Apposite Economics
Estimating US-Mexico Cross-border Agribusiness Supply Chain Linkages and Economic Impacts of Trade Policy for Selected Commodities
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dari Duval, Ashley Kerna Bickel, George Frisvold
Agribusiness supply chains are global in nature and not only include trade in final goods, but also in intermediate inputs to production. Trade policies affect the flow of intermediate and final goods across borders within supply chains, therefore it is important to quantify these trade linkages to better understand potential economic impacts of changes in trade policies. This study uses input-output methods to estimate the value of cross-border agribusiness supply chain linkages between the U.S. and Mexico for specific traded agricultural commodities. Estimates of economic contributions of agribusiness supply chains are relevant to current discussions around policies such as country of origin labeling (COOL), multi-lateral trade deals, and other national and regional agribusiness-relevant policies. The study will examine commodities such as beef cattle and their products and fresh fruits and vegetables. The study takes into consideration binational trade supported in backward-linked industries supplying agricultural inputs to production as well as economic activity supported in forward-linked industries that provide phytosanitary, logistical, transportation, wholesale, and retail services, delivering agricultural commodities to consumers. The study will rely on secondary data including U.S. and Mexico national accounts data, commodity-specific import and export data, agricultural production data, and the IMPLAN input output model.
Economic Viability of Soya Bean Production in Upper West Region of Northern Ghana
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Faizal Adams
Traditional cost-benefit analysis of economic viability of soya-bean production tends to largely focus on financial benefits to farmers, and little from the non-market co-benefits in sustaining smallholder farming systems. Exclusively depending on the conventional cost-benefit analysis undermines the actual potential benefit of soya-bean which often results in ineffectual policy designs. An extended economic analysis that incorporate key non-pecuniary co-benefit of soya-bean production provide vital insight that contributes to improving productivity and overall economic wellbeing of farmers. Data was collected on 271 smallholder soya-bean farmers in three districts (Sissala West, Wa East and Dafiama-Busie-Issa (DBI)) of Upper West region of Ghana. The Replacement Cost Method was used to analyse the data capturing both market and non-market attributes of soya bean production. When non-market co-benefits were omitted, soya bean production was not profitable (-GH¢103.10/Ha or -US$22.91) for farmers at DBI while Sissala West and Wa East had a modest profit margin. Overall, the financial analysis dramatically changed when an average non-market value of GH¢571.28/Ha(US$126.95) was included in the analysis for all districts. Soya-bean production was generally financially viable when the non-market co-benefits were incorporated in the analysis. An important extension of the finding is the importance of such non-pecuniary benefits in smallholder farming systems. For instance, farmers’ motivation for soya-bean production may be closely linked to such ancillary benefits like biological nitrogen fixed in the soil for subsequent cultivation of other crops. Similarly, crop administrators and policy makers’ support for conservation agriculture and green environment may be tied to these non-market co-benefits.
Soybeans, Tariffs, and Trade Wars: New Applications of Economic Protectionism in a Neo-Liberal World
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Courtney I P Thomas
On March 1, 2018 U.S. President Trump announced that a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum would take effect the following week. On March 22, 2018, President Trump specifically targeted the Chinese with tariffs on up to $60 billion worth of Chinese imports including components used in aeronautics, energy, computing, and machinery. The Chinese government responded by levying fees on a wide range of US products slated to enter China, including meat, wine, fruit, nuts, apples, whiskey and soybeans. This response represents a new tactic in global protectionist policy. By targeting US food exports, the Chinese government put pressure directly on the GOP base. This was not a policy designed to protect domestic Chinese farmers against foreign competition. Instead, it was intended to force the Trump Administration and, by extension, the Republican Party, to answer to its agricultural base, a base that would face economic ruin as a consequence of a trade war fought on China’s terms. Other countries have learned from this and enacted similar policies. The US food system, already a global entity, has become a pawn of economic policy in a way that it has never been in the past. This paper examines the implications of this new form of protectionism on US food producers and consumers as well as the global food system.
