On the use and misuse of profit functions for measuring the price responsiveness of peasant farmers: A comment

The standard profit function approach has been applied successfully in a number of LDCs to measure the price responsiveness of peasant farmers. Yet, various problems afflict this approach including, but not restricted to, the existence of non‐competitive market structures, zero‐valued observations, exclusion of relevant variables, lack of participation in output and/or input markets, and endogeneity of input and/or output prices. The impact of these problems on estimation results, however, can be minimised through modifications and adaptations of the standard approach, better specification of the underlying technology, and the use of selected functional forms.     

Sustainability,technology and corporate interest: Resource strategies in India's modern dairy sector

This article reviews aspects of India's Operation Flood dairy programme which reflect the extension of the internal and external linkages of India's co‐operative dairy sector. This discussion of the institutional linkages of Operation Flood leads to a broader debate about the dairy sector and development, particularly issues of corporatism, relative autonomy and dependence. Operation Flood institutions have embedded themselves securely within the political centre, enabling them to effectively intervene in policy‐making for the overall dairy sector, despite the programme's own limited performance in milk production and procurement. Foreign aid has facilitated this positioning, resulting in a subtle interplay of dependence and autonomy between the donors, the Indian state, local actors and Operation Flood as an autonomous interest.     

The Political Economy of Crisis Management in East–Central European Countries

The financial and economic crisis in the Central and East European countries raised the profile of economic policy themes that relate to the role of taxation and state spending. The key policy differences related to public budgets and support for a demand stimulus. Responses fall broadly into two categories that we link to a social-democratic and a neo-liberal response. The distinction indicates that the policy responses were linked to the party affiliation of the government on the left–right spectrum. There were some remarkable common trends that cannot be explained by the logical requirements of the economic situation alone. There are differences in timing and in severity, but every country has at some point moved towards a policy of balancing the budget by making cuts. In all cases there were cuts in benefits for marginal groups in society and a switch towards indirect rather than direct taxes. These carry clear distributional implications.