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There is a scarcity of research on the effects of waste water treatment on the amount of land used for farming. Additionally, the researchers made the assumption that all farmers would either be willing or unwilling to participate. An equation was estimated to determine the separate area under cultivation for farmers who are willing and unwilling to engage, assuming no endogeneity. Thus, this study aimed to assess the influence of waste water treatment on the area of land used for cultivation, while considering the selectivity bias in the analysis. The Heckman sample selection model was utilised to examine the influence of willingness to pay on the extent of land under cultivation. By treating the waste water, it is possible to expand the cultivated area. While the cropping pattern may remain unchanged, around 50 hectares of land area dedicated to the same crops could be increased if the waste water is treated and the farmers are ready to bear the cost of waste water treatment. The correlation between the disposal of industrial waste and the land area was shown to be statistically significant in determining the willingness to pay. Furthermore, the impact of the desire to pay was also found to be statistically significant in determining the extent of land used for cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-protein snacks appeal to consumers seeking to increase the protein intake in their diet. The high environmental impact of conventional protein sources is urging the need to explore more sustainable alternatives such as edible insects. In this study, the willingness to pay for yogurt enriched with insect protein was estimated. It also determined the effect of socio-demographics and extrinsic product attributes on the purchase decision and expenditure using the Heckman sample selection model. Data was collected through an online survey from 1,909 consumers in Catalonia, Spain using Qualtrics´ consumer panel. The results showed that 55.7% of the participants were willing to purchase the product and that the average premium price computed was 0.36€ or 24% extra compared to the conventional price of yogurt. Findings also revealed that the probability of purchasing yogurt enriched with insect protein increases with younger adults, male consumers, residing in rural areas, having a child member in the family unit, and an active employment situation. Moreover, expenditure increases when the importance of the local and ecological attributes of food is higher, while lower for the price attribute. The results of this study offer food producers valuable insights into consumers’ willingness to pay for novel protein snacks.

The Heckman sample selection technique was applied in modelling the households’ maize marketed surplus decision under risk and time preference assumption. We assumed that maize returns depend on farmers’ market selection choices. We then applied the sample selection model to explain why maize surplus households shunned the uncertain, high-return state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB), with delayed payment system in favour of the more certain, low-return private buyer market, with immediate payment system. In the process, we tested whether the marketed surplus decisions followed a sequential or simultaneous decision process. Using survey data collected from 433 households from Zvimba and Makonde districts, the results confirmed that households followed a sequential decision process when selling through the private buyer market and a simultaneous decision process when selling through the GMB market. These findings implied two things; firstly maize surplus households could exercise some bargaining power in the private buyer market even if they got less. Secondly, in the presence of uncertainty and payment delays, high-return incentive offered through government parastatals may not be sufficient to attract maize surplus, as households may not sufficiently respond, due to risk aversion attitude and time impatient behaviour.

The Heckman sample selection technique was applied in modelling the households' maize marketed surplus decision under risk and time preference assumption. We assumed that maize returns depend on farmers' market selection choices. We then applied the sample selection model to explain why maize surplus households shunned the uncertain, high-return state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB), with delayed payment system in favour of the more certain, low-return private buyer market, with immediate payment system. In the process, we tested whether the marketed surplus decisions followed a sequential or simultaneous decision process. Using survey data collected from 433 households from Zvimba and Makonde districts, the results confirmed that households followed a sequential decision process when selling through the private buyer market and a simultaneous decision process when selling through the GMB market. These findings implied two things; firstly maize surplus households could exercise some bargaining power in the private buyer market even if they got less. Secondly, in the presence of uncertainty and payment delays, high-return incentive offered through government parastatals may not be sufficient to attract maize surplus, as households may not sufficiently respond, due to risk aversion attitude and time impatient behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample respondents of 3665 households and 1669 enterprises, this paper utilizes a double bound, open-ended, contingent valuation approach where those who respond positively to the willingness to pay question, were asked to state the maximum amount they were willing to pay as quality levy. The paper identifies protest responses as those respondents who are not willing to pay for the proposed program or as outliers who may state a willingness to pay value either higher or lower than the average willingness to pay value. Bidders and genuine zeros responses are respondents that either state a zero or a positive willingness to pay respectively. Heckman’s sample-selection procedure is used to test sample selection bias in and also analyze the WTP function. The mean household willingness to pay as quality levy was estimated to be US$ 6.53, US$ 3.85 and US $ 6.34 monthly for firewood, charcoal and electricity respectively while the enterprise willingness to pay as quality levy was estimated to be US $ 355.92 monthly. Income, type of dwelling, education, gender, price, location, type of enterprise and size of employees were identified as important factors that explained the differences in the WTP variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study highlights the methodological challenges in determining the value of water in informal water markets. As the decision to participate in water markets is unlikely to be random, self-selectivity is an important issue for an unbiased estimation of the participating farmers’ revealed willingness to pay. The relevance of these issues is illustrated for an informal irrigation water market in Iran. A two-stage random sampling was carried out in pistachio-growing farms which are irrigated by water from the Rafsanjan aquifer in Iran during 2008–2009. A Heckman sample selection model shows that the real willingness to pay can be less than the observed prices in an informal water market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There are two divergent perspectives on the impact of subcontracting on firms in the informal sector. According to the benign view, formal sector firms prefer linkages with relatively modern firms in the informal sector, and subcontracting enables capital accumulation and technological improvement in the latter. According to the exploitation view, formal sector firms extract surplus from stagnant, asset-poor informal sector firms that use cheap family labour in home-based production. However, direct, firm-level evidence on the determinants and impact of subcontracting is thus far lacking in the literature. We apply a modified Heckman selection model to Indian National Sample Survey data on informal manufacturing enterprises (2005–2006). We find that home-based, relatively asset-poor, and female-owned firms are more likely to be in a subcontracting relationship. Further, we perform selectivity-corrected Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition and calculate treatment effects to show that subcontracting benefits smaller firms, firms in industrially backward states and rural firms; it is harmful for larger firms, firms in industrially advanced states, and urban firms. Our results suggest that the effects of subcontracting are more complex than those predicted by the divergent perspectives. Policy-makers need to engage with this complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]