Interactions between CAP Agricultural and Agri-Environmental Subsidies and Their Effects on the Uptake of Organic Farming (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-07-09
    Description: We analyze the effects of the interactions that the two pillars of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy—market support and rural development—have on farmers’ uptake of organic farming practices. Special attention is given to the 2003 reform, which substantially altered the relative importance of the two types of support by decoupling direct agricultural payments from the production of a specific crop. In our empirical analysis we study the case of Sweden, making use of the variation in the timing of farmers’ decisions regarding participation in support programs. We estimate a dynamic non-linear unobserved effects probit model to account for unobserved individual heterogeneity and state dependence. Our results indicate the existence of a negative effect of the market support system in place when organic farming techniques were adopted before the 2003 reform. However, this effect is reversed by the introduction of decoupling. Furthermore, the effects of support differ between certified and non-certified organic production: both pillars have significant effects on non-certified organic farming, whereas certified organic farming is exclusively driven by agro-environmental subsidies.
    Keywords: C23 - Models with Panel Data, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The economics of planting rights in wine production (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-05-26
    Description: The European Union (EU) is the world's largest wine producer, as well as the world's most regulated wine market. In 2007, the EU decided on a major reform of its wine policy. A crucial element was the abolishment of a system of planting rights to limit the planting of vineyards. However, after intense lobbying by opponents of the liberalisation, this decision was reversed in 2013. Despite the importance of planting rights in European (and hence global) wine production, and despite the fierce debates surrounding the reforms, no model exists to study the effects of this policy. We develop the first theoretical model of planting rights, integrating the markets for land, planting rights and wine to analyse efficiency and distributional effects. We use the model to study the effects of differences among EU member states in restrictions on trade in planting rights, the role of government reserves and the impact of imperfect enforcement.
    Keywords: Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Yield of Plant Variety Protection (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-04-18
    Description: The prospects for plant variety protection to deliver improved varieties of self-pollinating crops is assessed using the experience of the Australian wheat breeding sector as a natural experiment. The analysis is based on detailed new data on the agronomic performance of all wheat varieties released by Australian breeders between 1976 and 2011. The results indicate that plant variety protection, and associated reforms, led to a substantial fall in breeder output. Qualitative evidence indicates that this was caused by a combination of fewer research spillovers, lower release standards, and a possible fall in total investment in breeding.
    Keywords: O34 - Intellectual Property Rights, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Asymmetric Information and Profit Taking in Crop Insurance (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-02-11
    Description: Excess returns to producers insured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation can arise due to asymmetric information or from the design of the insurance programs themselves. Using unique, unit-level crop insurance contract data for major crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat in five growing regions, we find evidence that producers in most regions may profit by selecting optional units, buy-up coverage, or by using transitional yields to participate in the federal crop insurance program. We also find evidence that advantages increase with land resource heterogeneity. However, the results do not support hypotheses that producers profit by selecting revenue insurance, nor that high levels of government "incompetence" exist in the design and administration of the crop insurance system.
    Keywords: Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Impact of the U.S. Sugar Program Redux (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-02-11
    Description: We analyze the various welfare costs, transfers, trade, and employment consequences of the current U.S. sugar program for U.S. consumers, other sugar users, sugar refiners, cane and beet growing and processing industries, other associated agricultural sectors, and world markets. The removal of the sugar program would increase U.S. consumers' welfare by $2.9 to $3.5 billion each year and generate a modest job creation of 17,000 to 20,000 new jobs in food manufacturing and related industries. Imports of sugar containing products would fall dramatically, especially confectioneries substituting for domestic inputs under the sugar program. Sugar imports would rise substantially to 5–6 million short tons raw sugar equivalent. World sugar price increases would be minor, equivalent to about 1 cent per pound.
    Keywords: F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations, Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Hispanic American Opinions toward Immigration and Immigration Policy Reform Proposals (2014)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2014-12-03
    Description: This study presents evidence from a survey and choice experiment on the preferences of Hispanic immigrants who entered the United States illegally for different immigration reform proposal attributes. Key components of the current competing US Senate and House immigration reform bills are considered including pathways to legal permanent residence, temporary work visas, family visitation rights, and access to medical care. The results quantify the value Hispanic immigrants place on different policy attributes and suggest that longer-term work visas are highly valued. Ability to legally work in the United States and a pathway to citizenship are substantially more valued than social services such as medical care and social security benefits.
    Keywords: J15 - Economics of Minorities and Races ; Non-labor Discrimination, K37 - Immigration Law, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    A Triple-Hurdle Model of Production and Market Participation in Kenya's Dairy Market (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-07-10
    Description: Existing analyses of market participation are based on a "double-hurdle" modeling approach. Such models are appropriate only when all members of the population of interest actually produce the good. In some contexts, however (e.g., smallholder farmers), many members of the population do not produce particular goods that they could produce and that their neighbors do produce. Policies influencing market participation among producers may thus also induce additional farmers to become producers. Previous double-hurdle approaches do not allow explicitly for this possibility. To address these limitations, this article presents a "triple-hurdle" approach with an initial stage that includes nonproducers. The model is used to identify the factors associated with Kenyan smallholder farmers choosing to participate in dairy production, and the role that these producers choose to play (or not) in the marketplace. In the midst of debates underway over the privatization of the parastatal Kenya Creameries Company, new knowledge about smallholder participation in dairy could be an important contribution. Results suggest the importance of rural electrification, training, and improved grazing practices. We find that expected net sales are significantly higher when farmers have access to informal private markets. We also describe a version of the ordered tobit model that includes nonproducers and is nested in our triple-hurdle model. A likelihood ratio test shows the latter to be a significantly better fit to our data. We discuss how insights gained from this study differ from the insights that would come from a double-hurdle ordered tobit that also includes nonproducers.
    Keywords: C51 - Model Construction and Estimation, C81 - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data, O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Political Economy of Food Price Volatility: The Case of Vietnam and Rice (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-07-10
    Description: This article argues that the structure of the Vietnamese rice export system is, in political economy terms, a rational response to the volatility present in the international rice market. In particular, it is argued that the Vietnamese Food Agency, along with VINAFOOD-1 and VINAFOOD-2, have been structured so that they can benefit from the domestic demands for export restrictions anticipated to occur as a consequence of international price volatility and the psychological demand of consumers for price stability. In turn, the actions of these agencies also contribute to international price volatility and the resulting demand for export restrictions. Since the political and economic elite in Vietnam obtain both political and economic power from this system, it is unlikely to be replaced with more effective and efficient policies to combat domestic price volatility. Thus, continued volatility in the price of rice can be expected.
