Centre d'économie et de sociologie appliquées à l'agriculture et aux espaces ruraux

This chapter expounds the main principles behind blockchain technology and some of its cutting-edge applications. We first present the core concepts of the blockchain. Secondly, we discuss a definition put forward by Vitalik Buterin, we sketch out the shift toward hybrid solutions, and we sum up the main features of decentralized crypto-ledger platforms. Thirdly, we show why the blockchain is a disruptive and foundational technology, but we expose the potential risks and drawbacks of public distributed ledgers that account for the shift toward hybrid solutions. Finally, we present a non-exhaustive list of important applications, bearing in mind the most recent developments.

Development of biological control for plant diseases is accepted as a durable and environmentally friendly alternative for agrochemicals. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which form symbiotic associations with root systems of most agricultural, horticultural and hardwood crop species, have been suggested as widespread potential bioprotective agents. In the present study the ability of two AMF (Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices) to induce local or systemic resistance to Phytophthora parasitica in tomato roots have been compared using a split root experimental system. Glomus mosseae was effective in reducing disease symptoms produced by P. parasitica infection, and evidence points to a combination of local and systemic mechanisms being responsible for this bioprotector effect. The biochemical analysis of different plant defence-related enzymes showed a local induction of mycorrhiza-related new isoforms of the hydrolytic enzymes chitinase, chitosanase and beta-1,3-glucanase, as well as superoxide dismutase, an enzyme which is involved in cell protection against oxidative stress. Systemic alterations of the activity of some of the constitutive isoforms were also observed in non-mycorrhizal roots of mycorrhizal plants. Studies on the lytic activity against Phytophthora cell wall of root protein extracts also corroborated a systemic effect of mycorrhizal symbiosis on tomato resistance to Phytophthora.

The production and distribution of food are among the hot topics debated in the context of sustainable development. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are now widely believed to be more sustainable in comparison to mass food delivery systems. To date, very little quantitative evidence exists on the impacts of various types of food supply chains. Using a cross-sectional quantitative approach, this study assesses the sustainability of distribution channels in short and long food supply chains based on 208 food producers across seven countries: France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Ten distribution channel types are used in this study. To provide a comprehensive sustainability assessment, a set of economic, social, and environmental indicators are applied. Indicators commonly used in the literature are used, supported by original indicators constructed specifically for the present study. In total, 486 chains are examined and the study confirms that individual producers participate simultaneously in several, short and long chains. Participation in SFSCs is beneficial for producers from an economic perspective. SFSCs allow producers to capture a large proportion of margin otherwise absorbed by different intermediaries. It appears, however, that ’longer’ supply channels generate lower environmental impacts per unit of production when measured in terms of food miles and carbon footprint. Finally, ambiguous results are found regarding social dimension, with significant differences across types of chains.

Le climat est un élément important de la vie des territoires car il conditionne le comportement et les décisions des individus et des groupes sociaux comme celui de l’ensemble des espèces vivantes et des écosystèmes. A ce titre, la différenciation de l’espace selon les climats et les aptitudes qui en résultent est un domaine qui mérite d’être réinvesti par la recherche en mettant à profit des moyens de traitement modernes de l’information. Avec cet objectif en vue, les auteurs proposent une approche spatiale de définition des climats. Partant des mesures stationnelles de précipitation et de température mises à disposition par Météo-France, un jeu de 14 variables intégrant une série temporelle de 30 ans (1971-2000) est défini pour caractériser les climats et leurs modalités distinctives de variation. Une méthode originale dite d’interpolation locale permet de reconstituer les champs spatiaux continus des variables en question et de les exprimer sous forme de couches d’information gérables par SIG. Ces données sont ensuite soumises à un traitement associant analyse factorielle des correspondances et classification hiérarchique ascendante pour en obtenir une typologie où huit climats sont identifiés et cartographiés sur le territoire métropolitain. Un traitement complémentaire faisant appel aux probabilités permet de restituer l’espace de distribution potentielle de chacun des types et de nuancer la partition stricte tirée de la classification. Une synthèse met en perspective les résultats obtenus pour les réinterpréter dans un schéma général de compréhension du climat. Deux annexes permettent de télécharger les bases cartographiques et les données associées à cet article.

