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Land tenure, soil conservation, and farm performance: An eco-efficiency analysis of Austrian crop farms

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  • Eder, Andreas
  • Salhofer, Klaus
  • Scheichel, Eva

Abstract

We measure the eco-efficiency (EE) of agricultural production in regard to soil erosion and decompose it into technical efficiency (TE) and soil conservation efficiency (SCE). Data Envelopment Analysis is applied to a panel of 135 Austrian crop farms. As a proxy for soil conservation behavior, we estimate C- and P-factors, frequently applied in Revised Universal Soil Loss Equations, at the parcel-level and combine this with farm-level accountancy data. We investigate the impact of land tenure and other determinants on EE and its components using truncated regression and bootstrapping techniques. Results reveal that: i) the average EE, SCE, and TE is 0.16, 0.26, and 0.54, respectively, suggesting a substantial improvement potential in the soil conservation behavior of farms; ii) tenants have, on average, a significantly higher TE than landowners, but a significantly lower SCE; iii) the effect of tenancy on EE is significantly negative. Results point towards tenants maximizing short-term economic benefits leading to the overexploitation of soils. Results ask for regulations that increase the duration and security of rental contracts, and a shift in agricultural subsidies from direct payments based on area to compensations that provide public goods and internalize externalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Eder, Andreas & Salhofer, Klaus & Scheichel, Eva, 2021. "Land tenure, soil conservation, and farm performance: An eco-efficiency analysis of Austrian crop farms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:180:y:2021:i:c:s0921800920308582
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106861
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    2. Eder, Andreas, 2020. "Environmental efficiency measurement when producers control pollutants under heterogeneous conditions: A generalization of the materials balance approach," FORLand Working Papers 26 (2020), Humboldt University Berlin, DFG Research Unit 2569 FORLand "Agricultural Land Markets – Efficiency and Regulation".
    3. Andreas Eder, 2022. "Environmental efficiency measurement when producers control pollutants under heterogeneous conditions: a generalization of the materials balance approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 157-176, April.
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    5. Figge, Frank & Thorpe, Andrea Stevenson & Manzhynski, Siarhei, 2021. "Between you and I: A portfolio theory of the circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    6. Meike Weltin & Silke Hüttel, 2023. "Sustainable Intensification Farming as an Enabler for Farm Eco-Efficiency?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(1), pages 315-342, January.
    7. Huifang Shang & Xiaoyan Yi & Changbin Yin & Yinjun Chen & Zewei Zhang, 2021. "How Does the Stability of Land Management Right (SLMR) Affect Family Farms’ Cultivated Land Protection and Quality Improvement Behavior (CLPQIB) in China?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Yuanhe Yu & Jinkuo Lin & Peixiang Zhou & Shuwei Zheng & Zijun Li, 2022. "Cultivated Land Input Behavior of Different Types of Rural Households and Its Impact on Cultivated Land-Use Efficiency: A Case Study of the Yimeng Mountain Area, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Lucio Cecchini & Francesco Romagnoli & Massimo Chiorri & Biancamaria Torquati, 2023. "Eco-Efficiency and Its Determinants: The Case of the Italian Beef Cattle Sector," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Andreas Eder, 2021. "Environmental efficiency measurement when producers control pollutants under heterogeneous conditions: a generalization of the materials balance approach," Working Papers 752021, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Economic Development.
    11. Bernini, Cristina & Galli, Federica, 2024. "Economic and Environmental Efficiency, Subsidies and Spatio-Temporal Effects in Agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    12. Wen, Xiaojie & Yao, Shunbo & Sauer, Johannes, 2022. "Shadow prices and abatement cost of soil erosion in Shaanxi Province, China: Convex expectile regression approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Soil erosion; Land rental and ownership; Technical efficiency; Data envelopment analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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