IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/rdevec/v27y2023i1p323-351.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of COVID‐19 restrictions on mechanization service providers and mechanization equipment retailers: Insights from phone surveys in Myanmar

Author

Listed:
  • Hiroyuki Takeshima
  • Ian Masias
  • Myat Thida Win
  • Phoo Pye Zone

Abstract

Agrifood sector mechanization service providers (MSP) and mechanization equipment retailers (MER) have increasingly become the providers of mechanical technologies for smallholders in developing countries, including Myanmar. Evidence remains scarce on the effects of COVID‐19 on these MSPs and MERs. This study provides insights into the effects of COVID‐19 restrictions on MSPs and MERs in Myanmar, using unbalanced panel data from five rounds of phone surveys. Direct responses to COVID‐19 involving movement restrictions, market disruptions, and growing financial challenges had significant negative effects on revenue prospects, service delivery, and sales of machines and equipment. Negative revenue prospects during a particular period can further hurt revenue prospects in subsequent periods. This is consistent with the hypotheses that MSPs who had incurred high sunk costs in machines can engage in more desperate and, thus, potentially suboptimal business practices to recover the sunk cost. Overall, policies to minimize movement restrictions and various financial struggles and mitigate any pessimism at the beginning of the production season are all important to make sure MSPs and MERs continue to function effectively under COVID‐19.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroyuki Takeshima & Ian Masias & Myat Thida Win & Phoo Pye Zone, 2023. "Effects of COVID‐19 restrictions on mechanization service providers and mechanization equipment retailers: Insights from phone surveys in Myanmar," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 323-351, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:rdevec:v:27:y:2023:i:1:p:323-351
    DOI: 10.1111/rode.12940
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12940
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rode.12940?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belton, Ben & Filipski,Mateusz & Hu, Chaoran & Oo, Aung Tun & Htun, Aung, 2017. "Rural Transformation In Central Myanmar: Results From The Rural Economy And Agriculture Dry Zone Community Survey," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 261673, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    2. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    3. Choi, In, 2001. "Unit root tests for panel data," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 249-272, April.
    4. Hiroyuki Takeshima & Hyacinth O. Edeh & Akeem O. Lawal & Moshudi A. Isiaka, 2015. "Characteristics of Private-Sector Tractor Service Provisions: Insights from Nigeria," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 53(3), pages 188-217, September.
    5. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2011. "Robust Inference With Multiway Clustering," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 238-249, April.
    6. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L. & Edeh, Hyacinth O., 2020. "Effects of agricultural mechanization on economies of scope in crop production in Nigeria," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    7. Zhang, Xiaobo & Yang, Jin & Reardon, Thomas, 2020. "Mechanization outsourcing clusters and division of labor in Chinese agriculture," IFPRI book chapters, in: An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?, chapter 2, pages 71-96, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    9. Minten, Bart & Mohammed, Belay & Tamru, Seneshaw, 2020. "Emerging medium-scale tenant farming, gig economies, and the COVID-19 disruption: Evidence from commercial vegetable clusters in Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 149, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Richard H. Steckel & William J. White, 2012. "Engines of Growth: Farm Tractors and Twentieth-Century U.S. Economic Welfare," NBER Working Papers 17879, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    12. Diao, Xinshen, ed. & Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed. & Zhang, Xiaobo, ed., 2020. "An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia? Synopsis," IFPRI synopses 1224277378, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    14. Patrice Rélouendé Zidouemba & Somlanare Romuald Kinda & Idrissa Mohamed Ouedraogo, 2020. "Could Covid-19 Worsen Food Insecurity in Burkina Faso?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(5), pages 1379-1401, December.
    15. Diao, Xinshen, ed. & Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed. & Zhang, Xiaobo, ed., 2020. "An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?," IFPRI books, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), number 9780896293809.
    16. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    17. Bart Minten & Belay Mohammed & Seneshaw Tamru, 2020. "Emerging Medium-Scale Tenant Farming, Gig Economies, and the COVID-19 Disruption: The Case of Commercial Vegetable Clusters in Ethiopia," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(5), pages 1402-1429, December.
