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Impacts of Federal Crop Insurance on Land Use and Environmental Quality

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  • Roger Claassen
  • Christian Langpap
  • JunJie Wu

Abstract

This article integrates economic and biophysical models to assess how federal crop revenue insurance programs affect land use, cropping systems, and environmental quality in the U.S. Corn Belt region. The empirical framework includes econometric models that predict land conversion and crop choices at the parcel level based on expectation and variance of crop revenues, land quality, climate conditions, and physical characteristics at each site. The predictions are then combined with site-specific environmental production functions to determine the effect of revenue insurance on nitrate runoff and leaching, soil water and wind erosion, and carbon sequestration. Results suggest that federal crop insurance has, on average, a small effect on conversions of non-cropland to cropland, and somewhat more significant impacts on crop choice and crop rotation. These changes in cropping systems have, on average, small impacts on agricultural pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Roger Claassen & Christian Langpap & JunJie Wu, 2017. "Impacts of Federal Crop Insurance on Land Use and Environmental Quality," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(3), pages 592-613.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:99:y:2017:i:3:p:592-613.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aaw075
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    8. Liu, Y. & Ker, A., 2018. "Is There Too Much History in Historical Yield Data," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277293, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Mauro Vigani & Jonas Kathage, 2019. "To Risk or Not to Risk? Risk Management and Farm Productivity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 101(5), pages 1432-1454, October.
    10. Ferreira, Marcelo D P & Feres, Jose, 2018. "The Role of Climate Risk on Land Allocation in Brazilian Amazon," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274436, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
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    13. Oladipo S. Obembe & Nathan P. Hendricks, 2022. "Marginal cost of carbon sequestration through forest afforestation of agricultural land in the southeastern United States," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(S1), pages 59-73, November.
    14. Reyes, Julian & Elias, Emile & Haacker, Erin & Kremen, Amy & Parker, Lauren & Rottler, Caitlin, 2020. "Assessing agricultural risk management using historic crop insurance loss data over the ogallala aquifer," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    15. Patil, Vikram & Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan & Yashodha, Yashodha, 2021. "Understanding Farmers’ Low Uptake of Crop Insurance in India: A Discrete Choice Experiment Approach," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315232, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
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    17. Nicholas J. Pates & Nathan P. Hendricks, 2021. "Fields from Afar: Evidence of Heterogeneity in United States Corn Rotational Response from Remote Sensing Data," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(5), pages 1759-1782, October.
    18. Kim, Youngho, 2023. "Payments for Ecosystem Services Programs and Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335971, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Prasenjit N. Ghosh & Ruiqing Miao & Emir Malikov, 2023. "Crop insurance premium subsidy and irrigation water withdrawals in the western United States," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(4), pages 968-992, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crop insurance; crop choice; land use; environmental quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy

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