CDFI serve an important social function because by providing access to financial services to underserved low-income individuals and families. Understanding what governance mechanisms promote efficient use of scarce resources that these organizations possess matters because only sustainable...

The post 2015 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms may bring a substantial change in the way farm payments are paid in Scotland where earlier farm payments were based on historical entitlements. Scottish farms now have to follow a Basic payment Scheme (BPS) which would be determined under a...

Regional employment and population change have displayed considerable spatial disparities within Northern Ireland in recent years. It is important to gain a better understanding of the causes of these spatial disparities to facilitate the development of effective policies to promote economic...

Transaction Cost (TC) economics is highly relevant to public policy issues, enabling exploration of the influence of institutional and organisational arrangements upon policy performance. As policies evolve, often becoming more multifaceted as they grow, so the associated transactions costs...

This study determined the factors (related to fixed and variable transaction costs) influencing the decision to participate in sweet potato markets by a random sample of 320 small holder farmers in south eastern Nigeria. Data were collected with structured and validated questionnaire, and...

Pesticides efficiency decreases with their global application by farmers. Within a strategic dynamic framework, this results in a classic intertemporal production externality. We analyze tax and subsidy schemes that can be used in order to internalize this externality. We show that they are able...

Where land is an extremely limiting factor, production is increased through intensive cultivation with two or more crops in a year. We found that 82 per cent of the operating crop land is under 2 or more crops. Soil fertility depletion is one of the main biophysical limiting factors for...

There is increasing evidence that improved agricultural technologies benefit smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. This evidence is however relatively clearer for innovations in smallholder crop production systems as compared to innovations in livestock production systems. Moreover, it is...

The concept of sustainability is one of the forefront issues in global agricultural production at present, given mounting pressure to increase food production in both a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way. From an Irish perspective the sustainable intensification of agriculture...

This paper compares innovation systems in three main Scottish livestock sectors: dairy, beef, and sheep, using the uptake of Estimated Breed Values (EBVs) across these three sectors. We apply an innovation systems approach to identify systemic challenges within these sectors. Barriers to the...