    Keywords: N55 - Asia including Middle East, P26 - Political Economy ; Property Rights, Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    What Happens When Food Marketers Require Restrictive Farming Practices? (2015)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2015-07-10
    Description: The dimensions that define a food product have expanded rapidly to include characteristics of the production process, marketing arrangements, and implications that production and consumption of the product have for the environment. Some market intermediaries have responded by requiring that their suppliers abide by restrictive production practices. We examine the economic effects of such restrictions and apply this analysis to limitations on the use of antibiotics in U.S. pork production. Results from conceptual and simulation analyses show that, in the absence of demand growth, less pork is sold due to higher costs in the restricted segment, and both pork consumers (on average) and producers are harmed. Demand growth of between 6–11% from adding new consumers who will consume the restricted (antibiotic-free) product but not the conventional product is needed to return consumer surplus to the level in the base case, and between 2–4% demand growth was required to return producer surplus to base. When restricted and conventional products are modeled using a vertical differentiation framework, results depend importantly on the ease with which consumers can switch to a seller who offers their desired product type. Significant distributional impacts among consumers are present when switching costs are prohibitive.
    Keywords: I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Traceability, recalls, industry reputation and product safety (2012)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2012-12-28
    Description: Sometimes, authorities are unable to rapidly identify the origin of a tainted product. In such cases, recalls or warnings often apply to all suppliers, even to those that had not contributed to the contamination. Traceability enables more targeted recalls by identifying the product's origin more specifically. In this article, we show how increased traceability protects the reputation of industries by limiting the size of recalls. We show the relationships between traceability and the level of food safety with many identical small farms in a competitive industry and for an industry using collective action to set rules and standards.
    Keywords: D21 - Firm Behavior, Q10 - General, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Decoupling of agricultural support payments: the impact on land market participation decisions (2012)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-08-03
    Description: This paper analyses the impact of the recent decision by the European Union to ‘decouple’ agricultural support payments from agricultural production on Irish farmers' land market decisions. The land market participation decisions of Irish farmers are modelled using a dynamic probit model, while the extent of participation decisions is modelled using a dynamic tobit model. Decoupling does not appear to have significantly altered farmers' land market decisions. One likely explanation for this is the cross-compliance obligation for farmers to maintain land in a state fit for agricultural production in order to receive their full payments.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Asia-Pacific Integration with China versus the United States: Examining Trade Patterns under Heterogeneous Agricultural Sectors (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-09-12
    Description: This article examines bilateral trade patterns in the Asia-Pacific using a new model in which comparative advantage within the agricultural sector is linked to agro-ecological characteristics, and trade costs are product-specific. Bilateral market share is a function of productivity and trade costs. However, countries with similar land and climate characteristics systematically have high productivity in similar products making them disproportionately sensitive to changes in each other's trade costs. We use a random coefficients logit model to estimate a parametric distribution of comparative advantage and trade costs across products and calculate regional trade liberalization elasticities for each exporter in each import market. Unlike most existing models, the value of the elasticity depends on the degree to which liberalization includes competitors with similar comparative advantage within the agricultural sector. We find disproportionately larger trade elasticities under China-led liberalization relative to U.S.-led liberalization among close U.S. competitors compared to countries whose agricultural products are unlikely to compete head-to-head with U.S. exports. For the United States, we find that the "lost opportunity" cost of exclusion from regional liberalization is increasing in the extent to which its close competitors gain new access.
    Keywords: F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations, F14 - Country and Industry Studies of Trade, F15 - Economic Integration, Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Marketing Contracts and Crop Insurance (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-09-12
    Description: Contracts between farmers and intermediaries and crop insurers are important means for farmers to mitigate risks in modern U.S. agriculture. In this paper, we investigate the effect of crop insurance enrollment on contract terms and farmers’ participation in marketing contracts. Following Ligon (2003) , we set up a mechanism design framework to demonstrate an intermediary's contract design problem, where farmers are assumed to be utility maximizing agents. We depict farmers’ optimal choices of insurance coverage using the specification developed by Babcock (2012) . Our model shows that improved terms of crop insurance (lower premiums, higher subsidies) make contracts less appealing to farmers as mechanisms for mitigating risk. Therefore, intermediaries may revise their contract offers so that they are more attractive. However, improvements in contract terms are limited by their cost to the intermediaries and will not lead to expanded participation in contracts.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The role of temperate bacteriophages in bacterial infection (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-20
    Description: Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. There are an estimated 10 31 phage on the planet, making them the most abundant form of life. We are rapidly approaching the centenary of their identification, and yet still have only a limited understanding of their role in the ecology and evolution of bacterial populations. Temperate prophage carriage is often associated with increased bacterial virulence. The rise in use of technologies, such as genome sequencing and transcriptomics, has highlighted more subtle ways in which prophages contribute to pathogenicity. This review discusses the current knowledge of the multifaceted effects that phage can exert on their hosts and how this may contribute to bacterial adaptation during infection.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Pleiotropic consequences of gene knockouts in the phthiocerol dimycocerosate and phenolic glycolipid biosynthetic gene cluster of the opportunistic human pathogen Mycobacterium marinum (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-20
    Description: Phthiocerol dimycocerosates (PDIMs) and phenolic glycolipids (PGLs) contribute to the pathogenicity of several mycobacteria. Biosynthesis of these virulence factors requires polyketide synthases and other enzymes that represent potential targets for the development of adjuvant antivirulence drugs. We used six isogenic Mycobacterium marinum mutants, each with a different gene knockout in the PDIM/PGL biosynthetic pathway, to probe the pleiotropy of mutations leading to PDIM – PGL – , PDIM + PGL – or PDIM – PGL + phenotypes. We evaluated the M. marinum mutants for changes in antibiotic susceptibility, cell envelope permeability, biofilm formation, surface properties, sliding motility and virulence in an amoeba model. The analysis also permitted us to begin exploring the hypothesis that different gene knockouts rendering the same PDIM and/or PGL deficiency phenotypes lead to M. marinum mutants with equivalent pleiotropic profiles. Overall, the results of our study revealed a complex picture of pleiotropic patterns emerging from different gene knockouts, uncovered unexpected phenotypic inequalities between mutants, and provided new insight into the phenotypic consequences of gene knockouts in the PDIM/PGL biosynthetic pathway.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    Isolation and identification of nematode-antagonistic compounds from the fungus Aspergillus candidus (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-20
    Description: Culture medium from an isolate of the fungus Aspergillus candidus was extracted, fractionated and examined to discover compounds antagonistic to plant-parasitic nematodes that are important pathogens of agricultural crops. Column, thin layer and preparative chromatographies and spectral and elemental analyses, were used to isolate and identify two major constituents of an active fraction (Fraction F) obtained from the medium. Compound 1 was identified as 2-hydroxypropane-1, 2, 3-tricarboxylic acid (citric acid). Compound 2 was identified as 3-hydroxy-5-methoxy-3-(methoxycarbonyl)-5-oxopentanoic acid, an isomer of 1, 2-dimethyl citrate. Compound 1 and a citric acid standard, each tested at 50 mg mL –1 in water, decreased hatch from eggs of the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita by more than 94%, and completely immobilized second-stage juveniles after 4–6 days exposure. Fraction F and Compounds 1 and 2 decreased the mobility of adults of the plant-parasitic nematode Ditylenchus destructor in vitro . Fraction F (25 mg mL –1 ) inhibited mobility 〉99% at 72 hrs. Compounds 1 and 2 (50 mg mL –1 ) each inhibited mobility more than 25% at 24 hr and more than 50% at 72 hr. This is the first assignment of nematode-antagonistic properties to specifically identified A. candidus metabolites.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    Antibiotic resistance: the emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance enhances the need of a proactive one-health approach (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-27
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    T7-RNA polymerase dependent RNAi system in Aspergillus fumigatus: a proof of concept study (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-02-25
    Description: An RNAi system based on T7 RNA polymerase (TRNAP) was designed and examined in Aspergillus fumigatus . This system consists of two elements; an inducible T7RNAP expressing cassette and an AMA1-based episomal RNAi plasmid. These constructs were transformed into the A. fumigatus protoplasts and the efficiency of this system was tested in downregulation of alb1 gene. Upon the induction of T7RNAP expression, the recombinant T7RNAP was able to recognize T7 promoters, which were located on the episomal plasmid and in opposite direction. As a result, the bidirectional transcription of alb1 fragment led to the silencing of the target gene. However, our results demonstrated that this silencing system is unstable and may not be applicable in preparation of RNAi libraries.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    Producer heterogeneity and voting power in mandatory US agricultural marketing organisations (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-10-31
    Description: We consider how cost heterogeneity and market power affect voting power in producer referenda for mandatory agricultural marketing organisations with generic promotion programmes in the United States. We measure voting power using the Banzhaf Power Index and propose a new version of this index based on the profit-maximising theory of the firm that provides an improved estimate of voting power. Examining several types of demand shifts and voting rules, we find that both Banzhaf Power and our new measure vary considerably depending on the market structure and level of cost heterogeneity.
