Shengfei Fu

Bio: Shengfei Fu is an academic researcher from University of Georgia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Savings account & Crop insurance. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 11 publications receiving 28 citations.

Consumer Expenditures on Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

Abstract: The majority of consumers across the globe do not eat the WHO daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Actual consumption is influenced by a multitude of factors. This chapter focuses on household income and expenditure to illustrate the variation of fresh fruit and vegetable consumption using primary and secondary data from household surveys in Ghana, Poland, Republic of Korea and Uganda. Income importance is examined by tracking fresh produce expenditure by quantile or income category suggesting that low income households tend to limit fresh fruit purchases more than fresh vegetables. Households with the highest income disproportionately outspend all other households regardless of the country’s economic development and present special postharvest requirements. Illustration of other socio-economic factors and their relevance to fresh produce consumption is provided. There are similarities in terms of the most frequent consumption of vegetables across countries, but there is variation in the frequency of fresh fruit consumption, opening opportunities for trade.

Crop Insurance Savings Accounts: A Viable Alternative to Crop Insurance?

Abstract: This research explores the viability of an alternative design for crop insurance based upon farmer-owned savings accounts that are regulated, monitored, and marginally assisted by the government. Such accounts could be an effective risk management tool for many farmers and could operate without major government subsidization. Relative to the current program, the proposed design should exhibit minimal moral hazard and adverse selection problems, and since farm-level risk does not have to be priced, the proposed design eliminates the premium rating difficulties that weaken actuarial soundness and trigger the need for substantial external subsidies. In addition, administrative costs should be considerably lower.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Crop Insurance Savings Accounts: A Viable Alternative to Crop Insurance?

Abstract: This research explores the viability of an alternative design for crop insurance based upon farmer-owned savings accounts that are regulated, monitored, and marginally assisted by the government. Such accounts could be an effective risk management tool for many farmers and could operate without major government subsidization. Relative to the current program, the proposed design should exhibit minimal moral hazard and adverse selection problems, and since farm-level risk does not have to be priced, the proposed design eliminates the premium rating difficulties that weaken actuarial soundness and trigger the need for substantial external subsidies. In addition, administrative costs should be considerably lower.

Changing Dairy Consumption in an Emerging Economy: An Application of a Multivariate Two-part Model

Abstract: This article examines the choices of Polish households in their decision to consume and the amount spent on four dairy products, i.e., whole milk, skim milk, butter and yogurt. A random utility framework leads to the specification of a system of four participation and four level (expenditure) equations. With the strong substitution effect between the consumption of whole milk and low-fat milk and possible correlation among the purchase decisions of other dairy products, the specification allows for correlation between the consumption decisions among different dairy products. Therefore, the selection of a system approach leads to constructing a multivariate two-part model. A pooled cross-sectional sample used in model estimation has 77,043 observations with non-missing values for the period from 2005 to 2008.

Household Whole and Low Fat Milk Consumption in Poland: A Bivariate Two-part Model

Abstract: Milk products are a preeminent food category in Poland, providing both employment and dietary benefit. This paper investigates factors affecting household milk consumption in Poland, paying attention to the effect of outmigration. Bivariate two-part model analyzes actual milk spending and allows the dependence of whole and low-fat milk consumption decisions.

Uncertainty in future irrigation water demand and risk of crop failure for maize in Europe

Abstract: While crop models are widely used to assess the change in crop productivity with climate change, their skill in assessing irrigation water demand or the risk of crop failure in large area impact assessments is relatively unknown. The objective of this study is to investigate which aspects of modeling crop water use (reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0), soil water extraction, soil evaporation, soil water balance and root growth) contributes most to the variability in estimates of maize crop water use and the risk of crop failure, and demonstrate the resulting uncertainty in a climate change impact study for Europe. The SIMPLACE crop modeling framework was used to couple the LINTUL5 crop model in factorial combinations of 2–3 different approaches for simulating the 5 aspects of crop water use, resulting in 51 modeling approaches. Using experiments in France and New Zeland, analysis of total sensitivity revealed that ET0 explained the most variability in both irrigated maize water use and rainfed grain yield levels, with soil evaporation also imporatant in the French experiment. In the European impact study, net irrigation requirement differed by 36% between the Penman and Hargreaves ET0 methods in the baseline period. Average EU grain yields were similar between models, but differences approached 1–2 tonnes in parts of France and Southern Europe. EU wide esimates of crop failure in the historical period ranged between 5.4 years for Priestley–Taylor to every 7.9 years for the Penman ET0 methods. While the uncertainty in absolute values between models was significant, estimates of relative changes were similar between models, confirming the utility of crop models in assessing climate change impacts. If ET0 estimates in crop models can be improved, through the use of appropriate methods, uncertainty in irrigation water demand as well as in yield estimates under drought can be reduced.

Distributional Effects of Crop Insurance Subsidies

Abstract: This article investigates the distributional effects of the subsidized crop insurance program in the United States. An equilibrium displacement model is constructed, linking the supply of disaggregate farm commodities with final consumer food demands. Using state-specific data on farm commodity production, crop insurance payments, food expenditures, and federal tax payments, the welfare effects of the removal of the premium subsidies for crop insurance are calculated for each state in the United States. Results indicate that the removal of the premium subsidy for crop insurance would have resulted in aggregate net economic benefits of $622, $932, and $522 million in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. The deadweight loss amounts to about 9.6%, 14.4%, and 8.0% of the total crop insurance subsides paid to agricultural producers in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. In aggregate, removal of the premium subsidy for crop insurance reduces farm producer surplus and consumer surplus, with taxpayers being the only aggregate beneficiary. The findings reveal that the costs of such farm policies are often hidden from food consumers in the form of a higher tax burden. On a disaggregate level, there is significant variation in effects of removal of the premium subsidy for crop insurance across states. Agricultural producers in several Western states, such as California, Oregon, and Washington, are projected to benefit from the removal of the premium subsides for crop insurance, whereas producers in the Plains States, such as North Dakota, South Dakota, and Kansas, are projected to be the biggest losers.