[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v109y2015icp186-193.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Explaining the economic ‘irrationality’ of farmers' land use behaviour: The role of productivist attitudes and non-pecuniary benefits

Author

Listed:
  • Howley, Peter
  • Buckley, Cathal
  • O Donoghue, Cathal
  • Ryan, Mary
Abstract
Although the physical conditions of a farm and farming system will to some extent predispose a farmer towards converting land to alternative agricultural uses such as forestry, results presented in this paper suggest that differences in underlying farming motivations can also play an important role in explaining farmers' decision-making. Our findings suggest that even in the face of higher economic returns, some farmers may be reluctant to convert land to forestry as to do so would not be in keeping with their productivist attitudes. Other farmers may fear losing the non-pecuniary benefits derived from ‘working the land’. We conclude that economic incentives alone are unlikely to encourage certain cohorts of farmers to consider alternative land uses such as farm forestry and that policy ought to be guided by a better understanding of the differing farming motivations of farm operators.

Suggested Citation

  • Howley, Peter & Buckley, Cathal & O Donoghue, Cathal & Ryan, Mary, 2015. "Explaining the economic ‘irrationality’ of farmers' land use behaviour: The role of productivist attitudes and non-pecuniary benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 186-193.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:109:y:2015:i:c:p:186-193
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.11.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914003590
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.11.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Key, Nigel D. & Roberts, Michael J., 2008. "AJAE appendix for “Nonpecuniary Benefits to Farming: Implications for Supply Response to Decoupled Payments”," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(1), May.
    2. Lobley, Matt & Butler, Allan, 2010. "The impact of CAP reform on farmers' plans for the future: Some evidence from South West England," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 341-348, August.
    3. Ika Darnhofer & Walter Schneeberger & Bernhard Freyer, 2005. "Converting or not converting to organic farming in Austria:Farmer types and their rationale," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 22(1), pages 39-52, March.
    4. Andersson, Mats, 2012. "Assessing non-industrial private forest owners’ attitudes to risk: Do owner and property characteristics matter?," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-13.
    5. Amir K. Abadi Ghadim & David J. Pannell & Michael P. Burton, 2005. "Risk, uncertainty, and learning in adoption of a crop innovation," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(1), pages 1-9, July.
    6. Nagubadi, Venkatarao & McNamara, Kevin T. & Hoover, William L. & Mills, Walter L., 1996. "Program Participation Behavior of Nonindustrial Forest Landowners: A Probit Analysis," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 323-336, December.
    7. Nigel Key & Michael J. Roberts, 2009. "Nonpecuniary Benefits to Farming: Implications for Supply Response to Decoupled Payments," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(1), pages 1-18.
    8. Henry Kaiser, 1974. "An index of factorial simplicity," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 39(1), pages 31-36, March.
    9. Nigel Key, 2005. "How much do farmers value their independence?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(1), pages 117-126, July.
    10. Joyce Willock & Ian J. Deary & Gareth Edwards‐Jones & Gavin J. Gibson & Murray J. McGregor & Alistair Sutherland & J. Barry Dent & Oliver Morgan & Robert Grieve, 1999. "The Role of Attitudes and Objectives in Farmer Decision Making: Business and Environmentally‐Oriented Behaviour in Scotland," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 286-303, May.
    11. Andersson, Mats & Gong, Peichen, 2010. "Risk preferences, risk perceptions and timber harvest decisions -- An empirical study of nonindustrial private forest owners in northern Sweden," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 330-339, June.
    12. Greiner, Romy & Patterson, Louisa & Miller, Owen, 2009. "Motivations, risk perceptions and adoption of conservation practices by farmers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 99(2-3), pages 86-104, February.
    13. Breen, James P. & Hennessy, Thia C. & Thorne, Fiona S., 2005. "The effect of decoupling on the decision to produce: An Irish case study," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 129-144, April.
    14. J. Scott Long & Jeremy Freese, 2006. "Regression Models for Categorical Dependent Variables using Stata, 2nd Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, edition 2, number long2, March.