    Keywords: D71 - Social Choice ; Clubs ; Committees ; Associations, D72 - Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Risk Attitudes of U.S. Farmers (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-06
    Description: I compare the distribution of risk attitudes of farm owners in the United States to nonfarm business owners and the general population using a measure of risk tolerance collected from national surveys. I find that farmers are significantly more tolerant of risk than the general population, though they are significantly less tolerant of risk than nonfarm business owners. Once demographic differences are controlled, farm and nonfarm business owners are more similar in their risk attitudes and both groups remain significantly more risk tolerant than the general population. First-generation farmers display greater risk tolerance than farmers who inherit operations from family members, as do farmers who have just begun operating a farm; neither pattern emerges among nonfarm business owners. The most risk tolerant farmers are young and male with larger operations, higher incomes, less formal education and close proximity to metropolitan centers. Among farmers, those with less diversified operations and those with specialty enterprises are more risk tolerant than other types of farmers. Crop farmers are less risk tolerant than fruit and vegetable farmers or farmers with specialty enterprises, while farmers who receive government payments or buy enterprise insurance are not significantly different in risk tolerance from farmers who eschew such opportunities. These findings stimulate questions about how farm programs and the distinct challenges of entry in the production agriculture sector shape the underlying distribution of key farmer characteristics such as risk tolerance.
    Keywords: D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Effect of Food Deserts on the Body Mass Index of Elementary Schoolchildren (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-12-13
    Description: Families in low-income neighborhoods sometimes lack access to supermarkets that provide a broad range of healthy foods. We investigate whether these so called "food deserts" play a role in childhood obesity using a statewide panel data set of Arkansas elementary schoolchildren. We use fixed-effects panel data regression models to estimate the average food desert effect. We next compare children who left (entered) food deserts to children who were always (never) in food deserts and homogenize samples for those whose food desert status changed as a result of a change in residence and those whose status changed only as a consequence of the entry or exit of a supermarket. We present evidence that exposure to food deserts is associated with higher z-scores for body mass index. On average, this is in the neighborhood of 0.04 standard deviations. The strongest evidence and largest association is among urban students and especially those that transition into food deserts from non-deserts. Our food desert estimates are similar in magnitude to findings reported in earlier work on diet and lifestyle interventions targeting similarly aged schoolchildren. That said, we are unable to conclude that the estimated food desert effect is causal because many of the transitions into or out of food deserts result from a change in residence, an event that is endogenous to the child's household. However, there is evidence that food deserts are a risk indicator and that food desert areas may be obesogenic in ways that other low-income neighborhoods are not.
    Keywords: I14 - Health and Inequality, I19 - Other, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Dairy farms without quotas in Belgium: estimation and simulation with a flexible cost function (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: This paper evaluates the farm-level supply and income effects from removing milk quotas and reducing producer prices with increasing direct compensatory payments. Using a panel of Belgian dairy farms, we first estimate a multi-output multi-input flexible cost function that generates a U-shaped marginal cost curve for each farm of the sample. We then embed each farm cost function in a profit-maximisation programming model that is built and calibrated for each farm in the sample. Accounting for farm heterogeneity, the simulations show how dairy farms without quotas may respond differently to changes in prices and structural changes that may take place within the dairy sector. A quota removal with a 20 per cent reduction in milk prices keeps aggregate milk supply and farm income at about the same level of the 2006 reference year.
    Keywords: C33 - Models with Panel Data, C63 - Computational Techniques, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    How has the EU milk quota affected patterns of herd-size change? (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: This paper analyses the impact of milk quotas on the size structure of dairy herds in two major EU milk-producing member states, Germany and the Netherlands, using Markov chain models. Four mobility indicators characterising structural change are developed and calculated. Structural change in the dairy sector as measured by the mobility measures is found to be affected by the milk quota scheme. In the quota period, mobility out of dairying is lower, but the overall and upward mobility increase. This effect is stronger in the Netherlands than in West Germany.
    Keywords: D92 - Intertemporal Firm Choice and Growth, Investment, or Financing, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Modelling pig sector dynamic adjustment to livestock epidemics with stochastic-duration trade disruptions (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: We use a stochastic dynamic programming model to simulate the market implications of alternative foot and mouth disease scenarios in the Finnish pig sector. The model considers the dynamics of animal stock adjustment and price movements when the duration of export disruptions is unknown. Explicit treatment of these issues is crucial in the economic analysis of livestock epidemics, especially if there is a risk of a prolonged export ban. Results suggest that the risk of a prolonged ban increases disease losses considerably. It also increases economic benefits from production adjustments.
    Keywords: C61 - Optimization Techniques ; Programming Models ; Dynamic Analysis, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Is embedding entailed in consumer valuation of food safety characteristics? (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: Consumers' preferences for food safety characteristics are investigated with a particular focus on the existence of an embedding effect. Embedding exists if consumer valuation of food safety is insensitive to scope. We conduct between-attribute external tests for embedding in two choice experiments concerning the value of food safety attributes in minced pork and chicken breasts. We find no evidence of embedding neither when using food safety attributes that are not close substitutes and which exhibit both private and public good characteristics, nor when using food safety attributes that are closer substitutes and which have primarily private good characteristics.
    Keywords: Q10 - General, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Uncertainty and technical efficiency in Finnish agriculture: a state-contingent approach (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: In this article, we present one of the first real-world empirical applications of state-contingent production theory. Our state-contingent behavioural model allows us to analyse production under both inefficiency and uncertainty without regard to the nature of producer risk preferences. Using farm data for Finland, we estimate a flexible production model that permits substitutability between state-contingent outputs. We test empirically and reject an assumption that has been implicit in almost all efficiency studies conducted in the last three decades, namely that the production technology is output-cubical, i.e. that outputs are not substitutable between states of nature.
