Jarka Chloupkova | European Parliament (original) (raw)

Papers by Jarka Chloupkova

Genetically modified plants and foods

Journal of Contemporary Management, 2016

Policy making is a complex issue, as numerous factors should be taken aboard before a political d... more Policy making is a complex issue, as numerous factors should be taken aboard before a political decision is made. To ensure a more holistic approach to policy making, the authors propose to use the tool of foresight to capture the multitude of variables. Using the framework of rational choice theory on an empirical example of the serious security problems that unfolded in Europe in November 2015, the authors demonstrate how foresight, which draws on stakeholder knowledge and available information to connect the dots between fields and scattered information, would lead to more holistic and coordinated joint policy decisions. This would aid in establishing the optimal amount of public goods for which tax-payers' money is to be invested. Currently, Europe stands at an important crossroad as to what its future will be. Some political decisions have been made, and some are still to be made. Not every European citizen is satisfied with all recent political choices, as reflected in the rise of Eurosceptic moods and extremist political parties. Yet, in a democratic society, European citizens, taxpayers and voters have the right to expect sound political decisions. To this end, the authors propose the use of the foresight tool. Such a vision for Europe could further improve future policy making to the benefit of all EU citizens. The success of foresight and stake-holders' groups for making sound decisions where best to invest tax-payers' money, was already piloted in European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation. This was achieved thanks to operating a high-level stakeholder group, the European Forum on Forward Looking Activities (EFFLA), which provided both vision and advice.

Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika), 2018

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasizes the right of everyon... more The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasizes the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food in its Rome Declaration. This article suggests how this noble FAO goal can be achieved. We suggest that a first step could be the introduction of a global meat tax, where the size of the negative externalities from meat production could be calculated based on foresight and big data. Applying the tool of a global meat tax will lead to a “double dividend” as negative externalities are reduced and at the same time huge tax revenues will be generated which could be used to make further steps in the direction of achieving the stated FAO goal in the Rome Declaration.

Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika), 2012

Recent literature and research on social capital has demonstrated the economic importance of soci... more Recent literature and research on social capital has demonstrated the economic importance of social features, such as trust and norms that facilitate cooperation. This article focuses on the role of social capital in the context of the Czech agricultural sector. Obtaining credit, sharing machinery, and proliferating information serves as examples where an awareness and reliance on the social capital of rural communities matter. By forming groups and strengthening existing networks, Czech farmers can improve their productivity, as well as their welfare. The article concludes by warning that the Czech state cannot invest directly in social capital, but should create the necessary legal and economic incentives to encourage the formation of social capital.

Europe S World the Only Europe Wide Policy Journal, 2012

Policymakers around the world are trying to solve the puzzle of feeding nine billion people by 20... more Policymakers around the world are trying to solve the puzzle of feeding nine billion people by 2050 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions along with water and land use. There is no silver bullet for this multidimensional challenge, but scientists have developed new techniques that combine conventional and genetically modified (GM) crop breeding methods, and which seem as a good and sustainable bet for maximising agricultural efficiency by the rate of 70 to 100% that is said to be needed. But given Europe’s longstanding resistance towards GM crops, as well as the legal barriers in place, can GM crops ever be used to serve humanity any time soon?

European Journal of Futures Research, 2014

A foresight hub within the Directorate General Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European C... more A foresight hub within the Directorate General Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission will support the decision-making procedures of the EU Horizon 2020 research, technology, and innovation programme. Foresight in particular is seen as an instrument defining research priorities for European society's needs in support of the 'grand societal challenges'. The new initiative marks the recent success of the institutional and administrative application of foresight and derives from a long history of approaches to foresight taken by the European Commission. In fact, the Commission has been implementing measures to both internalise and externalise foresight during various periods since the 1970s. This paper outlines the various phases and approaches of foresight at the European Commission. It contextualises the new attempt of the foresight hub that is assumed to support the next European Commission's research and innovation policies. Keywords European Commission. Horizon 2020. Administrative foresight. Good governance 1 Rand Cooperation: Using foresight to improve the science-policy relationship, Luxembourg 2006. The authors have worked in relation to foresight activities of the European Commission over time. However, the views expressed in this article are these of the authors and might not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission. The authors are grateful to Nikos Kastrinos and Rene von Schomberg for comments on this article. This article is part of the Topical Collection on The Future of Europe, guest-edited by Markus Pausch.