This article provides an ex post analysis of the compliance of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol during the first commitment period (2008–2012) based on the final data for national GHG emissions and exchanges in carbon units that became available at the end of 2015. On the domestic level, among the 36 countries that fully participated in the Kyoto Protocol, only nine countries emitted higher levels of GHGs than committed and therefore had to resort to flexibility mechanisms. On the international level – i.e. after the use of flexibility mechanisms – all Annex B Parties are in compliance. Countries implemented different compliance strategies: purchasing carbon units abroad, stimulating the domestic use of carbon credits by the private sector and incentivizing domestic emission reductions through climate policies.Overall, the countries party to the Protocol surpassed their aggregate commitment by an average 2.4 GtCO2e yr–1. Of the possible explanations for this overachievement, ‘hot-air’ was estimated at 2.2 GtCO2e yr–1, while accounting rules for land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) further removed 0.4 GtCO2e yr–1 from the net result excluding LULUCF. The hypothetical participation of the US and Canada would have reduced this overachievement by a net 1 GtCO2e yr–1. None of these factors – some of which may be deemed illegitimate – would therefore on its own have led to global non-compliance, even without use of the 0.3 GtCO2e of annual emissions reductions generated by the Clean Development Mechanism. The impact of domestic policies and ‘carbon leakage’ – neither of which is quantitatively assessed here – should not be neglected either.Policy relevanceGiven the ongoing evolution of the international climate regime and the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, we believe that there is a need to evaluate the results of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. To our knowledge there has been no overarching quantitative ex post assessment of the Kyoto Protocol based on the final emissions data for 2008–2012, which became available in late 2015. This article attempts to fill this gap, focusing on the domestic and international compliance of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in the first commitment period.

<titre>R&#233;sum&#233;</titre>D&#233;ployant une petite histoire des usages de la notion d&#8217;identit&#233;, ce texte souligne la polys&#233;mie du terme entre sens essentialiste et constructiviste. M&#234;me compris sous le mode constructiviste, le terme se limite g&#233;n&#233;ralement &#224; une analyse des discours, conduisant &#224; une perception tr&#232;s plastique des mondes sociaux. R&#233;introduisant les structures et institutions sociales dans l&#8217;analyse, le texte sugg&#232;re de s&#233;rier les ph&#233;nom&#232;nes sociaux que le terme identit&#233; agr&#232;ge dans son ind&#233;termination pr&#233;f&#233;rant parler d&#8217;identification (cat&#233;gorisation administrative), d&#8217;images sociales (cat&#233;gorisation des repr&#233;sentants) et d&#8217;appartenance (socialisation individuelle).

This empirical application investigates the eventual presence of credit constraints using a panel of French farmers. The credit‐constrained profit maximization model proposed by Färe, Grosskopf, and Lee is extended in three ways. First, we rephrase the model in terms of directional distance functions to allow duality with the profit function. Second, we model credit constraints in the short‐run and investment constraints in the long‐run using short‐ and long‐run profit functions. Third, we lag the expenditure constraint one year to account for the separation between planning and production. We find empirical evidence of credit and investment constraints. Financially unconstrained farmers are larger, perform better, and seem to benefit from a virtuous circle where access to financial markets allows better productive choices.

The present food system faces major challenges in terms of sustainable development along social, economic and environmental dimensions. These challenges are often associated with industrialised production processes and longer and less transparent distribution chains. Thus, closer distribution systems through Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) may be considered as a sustainable alternative. This study explores the role of different types of SFSCs and their contribution to sustainability through participants’ (consumers, retailers and producers) views and perceptions. As part of the European H2020 project “Strength2Food” we conducted a cross-case analysis and examined 12 European SFSC cases from six countries: France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland and the UK. We applied a mixed method approach including primary data collection, via in-depth interviews and customer surveys, as well as desk research. The findings suggest that, irrespective of the type of SFSC, a strong agreement among the participants were found on the contribution of SFSCs to social sustainability. However, participants’ views considerably differ regarding the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. These differences relate to the way the SFSCs were organised and to some degrees to regional differences attributed to the significance of SFSC in different parts of Europe. The article concludes that the spatial heterogeneity of SFSCs, including supply chain actor differences, different types and organisational forms of SFSCs as well as regional and territorial characteristics, must be taken into account and further emphasised in future policies aimed at strengthening European food chain sustainability.

