A rationale for the support of the medium-sized family farm

The current financial stress in the countryside and the future of the family farm are likely to be major issues in the formulation of the 1990 Farm Bill. Medium-sized commercial family farms may be especially targeted for support. These farms are the basis of rural economies and settlement patterns in many parts of nonmetropolitan America.Two possible changes in farm policy are debt restructuring and the decoupling of farm payments from commodity production. Many medium-sized family farms continue to face substantial debt problems, but most of these farms could be viable with some debt restructuring. Ccmmodity programs have become extremely expensive and encourage overproduction and the consolidation of farming resources into ever larger units. Federal farm programs may become based on need, with a sensitivity to differences in regional farming systems. Such a policy could support medium-sized family farms, slow the growth in superfarms, reduce surpluses, and reduce the overall cost of farm programs.     

Agricultural real estate loans and secondary markets

As a result of financial difficulties confronting American agriculture, public debate is focusing on longterm options for restoring economic stability and growth to the agricultural economy. Many believe that just as homeowners in small communities throughout the nation have been served by the development of a secondary market for residential mortgages sponsored by the federal government, farmers throughout the country would similarly benefit from the development of a secondary market for farm real estate mortgages. This paper discusses issues relating to the development of a secondary market for agricultural real estate loans. The concept of a secondary market for agriculture is of considerable interest to Congress, as evidenced by recent enactment of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 which established the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (“Farmer Mac”) to create a secondary market for farm real estate loans. The first section discusses the general nature of secondary markets and their purposes, with particular attention given to the secondary market for home mortgages because it served as a model for a secondary market for farm loans. Section two discusses basic differences between agriculture and housing, and section three provides a brief discussion of federal credit subsidies designed to help meet social and economic goals by influencing the allocation of credit to particular sectors of the economy such as housing and agriculture. Potential benefits and costs associated with the development of a secondary market for agriculture are discussed in section four.     

美国2013年《农场法》能源补贴与展望

研究即将出台的美国2013年《农场法》有关可再生能源补贴相关问题。2013年美国《农场法》出台面临一些技术难题,如补贴资金接续问题、相关部委政策博弈问题和纤维素生物质能源生产的前景问题等。建议未来中国农产品生产政策应当增加环保政策内容,实现美丽中国的构想。     

不同类型农户贷款行为特征及其影响因素——基于连续6年农户贷款面板数据

采用方差分析和随机效应模型对山东省不同发展区域的573户农户连续6年的贷款调研数据进行分析,研究不同类型农户贷款行为特征及其影响因素。结果表明:1)靠农农户受年龄、田地面积和贷款额度是否够用的影响因素显著高于非靠农农户(P0.01);但在教育年限、劳动力、农户性质、社会资源、家庭总资产、总负债、家庭纯收入、授信额度、年贷款额和平均贷款额上显著低于非靠农农户(P0.01);2)不同类型农户授信金额的影响因素不同。家庭人口、农户性质、社会资源、家庭总资产、家庭纯收入和年贷款金额对非靠农农户的授信金额有显著的正向预测作用(P0.01);田地面积、性别、贷款额度是否够用、平均贷款金额和年龄对非靠农农户的授信金额有显著的负向预测作用(P0.01);教育年限、农户性质、社会资源、额度是否够用、年纯收入和年贷款金额对靠农农户的授信金额有显著的正向预测作用(P0.01),田地面积和性别对靠农农户的授信金额有显著的负向预测作用(P0.1)。不同类型农户贷款行为特征及其影响因素差异较大,应针对不同类型的农户制定不同的农户贷款政策。     

士剖ll机构社会信用等级评价模式探究

培训机构的社会信用等级评价是对培训学校的资产实力、师资力量、教学水平、获利能力、经营管理水平、履约能力、发展能力、偿债能力、守信程度等情况的客观评价。探讨建立一种相对独立、公正、客观和科学的信用等级评价体系，对引导培训机构的建设与发展，以及向社会推荐优质、诚信的培训机构意义重大。培训机构信用评价实行四等十级制。设计评价工作主要程序包括评价准备、机构内外部调查、初评、审核复议、评级结果反馈等八个阶段。培训机构的社会信用等级评价应由培训机构的主管部门或行业协会负责主持或委托专业评价机构开展。评价结果应及时向社会公布，便于社会监督和学员选择，对各学校而言最终要实现“以评促建，推动发展”的目的。     

Farmers helping farmers: Constituent services and the development of a grassroots farm lobby

