DIDIER Y. ALIA Ph.D. Candidate

Transcription

1 DIDIER Y. ALIA Ph.D. Candidate 332 Charles E. Barnhart Building Department of Agricultural Economics Lexington, KY FIELDS OF CONCENTRATION PRIMARY SECONDARY Agricultural Economics, International Development, International Agricultural Trade Agricultural Marketing, Applied Econometrics EDUCATION DOCTORAL STUDIES Expected, May 2017 Ph.D. Candidate, Agricultural Economics Dissertation: Essays in Sustainable Input Intensification in African Agriculture Dissertation: Michael Reed (Chair), Yoko Kusunose (Co-chair) Committee David Freshwater, Veronique Theriault, and Jenny Minier PREVIOUS EDUCATION June 2009 Sept Sept Aug Engineer Statistician Economist (M.S in Statistics and Applied Economics) Institut Sous-régional de Statistiques et d Economie Appliquée, Yaoundé, Cameroon M.S in Mathematics University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin B.S in Mathematics University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin Associate degree in Mathematics and Physics University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Sep Dec June June 2015 Jan July 2012 Dec Apr Oct Jan Research Assistant, Policy Analysis Matrix project in Haiti, USAID-FAS grant, PI: Michael Reed Research Assistant, Food Security division, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Maastricht, Netherlands Research Assistant/Statistician-Economist, AfricaRice, Cotonou, Benin Consultant, Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economics, World Bank Consultant, National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis, Benin PUBLICATIONS JOURNAL ARTICLES Smale, M., Y. Kusunose, M. Mathenge and D. Alia (2016). Destination or Distraction? Querying the Linkage between Off-farm Income and Farm Investments in Kenya. Journal of African Economies, 25 (3):

2 Alia, D., K. Jossa-Jouable, and R. Fiamohe (2016). On poverty and persistence of poverty in Benin. Journal of Economic Studies, 2016, 43 (4): Alia, D. (2016). Progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal on poverty: Assessing the effect of income growth on the exit time out of poverty in Benin. Sustainable Development (forthcoming). Alia, D., Ponty, N., and Kamga, I. (2016). Altruism or exchange? A quest into the motives of inter-household private transfers in Burkina Faso. International Journal of Socio-Economics (forthcoming). Alia, D. (2014). Geographical orientation of export in the manufacturing sector in sub-sahara Africa. Global Economy Journal, 15 (3) Fiamohe, R., D. Alia, Bamba, I., A. Diagne, and E. Amovin-Assagba (2015). Transmission of rice prices from Thailand into West African markets: The case of Benin, Mali, and Senegal. Journal of African Business, 16(1-2): Fiamohe, R., P. Seck, D. Alia, and A. Diagne (2013). Price transmission analysis using threshold models: an application to local rice markets in Benin and Mali. Food Security, 5(3), BOOK CHAPTERS Diagne, A, D. Alia, M. Wopereiss, K. Saito and T. Nakelse (2013). Impact of Rice Research on Income and Poverty in Africa: An Ex-ante Analysis, Chapter in Realizing Africa s Rice Promise. Wopereis, M.C.S., Johnson, D.E., Ahmadi N., Tollens, E. and Jalloh, A., CABI Publishing, October Diagne, A, D. Alia, E. Amovin-Assagba, M. Wopereiss, and K. Saito (2013). Farmer perceptions of biophysical constraints in rice production in sub-saharan Africa and potential impact of research ; chapter in Realizing Africa s Rice Promise. Wopereis, M.C.S., Johnson, D.E., Ahmadi N., Tollens, E., and Jalloh, A., CABI Publishing, October WORKING PAPERS AND WORKS IN PROGRESS PAPERS UNDER REVIEW Cross-markets transmission of price and price volatility in international grain markets with Michael Reed, Under Review Foreign aid effectiveness in African economies: evidence from a threshold panel with Romuald Anago, Under Review Heterogeneous welfare effects of cotton pricing on households in Benin with Anne Floquet and Epiphane Adjovi, Under Review at African Development Review Distributional impact of Nerica adoption on farmer expenditure in Benin: Quantile Treatment Effect Estimation with Aliou Diagne, Patrice Adegbola, and Florent Kinkingninhoue, Under Review Estimating the causal effect of trade liberalization on economic growth using treatment effect framework with Michael Reed and Sayed Saghaian, Under Review WORKING PAPERS Foreign aid effectiveness in African economies: evidence from a threshold panel with Romuald Anago, UNU WIDER Working Paper 15/2014. Heterogeneous welfare effects of cotton pricing on households in Benin with Anne Floquet and Epiphane Adjovi, UNCTAD-Vi Benin Paper/2014. WORKS IN PROGRESS Spatial urban development and transformation of African agriculture: A view from space with Christopher Boone Institutional change, industrialization and structural change out of agriculture with Michael Reed and Yoko Kusunose 2