Since the first report on the flow cytometric study of plant material 35 years ago, analyzing the nuclear DNA content of field bean, an ever increasing number of applications of FCM has been developed and applied in plant science and industry, but a similar length of time elapsed before the appearance of the first complete volume devoted to FCM of plant cells. Most published information on the uses of FCM addresses various aspects of animal (including human) cell biology, thus failing to provide a pertinent substitute. FCM represents an ideal means for the analysis of both cells and subcellular particles, with a potentially large number of parameters analyzed both rapidly, simultaneously, and quantitatively, thereby furnishing statistically exploitable data and allowing for an accurate and facilitated detection of subpopulations. It is, indeed, the summation of these facts that has established FCM as an important, and sometimes essential, tool for the understanding of fundamental mechanisms and processes underlying plant growth, development, and function. In this review, special attention is paid to FCM as applied to plant cells in the context of plant breeding, and some new and less well-known uses of it for plants will be discussed.

We used the combination of preparative electrophoresis and immunological detection to isolate two new proteins from the shell calcitic prisms of Pinna nobilis, the Mediterranean fan mussel. The amino acid composition of these proteins was determined. Both proteins are soluble, intracrystalline, and acidic. The 38-kDa protein is glycosylated; the 17-kDa one is not. Ala, Asx, Thr, and Pro represent the dominant residues of the 38-kDa protein, named calprismin. An N-terminal sequence was obtained from calprismin. This sequence, which comprises a pattern of 4 cysteine residues, is not related to any known protein. The second protein, named caspartin, exhibits an unusual amino acid composition, since Asx constitutes by far the main amino acid residue. Preliminary sequencing surprisingly suggests that the first 75 N-terminal residues are all Asp. Caspartin self-aggregates spontaneously into multimers. In vitro tests show that it inhibits the precipitation of calcium carbonate. Furthermore, it strongly interferes with the growth of calcite crystals. A polyclonal antiserum raised against caspartin was used to localize this protein in the shell by immunogold. The immunolocalization demonstrates that caspartin is distributed within the prisms and makes a continuous film at the interface between the prisms and the surrounding insoluble sheets. Our finding emphasizes the prominent role of aspartic acid-rich proteins for the building of calcitic prisms among molluscs.

The aim of this article is to assess the impact of obstacles to innovation on firms’\npropensity to innovate. We show that distinguishing between firms that do not\ninnovate because they do not intend to and firms that try but fail or give up\nbecause of insurmountable obstacles is key for properly measuring the impact\nof the barriers to innovation. Estimating an innovation production function on\nappropriately defined subsamples allows obtaining consistent results, i.e. a significant\nand negative impact of the obstacles to innovation on firms’ propensity to\ninnovate. These results are robust to the definition of these subsamples, to the way\n“obstacles to innovation” are defined, as well as to the distinction between financial\nand nonfinancial obstacles.

Qui sont ces hommes et ces femmes qui continuent d’habiter dans les campagnes en déclin ? Certains y fantasment le « vrai » peuple de la « France oubliée », d’autres y projettent leur dégoût des prétendus « beaufs » racistes et ignorants. Mais « ceux qui restent » se préoccupent peu de ces clichés éculés. Comment vit-on réellement dans des zones dont on ne parle d’ordinaire que pour leur vote Rassemblement national ou, plus récemment, à l’occasion du mouvement des Gilets jaunes ? Parmi les nouvelles générations, ils sont nombreux à rejoindre les villes pour les études, puis il y a ceux qui restent, souvent parce qu’ils n’ont pas les ressources nécessaires pour partir. Ceux-là tiennent néanmoins à ce mode de vie rural et populaire dans lequel « tout le monde se connaît » et où ils peuvent être socialement reconnus. Comment perçoivent-ils alors la société qui les entoure ? À qui se sentent-ils opposés ou alliés ? À partir d’une enquête immersive de plusieurs années dans la région Grand-Est, Benoît Coquard plonge dans la vie quotidienne de jeunes femmes et hommes ouvriers, employés, chômeurs qui font la part belle à l’amitié et au travail, et qui accordent une importance particulière à l’entretien d’une « bonne réputation ». À rebours des idées reçues, ce livre montre comment, malgré la lente disparition des services publics, des usines, des associations et des cafés, malgré le chômage qui sévit, des consciences collectives persistent, mais sous des formes fragilisées et conflictuelles. L’enquête de Benoît Coquard en restitue la complexité.

