Search

This study evaluates the economic potential for Area Wide Management (AWM) of the Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) through three case studies across endemic and Pest-Free Areas (PFA) in south-east Australia. The cost of Qfly needs to be identified before the potential benefit of AWM and SIT can be evaluated. We use results from grower workshops and expert elicitation to identify the financial cost of Qfly to growers (the baseline) and the potential impact of AWM as a precursor to SIT (scenarios). Results show a net benefit from maintaining PFA status. In endemic regions, the potential financial benefits to growers of are low. Avoided adjustment costs that contribute to a net benefit in PFA's are sunk in endemic regions. The low threshold for Qfly in markets and on-farm, and availability of cost-effective management options, implies limited benefits from avoided management costs. Market access is uncertain and AWM and SIT alone are not sufficient to access these benefits. Although there may be exceptions, we find limited grower benefits from AWM and SIT in Qfly endemic growing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fruit flies are a biosecurity threat to international trade of horticultural produce around the world. Area-wide management (AWM) of fruit flies offers a promising solution to coordinate farmers' activities to fight against the spread of this pest. The incorporation of the sterile insect technique (SIT) may increase the effectiveness of AWM and lead to greater suppression and possible eradication of the fruit fly pest. This article presents findings from a choice experiment survey to ascertain the willingness to pay (WTP) for the benefits of a suite of AWM features and SIT. These features include the benefits from (1) coordinated fruit fly monitoring, (2) coordinated on-farm male annihilation of fruit flies, (3) management of fruit fly in residential areas, and (4) coordinated release of sterile flies. This is the first study of its kind to assess the WTP for AWM and SIT in a developed country. Results suggest that growers are willing to pay for SIT and coordinated fruit fly management in residential areas but are not willing to pay for other coordinated services that they are already practicing on their farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human capital investment, especially in education, is a well-known precursor of economic growth in developing countries. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of microfinance programmes, yet evidence on whether microfinance leads to increased educational investment is tenuous at best. We utilise a large-scale cross-sectional household dataset from Bangladesh and geospatial data to study how microcredit participation and increasing microcredit incomes – that is, the extensive and intensive margins of microcredit – affects the probability of children's school enrolment. The causal influence of microcredit participation on enrolments was estimated by utilising the propensity score matching (PSM) technique – a quasi-experimental treatment effects model. Whilst microcredit participation, the extensive margin, did not significantly influence the likelihood of school enrolment for boys, it increased girls' enrolment. Further, microcredit income, the intensive margin, had a stronger influence on girls' and younger siblings' enrolment than on boys' and older siblings' enrolment. Omission of spatial influences can overstate microcredit influence on enrolment; while not utilising PSM can underestimate the influence of microcredit participation on enrolment. Results suggest policies that focus solely on increasing microcredit participation, without increasing the amount of microcredit incomes accessed by households, may be less effective at improving child education outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]