Global Changes In Harvested Area In Corn, Sugarcane And Oilseeds: The Econometric Estimation Of The Role Of Biofuel Production, Foreign Direct Investment, Income And Population Growth Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • Global harvested area of crops has expanded (+8%) in the period of 2004-2011. Nevertheless, some crops such as maize, sugarcane, and oilseeds expanded area more rapidly than the average rise. Although, some economists attribute this effect to biofuel production, economy also has encouraged expansion in cropland to satisfy food demand. This paper analyzes the impact that biofuel production and economic variables has had on harvested area for corn, sugar, and oilseeds. Our results suggest that economic variables are much more important than ethanol production in explaining changes on harvested area of corn and sugarcane. For oilseed area, the significant factor was the 800 percent increase in biodiesel production, which overwhelmed other factors.

published proceedings

  • 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California

author list (cited authors)

  • Pena-Levano, L. M., Rasetti, M., Melo, G., Zhao, X., Opgrand, J., Renteria Pinon, M., & Bentivoglio, D.

complete list of authors

  • Pena-Levano, Luis M||Rasetti, Michele||Melo, Grace||Zhao, Xin||Opgrand, Jeffrey||Renteria Pinon, Mario||Bentivoglio, Deborah

publication date

  • January 2015