    Keywords: D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    A general treatment of 'don't know' responses from choice experiments (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: In this paper, a modelling approach is developed for the treatment of ‘don't know’(DK) responses, within choice experiments (CEs). A DK option is motivated by the need to allow respondents the opportunity to express uncertainty. Our model explains a DK using an entropy measure of the similarity between options given to respondents within the CE. We illustrate our model by applying it to a CE examining consumer preferences for nutrient contents in food. We find that similarity between options in a given choice set does explain the tendency for respondents to report DK.
    Keywords: C35 - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models, I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Consumer inferences of food safety and quality (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-11-24
    Description: Economists frequently use choice experiments (CEs) to evaluate demand for new attributes in food products. Using a split-sample experimental design focused on demand for pork chop attributes, we find consumer inferences regarding food safety and quality to impact estimates of marginal willingness to pay, market participation, policy appropriateness and consumer welfare effects. Our results suggest that interpretation of findings should be noted as conditional on attributes included in original analyses. A split-sample experimental approach involving multiple CE designs is described and suggested to practitioners to better consider consumer inference effects in future studies.
    Keywords: B40 - General, D12 - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Speciesism, altruism and the economics of animal welfare (2012)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-03-08
    Description: Economists have long relied on utilitarian principles in carrying out cost–benefit analysis, but such utilitarianism is typically limited to the well-being of humans. Some prominent philosophers have argued such an approach is unjustifiably speciesist, but what are the consequences of including animal well-being in cost–benefit analysis? This paper considers this question in the context of human altruism towards animals in which people's concerns for the well-being of animals create an externality. After uncovering some conceptual challenges involved in carrying out cost–benefit analysis on animal welfare policies, we report the results of a novel experiment used to measure the public-good value of farm animal welfare, and show that although the average value in our sample is quite large, the result is due to the preferences of only a small subset of the subjects.
    Keywords: C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior, D61 - Allocative Efficiency ; Cost-Benefit Analysis, D64 - Altruism, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Spatial Pattern of Yield Distributions: Implications for Crop Insurance (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-01-22
    Description: Crop insurance is similar to flood and hurricane insurance in that spatially correlated weather tends to cause violations of the independence assumption. Ideally, one would seek to pool uncorrelated risk drawn from the same distribution in crop insurance. This article proposes a testing procedure for the cross-sectional pooling of group units, and empirically analyzes whether the proposed test improves out-of-sample rating performance. We utilize a balanced panel of U.S. county-level corn yields for 510 counties, and the results of an out-of-sample crop insurance rating performance exercise provide economic significance to the proposed pooling methodology and results.
    Keywords: C12 - Hypothesis Testing, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Input Subsidies, Cash Constraints, and Timing of Input Supply (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-01-22
    Description: Is low input use by poor, smallholder farmers caused by time-inconsistent behavior or by limited ability to buy inputs? Are input subsidies the best solution to stimulate input demand or are there smarter solutions? These issues are investigated by combining survey data, stated preference questions, and randomized experiments in Malawi. The demand for fertilizer at harvest time and at planting time, farm gate shadow prices for fertilizer, and the gap between the willingness-to-accept (WTA) and willingness-to-pay (WTP) prices for a standard input package were investigated. Significant effects of timing and of cash constraints were found, suggesting the possibility that smarter designs exist, such as distribution of smaller packages from harvest time to planting time.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Political Reforms and Public Policy: Evidence from Agricultural and Food Policies (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-01-23
    Description: This paper studies the effect of political regime transitions on public policy using a new data set on global agricultural and food policies over a 50-year period (including data from 74 developing and developed countries over the 1955–2005 period). We find evidence that democratization leads to a reduction of agricultural taxation, an increase in agricultural subsidization, or both. The empirical findings are consistent with the predictions of the median voter model because political transitions occurred primarily in countries with a majority of farmers. The results are robust to different specifications, estimation approaches, and variable definitions.
    Keywords: D72 - Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior, F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations, O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, P16 - Political Economy, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0258-6770
    Electronic ISSN: 1564-698X
    Topics: Economics
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    Food Security and Storage in the Middle East and North Africa (2014)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2014-01-23
    Description: In times of highly volatile commodity markets, governments often try to protect their populations from rapidly rising food prices, which can be particularly harmful for the poor. A potential solution for food-deficit countries is to hold strategic reserves that can be called on when international prices spike. But how large should strategic stockpiles be, and what rules should govern their release? In this paper, we develop a dynamic competitive storage model for wheat in the Middle East and North Africa region, where imported wheat is the most significant component of the average diet. We analyze a strategy that sets aside wheat stockpiles, which can be used to keep domestic prices below a targeted price. Our analysis shows that if the target price is set high and reserves are adequate, the strategy can be effective and robust. Contrary to most interventions, strategic storage policies are counter-cyclical, and when the importing region is sufficiently large, a regional policy can smooth global prices. Simulations indicate that this is the case for the Middle East and North Africa region. Nevertheless, the policy is more costly than a procyclical policy similar to food stamps that uses targeted transfers to directly offset high prices with a subsidy.
    Keywords: F10 - General, O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0258-6770
    Electronic ISSN: 1564-698X
    Topics: Economics
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    Angel Investment and Collective Agricultural Marketing: The Case of the Minnesota Food Network (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-03-21
    Description: The Minnesota Food Network is a limited liability company comprised of 52 farmers producing a variety of high-quality, sustainably produced agricultural products in southern Minnesota. The network's goal is to develop a regional food system to provide locally grown food at a price that "is fair" to both consumers and producers. This case outlines the challenges that the network faces in their efforts to expand to take advantage of a market opportunity. One of their biggest challenges is that they face high operating costs because of their disaggregated distribution system and need to purchase a distribution and storage facility and two vehicles. They will fund the purchase of a building through an angel investor. An angel investor is necessary because the network cannot sustain traditional loan payments in its current form. Students are asked to consider a number of questions pertaining to the decisions in this case outlined in the final section of the case study.
    Keywords: A22 - Undergraduate, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Portfolio Speculation and Commodity Price Volatility in a Stochastic Storage Model (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-03-21
    Description: Simulated prices from a stochastic storage model are used to examine the price impacts of speculation by rational investors who diversify their financial portfolios by holding agricultural commodity futures. The main result is that rather than destabilizing commodity prices, as is commonly believed, portfolio speculation actually reduces price volatility. Portfolio speculation can potentially destabilize a commodity's price because the additional demand for long futures by speculators is expected to drive up the cash price during both periods of low net demand, when the cash price is below average, and periods of high net demand, when the cash price is above average. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates that the higher level of inventory that is associated with portfolio speculation results in a larger release of stocks during periods of high net demand. The price simulations reveal that this stock adjustment effect is strong since overall price volatility is smaller rather than larger with portfolio speculation.