Two major episodes of farm protest have occurred in the past decade. In each case, protesting farmers have chosen to create new farm organizations rather than express their grievances through one of many existing farm interest groups. The result has been the development of a durable grassroots farm lobby, a hybrid mode of exercising political influence that combines features of interest group lobbying and social movement protest. The first episode saw the mobilization of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), a nation-wide protest organization devoted to achieving a federal guarantee of parity prices. When AAM's attempt to change federal farm policy failed, it was unable to sustain a high level of member mobilization or organizational activity. This failure is attributed to the lack of a stable organizational structure, the lack of durable membership incentives, and the counterproductive effects of disruptive protest tactics. The second episode of protest occurred in reaction to the farm-debt crisis of the 1980s. Protesting farmers organized numerous crisis groups to provide emergency services to financially distressed farmers. The crisis groups coalesced into the National Save the Family Farm Coalition (NSFFC) in order to exert influence over federal farm policy. It is argued that this coalition structure, along with membership incentives provided by crisis groups through their constituent service programs, may allow this latest farm movement to exert more considerable and durable influence over federal farm policy than AAM was able to do in the late 1970s. The problems of maintaining a national coalition of grassroots groups are discussed and evaluated.     

台湾农业金库改革效能之经济分析

台湾农业金库的主要作用是辅导并协助农会、渔会信用部事业发展,办理农、林、鱼、牧融资及稳定农业金融,促进农业经济发展,但2008年全球金融风暴中农业金库亏损146.2亿元,2009年6月资本适足率才6.47%,已失去了稳定农业金融和促进农业经济发展的主要功能。为深入了解台湾农业基层金融资产结构性的变动的状况,以及台湾农业金库成立后台湾农业基层金融不良资产的结构性变化状况,该文拟以马柯夫键移转机率矩阵模型(M arkov chain model)为理论基础,分析台湾农业金库成立前后农渔会信用部资产结构与资产营运效能。     

台湾农业金库对农渔会信用部的支持分析

台湾农业金库是台湾农渔会信用部的上级主管机关,该金库成立以来,积极改善信用部经营状况,并已取得良好成效.以农业金库成立的背景及功能为出发点,探讨分析其对信用部的支持措施和支持困境,并从制度先行、政策支持、创新模式、构建体系等4个方面为大陆农村金融机构的改革和发展提供相关借鉴.     

农村金融结构优化是否促进了农村经济增长——基于湖南省的实证研究

从金融机构结构、金融市场结构和金融空间结构看,湖南省农村信用社仍然是农村金融的主体,但是农村合作银行、小额贷款公司、农村保险公司等多种新型农村金融机构迅速发展,农村金融结构呈现多元化趋势,农业商业银行、村镇银行成为除农村信用社、政策性银行、中国农业银行涉农贷款三大主力外的有益补充,金融要素空间上出现“中部塌陷”特征。改进生产函数,构建多元回归模型实证分析显示,湖南省农村金融规模没有起到应有的促进农村经济增长的作用,金融机构组成结构的多元化、农村信贷市场结构的多元化有利于湖南农村经济增长,而金融要素从集聚向发散的空间结构转变不利于农村经济增长。     

农户信贷需求影响因素的实证研究——基于对江苏省建湖县的调查

利用江苏省建湖县273份农户问卷的相关数据,采用Probit模型,对农户信贷需求的影响因素进行了分析,结果表明,影响农户信贷需求的因素主要包括农户本身特征、农户经济活动情况等,其中,农户家庭经营支出、户主的受教育年限和对农信社政策的了解程度对农户信贷需求的影响较为显著。最后,在研究的基础上提出了有针对性的政策建议：发展多元经济,提高农户收入;增加农户人力资本储备,提高农民素质;加大农信社的宣传力度,提高服务质量。     

当前影响农村信用社贷款无法正常偿还的因素分析

农村信用社贷款无法正常偿还问题突出,其原因有内外两个方面,政策因素、行政干预、信用环境、内部管理等是主要因素。提高农村信用社的信贷资产质量,要从信用建设、制度建设入手,解决贷款无法偿还的问题。     

农六师农场职工收支的调查分析

通过对新疆生产建设兵团农六师农牧团场职工家庭收支的调查,分析了农场职工收支构成的特点,为解决职工增收提供了参考。     

The continuing u.s. Helium saga

Helium, resident in relatively high concentrations in certain natural gas fields in the United States, can be lost to the atmosphere when the natural gas is burned as fuel. In 1960, Congress amended the Helium Act of 1925 to provide for stripping natural gas of its helium, for purchase of the separated helium by the government, and for its long-term storage. In 1971, after about 28 billion cubic feet had been stored, the purchase program was terminated by the government, an action that unleashed several lawsuits and not a little acrimony. After more than a decade of controversy, much of the litigation has been concluded, much of the helium that could have been saved has been wasted to the atmosphere, and the gas fields supplying the helium are almost depleted. A new rich source of helium has been discovered in southwestern Wyoming that could ensure adequate supplies for many decades if an appropriate new federal policy on helium is developed and implemented.     

