The Renewable Energy Source Act (EEG) promotes German biogas production in order to substitute fossil fuels, protect the environment, and prevent climate change. As a consequence, green maize production has increased significantly over the last years, causing negative environmental effects on...

Durch die Novellierung des Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzes (EEG) im Jahr 2004 wurde eine attraktive Förderung des Einsatzes Nachwachsender Rohstoffe zur Energieerzeugung eingeführt, die seitdem zu einer rasanten Ausdehnung des wettbewerbsstarken Anbaus von Energiemais geführt hat. Mit Hilfe des...

The German employment miracle, with a weak decline in employment and low unemployment during the great recession, seems to be a good example for a successful labour market reform. Nevertheless, there are concerns about rising inequality in the labour market. In this paper we analyze the quality...

Microcredit is an innovative financial tool designed to reduce poverty and fix credit market imperfections. We use experimental measures of time discounting and risk aversion for villagers in south India to highlight behavioral features of microcredit. Conditional on borrowing from any source,...

This paper studies gender heterogeneity in preferences. We used experimental methods to elicit the subjective discount rate and attitude toward risk in Indian villages. Results show that women made more patient choices than men and that their discount rate is related to number of children. No...

A survey on economics of Maize (Zea mays L.) production in Nigeria and its traditional utilization was conducted. Result of the survey presented maize having the potential of increasing the economy of the nation. Analyzed data presented maize been able to increase the income of the local people...

The meta-frontier model technique is employed to compare the technical efficiency levels of improved and local maize seed variety farms in Ghana using a cross-sectional data from 214 farmers. The study shows that inefficiencies in maize production relate to exogenous variables considered even...

Given global heterogeneity in climate-induced agricultural variability, Tanzania has the potential to substantially increase its maize exports to other countries. If global maize production is lower than usual due to supply shocks in major exporting regions, Tanzania may be able to export more...

Shadow prices guide farmers' resource allocations, but for subsistence farmers growing traditional crops, shadow prices may bear little relationship with market prices. We econometrically estimate shadow prices of maize using data from a nationally representative survey of rural households in...