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Approximately 200 million people, mainly concentrated in rural areas of the Great East African Rift Valley, suffer from fluorosis caused by excess of fluoride naturally contained in water. This study employs the RANAS (Risk, Attitude, Norm, Ability, Self-regulation) model to understand how behavioural factors influence Tanzanian rural communities’ willingness to pay for fluoride-free water obtained from a new defluoridator device. Results show that perceived risk, knowledge, attitudes and descriptive norms significantly influence the adoption of the proposed healthy behaviour. Policy implications are discussed taking into account how rural communities could achieve equitable and affordable access to safe water.

The objective of this paper is to combine cross-commodity and spatial price transmission analysis to study the dynamics of the global cereal feed market during the COVID-19 pandemic. After reviewing the nascent literature on the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural markets, we discuss the different impact channels on prices. Then, we provide stylized market reactions of three relevant feed markets, wheat, barley, and maize, to a set of simulated possible future shocks on oil prices, stock-to-use ratios, and export restrictions. These three shocks are useful to assess what could be the consequences of policy responses to COVID-19 (export restrictions) or the disruptions due to the virus (stock-to-use reductions), in a context of lower oil prices. To generate these market reactions, we use a Global Vector Auto Regression (GVAR) model where each market is modelled independently, and connected through trade-based composite variables. We expand the work on the global wheat market by introducing maize and barley. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the fall in the oil price may have contributed to the stability of the world grain market in early 2020, despite fears of supply chain disruption. We also note that export restrictions could significantly increase global prices, and that such restrictions could affect more than the targeted commodity, through significant cross-commodity price linkages.

The relationship between naturally fluoridated groundwater and dental fluorosis has received large attention from researchers around the world. Despite recognition that several factors influence this relationship, there is a lack of systematic studies analyzing the heterogeneity of these results. To fill such a gap, this study performs a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand which factors influence this relationship and how. Selected studies were sampled between 2007 and 2017 from Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus using keywords and Boolean operators. Results of the systematic review show that dental fluorosis affects individuals of all ages, with the highest prevalence below 11, while the impact of other factors (gender, environmental conditions, diet and dental caries) was inconclusive. Meta-regression analysis, based on information collected through systematic review, indicates that both fluoride in drinking water and temperature influence dental fluorosis significantly and that these studies might be affected by publication bias. Findings show that fluoride negatively affects people's health in less developed countries. The conclusions discuss policy tools and technological innovations that could reduce fluoride levels below that of the World Health Organization (WHO) (

Potato crops are one of the main sources of income for farmers living in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Given the high sensitivity of potatoes to water stress, water shortages can cause considerable losses in terms of potato yield and quality. To overcome this challenge, the use of water-saving technologies such as micro-irrigation systems are very important. However, the adoption of this technique remains quite low among potato farmers in the Bekaa region, who still use ordinary sprinkler systems. In this study, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) serves as the conceptual framework for investigating these farmers’ behaviour in adopting a new micro-irrigation system. To achieve this objective, we extended the UTAUT model by considering farmers’ risk perception of the use of a new micro-irrigation technology. The moderators tested were age, previous experience, voluntariness of use, gross unit margin and educational level. Examining the standard regression coefficients, i.e., the β weights, the results indicate that performance expectancy raised behavioural intention for investment in micro-irrigation (β = 0.29) while for effort expectancy the β weight value was 0.24. Overall, an increase of 1 standard deviation of the behavioural intention strongly impacted investment in micro-irrigation systems, β = 0.8 standard deviation of the effective adoption of the technology. Risk perception (β = −0.08) negatively affected farmers’ performance expectancy, i.e., the higher the perceived risk, the lower the perceived performance of the investment, which in turn affected their intention to use micro-irrigation systems. Age (β = 0.11) exerted a significant effect on effort expectancy. Finally in this paper, the policy implications of the results are discussed.

The objective of this paper is to combine cross-commodity and spatial price transmission analysis to study the dynamics of the global cereal feed market during the COVID-19 pandemic. After reviewing the nascent literature on the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural markets, we discuss the different impact channels on prices. Then we provide stylized market reactions of three relevant feed markets, wheat, barley and maize to a set of simulated possible future shocks on oil prices, stock-to-use ratios, and export restrictions. These three shocks are useful to assess what could be the consequences of policy responses to the COVID-19 (export restrictions) or disruptions due to the virus (stock-to-use reductions), in a context of lower oil prices. To generate these market reactions, we use a Global Vector Auto Regression (GVAR) model (Dees et al., 2007) where each market is modelled independently, and connected through trade based composite variables. We expand the work of Gutierrez et al. (2015) on the global wheat market by introducing maize and barley. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the fall in the oil price may have contributed to the stability of the world grain market in early 2020, despite fears of supply chain disruption. We also note that export restrictions could significantly increase global prices, and that such restrictions could affect more than the targeted commodity, through significant cross-commodity price linkages.

