Ben Arfa N., Daniel K. Jacquet, F., Karantininis, K., 2015 – Agricultural Policies and structural change of French dairy farms: Application of a non-stationary Markov Model, Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, March 2015, pp 19-42. https://doi.org/10.1111/cjag.12036

Abstract :

The aim of this paper is to gain an under standing into how agricultural policies have affected structural change in the French dairy sector. A nonstationary Markov model is estimated using a Generalized Cross Entropy approach. Results show that while the price of cow’s milk encourages farm growth, direct payments and quota restriction favor small farms. The price signal is a key factor of structural change. As a result, higher milk prices may accelerate the trend toward the further growth of dairy farms. Settlement policy and technical change seem not to slow this trend.

Keywords : dairy farm, Markov model, agricultural policy