IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v129y2023ics0264999323003802.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of agricultural input subsidy policy on market participation and income distribution in Africa: A bottom-up/top-down approach

Author

Listed:
  • Camara, Alhassane
  • Savard, Luc

Abstract

Previous literature on the effects of agricultural input subsidy programs on smallholder market participation has only focused on partial equilibrium analysis, while ignoring important general equilibrium effects. Therefore, this study fills this gap by highlighting the critical role of targeting in the implementation of the agricultural input policy in the Malawian context. Specifically, we establish a bi-directional link between a farm household model and a general equilibrium model in order to explore the spillover effects of the input policy on market orientation and income distribution. Based on the findings, the partial equilibrium analysis underestimates the effect of the input policy and neglects important heterogeneities between farmers. More importantly, we find that extending the program to farmers who are excluded from the cereal and/or labor markets can lead to higher market participation, economic growth, and a reduction in poverty. Our findings suggest better targeting to increase the impact of agricultural input policy on market participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Camara, Alhassane & Savard, Luc, 2023. "Impact of agricultural input subsidy policy on market participation and income distribution in Africa: A bottom-up/top-down approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:129:y:2023:i:c:s0264999323003802
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2023.106568
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999323003802
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2023.106568?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sibande, Lonester & Bailey, Alastair & Davidova, Sophia, 2017. "The impact of farm input subsidies on maize marketing in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 190-206.
    2. Luca Tiberti & John Cockburn & Martín Cicowiez, 2017. "A top-down behaviour (TDB) microsimulation toolkit for distributive analysis," Working Papers PMMA 2017-24, PEP-PMMA.
    3. Nigel Key & Elisabeth Sadoulet & Alain De Janvry, 2000. "Transactions Costs and Agricultural Household Supply Response," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 245-259.
    4. Jonasson, Erik & Filipski, Mateusz & Brooks, Jonathan & Taylor, J. Edward, 2014. "Modeling the welfare impacts of agricultural policies in developing countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 63-82.
    5. Emily Ouma & John Jagwe & Gideon Aiko Obare & Steffen Abele, 2010. "Determinants of smallholder farmers' participation in banana markets in Central Africa: the role of transaction costs," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(2), pages 111-122, March.
    6. Debowicz, Darío, 2016. "Does the microsimulation approach used in macro–micro modelling matter? An application to the distributional effects of capital outflows during Argentina's Currency Board regime," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 591-599.
    7. Barrett, Christopher B., 2008. "Smallholder market participation: Concepts and evidence from eastern and southern Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 299-317, August.
    8. Tiberti, Luca & Maisonnave, Helene & Chitiga, Margaret & Mabugu, Ramos, 2018. "Reforming grants to tackle child poverty: An integrated macro-micro approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 272-281.
    9. Janvry, Alain de & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2001. "Income Strategies Among Rural Households in Mexico: The Role of Off-farm Activities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 467-480, March.
    10. Boccanfuso, Dorothée & Richard, Patrick & Savard, Luc, 2013. "Parametric and nonparametric income distribution estimators in CGE micro-simulation modeling," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 892-899.
    11. David Laborde & Will Martin & Rob Vos, 2021. "Impacts of COVID‐19 on global poverty, food security, and diets: Insights from global model scenario analysis," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(3), pages 375-390, May.
    12. Luc Savard, 2003. "Poverty and Income Distribution in a CGE-Household Micro-Simulation Model: Top-Down/Bottom Up Approach," Cahiers de recherche 0343, CIRPEE.
    13. Hans Löfgren & Sherman Robinson, 1999. "Nonseparable Farm Household Decisions in a Computable General Equilibrium Model," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 81(3), pages 663-670.
    14. Wossen, Tesfamicheal & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Alene, Arega & Feleke, Shiferaw & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob & Manyong, Victor & Awotide, Bola Amoke, 2017. "Productivity and Welfare Effects of Nigeria's e-Voucher-Based Input Subsidy Program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 251-265.
    15. Franziska Schuenemann & James Thurlow & Stefan Meyer & Richard Robertson & Joao Rodrigues, 2018. "Evaluating irrigation investments in Malawi: economy†wide impacts under uncertainty and labor constraints," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(2), pages 237-250, March.
    16. T.S. Jayne & David Mather & Nicole Mason & Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, 2013. "How do fertilizer subsidy programs affect total fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa? Crowding out, diversion, and benefit/cost assessments," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(6), pages 687-703, November.
