The Area of Farms and their Influence on Generating Negative Externalities
Purpose: The aim of the research is to identify and assess the negative external effects of agricultural activity and determine whether their level is dependent on the size of farms, agricultural area expressed, in spatial terms in Poland. Design/Methodology/Approach: The time range of the collected research material covered the years 2008-2015. A synthetic measure of the assessment was used, which enabled ranking the studied regions in terms of the indicator of agri-environmental externalities. In order to verify the accepted hypothesis, an econometric model explaining the relationship between the emerging environmental effects and the surface of farms is proposed. The collected empirical material aggregated in the panel form is used to build the model. Findings: The results indicate significant differences in the generation of negative environmental effects between regions in Poland. It is also found that there is a relationship between the size of agricultural area on farms and the level of negative agri-environmental externalities. Practical Implications: The results obtained may be used for development of the agricultural policy, aimed at agricultural companies, depending on their size, expressed as the area of arable land. Originality/Value: The results are original due to the possibility of being used in any country (region). They enable identification of environmental threats caused by agricultural production, depending on farm agricultural enterprise size. They may be used for development of prospective scenarios for agricultural policy.