No abstract

Rice production is an increasing source of income and food security for smallholder farmers in many parts of Tanzania. Improving market access for rice farmers is essential to raise rural incomes and reduce poverty. This paper aims to determine the most efficient rice marketing channel and analyse the factors affecting marketing channel choices by smallholder rice farmers. Marketing efficiency was tested using Acharya and Aggarwal's composite index method. A multinomial logit model was used to analyse the marketing channel choices. The results showed that the millerwholesaler marketing channel is the most efficient. The results show that most farmers in rural areas still sell their rice to local collectors because of failure, fear or inability by farmers to venture out of the farm gate into the markets. The findings suggest that there is a need to improve rural infrastructure, market information systems, smallholder access to productive assets, prudent use of credit and strengthening collective action through well-organised farmer groups in the country.

In this study, we argue that Confucianism, as an informal institution, mitigates agency problems and thus curbs managerial over‐investment behavior. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms over the period 2000 to 2015, we find strong evidence that Confucianism is negatively associated with over‐investment. Furthermore, we document that the negative association between Confucianism and over‐investment is weaker for state‐owned enterprises than for non‐state‐owned enterprises. Overall, the findings enrich our understanding that informal institutions can play a significant role in influencing corporate behavior.

We propose that firms in regions with strong tax enforcement efforts have low stock price crash risk. Using a large sample of Chinese firms from 2003 to 2017, we find that tax enforcement efforts negatively affect future crash risk. This negative effect is stronger among state-owned companies but weaker when information opacity is higher for firms. These results are robust to alternative measures, additional controls, and additional analyses. We also show that tax avoidance and accounting conservatism are two potential channels through which tax enforcement efforts affect crash risk. The findings contribute to the literature by elaborating that tax enforcement efforts not only alleviate tax-avoiding activities but also can act as a governance mechanism in reducing crash risk in an emerging economy context.

In Pakistan sugarcane is an important cash crop, a source of income and employment for the farming community. The environmental degradation results in the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has significant consequences for sugarcane production in the world, especially in the developing countries like Pakistan, because of relatively low adaptive capacity, high vulnerability to natural hazards, and weak forecasting systems and mitigating strategies. This paper is an attempt to analyze the impact of environmental change on sugarcane production in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Qualitative and quantitative data approach were adopted for the analysis and the data are collected through exploratory design, case study, and survey design. The sample consists of sugarcane growers, that is, landowner farmers, ex-farmers, and employed farmers. The results based on multiple regression model indicate that only three factors (rainfall, soil conditions, and irrigation) have a significant effect on the production of sugarcane. Some suggestions and implications are mentioned based on empirical findings.