3 Health shocks and agricultural productivity: Panel data evidence from Tanzania Assessing policy coherence for development: Spillover effects of OECD policies on food security in Tanzania with Fabien Tondel, Solomon, Baregu, Festo Maro, Abel Songole, and Brecht Lein Do bilateral investment treaties promote or restrict large-scale land acquisition in developing countries? Trade effects of food regulations and standards: Assessing the impact of SPS measures on market structure Assessing the performance of food co-ops in the US with Ani Katchova and Timothy A. Woods Are non-food cash crops and food crops substitute or complement? Evidence from sub-national panel in Benin The Dynamic Implication of Agricultural Research and Development Investment for Economic Development with Michael Reed Rural media, agricultural technology adoption and productivity: evidences from small rice farmers in Burkina Faso with Nakelse Tebila and Diagne Aliou Evaluation of the effects of economic policies on informal sector performance and poverty in Cameroon: a Computable General Equilibrium model analysis with Willy Ndjana, Erith Nghogue and Robert Ngonthe The politics of agricultural policies: cotton pricing in election time in West Africa. DISSERTATION ESSAYS (ABSTRACTS BELOW) Spillover effects of fertilizer subsidies on the adoption of modern inputs: panel data evidence from Burkina Faso (Job market paper) Land rental, farm investment, productivity, and efficiency in Burkina Faso The productivity and welfare effects of the increased prevalence of crop protection chemicals in African agriculture PRESENTATIONS 2016 African Economic Conference in Abuja, Nigeria Paper Presented: Land rental, farm investment, productivity, and efficiency in Burkina Faso 2016 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association meeting in Boston, MA Paper Presented: Land rental, farm investment, productivity, and efficiency in Burkina Faso Poster Presented: "Spillover effects of fertilizer subsidies on the adoption of improved seeds and the use of other modern inputs in Burkina Faso" 2016 Southern Agricultural Economics Association meeting in San Antonio, TX Paper Presented: Assessing the performance of food co-ops in the US Poster Presented: Policy Coherence for Development: Assessing the impacts of OECD countries policies on rural development and food security in Tanzania 2015 Centre for the Study of African Economies Conference in Oxford - United Kingdom Paper Presented: Destination or Distraction? Querying the Linkage between Off-farm Income and Farm Investments in Kenya 2014 African Economic Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Paper Presented: Institutional change, industrialization and structural change out of agriculture 2014 Workshop at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, Switzerland Paper Presented: Heterogeneous welfare effects of cotton pricing on households in Benin 2014 Young African Statistician Conference in Pretoria, South Africa Paper Presented: Foreign aid effectiveness in African economies: evidence from a threshold panel 2014 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association conference in Minneapolis, MN Poster Presented: Cross-markets transmission of price and price volatility in international grain 3

