Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe aggregate cost of the living index requires averaging across household indices. But what if the aggregate index was constructed for the "representative" household as is usually done? The paper examines the resulting bias in the Tornqvist index, widely used for constructing superlative indices as well as for the Cobb–Douglas index, which has a similar functional form. We show that the difference between the two consists of a "plutocratic" bias and a "curvature" bias. The former is well known, but the latter has not been recognized earlier. In empirical applications, the curvature bias is small and orders of magnitude smaller than the plutocratic bias. This suggests much of the overall bias would be removed by constructing the representative agent by democratic averages of budget shares.

"Labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods is a contentious issue and internationally, there is sharp division whether such labeling ought to be mandatory. This debate has reached India where the government has proposed mandatory labeling. In this context, this paper evaluates the optimal regulatory approach to GM food labels. Mandatory labeling aims to provide greater information and correspondingly more informed consumer choice. However, even without such laws, markets have incentives to supply labeling. So can mandatory labeling achieve outcomes different from voluntary labeling? The paper shows that this is not the case in most situations. The paper goes on to explore the special set of circumstances, where mandatory labeling makes a difference to outcomes. If these outcomes are intended, mandatory labeling is justified; otherwise not." -- from Authors' Abstract ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; GRP1; Theme 10; Subtheme 10.1; Food and water safety; DCA ; EPTD

AbstractMuch of the debate between the European and US positions about the labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods has been whether consumers perceive labels as a source of information or as a signal to change behavior. In this paper we provide an experimental framework for examining these roles of information and signaling. While previous studies have focused on the impact of labels on consumer behavior, our interest is also in what happens prior to the expression of aversion to GM-labeled foods. In particular, the experiment design allows the researcher to estimate a lower bound of the informational impact of labels on GM food aversion. The other novel feature of this paper is that, unlike earlier studies, it uses subjects from a developing country.

Many countries adopted safety net programs to deal with the food crisis of 2008. However, such programs are often beset with targeting errors, inefficiencies, and fraud. Despite this, there is no systematic comparative analysis of safety nets. The objective of this paper is to identify generic issues germane to safety net design and their role in determining success. We examine the performance of safety net programs in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in terms of people covered, food distributed, and income support provided. These countries spend 1%–3% of their gross domestic product on safety nets - small in relation to developing and industrial economies. We find an across-the-board failure of targeting in the four countries. The reasons range from elite capture, incorrect identification of the poor, their lack of access, barriers to participation, and regional allocation biases. Even if perfect targeting could cover the entire target group and eliminate leakage to nontarget groups, the target groups may not receive the full subsidy due to illegal diversions, operational inefficiencies, and excess costs of public agencies. The success of the safety nets will depend on increasing the participation of the poor and minimizing program waste. Computerization of supply chains to track grain supplies can reduce diversion, and switching from in-kind to cash transfers can cut administrative and other costs of physical handling. The mix of tools would depend upon the economic, political, cultural, and social backgrounds of the country, and its administrative and fiscal capabilities to provide safety net programs.