    15. Maybery, Darryl & Crase, Lin & Gullifer, Chris, 2005. "Categorising farming values as economic, conservation and lifestyle," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 59-72, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter Howley & Stephen Hynes & Cathal O'Donoghue, 2012. "Explaining the non-economic behaviour of farm foresters: The effect of productivist and lifestyle motivations," Working Papers 1203, Rural Economy and Development Programme,Teagasc.
    2. Howley, Peter, 2015. "The Happy Farmer: The Effect Of Non-Pecuniary Benefits On Farmers’ Behavior," 89th Annual Conference, April 13-15, 2015, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 204289, Agricultural Economics Society.
    3. Peter Howley & Emma Dillon, 2012. "Factors affecting the level of farm indebtedness: the role of farming attitudes," Working Papers 1201, Rural Economy and Development Programme,Teagasc.
    4. Peter Howley & Emma Dillon & Thia Hennessy, 2014. "It’s not all about the money: understanding farmers’ labor allocation choices," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 261-271, June.
    5. Howley, Peter & Breen, James P. & Donoghue, Cathal O. & Hennessy, Thia, 2012. "Does the single farm payment affect farmers’ behaviour? A macro and micro analysis," International Journal of Agricultural Management, Institute of Agricultural Management, vol. 2(1), pages 1-8, October.
    6. François J Dessart & Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé & René van Bavel, 2019. "Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(3), pages 417-471.
    7. Tocco, Barbara & Bailey, Alastair & Davidova, Sophia, 2013. "Determinants to Leave Agriculture and Change Occupational Sector: Evidence from an Enlarged EU," Working papers 155704, Factor Markets, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    8. Urban, Kirsten & Jensen, Hans G. & Brockmeier, Martina, 2016. "How decoupled is the Single Farm Payment and does it matter for international trade?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 126-138.
    9. Buckley, Cathal & Howley, Peter & Jordan, Phil, 2015. "The role of differing farming motivations on the adoption of nutrient management practices," International Journal of Agricultural Management, Institute of Agricultural Management, vol. 4(4), July.
    10. Kehinde Oluseyi Olagunju & Myles Patton & Siyi Feng, 2020. "Estimating the Impact of Decoupled Payments on Farm Production in Northern Ireland: An Instrumental Variable Fixed Effect Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Greiner, Romy, 2015. "Motivations and attitudes influence farmers' willingness to participate in biodiversity conservation contracts," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 154-165.
    12. Peter Howley & Emma Dillon & Thia Hennessy, 2012. "The role of non-pecuniary benefits in the labour allocation decision of farmers," Working Papers 1202, Rural Economy and Development Programme,Teagasc.
    13. Ryan, Mary & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Hynes, Stephen, 2018. "Heterogeneous economic and behavioural drivers of the Farm afforestation decision," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 63-74.
    14. Peter Howley & Emma Dillon & Kevin Heanue & David Meredith, 2017. "Worth the Risk? The Behavioural Path to Well-Being," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(2), pages 534-552, June.
    15. Viaggi, Davide & Raggi, Meri & Gomez y Paloma, Sergio, 2011. "Farm-household investment behaviour and the CAP decoupling: Methodological issues in assessing policy impacts," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 127-145, January.
    16. Geoghegan, Cathal & Kinsella, Anne & O’Donoghue, Cathal, 2015. "Policy Drivers of Land Mobility in Irish Agriculture," 150th Seminar, October 22-23, 2015, Edinburgh, Scotland 212658, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Peter Howley & Neel Ocean, 2022. "Can nudging only get you so far? Testing for nudge combination effects," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 49(5), pages 1086-1112.
    18. Cullen, Paula & Ryan, Mary & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Hynes, Stephen & hUallacháin, Daire Ó & Sheridan, Helen, 2020. "Impact of farmer self-identity and attitudes on participation in agri-environment schemes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    19. Greiner, Romy & Miller, Owen & Patterson, Louisa, 2008. "The role of grazier motivations and risk attitudes in the adoption of grazing best management practices," 2008 Conference (52nd), February 5-8, 2008, Canberra, Australia 6002, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    20. Tocco, Barbara & Bailey, Alastair & Davidova, Sophia & Raimondi, Valentina, 2015. "Women and Part-Time Farming: Understanding Labor Supply Decisions in Italian Farm Households," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211932, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:109:y:2015:i:c:p:186-193. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.