ORGANISATION DE COOPÉRATION ET DE DEVELOPMENT ÉCONOMIQUES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Access to micro-data: Experience from
using data for agricultural policy
analysis
Catherine Moreddu
OECD, Agriculture Directorate
OECD conference:
Assessing the feasibility of micro-data access,
Luxembourg, 26-27 October 2006
Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries
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A user’s point of view
The Directorate for Food, Agriculture and
Fisheries of the OECD:
– analyses policy issues
– evaluates current policies and policy reform wrt to
their objectives and to reform principles (including
equity)
Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries
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Why disaggregated information is
needed for agricultural policy analysis?
• Policies (policy reform) have distributional impacts,
some have distributional objectives
• Increasing interest in these issues: increasing
heterogeneity in farm households, payments more
visible, targeting, etc.
• More quantitative approaches (econometrics)
• Many government-related institutes are engaged in
this type of work
Need for disaggregated (micro-level) data
Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries
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Recent examples
• Income study: distribution of support and impact on
the distribution of income
• Decoupling: estimation of the impact of different
types of payments on farmers’ production decisions
(risk aversion)
• Agricultural policy and trade reform: potential
effects at global, national and household levels
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Different types of analysis
• Data analysis
• Econometric and modelling analysis
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Approaches
• Income study:
– LIS: Frequency of low-income households
– Customised FADN groups (quartiles, deciles): distribution of support
• Decoupling:
– Consultant with access to micro data (FADN, insurance data)
to do the analysis
• Agricultural policy and trade reform:
– Consultants with access to survey data, or
– Consultants to merge existing data sources into a database to
do the analysis
Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries
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Data issues
• Coverage (off-farm income, small farms)
• Frequency and timeliness (farm income variability)
• Panel
• Small number of farm households in general
surveys
• Confidentiality (limits access and matching of data sources)
• Political sensitivity (income)
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Lessons
• It is crucial for agricultural policy analysis to be able
to use disaggregated information
• Regular analysis at micro-level is beyond AGR
resource availabilities
• National research institutes would be better placed:
– Access to data
– Technical expertise
– Country knowledge
Network
Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries
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First phase: 2007-08
• OECD (Secretariat and delegates) to suggest the type of policy
issues, which will determine:
– the scope and data needs: OECD countries, farm or rural households?
– experts and institutes with adequate access to data and expertise, and
interested in collaboration
• OECD role: organiser, synthesis reports
• Network expert meetings to identify:
– priority research issues
– Data availability
– Analytical approach
– Time table
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Initial thoughts on objectives
• Identify data availability: Comparing definitions and availability
of data concerning the economic and financial status of farm
households in OECD Member countries
• Undertake research based on those data, e.g.
– Evaluate the income situation of farm households
– distributional consequences of agricultural and trade policy
reform
– linkages between the diversification of income sources and the
rural economy
• Allow flexibility in analytical approaches: no “one size fits all”
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Your views are welcome on:
• Attractivity for partners
• Feasibility
• Institutional setting: role for the OECD,
relationships with existing networks,
incentives
Directorate for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries
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Thank you for your attention
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