4 markets (Presented under the title Multi-markets analysis of cereals prices and price volatility transmission and implication for food security ) Poster Presented: The Dynamic Implication of Agricultural Research and Development Investment for Economic Development 2013 African Association of Agricultural Economists meeting in Hammamet, Tunisia Paper Presented: Rural media, agricultural technology adoption and productivity: evidences from small rice farmers in Burkina Faso 2013 Africa Rice Congress in Yaoundé, Cameroon Paper Presented: Rural media, agricultural technology adoption and productivity: evidences from small rice farmers in Burkina Faso 2013 Kentucky Economics Association Annual Conference in Frankfort, KY Paper Presented: Estimating the causal effect of trade liberalization on economic growth using treatment effect framework 2013 World Statistics Congress in Hong Kong, China Poster Presented: Distributional impact of Nerica adoption on farmer expenditure in Benin: Quantile Treatment Effect Estimation 2012 Kentucky Economics Association Annual Conference in Georgetown, KY Paper Presented: Distributional impact of Nerica adoption on farmer expenditure in Benin: Quantile Treatment Effect Estimation 2012 International Conference of Agricultural Economists in Foz do Iguaçu Brazil Paper Presented: Impact of Rice Research on Income and Poverty in Africa: An Ex-ante Analysis TEACHING EXPERIENCE Spring 2017 (planned) Fall 2016 Spring 2016 March and August 2016 Fall 2013 & Fall 2014 Teaching assistant, AEC 626 Agricultural and economic development, University of Kentucky Stand-in instructor (2 lectures), AEC 303, Intermediate microeconomics, Stand-in instructor (4 lectures), AEC 531, Agricultural price analysis, University of Kentucky Trainer, Policy Analysis Matrix usage, Haiti Leader, STATA Workshop, 2010, 2011, 2012 Leader, Workshop on policy analysis using STATA, AfricaRice national partners FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS Graduate Research Assistantship, 2016 STAARS Fellowship, Cornell University/CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets 2015 travel grant ($800) to attend the 2015 CSAE Annual Conference on Economic Development in Africa, Oxford, United Kingdom Young International Fellowship Program, ECDPM (supported by the Government of Finland and the European Union) 2014 African Development Bank travel grant ($1500) to attend the African Economic Conference in Addis Abba, Ethiopia 2014 ISIBalo-Statistics South Africa travel grant ($2000) to attend the Young African 4

5 Statistician Conference in Pretoria, South Africa 2013 UNCATD Virtual Institute project of trade and poverty ($6000) 2013 International Statistical Institute travel grant ($2500) for World Statistics Congress in Hong Kong, China AERC/UNU-WIDER Research Grant ($10000) (with Romuald Anago) Best Student Award, MSc Studies in Statistics and Economics at ISSEA Scholarship, Government of France, for studies in Statistics and Economics at ISSEA Scholarship, VALLET Foundation (Paris) for Undergraduate and Graduate studies in Mathematics at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin Excellence Scholarship for Undergraduate and Graduate Studies in Mathematics at the College of Science of University of Abomey-Calavi, Government of Benin 2002 Silver Medal, 12 th Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO) in Pretoria, South Africa ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Languages Programming Service Memberships REFERENCES French (native speaker); English (fluent); Dutch (working proficiency) STATA (proficient), R (proficient), SAS (proficient), GAMS (proficient), EVIEWS (proficient), Visual Basic (proficient), MATLAB (Intermediate), C/C++ (Intermediate), Departmental Brownbag Seminar Series coordinator, Referee for African Development Review (3), China Economic Review (1), Journal of Rural Studies (1), Journal of International Trade and Economic Development (1) Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE) African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA) Fellow, Cornell University STAARS Program Research Affiliate, IFPRI-AGRODEP Dr. Michael Reed, Professor Dr. Yoko Kusunose, Assistant Professor Lexington, KY, mrreed@uky.edu Lexington, KY, knyo224@uky.edu Tel: Tel: Dr. Melinda Smale, Professor Dr. David Freshwater, Professor Michigan State University East-Lansing, MI, msmale@msu.edu Lexington, KY, dfresh@uky.edu Tel: Tel: Dr. Veronique Theriault, Assistant Professor Michigan State University East-Lansing, MI, theria13@anr.msu.edu Tel:

