Evolution of agricultural policies in the United States and France, 1930-80; The U.S. Dairy production stabilization act of 1983; Confrontation between the United States and the European Community on International Trade of Agricultural products.

This book is the first to document the reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to analyse the political and economic factors which determined the outcome of the negotiations. The policy (non-)reform will affect the world's global food security and agricultural ...

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.

Ulrich Koester researches and teaches at the Institute for Agricultural Economics at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. He has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry for over 20 years. Moreover, he gained experience working with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington D.C. and with numerous international organizations, including the World Bank, FAO, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Auditors. His teaching experience is based on courses taught at more than ten universities in general economics and agricultural economics. Part I of the book lays the theoretical foundations for understanding price formation in product and factor markets. In addition to neoclassical theory, institutional economics is of particular importance. Part II presents and evaluates agricultural policy with special reference to the EU, whereby the evaluation framework goes beyond the usual welfare theory analysis. The book is also a valuable aid for students of economic policy, especially because of its detailed evaluation of individual agricultural market policy instruments. The book is aimed at students at universities, technical colleges as well as politicians interested in rational agricultural policy making.

This study examines the broad range of factors driving farm management decisions that can improve the environment, including drawing on the experiences of OECD countries.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the Common Agricultural Policy which imposes high costs on taxpayers and consumers yet has proved very difficult to reform. Particular emphasis is placed on new developments affecting the shape of the CAP, including the outcome of the GATT Uruguay Round negotiations, Eastern enlargement, and developments in environmental policy. A distinctive feature of the book is the attention given to situating European agriculture within its global context and in relation to the food processing and agricultural supply industries.