Natural fluoride contamination of drinking water is a serious issue that affects several countries of the world. Its negative health impact is well documented in the East African Rift Valley, where water consumption with fluoride (F−) concentration greater than 1.5 mg/L can cause fluorosis to people. Within the framework of the European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 FLOWERED project, we first designed an effective defluoridation device based on innovative application of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) and then explored its acceptance within rural communities. The prototype (FLOWERED Defluoridator Device [FDD]) essentially is composed of a 20‐L tank and a recirculating pump that guarantees the interaction between water and OCP. The device is powered by a car battery for a fixed pumping working time using a fixed amount of OCP for every defluoridation cycle. The results of tests performed in the rural areas of Tanzania show that a standardized use of the prototype can lower the dissolved F− from an initial concentration of 21 mg/L to below the World Health Organization (WHO) drinkable limit of 1.5 mg/L in 2 h without secondary negative effects on water quality. The approximate cost of this device is around US$220, whereas that of OCP is about $0.03/L of treated water. As with any device, acceptance requires a behavioral change on behalf of rural communities that needed to be investigated. To this end, we piloted a survey to explore how psychological and socioeconomic factors influence the consumption of fluoride‐free water. Results show that the adoption of FDD and OCP is more appealing to members of the rural communities who are willing to pay more and have a high consumption of water. Moreover, we suggest that given the low level of knowledge about fluorosis diseases, the government should introduce educational programs to make rural communities aware of the negative health consequences. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:856–870. © 2020 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC), KEY POINTS Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) can effectively remove fluoride (F−) from natural waters of the East African Rift Valley (EARV) through its transformation into fluorapatite (FAP).A new device for the treatment of fluoride‐polluted waters based on OCP has been presented: the FLOWERED Defluoridator Device (FDD). It has been tested and the results show that the FDD can be effectively applied in rural contexts.A standardized method for fluoride‐rich water treatment has been settled up: in 2 h of working time the FDD with 80 g of OCP can treat 20 L of natural water with F− concentration up to 21 mg/L.From socio‐economic analysis emerges that, given the poor knowledge of the risk of dental and skeletal fluorosis, the EARV governments should introduce educational programs to make rural communities aware of the negative health consequence of these diseases.

Food commodity price fluctuations have an important impact on poverty and food insecurity across the world. Conventional models have not provided a complete picture of recent price spikes in agricultural commodity markets, and there is an urgent need for appropriate policy responses. Perhaps new approaches are needed to better understand international spill‐overs, the feedback between the real and the financial sectors, as well as the link between food and energy prices. In this article, we present the results from a new worldwide dynamic model that provides the short and long‐run impulse responses of the international wheat price to various real and financial shocks.

Numerous factors have been proposed in the literature as explaining the recent commodity price movements. In this paper we focus on one of the most widely discussed factors, the impact of speculative bubbles. We investigate whether commodity prices during the spike of 2007–2008 might have deviated from their intrinsic values based on market fundamentals. To do this, we use a bootstrap methodology to compute the finite sample distributions of recently proposed tests. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the bootstrap methodology works well, and allows us to identify explosive processes and collapsing bubbles for wheat, corn and rough rice. There was less evidence of exuberance in soya bean prices. , Oxford University Press.

Numerous factors have been proposed in the literature as explaining the recent commodity price movements. In this paper we focus on one of the most widely discussed factors, the impact of speculative bubbles. We investigate whether commodity prices during the spike of 2007 – 2008 might have deviated from their intrinsic values based on market fundamentals. To do this, we use a bootstrap methodology to compute the finite sample distributions of recently proposed tests. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the bootstrap methodology works well, and allows us to identify explosive processes and collapsing bubbles for wheat, corn and rough rice. There was less evidence of exuberance in soya bean prices.

In this paper we propose a method that allows to test for asset price bubbles. The method is mainly based on a bootstrap methodology which helps to compute the finite sample probability distribution of the asymptotic tests which were recently proposed in Phillips et al. (2011) and Phillips and Yu (2009). We apply the method to the Nasdaq stock price index and Case-Shiller house price index. The results indicate that speculation was behind the upsurge in both asset prices.

