Graduate Studies, UNL

 

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

First Advisor

John Beghin

Second Advisor

Lilyan Fulginiti

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Agricultural Economics

Date of this Version

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate College of the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Major: Agricultural Economics

Under the supervision of Professor

Lincoln, Nebraska, December 2025

Comments

Copyright 2025, the author. Used by permission

Abstract

This dissertation consists of two essays: the first examines the welfare and trade implications of the 2016–2017 drought in Brazil and the subsequent temporary import ban on Robusta coffee; the second examines how trade openness influences agricultural total factor productivity across 26 NUTS-2 regions in Türkiye from 2013 to 2020.

The first essay focuses on Brazil, a major Robusta coffee producer and exporter that faced a significant drought in 2016–17, reducing Robusta output. In response, the government initially allowed one million 60-kg bags of Robusta coffee to be imported. An import ban was imposed shortly afterward due to lobbying by domestic Robusta farmers. Findings indicate that the import ban improved Brazilian Robusta producers’ welfare by $174.85 to $280.26 million, nearly offsetting the drought’s adverse effects. However, it increased unit cost for Brazilian soluble processors by 10% and reduced consumer surplus in Brazil by $108.35 to $174.44 million. Major Robusta exporters faced reduced exports to Brazil and up to 9% lower prices, losing 0.3363 to 0.7564 million 60-kg bags. Additionally, foreign consumers of Brazilian soluble coffee lost $62 to $107 million in welfare from higher prices. Without the import ban, global stakeholders would have seen a $12.61/bag higher world bean price.

The second essay employs a translog stochastic frontier model with monotonicity constraints, it decomposes TFP growth into technical change and efficiency change across 26 NUTS-2 regions over 2013–2020. It also examines the relationship between technical efficiency and trade openness by integrating regional agricultural trade openness into the model as an (in)efficiency driver. Additionally, it explicitly controls for climatic effects, including average temperature and precipitation in the frontier. Results highlight pronounced regional disparities, with export-oriented regions exhibiting higher efficiency. Moreover, trade openness is significantly and positively associated with technical efficiency. Moderate temperature and rainfall positively affect agricultural output, while extreme conditions negatively impact yields. TFP growth is predominantly driven by technical change, while efficiency change slightly detracts from overall productivity gains.

Advisors: John Beghin and Lilyan Fulginiti

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