Drivers of agricultural capital productivity in selected EU member states. Factor Markets Working Paper No. 30, September 2012

The aim of this Working Paper is to provide an empirical analysis of the marginal return on working capital and fixed capital in agriculture, based on data gathered by the Farm Accountancy Data Network from seven EU member states. Particular emphasis is placed on the detection of credit market imperfections. The key idea is to provide farm group-specific estimates of the shadow price of capital, and to use these to analyse the drivers of on-farm capital use in European agriculture. Based on Cobb Douglas estimates of farm-type specific production functions, we find that working capital is typically used in more than economically optimal quantities and often displays negative marginal returns across countries and farm types. This is less often the case with regard to fixed capital, but it is only in a small set of sectors where access to fixed capital appears severely constrained. These sectors include field crop and mixed farms in Denmark, dairy farms in East Germany, as well as mixed farms in Italy and the UK. The relationship between farm financial indicators and the estimated shadow prices of capital varies considerably across countries and sectors. Among the farms with a high shadow price for fixed capital in Denmark, high debt levels and little owned land tended to induce more intensive capital use, which may reflect the liberal Danish banking system. In East Germany, Italy and the UK, high debt levels made farmers more tightly capital constrained. Hence, in the latter group of countries, more traditional mechanisms of capital allocation based on debt capacity seemed to be at work. As a general conclusion, EU agriculture appears to be characterised by overcapitalisation rather than by credit constraints.

Identifying Factor Productivity from Micro-data: The case of EU agriculture. Factor Markets Working Paper No. 34, January 2013

The classical problem of agricultural productivity measurement has regained interest owing to recent price hikes in world food markets. At the same time, there is a new methodological debate on the appropriate identification strategies for addressing endogeneity and collinearity problems in production function estimation. We examine the plausibility of four established and innovative identification strategies for the case of agriculture and test a set of related estimators using farm-level panel datasets from seven EU countries. The newly suggested control function and dynamic panel approaches provide attractive conceptual improvements over the received ‘within’ and duality models. Even so, empirical implementation of the conceptual sophistications built into these estimators does not always live up to expectations. This is particularly true for the dynamic panel estimator, which mostly failed to identify reasonable elasticities for the (quasi-) fixed factors. Less demanding proxy approaches represent an interesting alternative for agricultural applications. In our EU sample, we find very low shadow prices for labour, land and fixed capital across countries. The production elasticity of materials is high, so improving the availability of working capital is the most promising way to increase agricultural productivity.

Synthesis Report on the Impact of Capital Use. Factor Markets Working Document No. 57, August 2013

This paper examines the drivers of productivity in EU agriculture from a factor markets perspective. Using econometrically estimated production elasticities and shadow prices of factors for a set of eight EU member states, we focus on field crop farms represented in the FADN database for the years 2002-08. As it turned out that output reacts most elastically to materials input, we investigate this factor further and find different rationing regimes represented in different member states. Marginal return on materials is low in Denmark and West Germany, but significantly above typical market interest rates in East Germany, Italy and Spain. In the latter countries and in Denmark it also increased towards the end of the observed period. This finding is consistent with a perception of tightening funding access, possibly induced or reinforced by the unfolding financial crisis. Marginal returns to land, labour and fixed capital are generally low. We conclude that the functioning of factor markets plays a crucial role for productivity growth, but that factor market operations display considerable heterogeneity across EU member states.

The EU and its Neighbours: Predictions for 2015. CEPS Commentary, 5 January 2015

Against a backdrop of chaos and violence in the EU’s neighbourhood, Steven Blockmans acknowledges that the troubles of 2014 will cast a long, dark shadow over 2015. In this new CEPS Commentary the author attempts to predict some of the EU foreign policy developments that are likely to mark the New Year.

Mrs. Wood's novels /

Includes various editions.

The under dog /

No respecter of persons -- Cap'n Bob of the Screamer -- A procession of umbrellas -- "Doc" Shipman's fee -- Plain Fin--paper-hanger -- Long Jim -- Compartment number four--Cologne to Paris -- Sammy -- Marny's shadow -- Muffles--the bar-keep -- His last cent.

The quest of the face /

The face of Christ.--The immortal.--The changeless God.--The light.--A Russian beggar.--The student.--The shadow.--Alice.--Mathilde.--Serapion the Sindonite.--Simon on the pillar.

The works of James Branch Cabell.

Binder's title: each volume has special t.p.

The temple : sacred poems, and private ejaculations /

Issued with The Synagogue: or, The shadow of the temple, by Christopher Harvey, 8th ed., with separate title page: London, 1703.

The distant country : & other prose poems /

"These three selections taken from The dominion of dreams"--Foreword.

The temple : sacred poems and private ejaculations /

"The synagogue : or, The shadow of The temple ... by Christopher Harvey": p. [273]-354.

Truth about Russia.

From London to St. Petersburg.--War or peace.--New fields for British enterprise.--The tribune of all the Russias.--The ideas of General Ignatieff.--The shadow of the throne.--Count Tolstoi and his gospel.

Noughts and crosses ; stories, studies, and sketches.

The omnibus.--Fortunio.--The outlandish ladies.--Statement of Gabriel Foot, highwayman.--The return of Joanna.--Psyche.--The Countess of Bellarmine.--A cottage in Troy.--Old Aeson.--Stories of Bleakirk.--A dark mirror.--The small people.--The mayor of Gantick.--The doctor's foundling.--The gifts of Feodor Himkoff.--Yorkshire Dick.--The carol.--The paradise of choice.--Beside the bee-hives.--The magic shadow.

The quest of the face,

The face of Christ.--The immortal.--The changeless God.--The light.--A Russian beggar.--The student.--The shadow.--Alice.--Mathilde.--Serapion the Sindonite.--Simon on the pillar.

Complete works.

v. 1. Drift from two shores.--v. 2. A waif of the plains.--v. 3. A ward of the Golden Gate.--v. 4. Trent's trust.--v.5. Condensed novels.--v.6 Barker's luck.--v. 7. The luck of Roaring Camp.--v. 8. Complete poetical works.--v. 9. Openings in the old trail.--v. 10. Under the redwoods.--v. 11. From sand hill to pine.--v. 12. Mr. Jack Hamlin's mediaton.--v. 13. Stories in light and shadow.--v. 14. Tales of trail and town.--v. 15. Three partners.--v. 16. Tales of the Argonauts.--v. 17. Mrs. Skagg's husbands.--v. 18. Clarence.--v. 19. The bell ringer of angel's.--v. 20. A protegee of Jack Hamlin's.--v. 21. Sally Dows.--v. 22. A first family of Tasajara.--v. 23. Colonel Starbottle's client.--v. 24. Cressy.--v. 25. A sappho of Green Springs.