    Keywords: Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q14 - Agricultural Finance, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Relative Preferences for Soil Conservation Incentives among Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from Malawi (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-04-05
    Description: This paper uses framed choice experiments to examine the preferences of smallholder farmers in Malawi regarding alternative policy-based incentives to adopt conservation practices that reduce soil erosion and increase yields. The policy incentives offered in the choice experiments included an ideal index-based crop insurance contract, an index insurance contract with basis risk, cash payments, and fertilizer subsidies. Prior to implementing the choice experiments, the farmers participated in a workshop utilizing small group-based dynamic learning games that demonstrated how index-based crop insurance contracts function. The choice experiment results indicate that most farmers preferred cash payments to index insurance contracts, even when the insurance contracts offered substantially higher expected returns. Further, more risk averse farmers were more likely to prefer cash payments than less risk averse and risk loving farmers.
    Keywords: C93 - Field Experiments, O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Effects of Policy Expectations on Crop Supply, with an Application to Base Updating (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-04-05
    Description: We develop a dynamic model to assess the effects of policy expectations on crop supply and illustrate the approach with estimates of the effects of base updating in U.S. crop programs. For corn and soybeans in the Corn Belt, the effect of base updating is relatively small because relevant crop alternatives are subject to similar policies and the alternatives are substitutes in production. Increasing acreage of one program crop to capture future payments from base updating reduces future payments from the alternative crop. We also use our model to assess the effect of base updating on acreage response to prices.
    Keywords: Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Sub-therapeutic Antibiotics and the Efficiency of U.S. Hog Farms (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-04-05
    Description: A substantial share of U.S. hog producers incorporate antimicrobial drugs into their livestock's feed or water at sub-therapeutic levels to promote feed efficiency and weight gain. Recently, in response to concerns that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock could promote the development of antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration adopted a strategy to phase out the use of antibiotics for production purposes. This study uses a stochastic frontier model and data from the 2009 USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey of feeder-to-finish hog producers to estimate the potential effects on hog output and output variability resulting from a ban on antibiotics used for growth promotion. We use propensity score nearest neighbor matching to create a balanced sample of sub-therapeutic antibiotic (STA) users and nonusers. We estimate the frontier model for the pooled sample and separately for users and non-users—which allows for a flexible interaction between STA use and the production technology. Point estimates for the matched sample indicate that STA use has a small positive effect on productivity and production risk, increasing output by 1.0–1.3% and reducing the standard deviation of unexplained output by 1.4%. The results indicate that improvements in productivity resulted exclusively from technological improvement rather than from an increase in technical efficiency.
    Keywords: D24 - Production ; Cost ; Capital and Total Factor Productivity ; Capacity, I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    How do agricultural policies influence farm size inequality? The example of France (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-12-27
    Description: We investigate farm size inequality in France using agricultural censuses and farm structure surveys at the NUTS3 level (‘départements’) during the period 1970–2007. Using calculated Gini coefficients, we show that farm size inequality has not systematically increased in France. An econometric analysis of the determinants of farm size inequality reveals that policy measures significantly affected farm size inequality, with most of the measures considered decreasing it. Empirical results suggest that the main contributor was the activity of the SAFER (Société d'Aménagement Foncier et d'Etablissement Rural), a specific feature of the French farm structural policy aimed at regulating rural land management. Besides, this research highlights the great complexity of the dynamics underlying the evolution of farm size distribution.
    Keywords: D30 - General, Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Optimisation of implementation policies of environmental quota trade (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-12-27
    Description: This paper analyses implementation policies of environmental quota trade, with the Flemish nutrient production rights as an example. Implementation policies concern the transaction quantity, quota reduction and prevention of speculation. They are analysed with a static and a dynamic multi-agent quota trade model. The static model with discrete non-auctioned quota trade shows that the obligation for quota sellers to entirely stop their production stimulates structural change. The dynamic model version indicates that a flat rate reduction on traded quota and measures taken to prevent speculation combined with too low penalties for overuse stimulate the total production.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Structural change in European calf markets: decoupling and the blue tongue disease (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-12-27
    Description: European cattle markets have recently undergone significant change. We explore the simultaneous impacts of agricultural policy reform and the occurrence of an animal health crisis on spatial interdependencies of calf prices of four major European Union markets. The markets are found to be integrated. Price shocks are rapidly absorbed. We find that the member state specific implementations of the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy reforms significantly affected prices of both the national market and of other member states. The blue tongue disease further induced structural change. Using counterfactual scenarios, we show that the decoupling of payments from production led to reduced calf prices.
    Keywords: C32 - Time-Series Models, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Modelling the effects of an abolition of the EU sugar quota on internal prices, production and imports (2011)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2011-12-27
    Description: We apply a spatial price equilibrium model of the world sugar market to simulate an abolition of the European Union (EU) quota system in 2015/16. To overcome the normative nature of the approach, we calibrate the model by attaching a non-linear cost term to each trade flow. This is in some regards similar to positive mathematical programming. We suggest an economic interpretation and an econometric specification of the cost term. EU sugar production is simulated to increase from 13.3 to 15.5 million tons in case of quota abolition by 2019/20. Ten member states increase production, nine reduce it. Preferential imports are significantly reduced. Simulated effects are found to be more pronounced the higher the world market price.
    Keywords: F11 - Neoclassical Models of Trade, F17 - Trade Forecasting and Simulation, Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Do CAP payments reduce farm labour migration? A panel data analysis across EU regions (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-11-11
    Description: This paper deals with the determinants of out-farm migration across the European Union (EU) regions focusing on the role played by CAP payments. We add to the existing literature in three main directions. First, our analysis has broad coverage (150 EU regions over the 1990–2009 period); second, we work on the entire portfolio of CAP instruments; third, we rely on modern panel data methods. Results show that standard drivers, such as the relative income and the relative labour share, are important determinants of out-farm migration. Overall, CAP payments significantly contributed to maintain job in agriculture, though the magnitude of the economic effect has been quite moderate and heterogeneous across policy instruments. Pillar I subsidies exerted an effect more than two times greater than that of Pillar II payments.
    Keywords: J21 - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure, J43 - Agricultural Labor Markets, J60 - General, O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Impact of the 2013 Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy on Land Capitalization in the European Union (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-12-03
    Description: Decoupled direct payments to farmers were introduced in the European Union (EU) in the form of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2005. The 2013 Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) reform changed both the implementation of the SPS and its budget. We assess the possible effects of the 2013 CAP reform on EU land markets, particularly the capitalization of the SPS in land rental values. Our analyses suggest that the implementation details of the 2013 CAP reform will largely determine the impact of the SPS on land markets. The key considerations are the reference period for entitlement allocation, regionalization, payment differentiation, and budgetary changes. Our analysis also implies that a number of relatively minor policy changes could have substantial impacts on land markets.
    Keywords: H22 - Incidence, Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Estimating the Impact of Education on Household Fruit and Vegetable Purchases (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-06
    Description: We examine the effect that investments in education have on household expenditure on fruits and vegetables using a two-stage model that accounts for differences in ability and heterogeneous returns to education. For this, we use the 2008 Consumer Expenditure Survey for the United States. We find that higher levels of education contribute to greater household expenditures on both fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. We find a nonlinear effect on fresh fruits and vegetables, indicating that education impacts the quality of purchases as well. Although nutritional education is often touted as important for a healthful diet, these results highlight how investments in human capital via formal education can potentially improve dietary quality as well.
