IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v59y2016icp103-109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Producing biodiesel from soybeans in Zambia: An economic analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Drabik, Dusan
  • de Gorter, Harry
  • Timilsina, Govinda R.

Abstract

Facing a huge fiscal burden due to imports of its entire petroleum demand in the face of ample supply of agricultural land to produce biofuels, Zambia has recently introduced a biofuel mandate. However, a number of questions, particularly those related to the economics of biofuels, have not been fully investigated yet. Using an empirical model, this study analyzes the economics of meeting the biodiesel mandate using soybean oil. The study finds that meeting the biodiesel mandate would reduce social welfare, mainly because of the welfare loss to fuel consumers and net reduction in foreign exchange earnings due to soybean oil imports. However, if Zambia increases its domestic soybean supply, as well as oil yield, soybean-based biodiesel is likely to be welfare-beneficial. The country’s welfare is found to be the highest under expanded soybean production and its domestic processing but with no biodiesel mandate.

Suggested Citation

  • Drabik, Dusan & de Gorter, Harry & Timilsina, Govinda R., 2016. "Producing biodiesel from soybeans in Zambia: An economic analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 103-109.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:59:y:2016:i:c:p:103-109
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.01.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919216000087
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.01.001?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. Drabik, Dusan & de Gorter, Harry & Just, David R., 2010. "The Implications of Alternative Biofuel Policies on Carbon Leakage," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 102689, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Rajcaniova, Miroslava & Drabik, Dusan & Ciaian, Pavel, 2013. "How policies affect international biofuel price linkages," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 857-865.
    3. James D. Hamilton, 2009. "Understanding Crude Oil Prices," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 179-206.
    4. Tor Iversen & Ching-to Ma, 2011. "Market conditions and general practitioners’ referrals," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 245-265, December.
    5. Drabik, Dusan & de Gorter, Harry & Timilsina, Govinda R., 2014. "The effect of biodiesel policies on world biodiesel and oilseed prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 80-88.
    6. repec:arz:wpaper:eres2011-88 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les, 2011. "Are China's energy markets cointegrated?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 398-407, September.
    8. Su, Chia-Hsien & Ishdorj, Ariun & Leatham, David J., 2011. "An Analysis of the Banana Import market in the U.S," 2011 Annual Meeting, February 5-8, 2011, Corpus Christi, Texas 98847, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    9. Sinkala, Thomson & Timilsina, Govinda R. & Ekanayake, Indira J., 2013. "Are biofuels economically competitive with their petroleum counterparts ?production cost analysis for Zambia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6499, The World Bank.
    10. A, Savvas & C, Boulton & E, Jepsen, 2011. "Influences on Indigenous Labour Market Outcomes," Staff Working Papers 114, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia.
    11. Harry de Gorter & Dusan Drabik & David R. Just, 2011. "The Economics of a Blender's Tax Credit versus a Tax Exemption: The Case of U.S. "Splash and Dash" Biodiesel Exports to the European Union," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 33(4), pages 510-527.
    12. Oecd, 2011. "Next Generation Access Networks and Market Structure," OECD Digital Economy Papers 183, OECD Publishing.
    13. Carl Chiarella & Roberto Dieci & Xue-Zhong He, 2011. "Do heterogeneous beliefs diversify market risk?," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 241-258.
    14. anonymous, 2011. "The future of financial market regulation," Forefront, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Winter, pages 1-2.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Abdi, Reza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2017. "Expanded polystyrene waste application for improving biodiesel environmental performance parameters from life cycle assessment point of view," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 278-298.
    2. James Nyirenda & Harriet Malabo, 2024. "Mineral and bioresource exploitation for transformation and sustainability of the chemical industry in Zambia," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.

