In this paper we analyze the conditions under which increasing technical efficiency of water use in the agricultural sector might not reduce water demand and pressures on water ecosystems. Departing from this basic problem we discuss how policy measures performed to enhance water productivity in...

The MODERE, the Ministry of the Environment Irrigation Decision Model, is a simulation tool which uses mathematical programming methods to reveal the implicit multiattribute objective function lying behind the observed cropping decision. The model takes different criteria such as profit...

The Swiss agent-based model (SWISSland) claims to depict as realistically as possible the 50 000 family farms comprising the whole of Swiss agriculture in all their heterogeneity as regards farm and cost structures as well as farm decision-making behaviour and interactions, with the aim of...

Our study examines the potential developments of cultural landscapes, taking into consideration various economic and social conditions (scenarios). The study takes place in three project regions which represent typical landscapes in Southern Germany and Austria. In each project area, the...

This paper addresses three issues of socio-economic factors of Hungarian farm households and their impacts on structural change. This concerns the role of age as a factor influencing the opportunity costs of labour, the impact of empirical age patterns on structural change, and the role of a...

Our study examines the potential developments of cultural landscapes, taking into consideration various economic and social conditions (scenarios). The study takes place in three project regions which represent typical landscapes in Southern Germany and Austria. In each project area, the...

We use a Multiplicative Competitive Interaction (MCI) model, a popular approach in marketing research, to explain the change in farm specialization over time. The change in farm specialization is measured by the variations of the Standard Gross Margin (SGM) shares. The model is applied to the...

This paper investigates the impacts of financial constraints on the structural development of four European regions. The spatial-dynamic agent-based model used considers individual farms’ investment behaviour while those indirectly interact via land rental markets. Scenarios with different...

This paper aims at investigating the factors affecting relative changes in the average farm size over the period 2000-2010. The objective has been pursued applying an empirical investigation in Tuscany region through observation aggregated at municipality level. By applying spatial analysis and...

The Agribusiness is in flux: a shrinking number of up- and downstream corporations questions traditional equilibrium concepts. How will the population of firms develop and which consequences will arise for competition? In 1931, Gibrat stated the firm size and a firm’s growth rate to be...