    Keywords: I12 - Health Production, I20 - General, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Food Insufficiency and Income Volatility in US Households: The Effects of Imputed Income in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-06
    Description: In this article, we explore how using imputed income data in the Survey of Income and Program Participation affects the observed relationship between household income volatility and food insufficiency. We find that measuring income volatility using imputed income data substantially understates the association between large drops in household income and food insufficiency. After excluding observations with imputed income, large drops in income are associated with a 2.1–percentage point increased probability of food insufficiency, or a 31% higher likelihood of food insufficiency.
    Keywords: C18 - Methodological Issues: General, C81 - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Crop Insurance Savings Accounts: A Viable Alternative to Crop Insurance? (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-06
    Description: This research explores the viability of an alternative design for crop insurance based upon farmer-owned savings accounts that are regulated, monitored, and marginally assisted by the government. Such accounts could be an effective risk management tool for many farmers and could operate without major government subsidization. Relative to the current program, the proposed design should exhibit minimal moral hazard and adverse selection problems, and since farm-level risk does not have to be priced, the proposed design eliminates the premium rating difficulties that weaken actuarial soundness and trigger the need for substantial external subsidies. In addition, administrative costs should be considerably lower.
    Keywords: Q14 - Agricultural Finance, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Food Price Shocks and the Political Economy of Global Agricultural and Development Policy (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-06
    Description: The recent spikes of global food prices induced a rapid increase in mass media coverage, public policy attention, and donor funding for food security and for agriculture and rural poverty. This has occurred while the shift from low to high food prices has induced a shift in (demographic or social) location of the hunger and poverty effects, but the total number of undernourished and poor people has declined over the same period. We suggest that the observed pattern can be explained by the presence of a global urban bias on agriculture and food policy in developing countries, and we discuss whether this global urban bias may actually benefit poor farmers. We argue that the food price spikes have succeeded where others have failed in the past: to move the problems of poor and hungry farmers to the top of the policy agenda and to induce development and donor strategies to help them.
    Keywords: F35 - Foreign Aid, Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    On the Economics of Labels: How Their Introduction Affects the Functioning of Markets and the Welfare of All Participants (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-12-13
    Description: Are labels good or bad for consumers and firms? The answer may seem straightforward since labels improve information, yet economic theory reveals situations where their introduction reduces the welfare of at least some market participants. This essay reviews the theoretical literature on labels in order to identify and explain the main reasons that may cause labeling to produce undesirable side-effects. In contrast to earlier reviews that either concentrate on narrow topics or treat the subject in a more or less informal way, we bring together the main results from all the relevant topics by presenting and discussing the assumptions and model-building techniques that underpin them. The advantage of this approach is that it identifies the origin of the differences between results, thus allowing the synthesis of results that sometimes appear even to be contradictory. We focus on "quality labels" and examine the impact of labeling on market structure, the side-effects of costly certification, issues related to the label's trustworthiness, the rationale for mandatory vs. voluntary labeling, the level at which the label's standard is set according to the agency that selects it, the political economy of labels, that is, pro- or anti-label lobbying, lobbying to affect the label's standard, and lobbying in favor or against the label's mandatory imposition. These topics cover a wide range of applications, including Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), organic produce, geographic indicators, controlled origin, eco-labels, etc. We conclude by identifying topics that require further research.
    Keywords: L15 - Information and Product Quality ; Standardization and Compatibility, L50 - General, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Rising Food Prices, Food Price Volatility, and Social Unrest (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-12-13
    Description: Can food prices cause social unrest? Throughout history, riots have frequently broken out, ostensibly as a consequence of high food prices. Using monthly data at the international level, this article studies the impact of food prices – food price levels as well as food price volatility – on social unrest. Because food prices and social unrest are jointly determined, data on natural disasters are used to identify the causal relationship flowing from food price levels to social unrest. Results indicate that for the period 1990–2011, food price increases have led to increases in social unrest, whereas food price volatility has not been associated with increases in social unrest. These results are robust to alternative definitions of social unrest, to using real or nominal prices, to using commodity-specific price indices instead of aggregated price indices, to alternative definitions of the instrumental variable, to alternative definitions of volatility, and to controlling for non-food-related social unrest.
    Keywords: D74 - Conflict ; Conflict Resolution ; Alliances, Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Examining the Relationship between the Use of Supermarkets and Over-nutrition in Indonesia (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-03-14
    Description: This study examines the relationship between the use of modern food retailers and health outcomes using data from a survey of 1,180 urban households in Indonesia. The dependent variables include adult and child body-mass index and the share of individuals overweight and obese. After controlling for individual and household characteristics and using standard and Lewbel instrumental variable approaches to control for unobservable characteristics, we do not find a statistically significant relationship between use of supermarkets and adult nutrition measures. On the other hand, there is mixed evidence for a negative effect of supermarkets on child nutrition, particularly for those in high-income households.
    Keywords: I15 - Health and Economic Development, P46 - Consumer Economics ; Welfare and Poverty, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Position Bias in Best-worst Scaling Surveys: A Case Study on Trust in Institutions (2015)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-03-14
    Description: This paper investigates the effect of items’ physical position in the best-worst scaling technique. Although the best-worst scaling technique has been widely used in many fields, the literature has largely overlooked the phenomenon of consumers’ adoption of processing strategies while making their best-worst choices. We examine this issue in the context of consumers’ trust in institutions to provide information about a new food technology, nanotechnology, and its use in food processing. Our results show that approximately half of the consumers used position as a schematic cue when making choices. We find the position bias was particularly strong when consumers chose their most trustworthy institution compared to their least trustworthy institution. In light of our findings, we recommend that researchers in the field be aware of the possibility of position bias when designing best-worst scaling surveys. We also encourage researchers who have already collected best-worst data to investigate whether their data shows such heuristics.
    Keywords: C25 - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models, D12 - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Is the reduction of chronic diseases related to food consumption in the hands of the food industry? (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-07-03
    Description: Up to now, most nutritional policies have been set up to inform consumers about the health benefits induced by more balanced diets. Reviews of the impacts of these policies show that the effects are often modest. This has led governments to implement, in more recent times, policies focused on the market environment, especially on the characteristics of the food supply. The goal of this paper is to review theoretical and empirical studies focusing on changes in the food supply induced by alternative policies, and to attempt to draw from them policy guidelines and conjectures to test in future research.
    Keywords: I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs, L66 - Food ; Beverages ; Cosmetics ; Tobacco ; Wine and Spirits, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Are you smart enough to know what to eat? A critique of behavioural economics as justification for regulation (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-07-03
    Description: With the rise of behavioural economics has come the belief that decision-making biases justify paternalistic policies. Such views challenge the notion of consumer sovereignty and the validity of traditional approaches of economic welfare analysis. While behavioural economics might improve the effectiveness of policies that are already justified on some other market-failure grounds, this article argues that the existence of cognitive failures, alone, do not justify government regulation. If one abandons the idea that consumers know what is in their best interest, judging the merits of policies becomes arbitrary and reflects only what a paternalist wants for others. The typical behavioural economic experiment occurs with college students devoid of real-world context. The biases found in such setting may not extrapolate well to conditions where people have more experience and knowledge, and where they can learn from past mistakes. Even when behavioural biases persist in the ‘real world’, consumers face incentives to engage in activities that protect them from the adverse consequences of the biases, and public policies that shield people from such consequences reduce incentives to self-regulate. The article concludes with some ideas for future research and a discussion of the merits of freedom of choice.