    17. F. Bourguignon & M. Fournier & M. Gurgand, 2001. "Fast Development With a Stable Income Distribution: Taiwan, 1979–94," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 47(2), pages 139-163, June.
    18. de Janvry, Alain & Duquennois, Claire & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2022. "Labor calendars and rural poverty: A case study for Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Pierre Boulanger & Hasan Dudu & Emanuele Ferrari & Alfredo J. Mainar-Causapé & Maria Priscila Ramos, 2022. "Effectiveness of fertilizer policy reforms to enhance food security in Kenya: a macro–micro simulation analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(8), pages 841-861, February.
    20. Doroth饠Boccanfuso & Marcelin Joanis & Patrick Richard & Luc Savard, 2014. "A comparative analysis of funding schemes for public infrastructure spending in Quebec," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(22), pages 2653-2664, August.
    21. Channing Arndt & Karl Pauw & James Thurlow, 2016. "The Economy-wide Impacts and Risks of Malawi's Farm Input Subsidy Program," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(3), pages 962-980.
    22. Obed Owusu & Talan B. İşcan, 2021. "Drivers of farm commercialization in Nigeria and Tanzania," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(2), pages 265-299, March.
    23. Bourguignon, Francois & Fournier, M & Gurgand, M, 2001. "Fast Development with a Stable Income Distribution: Taiwan, 1979-94," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 47(2), pages 139-163, June.
    24. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    25. Dorothée Boccanfuso & Luc Savard, 2007. "Poverty and Inequality Impact Analysis Regarding Cotton Subsidies: A Mali-based CGE Micro-accounting Approach," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 16(4), pages 629-659, August.
    26. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2020. "Using agriculture for development: Supply- and demand-side approaches," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    27. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2003. "Measuring pro-poor growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 93-99, January.
    28. Nicole M. Mason & T.S. Jayne & Rhoda Mofya-Mukuka, 2013. "Zambia's input subsidy programs," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(6), pages 613-628, November.
    29. Nicole M. Mason & Thomas S. Jayne & Nicolas van de Walle, 2017. "The Political Economy of Fertilizer Subsidy Programs in Africa: Evidence from Zambia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 705-731.
    30. Meilin Ma & Richard J. Sexton, 2021. "Modern agricultural value chains and the future of smallholder farming systems," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 591-606, July.
    31. Debowicz, Darío & Golan, Jennifer, 2014. "The impact of Oportunidades on human capital and income distribution in Mexico: A top-down/bottom-up approach," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 24-42.
    32. Romina Cavatassi & Leslie Lipper & Ulf Narloch, 2011. "Modern variety adoption and risk management in drought prone areas: insights from the sorghum farmers of eastern Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(3), pages 279-292, May.
    33. Mwale, Martin & Kamninga, Tony Mwenda & Cassim, Lucius, 2021. "The Effects of the Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Program on Household per-Capita Consumption Convergence," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315045, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    34. Greenwell C MATCHAYA & Pius CHILONDA, 2012. "Estimating Effects Of Constraints On Food Security In Malawi: Policy Lessons From Regressions Quantiles," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 12(2).
    35. Marc F. Bellemare, 2018. "Contract farming: opportunity cost and trade†offs," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(3), pages 279-288, May.
    36. Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob & Jayne, Thomas S., 2012. "Do Fertilizer Subsidies Boost Staple Crop Production and Reduce Poverty Across the Distribution of Smallholders in Africa? Quantile Regression Results from Malawi," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126742, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    37. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1994. "Estimating a Wage Curve for Britain: 1973-90," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(426), pages 1025-1043, September.
    38. Nicole M. Mason & Thomas S. Jayne & Nicolas van de Walle, 2017. "The Political Economy of Fertilizer Subsidy Programs in Africa: Evidence from Zambia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 705-731.
    39. Hodjo, Manzamasso & Dalton, Timothy & Nakelse, Tebila & Acharya, Ram N & Blayney, Don, 2021. "From coupon to calories: Assessing input coupon impact on household food calories production," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    40. Helen Walls & Deborah Johnston & Mirriam Matita & Ephraim Chirwa & Jacob Mazalale & Matthew Quaife & Tayamika Kamwanja & Richard Smith, 2023. "How effectively might agricultural input subsidies improve nutrition? A case study of Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP)," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 21-39, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jayne, Thomas S. & Mason, Nicole M. & Burke, William J. & Ariga, Joshua, 2018. "Review: Taking stock of Africa’s second-generation agricultural input subsidy programs," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1-14.