Journal of Microfinance/ESR Review, 2002

International trade liberalization often implies increased potentials for export production. In o... more International trade liberalization often implies increased potentials for export production. In order to invest in increasing capacity in agriculture, farmers need to have credit access. However, farmers in Central Europe and East Africa, among other places, are credit constrained, due to collateral reasons. A model illustrates the additional producer gains from having access to credit; the gains are composed of a price effect, an investment effect, and a social-capital externality. The model and empirical findings suggest that improvements of agricultural credit can be achieved by relying on existing social structures, such as farmers' social capital. The paper concludes that such externalities need to be addressed when designing optimal agricultural credit institutions. Jarka Chloupkova, a Czech citizen, is currently finishing her PhD thesis at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL) in Copenhagen.

International trade liberalisation often implies increased potentials for export production. For ... more International trade liberalisation often implies increased potentials for export production. For investing in increasing capacity in agriculture, farmers need to have credit access. However, farmers in many countries are credit constrained, e.g. due to collateral reasons, which is the case in Central Europe and East Africa, among others. A model illustrates the additional producer gains from having access to credit; the gains are composed of a price effect, an investment effect, and a social capital externality. Improvement of agricultural credit can be achieved by relying on existing social structures, such as farmers' social capital. This approach tackles the collateral issue and can furthermore entail benefits external to the investment decision. The paper concludes that these externalities need to be addressed when designing optimal agricultural credit institutions.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasizes the right of everyo... more The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasizes the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food in its “Rome Declaration”. This article suggests how this noble FAO goal can be achieved. We suggest that a first step could be the introduction of a global meat tax, where the size of the negative externalities from meat production could be calculated based on foresight and big data. Applying the tool of a global meat tax will coin a “double dividend” as negative externalities are reduced and at the same time huge tax revenues will be generated which could be used to make further steps in the direction of achieving the stated FAO goal in the “Rome Declaration”.

Agricultural Economics by Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences., 2018

This paper describes and evaluates the impact of the transition process in the agricultural secto... more This paper describes and evaluates the impact of the transition process in the agricultural sector in the Czech Republic; its objective is to analyse and clarify the outcome of transition, and the prospects of the sector.

Unit of Economics Working Papers, 2002

Influenced by the legacy of command economies, the recent agricultural cooperation in Central and... more Influenced by the legacy of command economies, the recent agricultural cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe is, compared to EU countries, marked by a different pattern. Based on simplified ownership incentive approach, this paper distinguishes between the fundamental features of communist, post-communist and democratic cooperatives. While in most Central and Eastern Europe there are more production cooperatives than marketing / supplying (secondary) cooperatives, in EU countries the ratio is reversed in favour of the secondary c ooperatives. The more common utilisation of secondary cooperatives that enable a vertical integration might be one of many reasons for more competitive agricultural sector in the EU. Based on circumstantial historical evidence, and the influence of internal and external factors, this paper identifies three common steps that form pre-requisites to a successful cooperative development. The paper closes with noting that these three steps might not be directly applicable to the CEEC situation. participants of the Øresund Seminar, May 15 th , 2002 for valuable comments on earlier versions of the paper. This working paper presents a collection of material for understanding a range of cooperative related issues and subsequently the base for paper entitled as: "Will post-communist cooperatives work?: Social capital dynamics and the performance of cooperatives". 3

Unit of Economics Working Papers, Feb 1, 2002

... sources claim that “attempts to do the same, to destroy the subsistence family farmers”, and ... more ... sources claim that “attempts to do the same, to destroy the subsistence family farmers”, and ... half of them are only part-time farmers could be viewed as a “manifestation of the ... provision of inputs, purchase and processing of agricultural products, deposit and credit activities in rural ...

Agriculture and Human Values, 2003

... by Jarka Chloupkova Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and Christian Bjørnskov * ..... more ... by Jarka Chloupkova Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and Christian Bjørnskov * ... Similarly, highly subsidised agricultural credit schemes in Poland and Romania have not solved the issue of access to credit (Swinnen et al; 2001). Page 4. 3 ...