    Keywords: D03 - Behavioral Economics ; Underlying Principles, I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
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    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Policy impact analysis in competitive agricultural markets: a real options approach (2013)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-07-31
    Description: In consequence of strong changes in general economic conditions, adjustments in the agricultural sector can be expected. To date, however, there are only few policy impact analyses on agricultural investments in a dynamic-stochastic context. The objective of this paper is to develop a real options market model which allows the impact assessment of different political schemes. The model combines genetic algorithms and stochastic simulation. Simulations of the model show that investment subsidies and production ceilings are preferable to price floors because the welfare is less reduced for a given stimulation of the willingness to invest.
    Keywords: D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty, Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Participation of Italian farmers in rural development policy (2013)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-07-31
    Description: The aim of this paper is to study farmers' participation in rural development policy (RDP) measures. We investigate to what extent regional RDP priorities are driven by regional characteristics and moreover, whether regional-level policy priorities help to explain farmers' participation in RDP measures. We estimate a multilevel binary choice model that includes both farm-level and regional-level explanatory variables. We conclude that regional governments select RDP priorities based on the specific features of their region. Regional policy priorities play an important role in explaining farmers' participation in agri-environmental schemes but not in measures aimed at improving farmer competitiveness.
    Keywords: Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    To which extent are counter-cyclical payments more distorting than single farm payments? Evidence from a farm household model (2013)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-07-31
    Description: The distinction between single farm payments (SFP) and counter-cyclical payments (CCPs) is mainly based on theory. Due to a lack of empirical comparative studies between these payments, it is difficult to confirm the claim that CCPs are more distorting. This paper provides a comparative analysis of these payments and quantifies the impact of such payments in the presence of debt constraints. The main findings are that CCPs are more distorting than SFP. However, the magnitude of the impact estimates is not as large as suggested by the different treatment received by both support programmes in the WTO negotiations.
    Keywords: Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    The Effect of Chronic Illness on Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and Medicaid Programs (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-02
    Description: We examine enrollment in the U.S. Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) and find that while SNAP-eligible adults in poor physical health and with multiple chronic conditions are more likely to jointly enroll in SNAP and Medicaid, they are less likely to enroll in SNAP alone. We also find that the conditional probability of SNAP enrollment given Medicaid participation is higher for individuals with multiple chronic conditions. As a result, the expansion of Medicaid and state policies that promote enrollment coordination between SNAP and Medicaid are expected to increase the number of individuals in SNAP with chronic medical conditions.
    Keywords: I10 - General, I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Re-examining the Reported Rates of Return to Food and Agricultural Research and Development (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-02
    Description: At odds with a vast body of economic evidence reporting exceptionally high rates of return to investments in agricultural research and development (R&D), growth in public R&D spending for food and agriculture has slowed in numerous, especially rich, countries worldwide. The observed R&D spending behavior is consistent with a determination that the reported rates of return are perceived as implausible by policy makers. We examine this notion by scrutinizing 2,242 investment evaluations reported in 372 separate studies from 1958 to 2011. We find that the internal rate of return (IRR) is the predominant summary measure of investment performance used in the literature despite methodological criticisms dating back more than a half century. The reported IRRs imply rates of return that are implausibly high. We investigate the reasons for these implausibly high estimates by analytically comparing the IRR to the modified internal rate of return (MIRR). The MIRR addresses several methodological concerns with using the IRR, has the intuitive interpretation as the annual compounding interest rate paid by an investment, and is directly related to the benefit–cost ratio. To obtain more credible rate of return estimates, we then develop a novel method for recalibrating previously reported IRR estimates using the MIRR when there is limited information on an investment's stream of benefits and costs. Our recalibrated estimates of the rate of return are more modest (median of 9.8% versus 39% per year); however, they are still substantial enough to question the current scaling back of public agricultural R&D spending in many countries.
    Keywords: O22 - Project Analysis, Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Agricultural Extension Services, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0002-9092
    Electronic ISSN: 1467-8276
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Distributional effects of CAP liberalisation on western German farm incomes: an ex-ante analysis (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-08-02
    Description: We measure impacts of liberalising European agriculture on farm income distribution in western Germany. Unlike previous studies, we do not treat market income and policy support as independent income sources. We jointly apply a partial equilibrium and a programming model and find that liberalisation increases inequality in relative terms though it decreases inequality in absolute terms. In particular, we analyse the relevance of taking into account policy-induced production and market responses in an ex-ante inequality analysis. We find that although their inclusion generally does not affect the direction of distributional effects, it may have considerable impact on their magnitude.
    Keywords: D31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions, Q11 - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis ; Prices, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Distinguishing beliefs from preferences in food choice (2014)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-08-02
    Description: In the past two decades, there has been an explosion of studies eliciting consumer willingness-to-pay for food attributes; however, this work has largely refrained from drawing a distinction between preferences for health, safety and quality on the one hand and consumers' subjective beliefs that the products studied possess these attributes, on the other. Using data from three experimental studies, along with structural economic models, we show that controlling for subjective beliefs can substantively alter the interpretation of results and the ultimate implications derived from a study. The results suggest the need to measure subjective beliefs in studies of consumer choice and to utilise the measures when making policy and marketing recommendations.
