Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of structural changes in hog production manure management practices. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this study are obtained from a large-scale nationwide hog producers’ survey in rural China conducted by the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2010. A descriptive analysis between hog manure management and its main determinants was conducted. Based on the collected data, an econometric model on the determinants of hog manure management was constructed and used for analysis. Findings – The results of this study suggest that the scale of hog production has an important impact on the pattern of hog manure management. Moreover, the results from descriptive statistics and multivariate estimation suggest that smaller hog producers are more likely to apply hog manure to their own lands, while larger hog producers are more likely to sell the manure or find other ways to dispose of it. Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the impact of structural changes in hog production on hog manure management and the environment.

China's hog production has undergone significant structural transition, from the traditional backyard production mode to the large-scale production mode. In this study, we illustrate the linkage between economic development and the transition in hog production mode. Using unique and nationally representative survey data, we find that an increase in farmer wealth motivates them to transition away from backyard hog production. However, the relationship between wealth and herd size among large-scale hog producers is positive. With farmer wealth increasing rapidly, the transition of China's hog production toward the large-scale mode is expected to continue; this will have significant implications for not only hog production, but also the feed sector and many other related sectors.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the income sensitivity of food consumption in Beijing, China, using an original household survey data set collected by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Design/methodology/approach - An Engel curve model is fit to the household data of nine food categories and 35 food items, and both conditional and unconditional expenditure elasticities of demand are calculated and reported for the nine food groups and the 35 food items.Findings - Working's model fits the data well, and the elasticity estimates are all reasonable in terms of economic theory, size and signs. The results indicate a relative large range in income sensitivity among the nine food groups and 35 food items in response to changes in household food expenditure levels.Originality/value - The research analyzes unique and rich urban household survey data collected by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is the most comprehensive analysis to date in terms of the number of food items studied for which expenditure elasticities are calculated. These elasticities may be used to study household food consumption patterns, to calculate caloric or nutrient elasticities, to study obesity in China, to study policy prescriptions in terms of taxes and subsidies on food, to infer welfare and affluence, and may be used as inputs into econometric models such as those used by the World Bank, IFPRI, and others.

Consumption of food away from home in China is an increasingly important component of the food market as wealthier and busier consumers choose to dine out rather than prepare meals themselves. However, many meals consumed away from home in China are hosted rather than paid for by the individual consuming them, heretofore referred to as hosted meals. Neglecting the role of hosted meals may bias estimates of the parameters determining the demand for food away from home. This study modifies Becker’s household consumption and production model and uses unique data to estimate the role of hosted meals in the probability of eating out and level of expenditures. Our results show that expenditures on food away from home are significantly underestimated by the data most commonly used in food consumption research in China; hosted meals comprise nearly one half of the underestimation. Econometric analysis indicates that consumption of hosted meal by households are significantly and positively related to the likelihood of eating out and the level of expenditures, suggesting that hosted meals shift consumers’ food purchasing behavior.

In asymmetric information markets, consumers often rely on certain extrinsic indictors to assess the safety of food products. This study analyzes how consumers in Beijing determined milk safety when they purchased liquid milk using survey data conducted just before the melamine-contaminated infant formula event was disclosed. The key finding indicates that milk brand and purchase venue, on average, were ranked as the first two important safety indicators in fluid milk purchases, suggesting that China's milk safety regulators should put more monitoring resources toward supervising the safety of milk produced from branded firms and milk sold in ostensibly trustable stores and not allow exemptions to inspections. Meanwhile, the findings of this study indicate that the existing milk safety certification system in China might be significantly inefficient, suggesting potential waste of regulatory resources.

Thirty years ago, China began implementing a series of reforms to improve efficiency in agricultural production. These, and subsequent, reforms reshaped China's position in the world economy. China's rapid economic development and transformation from a planned to a market-oriented economy, however, has reached a stage where further efficiency gains in agricultural production will likely hinge on the development of modern market-supporting institutions. The development of market-supporting institutions in China will bring about long-term and sustainable benefits to producers and consumers in China and the global agricultural economy. This report provides an overview of current issues in China's agricultural development, policy responses to these issues, and the effects of these policies on China's growing role in international markets.

Based on a modified Becker household consumption and production model and newly surveyed data set collected by the authors, this study investigated household expenditure on food away from home (FAFH) and its determinants in Beijing, China. A Box–Cox double-hurdle regression is estimated. The key findings suggest that household expenditure on dining out might be significantly underestimated when using the data most commonly used in food consumption research in China. Excluding hosted meals that are not paid for by individual consumers comprises nearly one half of the underestimation. Meanwhile, this exclusion could bias estimates of income effects on the demand for food away from home.

