We use structural equation modelling to conduct a path analysis for cacao production in West Sumatra, Indonesia, quantifying the main constraints identified by farmers attempting to increase their incomes. Stakeholders in a workshop identified low yield of cacao trees and low quality of cacao...

In this paper, we assess the potential for rehabilitation of comparative analysis under its new guise of benchmarking. After a brief description of comparative analysis, we discuss the deficiencies that surrounded its fall in reputation: neglect of economic principles, limited scope for action,...

Poverty alleviation remains a challenge for Thailand’s socio-economic development. A key strategy of the Thai government to help meet this challenge at the ‘grass roots’ level has been the promotion of Community-Based Enterprises (CBEs). And national statistics and descriptive studies have...

With the current drought in South-Eastern Australia highlighting the scarcity and value of inland Australia’s water resources, focus turns to how these resources can be allocated more efficiently. The first major step was taken almost a decade ago with the separation of land and water property...

Using panel data, we estimate technology gaps for four distinct sheep-producing regions in Eastern Australia (Northern New South Wales, Central and South-Eastern New South Wales, South-Western New South Wales and South-West Victoria) that reflect spatial environmental and technological...

Scope economies can be used in studies of farming systems to provide a measure of synergies between different farm enterprises and between activities within farm enterprises. In this paper, they are reported for farms in three benchmarking groups in Australia by estimating stochastic input...