In the article we propose new panel cointegration tests which allow for structural breaks. We show that the panel tests have good size and power. We apply the test statistics to the analysis of the Feldstein–Horioka puzzle for a sample of 16 OCDE countries. After allowing for breaks, we find strong evidence that investment and saving rates are cointegrated.

In this paper we propose new panel tests to detect changes in persistence. The test statistics are used to test the null hypothesis of stationarity against the alternative of a change in persistence from I(0) to I(1), from I(1) to I(0), and in an unknown direction. The limiting null distributions of the tests are derived and evaluated in small samples by means of Monte Carlo simulations. An empirical illustration is also provided. Wallenberg Academy Fellowship; The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation

Previous time series evidence has indicated that farmland prices and cash rents are not cointegrated, a finding at odds with the present value model of farmland prices. We argue that this failure to find cointegration may be due to low power of tests and to the presence of structural change representing a shifting risk premium on farmland investments. To accommodate this possibility, we use panel unit root and cointegration methods that are more powerful than conventional time series methods and allow for breaks in the cointegration relationship. Our results, based on a large panel covering 31 US states between 1960 and 2000, suggest that the present value model of farmland prices cannot be rejected.

This paper deals with the finite‐sample performance of a set of unit‐root tests for cross‐correlated panels. Most of the available macroeconomic time series cover short time periods. The lack of information, in terms of time observations, implies that univariate tests are not powerful enough to reject the null of a unit‐root while panel tests, by exploiting the large number of cross‐sectional units, have been shown to be a promising way of increasing the power of unit‐root tests. We investigate the finite sample properties of recently proposed panel unit‐root tests for cross‐sectionally correlated panels. Specifically, the size and power of Choi's [Econometric Theory and Practice: Frontiers of Analysis and Applied Research: Essays in Honor of Peter C. B. Phillips, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2001)], Bai and Ng's [Econometrica (2004), Vol. 72, p. 1127], Moon and Perron's [Journal of Econometrics (2004), Vol. 122, p. 81], and Phillips and Sul's [Econometrics Journal (2003), Vol. 6, p. 217] tests are analysed by a Monte Carlo simulation study. In synthesis, Moon and Perron's tests show good size and power for different values of T and N, and model specifications. Focusing on Bai and Ng's procedure, the simulation study highlights that the pooled Dickey–Fuller generalized least squares test provides higher power than the pooled augmented Dickey–Fuller test for the analysis of non‐stationary properties of the idiosyncratic components. Choi's tests are strongly oversized when the common factor influences the cross‐sectional units heterogeneously.

We use the new growth theory framework and panel cointegration techniques to analyse the effect of international agricultural technological spillovers on total factor productivity growth for a sample of 47 countries during the period 1970–1992. The analysis shows that total factor productivity is strongly influenced by domestic as well as foreign public research and development (R&D) spending in the agricultural sector. Geographical factors matter, in that countries located in temperate zones benefit from technological spillovers more than countries located in tropical zones. We find that the rate of return to agricultural R&D spending is higher in tropical countries. This could justify new support and an even greater investment in agricultural R&D for these countries.

This paper enlarges on Karlsson and Lothgren’s results [Economics Letters, 66 (2000) 249] on panel unit root tests to panel cointegration tests. We show that for a homogeneous panel, Kao’s tests [Advances of Econometrics, 15 (1999) 7] have higher (lower) power than Pedroni’s tests [Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Special Issue (1999) 653] when a small-T (high-T) number of observations are included in the panel and both tests show better performance than Larsson et al.’s test [Econometrics Journal, 4 (2001) 109]. In addition, depending on the T-dimension of the panel, cointegration tests can have high power when a small or high fraction of the relationships are cointegrated. This result suggests that when rejecting the null hypothesis of no cointegration for the whole panel not all the relationships can be really cointegrated.