Market-based reforms during the past three decades placed China’s agricultural sector on an upward trajectory after centuries of poverty, stagnation, and cycles of fl oods, famine, and peasant uprisings. China’s communist party came to power in 1949, propelled in part by promises to address rural problems. Central planning, collectivization, and taxation of agriculture, however, only perpetuated rural stagnation and led to a famine that killed tens of millions of people. Market-based reforms begun in the late 1970s broke up rural communes, restored production decisions to individual farmers, and allowed prices to rise to market-clearing levels. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Chinese Government loosened its grip on prices and marketing, commodity by commodity. By the late 1990s, nearly all farm produce was sold at free-market prices. Government food procurement bureaucracies were dismantled and privatized, food prices were liberalized, and urban food rationing was abandoned. China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 with some of the world’s lowest average agricultural tariffs seemed to cement China’s commitment to market-based agriculture. The results of the reforms provide some of the most compelling evidence of the power of market incentives. The Chinese agricultural sector increased production of nearly every commodity, while releasing millions of laborers that fueled growth in nonfarm sectors. China’s farms increased output of staple grains while stepping up production of fruit, vegetables, livestock, and aquaculture products demanded by the growing economy. China also became a major supplier of food to neighboring Asian countries, North America, and Europe. By the late 1990s, China was a net exporter of food, and offi cials were devising plans to dispose of a large grain surplus. During the fi rst decade of the 21st century, however, this rapid growth began to place serious strains on agriculture, and rural China became the focus of problems, reversing its 1980s role as the vanguard of reform and growth (see How Tightly Has China Embraced Market Reforms in Agriculture?

Journal Article China's Water Warriors: Citizen Action and Policy Change by Andrew C. Mertha Get access Chinaʼs Water Warriors: Citizen Action and Policy Changeby Andrew C. Mertha. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2008. 168pp. $29.95. Bryan Lohmar Bryan Lohmar Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 124, Issue 1, Spring 2009, Pages 199–200, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2009.tb01861.x Published: 25 March 2013

Rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural and increasing urban demands for water have important implications for the economy of China, especially for the agricultural sector in the northern part of the nation. In response to the water crisis, China's government has begun in recent years to invest in research on techniques to save water in the agricultural sector, although there is a debate about the extent of success in adoption by farmers. Top policy makers have publicly stated they would allocate billions of dollars in funding if they knew it would succeed in saving water. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little research in China on the economics of water saving technology and there is almost no systematic information on the extent to which the technologies have been adopted, if they are appearing to save water, and the characteristics of the communities that have been adopting them. Our goal is to sketch a picture of the state of water saving technology in northern China to increase awareness of past trends and current status. In simplest terms, we seek to establish a set of first order facts about the role that water saving technology has been playing in China's agricultural sector. We pursue three specific objectives: (1) to illustrate progress in adoption over the past two decades, (2) to identify the characteristics of technologies that have been most successful and those that have not, and (3) to explain factors that might be promoting water saving technology and factors that might be holding back adoption. We find that, although water saving technologies have expanded rapidly in recent years—especially those that can be adopted by individual households (as opposed to those that require the collective action of an entire community), there is still considerable room for water saving technology to be expanded.

Adverse publicity about contaminated food exports and growing domestic concerns have prompted China to improve overall food safety. Producing safer food for export is expensive and reduces China’s cost advantage. Only a small portion of Chinese production for the domestic market meets the new government standards for safer food.

In 2004, China entered a new era in its approach to agricultural policy, as it began to subsidize rather than tax agriculture. China introduced direct subsidies to farmers, began to phase out its centuries-old agricultural tax, subsidized seed and machinery purchases, and increased spending on rural infrastructure. The new policies reflect China's new view of agriculture as a sector needing a helping hand. The subsidies are targeted at grain producers, but they do not provide strong incentives to increase grain production.

(2006). Feeling for Stones But Not Crossing the River: China's Rural Land Tenure After Twenty Years of Reform. The Chinese Economy: Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 85-102.

Sustainable use of water resources in the face of population and economic growth is of great importance in northern China, as it is in much of the world. Rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural and urban demand is depleting groundwater and overexploiting surface water resources in northern China. Despite substantial investment in the development of water saving technology and the potential impact of widespread adoption, there has been little research on the extent of adoption in northern China or the conditions under which water saving technology is adopted. This paper uses data from two recent surveys in northern China to measure the extent of water saving technology adoption and to analyze the determinants of this adoption. The technologies we analyze include traditional technologies (border and furrow irrigation and field leveling), household level technologies (surface pipes, plastic film, drought resistant varieties and retain stubble low till), and community level technologies (underground pipe, lined surface canals and sprinklers). We find that levels of adoption of water saving technology in northern China have increased as water has become increasingly scarce. What is surprising, however, is that the extent of adoption is quite low. Moreover, both the rate and extent of adoption vary substantially across technologies. Of the different types of technologies, household-based technologies have grown most rapidly and traditional technologies have the highest rates of adoption. While we do not have a definitive answer why the adoption of these technologies are higher than other types, it appears that the most successful technologies have been those that are highly divisible, low cost and do not require collective action or large fixed investments. Technologies that do not fit this description are adopted on a limited scale, which we believe in part is due to the failure of policy makers to overcome the constraints to adoption. In addition, producers also fail to adopt water saving technologies because of the lack of strong incentives to save water, inadequate information, and difficulty overcoming collective action constraints. If the incentives and government-provided services can be delivered to those in water scarce areas, according to our paper there is a great deal of scope to conserve water and support China's agricultural sector despite tight water supplies.