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The instability of farm income. Empirical evidences on aggregation bias and heterogeneity among farm groups

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  • Severini, Simone
  • Tantari, Antonella
  • Di Tommaso, Giuliano

Abstract

This paper analyses the instability of farm income experienced by a constant sample of Italian farms over the period 2003-2012. It assesses the extent of the aggregation bias due to the use of aggregated vs. single farm data and estimates the level of farm income variability in several groups of farms for the whole period and for two sub-periods. Differences between groups and periods are assessed by means of non-parametric tests. Results suggest that analyses based on aggregated farm data are likely going to strongly underestimate the extent of income variability faced by farmers. Income variability levels differ among farm groups and have significantly increased over the considered time. This has policy implications regarding the risk management tools recently introduced within the Rural Development Policies and how these should be targeted on the farms that more need them.

Suggested Citation

  • Severini, Simone & Tantari, Antonella & Di Tommaso, Giuliano, 2016. "The instability of farm income. Empirical evidences on aggregation bias and heterogeneity among farm groups," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aieabj:239849
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.239849
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Severini, Simone & Biagini, Luigi & Finger, Robert, 2019. "Modeling agricultural risk management policies – The implementation of the Income Stabilization Tool in Italy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 140-155.
    2. Atomu Nitta & Yasutaka Yamamoto & Simone Severini & Katsunobu Kondo & Daisuke Sawauchi, 2022. "Effects of direct payments on rice income variability in Japan," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 118-135, January.
    3. Luigi Biagini & Simone Severini, 2022. "How Does the Farmer Strike a Balance between Income and Risk across Inputs? An Application in Italian Field Crop Farms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Zinnanti, Cinzia & Schimmenti, Emanuele & Borsellino, Valeria & Paolini, Giulio & Severini, Simone, 2019. "Economic performance and risk of farming systems specialized in perennial crops: An analysis of Italian hazelnut production," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Alena Andrejovská & Jozef Glova, 2022. "Sustainability of Farms in EU Countries in the Context of Income Indicators: Regression Analysis Based on a New Classification," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Matthew C. LaFevor, 2022. "Crop Species Production Diversity Enhances Revenue Stability in Low-Income Farm Regions of Mexico," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-22, November.
    7. Luigi Biagini & Simone Severini, 2022. "Can Machine Learning discover the determining factors in participation in insurance schemes? A comparative analysis," Papers 2212.03092, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2022.
    8. Luigi Biagini & Simone Severini, 2021. "The role of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in enhancing and stabilising farm income: an analysis of income transfer efficiency and the Income Stabilisation Tool," Papers 2104.14188, arXiv.org.
    9. Simone Severini & Cinzia Zinnanti & Valeria Borsellino & Emanuele Schimmenti, 2021. "EU income stabilization tool: potential impacts, financial sustainability and farmer’s risk aversion," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.

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    Farm Management; Risk and Uncertainty;

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