    Keywords: C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior, D83 - Search ; Learning ; Information and Knowledge ; Communication ; Belief, Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 0165-1587
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Low disease-causing threshold in a frog species susceptible to chytridiomycosis (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-05-20
    Description: A simple diagnosis of the presence or absence of an infection is an uninformative metric when individuals differ considerably in their tolerance to different infection loads or resistance to rates of disease progression. Models that incorporate the relationship between the progression of the infection with the potential alternate outcomes provide a far more powerful predictive tool than diagnosis alone. The global decline of amphibians has been amplified by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis , a pathogen that can cause the fatal disease chytridiomycosis. We measured the infection load and observed signs of disease in Litoria aurea . Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to quantify the dissimilarity between the infection loads of L. aurea that showed signs associated with chytridiomycosis and those that did not. Litoria aurea had a 78% probability of developing chytridiomycosis past a threshold of 68 zoospore equivalents (ZE) per swab and chytridiomycosis occurred within a variable range of 0.5–490 ZE. Studies should incorporate a species-specific threshold as a predictor of chytridiomycosis, rather than a binary diagnosis. Measures of susceptibility to chytridiomycosis must account not only for the ability of B. dendrobatidis to increase its abundance on the skin of amphibians but also to determine how each species tolerates these infection loads.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Photo-catalytic inactivation of an Enterococcus biofilm: the anti-microbial effect of sulphated and europium-doped titanium dioxide nanopowders (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-03-24
    Description: The control and prevention of biofilm-related infections is an important public healthcare issue. Given the increasing antibiotic resistance among bacteria and fungi that cause serious infections in humans, promotion of new strategies combating microorganisms has been essential. One attractive approach to inactivate microorganisms is the use of semiconductor photo-catalysis, which has become the subject of extensive research. In this study, the bactericidal properties of four photo-catalysts, TiO 2 , TiO 2 -S, TiO 2 -Eu and TiO 2 -Eu-S, were investigated against established 24, 48, 72 and 96 h biofilms of Enterococcus . The exposure of biofilms to the catalysts induced the production of superoxide radical anions. The best photo-catalytic inactivation was achieved with the TiO 2 -Eu-S and TiO 2 -S nanopowders and 24 h biofilms. Transmission electron microscopy images showed significant changes in the structure of the biofilm cells following photo-inactivation. The results suggest that doping with europium and modifying the surface with sulphate groups enhanced the bactericidal activity of the TiO 2 nanoparticles against enterococcal biofilms.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Price Differences across Farmers Markets, Roadside Stands, and Supermarkets in North Carolina (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-05-19
    Description: Whether direct farmer-to-consumer outlets compete with supermarkets on produce prices remains an empirical question; marketing costs are not consistently higher in one retail channel or the other. This study compared prices of 29 fruits and vegetables across North Carolina farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and supermarkets. Larger farmers’ markets had higher prices: three fruits and one vegetable were cheaper at a direct outlet, while four vegetables were cheaper at supermarkets. Weighting item prices by consumption share attenuated differences in mean price across outlets. Direct-retail outlets are price competitive and should be considered among other tools to boost fresh fruit and vegetable intake.
    Keywords: Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness, Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy
    Print ISSN: 2040-5790
    Electronic ISSN: 2040-5804
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Twitching motility and cAMP levels: signal transduction through a single methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-05-25
    Description: The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Chp chemosensory system regulates twitching motility, intracellular adenosine 3 '' 5 ' -cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels and is postulated to be involved in directional twitching towards phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Because PilJ is the only methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) identified in the Chp system, we determined the role of PilJ in mediating signal transduction for the distinct outputs of this system. Mutants that lack the periplasmic domain of PilJ ( pilJ 74-273 ) showed lower levels of cAMP but retained directional twitching towards PE. While initial studies revealed reduced twitching motility by PilJ 74-273 , this was due to decreased cAMP levels. Our data illustrate the importance of the periplasmic domain of PilJ in regulating cAMP. This is the first time a defined domain within PilJ has been identified as having a distinct role in signal transduction.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae requires H-NS-family protein XrvC to regulate virulence during rice infection (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-04-24
    Description: Histone-like nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) proteins, which are conserved in Gram-negative bacteria, bind DNA and act as the global transcriptional repressors. In this study, we identified and characterized the xrvC gene encoding a H-NS protein in Xathomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ) Philippines strain PXO99 A . Compared with the wild type, the xrvC -deficient mutant of PXO99 A (named PXO99 xrvC ) showed a reduced growth rate in both nutrient-rich and nutrient-limited media. Interestingly, PXO99 xrvC exhibited significantly reduced virulence on rice cultivar IRBB214, but its virulence on 31 other rice cultivars was not affected. Transcriptional analysis revealed that the expression of hrpG , hrpX and hpa1 and of 15 out of 18 tested non-TAL (transcription activator-like) effector genes was decreased significantly in the xrvC mutant compared with that in the wild type. In addition, loss of xrvC also impaired the induction of the rice susceptibility gene Os8N3 in IRBB214 by PXO99 A . Our results suggest that the xrvC gene is involved in bacterial growth, and it plays a vital role in virulence by positively regulating the expression of hrp genes and non-TAL effector genes in PXO99 A and the susceptibility gene Os8N3 in rice.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    The quantitative regulation of the hrp regulator HrpX is involved in sugar-source-dependent hrp gene expression in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-04-24
    Description: In Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae , the pathogen of bacterial leaf blight of rice, hrp gene expression is regulated by the key hrp regulators HrpG and HrpX. HrpG regulates hrpX and hrpA , and HrpX regulates the other hrp genes on hrpB–hrpF operons. We previously examined the expression of the HrpX-regulated hrp gene hrcU and demonstrated that hrp gene expression is highly induced in a certain nutrient-poor medium containing xylose. In the present study, we found that the induction level of HrpX-regulated hrp genes was higher in medium with xylose than in media with any other sugar sources (glucose, sucrose and fructose), but that expression of hrpG , hrpX and hrpA was independent of the sugar sources. In western blot analysis, the accumulation of HrpX was reduced in media with a sugar other than xylose, probably as a result of proteolysis, but the addition of xylose canceled this reduced accumulation of the protein. The results suggest that proteolysis of HrpX is an important hrp regulatory mechanism and that xylose specifically suppresses this proteolysis, resulting in active hrp gene expression in X. oryzae pv. oryzae .
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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    Use your antibiotics wisely. Consequences to the intestinal microbiome (2016)
    Oxford University Press
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    Publication Date: 2016-04-24
    Description: Antibiotic therapy has long term consequences in the intestinal microbiome. Clostridium difficile has a well-known role in antibiotic-associated diarrhea, but in addition, persistent infection with this organism may increase the risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease. Here, recent literature on how the intestinal microbiome is altered by antibiotic therapy is presented.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
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    Evaluation of polymorphisms in pbp4 gene and genetic diversity in penicillin-resistant, ampicillin-susceptible Enterococcus faecalis from hospitals in different states in Brazil (2016)
    Oxford University Press
    Details
    Publication Date: 2016-03-13
    Description: The aim of the present study was to verify whether penicillin-resistant, ampicillin-susceptible Enterococcus faecalis (PRASEF) occurred in Brazil prior to the beginning of the 21st century, and to verify whether ampicillin susceptibility can predict susceptibility to other β-lactams in E. faecalis with this inconsistent phenotype. The presence of polymorphisms in the pbp4 gene and genetic diversity among the isolates were investigated. Of 21 PRASEF analyzed, 5 (23.8%) and 4 (19.0%) were imipenem and piperacillin resistant simultaneously by disk diffusion and broth dilution respectively, contradicting the current internationally accepted standards of susceptibility testing. Sequencing of pbp4 gene revealed an amino acid substitution (Asp-573-〉Glu) in all PRASEF isolates but not in the penicillin-susceptible, ampicillin-susceptible E. faecalis . Most PRASEF (90.5%) had related pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles, but were different from other PRASEF described to date. Results demonstrate that penicillin-resistant, ampicillin-susceptible phenotype was already a reality in the 1990s in E. faecalis isolates in different Brazilian states, and some of these isolates were also imipenem- and piperacillin-resistant; therefore, internationally accepted susceptibility criteria cannot be applied to these isolates. According to pbp4 gene sequencing, this study suggests that a specific amino acid substitution in pbp4 gene found in all PRASEF analyzed is associated with penicillin resistance.
    Keywords: Pathogens & Pathogenicity
    Print ISSN: 0378-1097
    Electronic ISSN: 1574-6968
    Topics: Biology
    Published by Oxford University Press
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