    2. Fujimoto, Takefumi & Suzuki, Aya, 2021. "Do Fertilizer and Seed Subsidies Strengthen Farmers' Market Participation? the Impact of Tanzania NAIVS on Farmers' Purchase of Agricultural Inputs and Their Maize-Selling Activities," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315044, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Kwon, Daye & Myers, Robert J. & Mason, Nicole M., 2022. "How do input subsidy programs affect smallholder households’ dietary diversity? Evidence from Zambia," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322493, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Yoko Kijima, 2022. "Effect of Nigeria’s e-voucher input subsidy program on fertilizer use, rice production, and household income," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 919-935, August.
    5. Mwale, Martin Limbikani, 2023. "Do agricultural subsidies matter for women’s attitude towards intimate partner violence? Evidence from Malawi," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Mason, Nicole M. & Wineman, Ayala & Kirimi, Lilian & Mather, David, 2016. "The Effects of Kenya’s ‘Smarter’ Input Subsidy Program on Smallholder Behavior and Incomes: Do Different Quasi-Experimental Approaches Lead to the Same Conclusions?," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 232090, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    7. Nicole M. Mason & Ayala Wineman & Solomon T. Tembo, 2020. "Reducing poverty by ‘ignoring the experts’? Evidence on input subsidies in Zambia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(5), pages 1157-1172, October.
    8. Luca Tiberti & Martin Cicowiez & John Cockburn, 2018. "A Top-Down with Behaviour (TDB) Microsimulation Toolkit for Distributive Analysis," International Journal of Microsimulation, International Microsimulation Association, vol. 11(2), pages 191-213.
    9. Tebogo B. Seleka, 2022. "Old wine in a new bottle? Impact of the ISPAAD input subsidy program on the subsistence economy in Botswana," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 298-322, February.
    10. Bouët, Antoine & Estrades, Carmen & Laborde, David, 2012. "Cooperation vs. non cooperation in the multilateral trading system: the impact on poverty and inequality in developing countries," Conference papers 332287, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    11. Franklin Simtowe & Hugo Groote, 2021. "Seasonal participation in maize markets in Zambia: Do agricultural input subsidies and gender matter?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 141-155, February.
    12. Morgan, Stephen N. & Mason, Nicole M. & Levine, N. Kendra & Zulu-Mbata, Olipa, 2019. "Dis-incentivizing sustainable intensification? The case of Zambia’s maize-fertilizer subsidy program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 54-69.
    13. Mason, N. & Morgan, S. & Levine, N.K. & Zulu-Mbata, O., 2018. "Dis-incentivizing sustainable intensification? The case of Zambia s fertilizer subsidy program," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277491, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Tabe-Ojong, M.P.J. & Mausch, K. & Woldeyohanes, T. & Heckelei, T., 2018. "A Triple-Hurdle Model of the Impacts of Improved Chickpea Adoption on Smallholder Production and Commercialization in Ethiopia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277287, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Nicole M. Mason & Thomas S. Jayne & Nicolas van de Walle, 2017. "The Political Economy of Fertilizer Subsidy Programs in Africa: Evidence from Zambia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 705-731.
    16. Mason, Nicole & Tembo, Solomon, 2015. "Do input Subsidies Reduce Poverty among Smallholder Farm Households? Panel Survey Evidence from Zambia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212233, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Yao, B. & Shanoyan, A., 2018. "The Use of Mobile Money Application and Smallholder Farmer Market Participation: Evidence form Cote d Ivoire and Tanzania," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277259, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Nong Zhu & Xubei Luo, 2014. "The Impact of migration on rural poverty and inequality: a case study in China," CIRANO Working Papers 2014s-08, CIRANO.
    19. Dzanku, Fred M., 2015. "Household-specific food price differentials and high-value crop production in rural Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 73-82.
    20. Cazzuffi, Chiara & McKay, Andrew, 2012. "Rice market participation and channels of sale in rural Vietnam," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126566, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Computable general equilibrium; Farm household; Agricultural policy; Agricultural marketing; Microsimulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D58 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:129:y:2023:i:c:s0264999323003802. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.