Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Ressourcenökonomie

Habilitation von Dr. sc. agr. habil. Volker Beckmann

Essays in Institutional Analysis. Application to Economic Transition, Technology Adoption and Environmental Governance in Agriculture

Beginn: 01/2002

Ende: 12/2008


This Habilitation Thesis presents a collection of essays on theoretical and empirical institutional analysis in the areas of economics transition, technology adoption and environmental governance. The scope of topics covered and the empirical material gathered and analysed result from the author’s involvement in large-scale research projects such as “Comparative Analysis of the Transition Process in the Agricultural Sector or Selected Central and Eastern European Countries (KATO)”, “Integrated Development of Agricultural and Rural Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe (IDARI) and “Integrated Tools to Design and Implement Agri-Environmental Schemes (ITAES).” The theoretical analysis mainly relies on transaction cost considerations and the analysis of discrete structural alternatives, joined together with elements of social analysis, property rights theory, law and economics and political economy. Empirically, the studies use econometric analysis of survey data or qualitative case study analysis. The Thesis contains the following Chapters:

  1. Theoretical and Empirical Institutional Analysis of Agriculture and Natural Resources. A Synopsis
  2. In Search of the Market: Lessons from Analyzing Transition in Central and Eastern Europe
  3. Investments, Contractual Safeguards, and Prices in Evolving Markets: The Case of Hog Transactions in Poland
  4. Courts and Contract Enforcement in Transition Agriculture: Theory and Evidence from Poland
  5. Social Capital and Leadership: Rural Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe
  6. The Governance of Cooperation: Policy Implications for Rural Central and Eastern Europe
  7. New Modes of Governance of Cooperative Arrangements in Agricultural Markets: The Case of Polish Producer Groups
  8. How Labour Organisation May Affect Technology Adoption: An Analytical Framework Analysing the Case of Integrated Pest Management
  9. How Farm Labor Organization Affects Technology Adoption: The Case of Integrated Pest Management
  10. Spatial Dimensions of Externalities and the Coase Theorem. Implications for Coexistence of Transgenic Crops
  11. Governing the Coexistence of GM crops: Ex-ante Regulation and Ex-Post Liability under Uncertainty and Irreversibility
  12. Coexistence Rules and Regulations in the European Union
  13. The Role of Coordination and Cooperation in Early Adoption of GM-Crops. The Case of Bt-Maize in Brandenburg
  14. Transaction Costs Economics and the Environment: Can Williamson’s Discriminate Alignment Hypotheses be Applied to the Problem of Social Costs
  15. Human Rights and Game Management: The Question of Compulsory Membership in German Hunting Associations
  16. Deciding how to Decide on Agri-environmental Policy: The Political Economy of Subsidiarity, Decentralisation and Participation in the European Union
  17. Assessing Local Action Groups and Auctions as Institutional Alternatives for Designing and Implementing Agri-Environmental Measures in the EU: Results from an Expert Survey
  18. Analysing Institutions: What Method to apply?

Bearbeiter: Dr. sc. agr. habil. Volker Beckmann

Kooperationpartner:

  • Wageningen University, Dr. Justus Wesseler
  • Ghent University, Evy Mettepenningen
  • Universita Cattolica del Sacro Curoe, Claudio Soregaroli, PhD
  • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Dr. Silke Boger, Dr. Markus Brem, Nicola Consmüller, Dr. Jörg Eggers, Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch, Dr. Annette Hurrelmann, Dr. Evi Irawan, Dr. Catherine Murray, Dr. habil. Martina Padmanabhan, Dr. Katharina Rauchenecker

Betreuer: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Konrad Hagedorn, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Kirschke, Prof. Dr. Guido Van Huylenbroeck

Finanzierung: VolkswagenStiftung, Deutsch Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), European Union

Veröffentlichungen und Vorträge: siehe Veröffentlichungsverzeichnis