Technology and Competitiveness: Assessing The Influence of Transaction Costs in The Adoption of Technology and Recommended Farm Practices for Rice

Agham C. Cuevas 한국무역연구원 2012 The International Academy of Global Business and T Vol.8 No.2

Modern rice technology plays an important role in enhancing agricultural productivity and improving competitiveness that translates to higher household farm income. However, despite the benefits that these technologies and recommended farming practices bring, the adoption rate by farmers has been low. Adoption literature identifies a variety of factors ranging from farm characteristics and farm household attributes to varietal characteristics and technology attributes. One particular stream of adoption studies explores the role that transaction cost plays in technology adoption. The paper explored the influence of transaction costs on the adoption of technology and recommended farm practices by rice farmers. The study suggests that aside from farm and household characteristics, transaction costs affect farmers’ decisions to adopt recommended rice technologies and farm practices. Reduction of transaction costs makes adopting recommended practices more attractive as it assures the farmer that the eventual increases in yield will result to higher level of market participation and therefore higher value of net surplus.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF TRADE COSTS ON INTERREGIONAL TRADE FLOWS USING THE GRAVITY MODEL

Leana Marie C. Cerrero,Agham C. Cuevas 한국무역연구원 2013 무역연구 Vol.9 No.2

This study attempts to determine the factors that affect interregional trade of rice among selected regions in the Philippines. The gravity model was used to analyze the effects of GRDP and trade costs proxies on the interregional trade between the National Capital Region (NCR) and selected rice producing regions in the country. The study found that GRDP of the exporting and importing regions, distance, and ratio of infrastructure between two regions significantly affects the trade volume of rice. The GRDP and the ratio of the infrastructure positively affect the trade flow of rice between regions. Distance which has a positive sign, does not exhibit the traditional iceberg type of cost. Either distance does not adequately represent transport costs or transport costs in the rice trade are subject to economies of distance and economies of scale given distance.

An Analysis of The Transaction Sector of the Philippine Economy

Nomar Jethro Y. Mata,Agham C. Cuevas 한국무역연구원 2012 The International Academy of Global Business and T Vol.8 No.1

As a follow-up to the pioneering work of Wallis and North (1986), this study attempts to measure the level of transaction sector output in the Philippine economy by dividing the industries between transaction industries and transformation industries. The transaction sector output, the sum of the outputs of the transaction industries, was computed by using the national income accounts. This paper also measures the changes in the relative sizes of the transformation and transaction sector output by using the theoretical concept constructed by Datta et al. (2004) called the support ratio. The support ratio shows how much of the transformation sector output is supported by one peso spent in the transaction sector. The results show that the transaction sector has been increasing over time but the support ratio has been generally declining. The possible reasons for the increase of transaction sector output are increases in specialization brought by market expansion, development in technology, and government privatization and deregulation policies. Other reasons for the declining support ratio, such as shifts of non-market goods in the market, negative role of institutions, changes in the consumers’ preferences, and market imperfections, are all highly possible in the Philippine context.

Transaction Cost Analysis of Public-Private Partnership

Janine Prelle A Dacanay,Agham C. Cuevas 한국무역연구원 2013 무역연구 Vol.9 No.5

The study is a transaction cost analysis of public-private-partnership (PPP) contracts, specifically of the Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS) Concession Agreement and the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (Metro Rail) Build-Lease-and-Transfer (BLT) Agreement. The study found out that the two PPP contracts clearly specified the obligations and responsibilities of each party. Specifically, the study showed that the two agreements required a considerable regulatory oversight. In the Metro Rail BLT Agreement, almost all the risks are borne by the public sector whereas in the MWSS Concession Agreement, the private sector bears a significant share of the risks. The study presented and explained the transaction costs involved in each contract's provisions. The results are consistent with Williamson's analysis of transactions as well as with Rindfleisch and Heide's (1997) analysis where the sources of transaction cost are the nature of governance problems. Results revealed that the two PPP contracts incur transaction costs, the intensity of which depends upon the compliance at each contract provision Finally, this study suggests that governments should consider the high transaction costs in the provision of public infrastructures and services under the PPP scheme and develop sufficient contract management capacity to mitigate the risks of contracting.

Stock Market Development and Economic Growth : the Case of the Philippine Stock Market

Princess Jace N. Sta. Maria,Agham C. Cuevas 한국무역연구원 2013 The International Academy of Global Business and T Vol.9 No.2

The general objective of this study is to analyze the level of stock market development of the Philippine Stock Exchange, as reflected by its liquidity position, and its implications to economic growth in the Philippines. Stock market liquidity was analyzed through its three liquidity measurements: turnover ratio, total value of traded shares ratio, and the market size ratio. This study used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) in analyzing the relationship between stock market liquidity and economic growth using quarterly data from 1996 to 2012. Stock market liquidity, as measured by the growth in value of traded shares and the growth in market size, is significantly related to the growth of the economy after controlling for variables such as inflation, which lagged by one period, growth in foreign direct investment and openness to trade. Further analysis showed that the growth in market size causes economic growth. However, the determinant of the growth in value of traded shares does not exhibit Granger causality, but is proven to have a long run relationship as shown from the results of the Error Correction Model.

Does Membership in Agricultural Cooperatives Improve Marketing Efficiency?: Insights from Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Selected Provinces of the Philippines

Liezel S. Cruz(Liezel S. Cruz ),Agham C. Cuevas(Agham C. Cuevas ),Jan Danica S. Asma(Jan Danica S. Asma ),JP Roma D. Duque(JP Roma D. Duque ),Beah M. Orlina(Beah M. Orlina ) The International Academy of Global Business and T 2023 The International Academy of Global Business and T Vol.19 No.1

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.