6 DISSERTATION OVERVIEW & ABSTRACTS Dissertation Title: Essays in Sustainable Input Intensification in African Agriculture Overview African economies are largely dominated by agriculture while crop productivity remains extremely low. This explains to a large extent the persistence of poverty and food insecurity among rural and urban households across the continent. There is a broad consensus among researchers and policy makers alike that the lagging agricultural productivity growth in Africa relative to other regions stems from the low adoption of modern inputs, the lack of market incentives for farmers to increase farm investment, and the weak institutional and infrastructural support to the agricultural sector. This dissertation explores and assesses the effectiveness of various mechanisms and policies to increase farm investment in modern inputs, improve crop productivity, and spur the transformation of African agriculture. The first essay assesses the impacts of Burkina Faso s large-scale intervention in input markets through fertilizer subsidies on the adoption of modern agricultural inputs. The second essay analyzes the development of rural land rental markets as means of land transfers among households also in Burkina Faso--and assesses its potential for improving farm investment, farm productivity, and farm efficiency. For my third essay, I propose to quantify the increasing use of crop protecting chemicals such as herbicide and pesticide in several African countries and evaluate the impacts on the household s productivity, labor constraint, off-farm employment, and welfare. Essay 1: Spillover effects of fertilizer subsidies on the adoption of modern inputs in Burkina Faso Draft completed, presented at the 2016 AAEA conference in Boston To address the dual problem of limited physical and economic access to modern agricultural inputs, the Government of Burkina Faso initiated a program in 2008 to provide mineral fertilizer to farmers at a 15%-30% discount. The program focuses singularly on mineral fertilizer, targets strategic food crops - maize and rice-, and is universal. Exploiting these unique features, I assess the spillover effects of subsidizing only one agricultural input on the use of other modern inputs in African agriculture. The empirical analysis uses panel data to test the hypothesis that farmers may be using fertilizer as a substitute for rather than a complement to other technologies. It addresses the issues of simultaneity in input use decisions, unobserved heterogeneity, and endogeneity by using multivariate probit, combined with the control function/instrumental variable approach and correlated random effects. The results confirm the endogeneity of access to subsidies and the simultaneity of input use decisions. We find that fertilizer subsidies increase mineral fertilizer use, crowd in the use of hybrid seeds and crop protection chemicals, but crowd out the use of manure. Given the beneficial effects of manure on soil structure and fertility, the results suggest that for sustainable input intensification mineral fertilizer subsidies need to be implemented in conjunction with measures to promote or maintain manure use. Essay 2: Land rental, farm investment, and efficiency in Burkina Faso Draft completed, presented at the 2016 AAEA conference in Boston Rural land rental markets continue to develop progressively in Sub-Saharan African and represent an increasingly important medium for land transfer among households. We use a nationally-representative household panel from Burkina Faso to identify the determinants of farmers participation in these markets and assess the impacts on farm investment and production efficiency. Using a double hurdle model, we find that a household s farming ability and commitment to agriculture is positively correlated with the likelihood to rent in land and the amount of land rented in. This result corroborates previous findings in both Africa and elsewhere that land rental markets transfer land resource from less talented (or committed) farmers to the more able ones. We look beyond simple correlations by using a multivariable probit regression and the correlated random effects approach to account for unobserved 6

7 household heterogeneity and potential endogeneity. We find that input use decisions are made jointly, and farmer s participation in land rental markets has a positive effect on the likelihood to use crop protection chemicals. The effects on mineral fertilizer and organic manure are positive but weak, and there is no significant effect on the use hybrid seeds or hired labor. However, using stochastic production frontier analysis, we find that land renters are better farm managers and experience fewer inefficiencies in their production processes. Taken together, our findings highlight the mixed effects on input intensification of policies that foster the development of land rental markets in Burkina Faso. Much of the gains from these policies might be essentially in terms of increased efficiency of inputs and not necessarily the use of more inputs. Essay 3 (proposed): The productivity and welfare effects of the increased prevalence of crop protection chemicals in African agriculture Data analysis in progress For decades, much of the focus in agricultural policies has been on increasing crop productivity through the adoption of modern varieties and the use of mineral fertilizer. However, crop production in an African environment is vulnerable to various biotic stressors such as weeds and pests. Weed competition, in particular, is an important constraint that widens the gap between observed crop yields and potential yields. During the past decade, there has been increased use of crop protectants such as herbicides and pesticides in food-crop production. This increase was triggered by the drastic decline in the price of glyphosate as Monsanto s patent for Roundup expired in The objective of this study is to assess the impact of the recent increase in herbicide use on a broad range of outcomes, with a special focus on both cash constraints and time constraints. Herbicides may have an outsize effect in relaxing the time constraints for household members, particularly women, on whom the burden of weeding traditionally falls. However, herbicide application also entails the non-trivial fixed cost of a backpack sprayer. We use household panel data from the World Bank Living Standards Measurement - Integrated Survey of Agriculture for Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, which are large agricultural production counties. We address several questions. First, what drives household demand for herbicide use? Next, we analyze the productivity differential among households using herbicide and those who do not, and more generally how crop yields respond to the application of these chemicals. Finally, we assess the effect of adoption of herbicide on total farm size, labor costs, off-farm employment, and household income. 7