Eighteen reconstituted wine samples were prepared by mixing nonvolatile and volatile fractions obtained from six different wines, two whites and four reds, with different characteristics, in an approach that makes it possible to have the same aroma composition in different nonvolatile matrices and vice versa. The aroma elicited by those reconstituted samples was described by a specifically trained sensory panel. Additional gas chromatography-olfactometric and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric studies were carried out to measure differences in aroma release. Results have shown that the nonvolatile matrix of wine exerts a powerful effect on the perception of aroma, strong enough even to make a white wine aroma to smell as a red wine (increasing red, black, and dry fruit notes in detriment of white, yellow, citrus, and tropical) and vice versa and also to create differences in the aroma of reds. It has also been confirmed that the wine nonvolatile matrix exerts a powerful influence on the release of odorants. In particular, headspaces above a white wine matrix are richer in fruity esters and volatile fatty acids. Red wine nonvolatile matrices seem also to retain strongly 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, hence reducing its sensory impact. Comparison of red wine nonvolatile matrices reveals that differences in the retention power of the matrix can affect differentially the pattern of release of linear and branched esters and also of acids.

Abstract\n This paper aims at giving empirical content to the notion of social capital for regional development issues. It first provides a typology of both positive and negative influences of sociological factors on economic performance, and a set of available social capital indicators. Second, using the results of four case studies, the relevance of these indicators is assessed. Third, it presents an econometric study on the role of social capital on economic development. The results show that both local cohesion (?bonding?) and external social links (?bridging?) are important in order to define social capital and explain performance.

Background and Aims: Little is known about the distinguishing role of variety on the sensory space of commercial white monovarietal Spanish wines. The major aims of the present research were to define the sensory space of these wines and to assess the actual influence of grape variety by means of a two-step sensory methodology. Methods and Results: Similarity between wines was first studied by a sorting task followed by multidimensional scaling analysis. Then, sensory descriptive analysis (DA) based on citation frequencies was performed on individual products. Descriptive data were analysed by correspondence analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc were the only varietals similarly perceived and described by the panel, being tropical fruit as their major descriptor. No clear grouping on the basis of grape variety was observed for the rest of the products, which were clustered into three different groups. The first group contained wines with fruity (white fruit), spicy and floral properties, but the two others contained wines defined with untypical and unfavourable descriptors (vegetal, leather, animal, undergrowth). Conclusions: Sorting task coupled with DA based on citation frequencies is a suitable tool to classify samples and finely describe wine aroma. Leaving aside Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, grape variety is not a major factor in defining the aroma properties of Spanish commercial wines; some of which develop some unfavourable descriptors. Significance of the Study: The role of neutral varietals to increase the diversity of the sensory space of wines should be revisited.

In contrast to the linear “take-make-dispose” model of resource consumption, a new industrial model is proposed in the form of a circular economy. This model aims to optimize the use of resources and to reduce or eliminate waste, and is based on re-use, repair, ecodesign, industrial ecology, sustainable supply and responsible consumption. Industrial ecology and short supply chains can contribute – particularly on a territorial scale – to the emergence of a real sustainable development. This book develops these concepts and presents experiments that are taking place in France and other countries, in addition to an integrated model which details the mechanisms through which industrial ecology and short supply chains can generate economic, social and environmental profits. The possible issues and obstacles facing these new practices are also analyzed, in order to develop the outline of an adapted management and governance which will enable them to be fully realized.