乌苏市农村信用合作社对农户信贷支持问题研究

结合乌苏市农村信用合作社信贷支持基本情况,从信贷角度研究对农户生产投入的供给支持,分析乌苏市农村信用合作社信贷类别及农户贷款情况,针对农村信用合作社对农户信贷工作中存在的问题,从农户资金投入力度、相关服务政策及农户贷款环境等角度提出对策建议。     

Maize production under risk: The simultaneous adoption of off-farm income diversification and agricultural credit to manage risk

Farmers in Pakistan continue to produce maize under various types of risks and adopt several strategies to manage those risks. This study is the first attempt to investigate the factors affecting the concurrent adoption of off-farm income diversification and agricultural credit which the farmers use to manage the risk to maize production. We apply bivariate and multinomial probit approaches to the primary data collected from four districts of Punjab Province in Pakistan. The results show that strong correlations exist between the off-farm diversification and agricultural credit which indicates that the use of one risk management strategy leads to another. The findings demonstrate that education, livestock number, maize farming experience, perceptions of biological risks and risk-averse nature of the growers significantly encourage the adoption of diversification as a risk management tool while farm size inversely affects the adoption of diversification. Similarly, in the adoption equation of credit, maize farming experience, farm size, perceptions of price and biological risks and risk attitude of farmers significantly enhance the chances of adopting agricultural credit to manage farm risks. These findings are important for the relevant stakeholders who seek to offer carefully designed risk minimizing options to the maize farmers.     

安徽农业大学体育学分制现状与对策研究

运用文献资料法、问卷调查法、实地访谈法、逻辑分析法对安徽农业大学学分制中体育课程设置、学生选课意愿的满足度、场馆器材的规模、体育项目开设、师资结构、教学评价与课外活动与竞赛等现状，采用系统分析方法多层次、多角度进行分析与探讨。旨在对安徽农业大学体育学分制实行的现状做出全面、客观、科学的评价，试图找出存在的问题及形成原因，提出相应适合安徽农业大学体育教学的发展思路和模式的建议与对策，为安徽农业大学的教学改革向纵深与完善发展提供参考。     

信贷政策与产业政策的协调度评价——基于距离协调度模型

提高信贷政策与产业政策协调度,促进产业结构调整是近年来中国人民银行着重强调的政策要求之一。采集2007年至2012年的信贷政策与产业政策相关数据对协调度进行评价,并将结果作对比分析。运用Granger因果检验初步判断贷款与产业发展的相互关系,采用熵值法确定各指标的权数,在距离协调度模型的基础上构建整体协调度模型来评价信贷政策与产业政策的协调效应。结果表明信贷政策发展度与产业政策发展度呈现逐年递增的态势,但两者之间的协调度未能维持在较高水平。     

论罗斯福新政时期的农业立法

1929~1933年爆发的经济危机使美国的农业遭受了沉重的打击,为了使国民经济渡过危机,新上任的美国总统罗斯福抛弃了过去联邦政府不干预经济的思想,主张联邦政府应当积极地干预和调控经济发展。在这种指导思想下制定了一系列新政立法,农业立法是其中的重要组成部分,其内容包括1933和1938年《农业调整法》等。新政时期的农业立法挽救了濒临破产的美国农业,确立了美国当代农业立法的一些基本制度,具有里程碑式的意义。     

基于VECM模型的信贷约束、家庭债务与中国宏观经济波动分析

采用1997~2013年家庭债务、贷款价值比与GDP增长率等变量数据,在借鉴Kim的模型基础上,构建VECM模型,检验了信贷约束、家庭债务与中国宏观经济波动之间的关系。结果表明：短期内宽松的借贷约束促进了家庭债务的增加,从而推动经济增长,但从长期来看,宽松的借贷约束会导致家庭债务过高,阻碍长期经济增长;与居民消费率、家庭债务等变量相比,贷款价值比、利率对宏观经济波动的影响较大。因此,政府决策部门应制定合理的消费金融政策,居民应通过优化家庭资产组合,以实现家庭债务的可持续性增长,从而促进经济增长。     

Agrarianism and the American philosophical tradition

Paul Thompson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. His textbookEthics, Public Policy and Agriculture, written with Eileen Olsen VanRavenswaay and Robert Matthews, will be published by Macmillan in 1991. He is currently co-editing a book with Bill Stout on agricultural research policy entitledBeyond the Large Farm. He is guest editor of this issue.