The efficiency of redistribution of government-provided revenue insurance programs is compared with the efficiency of the 1990 farm program. The results indicate that revenue insurance would be more efficient because it would provide subsidies when and only when revenue is low and marginal utility is high, and it works on the component of the objective function (revenue) that is of greatest relevance to producers. Simulation results indicate that a revenue insurance scheme that guarantees 75% of expected revenue to risk-averse producers could provide approximately the same level of benefits as the 1990 program, at as little as one-fourth the cost.

After all the research on agricultural risk to date, the treatment of risk in agricultural research is far from harmonious. Many competing risk models have been proposed. Some new methodologies are largely untested. Some of the leading empirical methodologies in agricultural economic research are poorly suited for problems with aggregate data where risk averse behavior is less likely to be important. This book is intended to (i) define the current state of the literature on agricultural risk research, (ii) provide a critical evaluation of economic risk research on agriculture to date and (iii) set a research agenda that will meet future needs and prospects. This type of research promises to become of increasing importance because agricultural policy in the United States and elsewhere has decidedly shifted from explicit income support objectives to risk-related motivations of helping farmers deal with risk. Beginning with the 1996 Farm Bill, the primary set of policy instruments from U.S. agriculture has shifted from target prices and set aside acreage to agricultural crop insurance. Because this book is intended to have specific implications for U.S. agricultural policy, it has a decidedly domestic scope, but clearly many of the issues have application abroad. For each of the papers and topics included in this volume, individuals have been selected to give the strongest and broadest possible treatment of each facet of the problem. The result is this comprehensive reference book on the economics of agricultural risk.

Risk Management and the Environment: Agriculture in Perspective is a modern academic work that seeks to bring out both to the private and the policy sectors the importance of risk management in relation to the envi ronment in agriculture, as the world moves towards freer markets. Many efforts were pooled together in making this book. Three years ago, an attempt was made by one of the editors to get a project on 'Agri cultural Risk Management and Sustainabilty' (ARMAS) funded by the European Commission. Probably deeming the proposal as prematurely novel for Europe, the Commission's screening experts abandoned its evaluation. Following that experience it became apparent that the literature on the theme ought to be strengthened and emphasized through a book by a well known publishing house. The editorial team was formed relatively quickly and an invitation to known experts in the field for contributions was issued. Subsequently, Kluwer Academic Publishers, evaluated an edited volume proposal package, and final revisions were made prior to submitting the entire manuscript for publication. We are gratefully acknowledging the moral support of several individu als as well as the patience of our publishers.

This book on the economics of livestock disease insurance is organized into three major parts. Following an introduction (chapters 1-2), part II (chapters 3-8) includes a variety of discussions about what is known about how to build a livestock insurance programme. It begins with a look at the conceptual basis for government involvement in the management of livestock diseases, including prevention, control, regulation and eradication. This discussion is picked up by looking at incentive compatibility and insurability conditions in the private sector, emphasizing how livestock disease management is unique. Compensation is also examined, including what losses should be compensated, choosing a method to value the losses, determining the portion of losses to compensate, and outlining a potential role for insurance. Finally, the complexity of the risks at the farm level is demonstrated using a model that evaluates revenue insurance. Part III (chapters 9-20) offers a diverse discussion about disease management issues and programmes in Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA. These chapters include more discussion about how to build economically sound insurance programmes, and observations are based on modelling or observing case studies. The book has a subject index.