    18. Windmeijer, Frank, 2005. "A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 25-51, May.
    19. Daniel Hoechle, 2007. "Robust standard errors for panel regressions with cross-sectional dependence," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(3), pages 281-312, September.
    20. Boughton, Duncan & Goeb, Joseph & Lambrecht, Isabel & Headey, Derek & Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Mahrt, Kristi & Masias, Ian & Goudet, Sophie & Ragasa, Catherine & Maredia, Mywish K. & Minten, Bart & Diao,, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural production and food systems in late transforming Southeast Asia: The case of Myanmar," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    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. Michel Dumont, 2015. "Working Paper 05-15 - Evaluation of federal tax incentives for private R&D in Belgium: An update," Working Papers 1505, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    2. Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Tadadjeu, Sosson & Nounamo, Yann & Kamguia, Brice, 2022. "Governance in mitigating the effect of oil wealth on wealth inequality: A cross-country analysis of policy thresholds," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Michal Madr, 2016. "Economic Development as a Factor of Democratisation: Evidence from Post-Socialist Economies," MENDELU Working Papers in Business and Economics 2016-70, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    4. Scott, K. Rebecca, 2015. "Demand and price uncertainty: Rational habits in international gasoline demand," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 40-49.
    5. Nguyen Phuc Canh & Nguyen Thanh Binh & Su Dinh Thanh & Christophe Schinckus, 2020. "Determinants of foreign direct investment inflows: The role of economic policy uncertainty," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 161, pages 159-172.
    6. Sung, Bongsuk & Song, Woo-Yong & Park, Sang-Do, 2018. "How foreign direct investment affects CO2 emission levels in the Chinese manufacturing industry: Evidence from panel data," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 320-331.
    7. Olaoye, Olumide O. & Eluwole, Oluwatosin O. & Ayesha, Aziz & Afolabi, Olugbenga O., 2020. "Government spending and economic growth in ECOWAS: An asymmetric analysis," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    8. Onur Özdemir, 2020. "The handicap for enhanced solidarity across advanced economies: The greater the economic openness higher the unequal distribution of income," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(4), pages 585-632, December.
    9. Hagen, Tobias & Mohl, Philipp, 2009. "How does EU cohesion policy work? Evaluating its effects on fiscal outcome variables," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-051, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Mohl, P. & Hagen, T., 2010. "Do EU structural funds promote regional growth? New evidence from various panel data approaches," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 353-365, September.
    11. Hagen, Tobias & Waldeck, Stefanie, 2014. "Using panel econometric methods to estimate the effect of milk consumption on the mortality rate of prostate and ovarian cancer," Working Paper Series 03, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Business and Law.
    12. Carlos Alberto Piscarreta Pinto Ferreira, 2023. "Drivers of Sovereign Bond Demand – The Case of Japans," Working Papers REM 2023/0264, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    13. Zheng, Xinye & Li, Fanghua & Song, Shunfeng & Yu, Yihua, 2013. "Central government's infrastructure investment across Chinese regions: A dynamic spatial panel data approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 264-276.
    14. Martin Andersson & Hans Lööf, 2009. "Learning‐by‐Exporting Revisited: The Role of Intensity and Persistence," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(4), pages 893-916, December.
    15. Tadadjeu, Sosson & Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Kamguia, Brice, 2023. "Natural resources, child mortality and governance quality in African countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Patrizia Ordine & Giuseppe Rose, 2008. "Local Banks Efficiency and Employment," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(3), pages 469-493, September.
    17. Abdelraouf, Nadine & Noureldin, Diaa, 2022. "The impact of the exchange rate regime on the dispersion of the price-change distribution: Evidence from a large panel of countries," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. DELL'ANNO, Roberto & VILLA, Stefania, 2012. "Growth in Transition Countries: Big Bang versus Gradualism," CELPE Discussion Papers 122, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    19. Lamar Crombach & Frank Bohn, 2024. "Uninformed voters with (im)precise expectations: Explaining political budget cycle puzzles," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 275-311, March.
    20. Fendel Tanja, 2016. "Migration and Regional Wage Disparities in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(1), pages 3-35, February.

    More about this item

    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:bla:rdevec:v:27:y:2023:i:1:p:323-351. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1363-6669 .

    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.