This paper quantifies the contribution of agricultural exports to economic growth in developing countries. We estimate the relationship between GDP and agricultural and non-agricultural exports for 42 countries using panel cointegration methods. Results show that a long-run relationship exists, the agricultural export elasticity of GDP is 0.07 whereas that of non-agricultural exports is 0.13, and total exports Granger-cause GDP, which supports the export-led growth hypothesis. Structural differences exist in the relationship by broad income group. Balanced export-promotion polices are implied for the poorest countries, but, for those with higher incomes, higher economic growth is achieved from non-agricultural exports. Copyright (c) 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2010 The Agricultural Economics Society.

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With significant improvements in its theoretical underpinnings, the gravity model has gained renewed interest in the agro-food trade literature. Notwithstanding, there is a dearth of literature examining the relative trade restrictiveness of tariff barriers across a broad range of agro-food sectors. This represents an important research gap, which this study sets out to fill. Furthermore, this research reconciles the application of zeroinflated models with a sectorally disaggregated analysis. More specifically, employing a fully specified gravity equation, a Poisson estimator and variants of the Poisson model (Negative Binomial, Zero-Inflated Poisson, and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial) provide statistically significant and theoretically consistent estimates, while allowing for the inclusion of zero-trade values. A panel data model with fixed effects is also employed to improve the estimation of the parameters of interest. Estimation results reveal that in the vast majority of sectors examined, import tariffs are found to be statistically significant, whereas export refunds exhibit a statistically smaller role due to the nonsystematic nature of their application in world food markets. Model simulations of tariff barrier eliminations reveal limited trade gains, although there is encouraging evidence of "low" and "lower middle" per capita income country trade gains in wheat, red meat, dairy, sugar, and (particularly) rice markets.JEL classifications: C13, F13, F14, F17, Q17, Q18

We examine the potential demand for a local food speciality product, saffron, with alternative labels, using a choice experiment. The paper contributes to the literature on credence attributes, by examining Willingness to Pay (WTP) for the local, organic and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), their differences across experimental conditions (hypothetical and non-hypothetical), and by identifying the effects of personal characteristics, in terms of socio-demographics and level of product involvement on the differences in WTP. We find that the local saffron speciality has an important appeal that could be better reinforced with the PDO rather than the organic labelling, and that consumers show a consistent pattern of preferences across experimental environments. WTP tends to be higher in the hypothetical setting and, in particular, consumers with relatively more knowledge and deeper roots in the territory tend to exhibit a larger WTP premium for local origin and its certification. These results may help producers improve their marketing of agri-food products with a high gastronomic value and differentiation potential, while they warn about an overstatement of WTP for socially desirable characteristics, such as organic labelling, which is also relevant for policymakers.

An extensive body of research concerns the valuation of EU certification schemes of quality based on the origin of food products. This literature focuses mainly on stated preferences (SPs) and reported behaviours by the consumers. We combine consumers' SPs, obtained through a conjoint ranking experiment, with revealed preferences (RP), obtained through a retail scanner database. We evaluate SPs as predictors of RP, and investigate whether SPs and RPs are consistent. Dry-cured ham in Spain is chosen as the anchor product, mainly because of its broad customer base and long history of origin certification. A 'trick' nested logit model with non-identical and identical samples of consumers is estimated to answer each of the objectives. Results show that, irrespective of the analysed samples, SP can predict general market trends and choices but not accurately predict market shares, and that consumers' actual behaviour is partly consistent with their SPs. We find that consumers prefer ham produced in Teruel, compared with unspecified Spanish origin. Quality Certification and a Distributor's Brand are preferred over the alternatives of no quality label or identified with a brand owned by the producer. Interestingly, SPs for the Quality Certification and the distributor's brand lead to an over- and under-estimation, respectively, of the market share. Copyright (c) 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2010 The Agricultural Economics Society.