Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine if the institutional quality of developing countries (DCs) and least-developed countries (LDCs) contributes to a significant increase in the utilization rate of the Swiss generalized system of preferences in the agro-food sector....

Purpose Vegetable oils are usually considered commodities. The purpose of this paper is to use disaggregated import data from Switzerland to show two phenomena. The first is that a growing high-price segment exists in these markets; the second is that least developed countries (LDC) are usually...

Purpose: After unsuccessful attempts of South African governments to carry out a land reform that distributes farmland more justly, this study aims to undertake a stronger segmentation of potential beneficiaries for a better targeting of future reforms. Design/methodology/approach: A...

Purpose In the context of rural development, the question how farmers are interconnected with local rural communities is crucial, as farmers historically have played a key role in rural areas, always shaped by the cultural-systemic context in which they acted. The purpose of this paper is to...

Purpose: Since 2010, Swiss slaughterhouses have no longer accepted end-of-lay chickens, so egg producers have had to slaughter the animals on the farm and deliver them to biogas plants for gasification. However, the producers’ association, GalloCircle, has recently contracted a German...

Purpose: Empirical studies on occupational choice have typically concentrated on a specific sector. The purpose of this study is to compare two sectors wherein there are grounds to hypothesise that lifestyle reasons play a key role for occupational choice. Design/methodology/approach: Arguing...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that for rural regions of Switzerland, jobs and enterprises do not have a positive effect on the quality of regional development in rural areas. Design/methodology/approach – Population development is used as an indicator for the...

Purpose – Many transactions are partly carried out within social networks and without payment, partly commercially on the market. The paper aims to explore the interdependencies between shrinking cooperation in society and a growing service sector. Design/methodology/approach – The author...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop the argument that the link between efficiency and utility was strongest in the twentieth century. This would not only explain the growing focus on efficiency in the past, but also suggest that the importance of efficiency in society is set to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that societies, when becoming wealthier, are increasingly less concerned with the efficiency of their farms. It is to show that and why small family farms are a good which citizens aim to preserve. Design/methodology/approach –...