    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. Ondřej Filip & Karel Janda & Ladislav Krištoufek, 2018. "Ceny biopaliv a souvisejících komodit: analýza s použitím metod minimální kostry grafu a hierarchických stromů [Prices of Biofuels and Related Commodities: an Analysis Using Methods of Minimum Span," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2018(2), pages 218-239.
    2. Mohseni, Farzad & Görling, Martin & Alvfors, Per, 2013. "The competitiveness of synthetic natural gas as a propellant in the Swedish fuel market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 810-818.
    3. de Gorter, Harry & Drabik, Dusan & Timilsina, Govinda R., 2013. "Should Zambia produce biodiesel from soybeans ? some insights from an empirical analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6498, The World Bank.
    4. Karel Janda & Ladislav Krištoufek & Barbora Schererová & David Zilberman, 2021. "Price transmission in biofuel-related global agricultural networks," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 67(10), pages 399-408.
    5. Karel Janda & Ladislav Kristoufek, 2019. "The relationship between fuel and food prices: Methods, outcomes, and lessons for commodity price risk management," CAMA Working Papers 2019-20, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    6. Filip, Ondrej & Janda, Karel & Kristoufek, Ladislav & Zilberman, David, 2019. "Food versus fuel: An updated and expanded evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 152-166.
    7. Aneel Karnani & Brent McFerran & Anirban Mukhopadhyay, 2016. "The Obesity Crisis as Market Failure: An Analysis of Systemic Causes and Corrective Mechanisms," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(3), pages 445-470.
    8. Gonçalves Junior, Oswaldo & Braga Martes, Ana Cristina, 2015. "Democracy, markets and rural development: The case of small goat-milk farmers in the Brazilian northeast," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 16(3), pages 25-33.
    9. Scalice, Régis Kovacs & da Silva, José Oliveira & Ostetto, Jaqueline Nazario & de Paula, Gabriele Aguiar, 2015. "Modular deployment using TRM and function analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1-11.
    10. Beyer, Jürgen & Müller, Robert, 2013. "Market and hierarchy: What the structure of stock exchanges can tell us about the uncertainty in early financial markets," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 14(3), pages 14-20.
    11. Adriana V. Madzharov & Suresh Ramanathan & Lauren G. Block, 2016. "The Halo Effect of Product Color Lightness on Hedonic Food Consumption," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 579-591.
    12. Vargo, Stephen L. & Koskela-Huotari, Kaisa & Baron, Steve & Edvardsson, Bo & Reynoso, Javier & Colurcio, Maria, 2017. "A systems perspective on markets – Toward a research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 260-268.
    13. Harkonen, Janne & Haapasalo, Harri & Hanninen, Kai, 2015. "Productisation: A review and research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 65-82.
    14. Haugom, Erik & Mydland, Ørjan & Pichler, Alois, 2016. "Long term oil prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 84-94.
    15. Pham T. T. Trinh & Bui T. T. My, 2023. "The impact of world oil price shocks on macroeconomic variables in Vietnam: the transmission through domestic oil price," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 37(1), pages 67-87, May.
    16. Umar, Muhammad & Su, Chi-Wei & Rizvi, Syed Kumail Abbas & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona, 2021. "Driven by fundamentals or exploded by emotions: Detecting bubbles in oil prices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    17. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-442 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Ansgar Belke & Daniel Gros, 2014. "A simple model of an oil based global savings glut—the “China factor”and the OPEC cartel," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 413-430, September.
    19. Matteo Manera & Marcella Nicolini & Ilaria Vignati, 2013. "Futures price volatility in commodities markets: The role of short term vs long term speculation," DEM Working Papers Series 042, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    20. Philippe Aghion & Antoine Dechezleprêtre & David Hémous & Ralf Martin & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Carbon Taxes, Path Dependency, and Directed Technical Change: Evidence from the Auto Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(1), pages 1-51.
    21. Grossmann, Axel & Kim, Jintae, 2022. "The impact of U.S. dollar movements and U.S. dollar states on non-perishable commodity prices," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).

    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:jfpoli:v:59:y:2016:i:c:p:103-109. 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/foodpol .

    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.