This paper develops a dynamic intertemporal model under the hypothesis of asymmetric information for the analysis of the rate of investment in the agricultural sector+ The model stresses the importance of borrowing constraints for the investment decision of firms+ Using the model we derive, following Abel and Blanchard’s ~1986! approach, an estimate for marginal Tobin’s Q+ We find that this series is positively and strongly related to the agricultural rate of investment in Italy during the period of 1960‐1996+ @Econ-Lit Citations: Q14, E62, E22# © 2002 Wiley Periodicals , Inc+

This paper finds strong and robust evidence of convergence of labour productivity in agriculture across all US states and 11 EU countries during 1970-1992. Moreover, off-farm migration has a positive effect on the speed of convergence, especially in the EU. Holding the off-farm migration rate constant, the speed of convergence for EU countries (2.9 per cent per year) is stronger than for US states (1.9 per cent per year). A convergence speed of 2.9 per cent means that an EU country needs about 10 years to eliminate one-quarter of the gap between its initial output per worker and its own steady state, and half a century to eliminate three-quarters of the gap. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.

This paper analyzes the effect of changing sampling frequencies on the empirical power of “first generation” as well as “second generation” panel unit root tests.

© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved This paper focuses on the effects of global factors on the saving–investment relationship. We prove that, if investments and savings are affected by idiosyncratic and global components, they must be cointegrated to obtain reliable estimates of the saving-retention coefficient. When global shocks are taken into account throughcommonfactors,wefind that the estimated saving-retention coefficient is close to zero for a panel of 21 OECD countries

We analyze the behavior of relative food prices for a set of 24 European countries observed during the period January 1996–December 2007. We use recent methods for the analysis of nonstationary panels to show that food price dynamics can be decomposed into a common component and an idiosyncratic component. From this decomposition we compute and analyze the real exchange rates for a set of food products. We find that countries included in the euro area are more market integrated; that is, real exchange rates tend to converge, than countries that did not adopt euro.

In this paper we propose new panel tests to detect changes in persistence. The test statistics are used to test the null hypothesis of stationarity against the alternative of a change in persistence from I(0) to I(1), from I(1) to I(0), and in an unknown direction. The limiting distributions of the tests under the hypothesis of cross-sectional independence are derived. Cross-sectional dependence is also considered. The tests are applied to the in°ation rates of 19 OECD countries over the period 1972-2008. Evidence of a change in persistence from I(1) to I(0) is found for a set of these countries

This paper presents new recursive ADF panel unit root tests. Small sample properties of the recursive tests are investigated by Monte Carlo experiments. These tests are applied to a panel of 17 OECD real exchange rate series.

In the paper we extend Gregory and Hansen’s (1996)ADF, Za, Zt cointegration tests to panel data, using the method proposed in Maddala and Wu (1999). We test the null hypothesis of no cointegration for all the units in the panel against the alternative hypothesis of cointegration, while allowing for a one-time regime shift of unknown timing for at least some regressions. We derive the panel tests for the ADF, Za, Zt tests , and compare these tests with Pedroni’s (1999) panel cointegration tests. We show that Gregory and Hansen’s (1996) panel tests have higher power to reject null when there is a structural change in the cointegration vector. We apply the statistics to the analysis of the well known Feldstein-Horioka puzzle for a sample of sixteen OCDE countries. After we allow for a structural break in the cointegration regression, we find strong evidence of cointegration between saving and investment rates.

This paper analyzes the per-capita incomes convergence process across 140 NUTS2 European regions during the period 1980-1999. Two methods of analysis have been used. The first adopts the non parametric method proposed by Quah (1996, 1997) to study whether the cross-regions income distribution shows evidence of convergence, i.e a tendency for the steady-state distribution to cluster around one or more poles of attraction, or divergence. The second uses panel unit root tests for cross-sectionally correlated panels. Unlike other studies, we find evidence of convergence among the EU regions. When looking at the distribution of per-capita income, we show that it converges toward the average pole, without convergence clubs emerging. Panel unit root tests strongly reject the null of divergence for the full sample of regions and evidence is also provided for two regional subgroups.

We use two methodologies, the least square dummy variables approach and the dynamic factor models, to decompose the labor productivity growth rate for a large sample of countries into common, i.e. global, and idiosyncratic, i.e. country, components. We find that country specific effects are much more important than common effects in explaining labor productivity. The interesting result is that, when splitting the sample of countries into those located in temperate zones and those located in tropical zones, we find that the common component plays a larger role in temperate countries. Thus, given the wide gap in labor productivity between the two climatic zones, policy should be targeted on developing technologies for tropical zones and/or on helping them to absorb R&D targeted for temperate countries

