The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis posits an inverted-U relationship between pollution emissions and economic growth. This means that economic growth goes hand-in-hand with environmental pollution emissions until a turning point is reached where pollution emissions and economic growth begin to decouple. This study examined the nonlinear cointegrating relationship of pollution emissions with economic growth alongside select developmental variables to test the EKC hypothesis using a panel data sample comprising 34 Asian economies over the period 2001 to 2013. The study estimated panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models in the forms of Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and Mean Group (MG) models, which were tested against one another using the Hausman specification test. For robustness checks, the same procedure was applied to disaggregated panel groupings by income classifications of Asian economies. The results reveal that the EKC hypothesis holds in the total Asia sample; but not robust across the disaggregated panel groups. Interestingly, the EKC holds only among the middle-income economies and not among the low-income and high-income economies. The turning point GDP in the Asian EKC was estimated to be within the range of US$ 32,003 to US$ 38,793 per capita, confirming that only Singapore, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates were the only economies to have transitioned towards the coveted second half of the EKC, while some economies like Hong Kong and Israel are almost at the turning point. These findings support the argument that majority of the Asian economies have not yet reached the ideal phase where economic growth decouples with environmental degradation.

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The concept of transaction cost has been around for more than 75 years. It has been used to explain every economic phenomenon that does not fit with standard neoclassical predictions. It has been applied to so many fields, its definition varying with every application. This paper surveys the literature on transaction costs in general, as well as those that apply transaction costs to agriculture. It focuses on the role of transaction costs in exchange in agriculture, particularly in the context of the household’s decision to engage in market exchange, in both input and output sides. The survey literature finds a confluence of definitions of transaction cost as applied to theoretical and empirical models. Coasian and Williamsonian definitions are used in interpreting fixed transaction costs while neoclassical and trade definitions (i.e., the concept of price band) characterize proportional transaction costs. The prominence of transport cost and the effect of distance and isolation in many of the analyses points to the influence of the new economic geography research stream. Measurement of transaction cost as an ad valorem tax also references the trade concept of transaction cost.

Purpose - Cooperatives are people-centric organizations that are organized to meet the common needs of their members. One key goal for the establishment of agricultural cooperatives is to help improve the marketing efficiency of their members. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between cooperative membership and marketing efficiency among coffee farmers in the provinces of Cavite, Benguet, and Mountain Province, Philippines. Design/Methodology/Approach - Primary and secondary data were gathered in the study. Linear regression with endogenous treatment was used to analyze the data which examined both observable and unobservable factors affecting the treatment, cooperative membership, potential outcome, and the marketing efficiency. Findings - The results of the study revealed that the average farmer generated USD0.85 more farm income for every peso spent on marketing activities if he/she was a member of an agricultural cooperative. This implied that membership positively improved the marketing efficiency of coffee farmers. Moreover, farmers who sold their processed coffee to cooperatives and who had price access were observed to have higher marketing efficiency. Farmers who were females, adopted more processing technologies, took longer to search for price information, sold to cooperatives, had more coffee experience, and whose farms were located away from technology sources were more likely to become cooperative members. Research Implications - The study recommended the promotion of cooperative membership among farmers to improve their marketing efficiency and capacity-building activities related to the technology adoption and management of cooperatives.

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