Abstract. Since 70 % of global forests are managed and forests impact the global carbon cycle and the energy exchange with the overlying atmosphere, forest management has the potential to mitigate climate change. Yet, none of the land-surface models used in Earth system models, and therefore none of today's predictions of future climate, accounts for the interactions between climate and forest management. We addressed this gap in modelling capability by developing and parametrising a version of the ORCHIDEE land-surface model to simulate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of forest management. The most significant changes between the new branch called ORCHIDEE-CAN (SVN r2290) and the trunk version of ORCHIDEE (SVN r2243) are the allometric-based allocation of carbon to leaf, root, wood, fruit and reserve pools; the transmittance, absorbance and reflectance of radiation within the canopy; and the vertical discretisation of the energy budget calculations. In addition, conceptual changes were introduced towards a better process representation for the interaction of radiation with snow, the hydraulic architecture of plants, the representation of forest management and a numerical solution for the photosynthesis formalism of Farquhar, von Caemmerer and Berry. For consistency reasons, these changes were extensively linked throughout the code. Parametrisation was revisited after introducing 12 new parameter sets that represent specific tree species or genera rather than a group of often distantly related or even unrelated species, as is the case in widely used plant functional types. Performance of the new model was compared against the trunk and validated against independent spatially explicit data for basal area, tree height, canopy structure, gross primary production (GPP), albedo and evapotranspiration over Europe. For all tested variables, ORCHIDEE-CAN outperformed the trunk regarding its ability to reproduce large-scale spatial patterns as well as their inter-annual variability over Europe. Depending on the data stream, ORCHIDEE-CAN had a 67 to 92 % chance to reproduce the spatial and temporal variability of the validation data.

This article evaluates whether Airbnb rentals affect the rents in the private rental sector in eight cities in France. We estimate a hedonic equation for each city on individual data for apartments, allowing for heteroscedasticity and spatial error autocorrelation of unknown forms and using a large variety of structural and contextual characteristics of the apartments. We show that the density of Airbnb rentals puts upward pressure on rents in Lyon, Montpellier, and Paris, whereas it has no significant effect in other cities. If we restrict the analysis to the professional business of Airbnb rentals, which we define as the lodgings owned by an investor who rents either several “entire home” dwellings (regardless of the number of days) or an “entire home” dwelling for more than 120 days a year, we find a greater effect, which concerns only the two largest cities of France, that is, Marseille and Paris. When we focus on new tenancy agreements, the impact is even higher and concerns Paris, Marseille, and Montpellier. The impact of the Airbnb activity on rents is shown to increase with the proportion of owner-occupiers and decrease with hotel density, both in Montpellier and Paris. However, the share of second homes leads to contrasting effects.

This article investigates the Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKC) for CO2 emissions in a panel of 109 countries during the period 1959 to 2001. The length of the series makes the application of a heterogeneous estimator suitable from an econometric point of view. The results, based on the hierarchical Bayes estimator, show that different EKC dynamics are associated with the different sub-samples of countries considered. On average, more industrialized countries show evidence of EKC in quadratic specifications, which nevertheless are probably evolving into an N-shape based on their cubic specification. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the EU, and not the Umbrella Group led by US, has been driving currently observed EKC-like shapes. The latter is associated to monotonic income–CO2 dynamics. The EU shows a clear EKC shape. Evidence for less-developed countries consistently shows that CO2 emissions rise positively with income, though there are some signs of an EKC. Analyses of future performance, nevertheless, favour quadratic specifications, thus supporting EKC evidence for wealthier countries and non-EKC shapes for industrializing regions.

ABSTRACT Productivity analysis has been an important avenue for economic research. Therefore, medleys of quantitative techniques have been proposed to operationalize productivity analysis. In this article, an extended by‐production model is discussed and applied to ensure a link between the production and the pollution‐generating subtechnologies. The corresponding dual formulations are provided to interpret the economic role of pollution‐generating inputs in the subtechnologies. Finally, we integrate the proposed model with the environmental Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indicator based upon input and output directional distance functions. The proposed model is applied to measure the green economic growth of agricultural sectors of the selected European countries.