This paper deals with the finite sample performance of a set of unit root tests for cross correlated panels. As is well known, univariate tests are not powerful to reject the null of a unit root for the usual economic variables while panel tests, by exploiting the large number of cross-section units, provide a device to increase the power of unit root tests. We investigate the finite sample properties of recently proposed panel unit root tests for cross-sectionally correlated panels. Specifically, the size and power of Choi’s (2002), Bai and Ng’s (2003), Moon and Perron’s (2003), and Phillips and Sul’s (2003) tests are analyzed by a Monte Carlo simulation study. In synthesis, Moon and Perron’s (2003) tests show good size and power for different values of T and N and model specifications. Focusing on Bai and Ng’s (2003) procedure, the simulation study highlights first that the suggested ADF test for the nonstationary analysis of the common factor lack of power, and secondly the simulation shows that the pooled Dickey-Fuller-GLS test provides higher power than the pooled ADF test for the analysis of nonstationary properties of the idiosyncratic components. Choi’s (2002) tests are strongly oversized when the common factor influences the cross-section units heterogeneously. Finally, all the tests lack power when a deterministic trend is included in the data generating process.

We use the well known USDA dataset of real exchange rates to address the question of whether PPP holds for agricultural commodities. Both unit root tests and the recently proposed more powerful class of panel unit root tests, which take into account cross-section correlation across the units in the panel, are used. Properties of unit roots and panel tests are analyzed by Monte Carlo simulation. Summarizing, our results show that during the post-Bretton-Woods period of flexible exchange rates, PPP does not hold for agricultural commodities.

This paper enlarges on Karlsoon and Löthgreen’s (2000) results on panel unit root tests to panel cointegration tests. We show that for homogeneous panel, Kao’s (1999) tests have higher (lower) power than Pedroni’s (1999) tests when a small-T (high-T) number of observations are included in the panel and both tests show better performance than Larsson et al. (2001) test. In addition, depending on the T-dimension of the panel, cointegration tests can have high power when a small or high fraction of the relationships are cointegrated. This result suggests that when rejecting the null hypothesis of no cointegration for the whole panel not all the relationships can be really cointegrated.

L'intervento affronta il tema della mancata integrazione dei migranti nella scuola italiana, specie nella fase di uscita critica dalla pandemia del Covid-19 che ha aumentato il divario fra studenti italiani e quelli provenienti da contesti migratori. In una scuola italiana ancora fortemente ancorata su competenze linguistiche e nazionalistiche con scarse aperture interdisciplinari e transculturali, il meccanismo di categorizzazione burocratica crea tassonomie linguistiche e processi di labelling che sottolineano la diversità, la deviazione dalla norma standard con l’apparente obiettivo di uniformarla, ma col risultato finale di produrre ulteriore marginalizzazione nelle prassi scolastiche. Una folta letteratura interdisciplinare sottolinea che sono proprio i figli della migrazione i più esposti al rischio di insuccesso ed espulsione scolastica, non tanto per la diversità linguistica e culturale in sé, ma per la precarietà socio-economica e il modo in cui tale differenza viene trattata in una scuola dove il mito del merito come principio di giustizia diventa in realtà la legittimazione morale della disuguaglianza sociale.

none 2 no This chapter investigates the impacts of the biofuel policies on European agriculture. The analysis starts by evaluating the cropland area required to supply the potential production capacity of the European biofuel industry in 2010, the problems related to the technical adaptation of farms to feedstock production, and the approach to biofuels in the European Commission's proposals for the last review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Then the chapter examines the availability of land for biofuel crops within the European Union, and worldwide, the impacts on the environment, the biodiversity and the water resources, including the issue of sustainable biofuel production. The conclusions focus on some possible adjustments in the current policy framework http://www.springerlink.com/content/l326508371788336/?p=823a8ddf24124e339fbc888852ab3c43&pi=10 - Titolo della collana: Studies in Productivity and Efficiency, Vol. 7 mixed Canali M.; Aragrande M. Canali M.; Aragrande M.

The objective of the paper is to analyse biofuel stakeholders’ expectations and the role of networking in the promotion of biodiesel value chains at European level. European Commission has set aggressive targets for saving of energy consumption and GHG emission and promotion of renewables and biofuels. The current paper analyses the main legislative, economic and political promoting and limiting factors for biofuel chain development at the regional and international level as identified during networking events set up in five European countries. Main influencing factors: involvement of public agencies for intersectoral value chain development promotion, importance of contract agreements for business processes reorganization and informative nets creation, introduction of training, quality premium, profit sharing with farmers, enhanced managerial approach of farmers, rapid growth of cereal prices and lack of arable land which are likely to compromise the challenge of biofuels to meet the EC target, the lack of a clear and long lasting normative frame