The political economy of reforming agricultural support policies
Title | The political economy of reforming agricultural support policies PDF eBook |
Author | Vos, Rob |
Publisher | Intl Food Policy Res Inst |
Pages | 45 |
Release | 2023-01-27 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN |
Agricultural support policies cost more than US$800 billion per year in transfers to the farm sector worldwide. Support policies based on subsidies and trade barriers are highly distortive to markets and are also regressive as most support is provided to larger farmers. On balance, the incentives this support creates appear to increase greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. In addition, some subsidies undermine the production of more nutrient-dense commodities that are otherwise critical for the improvement of dietary outcomes. This paper first highlights that better outcomes could be achieved if even a small portion of agricultural subsidies were repurposed into investments in research and development (R&D) dedicated to productivity-enhancing and emission-reducing technologies. This would create multiple wins — mitigating global climate change, reducing poverty, increasing food security, and improving nutrition. Nonetheless, the political economy challenges to doing so are sizeable. Because current support policies are often politically popular and serve well-organized interests, reform is difficult without committed political leadership and multilateral collaboration. Using several case studies of both successful and failed changes of agricultural support policies in China, India, and the EU and the United States, we highlight lessons learned about the political economy constraints on and possibilities for reform.
The Political Economy of Reforming Agricultural Support Policies
Title | The Political Economy of Reforming Agricultural Support Policies PDF eBook |
Author | Rob Vos |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2022 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies
Title | The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies PDF eBook |
Author | Johan Swinnen |
Publisher | Springer |
Pages | 264 |
Release | 2018-05-24 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1137501022 |
Winner of the European Association of Agricultural Economists Book Award Food and agriculture have been subject to heavy-handed government interventions throughout much of history and across the globe, both in developing and in developed countries. Today, more than half a trillion US dollars are spent by some governments to support farmers, while other governments impose regulations and taxes that hurt farmers. Some policies, such as price regulations and tariffs, distribute income but reduce total welfare by introducing economic distortions. Other policies, such as public investments in research, food standards, or land reforms, may increase total welfare, but these policies come also with distributional effects. These distributional effects influence the preferences of interest groups and in turn influence policy decisions. Political considerations are therefore crucial to understand how agricultural and food policies are determined, to identify the constraints within which welfare-enhancing reforms are possible (or not), and finally to understand how coalitions can be created to stimulate growth and reduce poverty.
Reforming agricultural support for improved environmental outcomes
Title | Reforming agricultural support for improved environmental outcomes PDF eBook |
Author | Mamun, Abdullah |
Publisher | Intl Food Policy Res Inst |
Pages | 56 |
Release | 2019-12-18 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN |
Agricultural support has changed substantially in both rich and poor countries in recent years. In rich countries, there has been a strong move to decoupled subsidies and a fall in average rates of protection. In developing countries, market price support remains the dominant form of protection and average rates of support have risen—breaking the traditional pattern of taxing agriculture. Emissions from agriculture and land use change have contributed up to a third of total greenhouse gas emissions, with beef, milk and rice production accounting for more than 80 percent of agricultural emissions. Agricultural support was biased against emission-intensive goods until recent years and is now only slightly biased towards them. Although emission intensities are relatively higher in the developing countries, they have fallen far more rapidly in developing countries than in the rich countries in the past quarter-century, as agricultural productivity has grown in developing countries. Policy reform will be challenging given the strong political-economy support for the current structure of protection. Increasing investments in research and development to raise productivity and lower the emissions intensity of agricultural output would help agriculture and the environment.
The Perfect Storm
Title | The Perfect Storm PDF eBook |
Author | Johan F. M. Swinnen |
Publisher | CEPS |
Pages | 192 |
Release | 2008 |
Genre | Agriculture and state |
ISBN | 9290797665 |
Policy Reform in American Agriculture
Title | Policy Reform in American Agriculture PDF eBook |
Author | David Orden |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Pages | 300 |
Release | 1999-10 |
Genre | Art |
ISBN | 9780226632643 |
Students of public policy and practitioners within the farm program arena will find theis book an essential source of insight, information, and original cross-disciplinary argument."--BOOK JACKET.
The Political Economy of International Agricultural Policy Reform
Title | The Political Economy of International Agricultural Policy Reform PDF eBook |
Author | Geoff Miller |
Publisher | |
Pages | 152 |
Release | 1987 |
Genre | Agricultural price supports |
ISBN |