Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2000 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
It is often supposed that the costs of higher environmental standards lead to unfair competitive disadvantages of countries. To test this hypothesis, a comparative study of the production and processing of vegetable oils, grain and broiler in Brazil, Germany and Indonesia was conducted. After identifying the relevant national environmental standards in these sectors, their cost implications were compared internationally. The study concludes that for the typical farms, the impacts of environmental standards on the production costs are relatively small. They can be relevant in the case of small profit margins (e.g. in broiler production). However, total cost differences due to the wage level, prices for land, machines, buildings and equipment are more significant and weaken this assumption. In the processing industry, the results are ambiguous. Further, it needs to be stressed that country-specific differences in environmental standards are not only determined by climate, but also by population density, national economic and social conditions as well as differences in the scarcity of environmental goods.
Keywords
- Environmental standards, International competitiveness, Liberalization of agriculture
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Social Sciences(all)
- Development
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2000.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Total costs and environmental standards for selected agricultural products in Brazil, Germany and Indonesia
T2 - The impact on international competitiveness
AU - Grote, U.
AU - Deblitz, C.
AU - Stegmann, S.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - It is often supposed that the costs of higher environmental standards lead to unfair competitive disadvantages of countries. To test this hypothesis, a comparative study of the production and processing of vegetable oils, grain and broiler in Brazil, Germany and Indonesia was conducted. After identifying the relevant national environmental standards in these sectors, their cost implications were compared internationally. The study concludes that for the typical farms, the impacts of environmental standards on the production costs are relatively small. They can be relevant in the case of small profit margins (e.g. in broiler production). However, total cost differences due to the wage level, prices for land, machines, buildings and equipment are more significant and weaken this assumption. In the processing industry, the results are ambiguous. Further, it needs to be stressed that country-specific differences in environmental standards are not only determined by climate, but also by population density, national economic and social conditions as well as differences in the scarcity of environmental goods.
AB - It is often supposed that the costs of higher environmental standards lead to unfair competitive disadvantages of countries. To test this hypothesis, a comparative study of the production and processing of vegetable oils, grain and broiler in Brazil, Germany and Indonesia was conducted. After identifying the relevant national environmental standards in these sectors, their cost implications were compared internationally. The study concludes that for the typical farms, the impacts of environmental standards on the production costs are relatively small. They can be relevant in the case of small profit margins (e.g. in broiler production). However, total cost differences due to the wage level, prices for land, machines, buildings and equipment are more significant and weaken this assumption. In the processing industry, the results are ambiguous. Further, it needs to be stressed that country-specific differences in environmental standards are not only determined by climate, but also by population density, national economic and social conditions as well as differences in the scarcity of environmental goods.
KW - Environmental standards
KW - International competitiveness
KW - Liberalization of agriculture
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034519471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034519471
VL - 39
JO - Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture
JF - Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture
SN - 0049-8599
IS - 3
ER -