Search

This paper addresses the role of religious practices on market outcomes. We study the Ethiopian milk market what amounts to a natural experiment influenced by different Christian, Islamic and traditional faiths. Focal point of this article are the fasting rituals characterized by the abstinence of animal products, a fundamental pillar of Orthodox Christianity, the dominant religious group within Ethiopia. Employing country-wide data collected by the Living Standards Measurement Studies, we find, much to our surprise, that the fasting rituals of the Orthodox Christian society adversely affects both milk demand in Orthodox and local Muslim communities alike. The direct effect on Orthodox groups and the spillovers to Muslim networks create important market inefficiencies. The religion-related demand cycles are particularly challenging to government policies that aim to develop the livestock sector. Keywords: Consumer behavior, Collective fasting rituals, Intentional demand seasonality, Livestock sector development and policies, Religion, Market inefficiencies

The expansion of export horticulture in the South has generated new employment opportunities in many rural areas. However, commercial pressures have contributed to the increased use of flexible labour in export horticulture hereby reducing worker s job security. This paper seeks to understand the influence of job insecurity on perceived labour agency in the case of pineapple workers in Costa Rica, a context dominated by migrant labour and weak unionisation. Survey data was collected among 385 pineapple plantation workers in 2016. The results of the multinomial probit models indicated that job insecurity, by using both an objective and subjective proxy, reduced the likelihood of engaging in forthright actions (such as protests, voicing concerns or joining a union), while it increased the likelihood of evasive (such as leaving the job) or repressed actions (such as doing nothing). The analysis complements previous evidence of a preservation mechanism, which means that job insecure workers avoid the risk of losing their job by flying under the radar (preferring evasive and repressed actions to forthright actions). This reflects the constrained voice of job insecure workers and has implications for unions, employers and policymakers who play a role in shaping the potential for labour agency. Acknowledgement : This study was funded by a Special Research Grant of Ghent University. We highly appreciated the willingness of pineapple workers, unions, managers, government officials and other stakeholders to participate in the study. Special thanks go to the local enumerators of Universidad de Costa Rica who helped conducting the surveys and Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Rural who facilitated the logistic organisation of the fieldwork. The support and suggestions of Deborah Martens, Eline D'Haene, Jan Orbie and Katharina Krumbiegel were invaluable for this article.

The paper seeks to understand how social dialogue can emerge in an anti-union context. Building from an institutional work perspective, we investigate how Dole in Costa Rica went from resisting to accepting social dialogue with two pineapple unions. The findings show that social dialogue is the result of a combination of convening, enabling, empowering and monitoring work involving a triadic relationship between supplier, international buyer and unions. Four stages were identified during which actors learned to collaborate and power relations were transformed. The paper highlights the importance of the dynamic nature of the triadic relationship in influencing social dialogue in a global value chain where production is located in an anti-union environment. The findings provide unique evidence on the role of the international buyer in supporting social dialogue as convener, facilitator, mediator and advisor. Acknowledgement

Low prices associated with variable quality of non-timber forest products in terms of users and consumers' needs and requirements are one of the factors limiting access and participation in markets. Quality can be determined on field or by the user. The current study explores the possibility to understand the current practices of producers in terms of quality supply and to link at least some of the users' quality criteria to production and marketing practices of producers. The study finds that good quality as defined on field is not always good when measured in laboratory; yet improving quality on field increases the likelihood of obtaining chemically good gum. Furthermore, determinants of supply by collectors and traders are investigated for two quality attributes namely size and cleanliness of gum nodules. Quality maintenance and improvement is influenced by harvest and post-harvest practices, behaviour and experience of traders, and price expectations. Research implications include the necessity for scholars interested in product quality to bring together the production and consumption sides because their perceptions and requirements may not always converge; regular trainings for collectors of non-timber forest products focusing on quality aspects; jointly establish clear rules of forest and market management in order to counteract the influence of market forces (price) on forests exploitation and enabling traders to have a definition of quality that is coherent and responsive to the actions and needs of collectors and users respectively.

Declining land availability and increasing rural poverty hamper further production growth and agricultural development in Burundi. Yet, over the last decades, food demand continued to increase as a result of high population growth and urbanisation. In a country like Burundi, where it is estimated that 90% of the people live from agriculture for both food supply and income earnings, agricultural specialists urge for a more optimal use of resources in agricultural production as a pathway out of poverty. However, it is difficult to optimize the complex prevailing farming systems without radical changes in farmers’ decision making. Over time, small-scale farmers have developed complex cropping systems that are both intensive and risk averse in response to acute land scarcity and unreliable food markets. This has resulted in high rates of self-reliance among farmers and highly diversified mixed cropping systems. This paper examines the potential and effects of agricultural specialization in optimizing land use and farm production. We use a farm level mathematical programming model which is applied to different farm types. A special feature in this paper is the consideration of minimal household food needs. Simulation results revealed that optimal farm plans differ by farm type as each of them is subject to specific asset endowment constraints. Farmers could improve land use by producing a specific range of crops and benefiting from economies of scale; large farms can significantly increase returns to land, while landless households can benefit from increased returns to labour. However, the reforms require better markets, storage facilities and credit supply mechanisms.

The objective measurements of quality based on invisible chemical attributes of gum arabic are compared with the assessment done by collectors based on visible attributes with the aim of bringing together the users’ quality requirements and the production and marketing practices of collectors. We find that good quality as defined on field is not always good when measured in laboratory; yet such measures can help target different market niches. Moreover, improving quality on field increases the likelihood of obtaining chemically good gum. We also investigate determinants of supply by collectors and traders of two quality attributes namely size and cleanliness of gum nodules. Quality supply is influenced by harvest and post-harvest knowledge and practices, environmental factors and market factors including the behaviour and experience of traders and price.

The orientation of block copolymer (BCP) features in thin films can be obtained by spin-coating a BCP solution on a substrate surface functionalized by a polymer brush layer of the appropriate random copolymer (RCP). Although this approach is well established, little work reporting the amount and distribution of residual solvent in the polymer film after the spin-coating process is available. Moreover, no information can be found on the effect of trapped solvent on the interface between the BCP film and RCP brush. In this work, systems consisting of poly(styrene)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) thin films deposited on poly(styrene-r-methyl methacrylate) brush layers are investigated by combining neutron reflectivity (NR) experiments with simulation techniques. An increase in the amount of trapped solvent is observed by NR as the BCP film thickness increases accompanied by a significant decrease of the interpenetration length between the BCP and RCP, thus suggesting that the interpenetration between grafted chains and block copolymer chains is hampered by the solvent. Hybrid particle-field molecular dynamics simulations of the analyzed system confirm the experimental observations and demonstrate a clear correlation between the interpenetration length and the amount of trapped solvent.