Agricultural Policies in Developed Countries: A Review*

Abstract

The article attempts to survey the recent contributions by economists to the analysis of agricultural policies in developed countries, and to take stock of the state of our knowledge of the extent to which these policies have been successful. It is restricted to readily available contributions in the English language and concentrates on the evaluation of price and factor market policies. A broad consensus has emerged, based on a neoclassical analysis of the performance of a competitive industry, as to the nature of the problems of the agricultural industry. This consensus is preserved in the interpretation of the implications of government intervention, and the difficulties that emerge when policies are designed which attempt to alter long run resource returns. Economists have employed a variety of approaches to policy analysis, depending in part on the weight that they give to institutional factors. The economic tools which have been used in policy analysis have demonstrated the need to specify the aims of policy or the underlying social criteria, and generalisations as to the relative efficiency of alternative instruments are not easy to find. An examination of the interaction among general economic and specifically agricultural policies identifies a number of areas where there is insufficient evidence and points to a change in the emphasis which a period of inflation has brought about. Résumé POLITIQUES AGRICOLES DANS LES PAYS DÉVELOPPÉS: UN TABLEAU Cet article entend dormer un aperçu d'ensemble des travaux récents des économistes portant sur l'analyse des politiques agricoles dans les pays développés et faire le point de l'état des connaissances actuelles sur la mesure du succès de ces politiques. Il se limite aux études aisément disponibles en lanque anglaise et se concentre sur l'évaluation des politiques afférentes aux prix et au marché des facteurs. Un consensus général est apparu, qui repose sur une analyse néoclassique des résultats d'une industrie compétitive, quant à la nature des problèmes de l'industrie agricole. Ce consensus reste invariable dans l'interprétation des conséquences de l'intervention gouvernementale et des difficultés qui apparaissent lorsque des politiques sont définies qui cherchent à modifier le rendement des ressources à long terme. Pour l'analyse des politiques, les économistes employent des méthodes variées, dépendant en partie du poids qu'ils attachent aux facteurs institutionnels. Les outils économiques utilisés dans l'analyse des politiques ont démontré le besoin de spécifier les objectifs de politique ou les critères sociaux sousjacents, et les généralisations quant à l'efficacité relative des instruments alternatifs ne sont pas faciles à trouver. Un examen de l'action réciproque entre des politiques économiques générales et spécifiquement agricoles permet de cerner plusieurs domaines où les preuves sont insuffisantes et met en lumière une variation dans l'accent principal suscitée par une période inflationniste. Zusammenfassung DIE AGRARPOLITIK IN ENTWICKELTEN LÄNDERN: EINE...

The International Grain Trade

“…In the developed market economies, high consumer prices have been utilized as a means of effecting income transfers to domestic producers and attaining a substantial degree of price stability for both groups (Johnson, 1973;Josling, 1974). The variable levy is particularly well-suited to the stability objective in this circumstance, since world price fluctuations result only in fluctuations in tariff revenues.…”

“…While the patterns of trade are readily observable and well understood, the same cannot be said of the economic forces that are responsible for those patterns. As Johnson (1973), Josling (1974) and others have observed, international trade and policy can be no more than an extension of production and consumption policy at the domestic level, a connection that is frequently forgotten or misrepresented in the shrillness of political debate. This survey of the international grain market focuses on these relationships.…”

Costly (Dis)Agreement: Optimal Intervention, Income Redistribution, and Transfer Efficiency of Output Quotas in the Presence of Cheating

“…The pce STC is equivalent to the STC proposed in the traditional analysis of this policy instrument (Gardner, 1983;Josling, 1974). Point E in Figure 2 corresponds to the competitive output; the point of nonintervention.…”

Australian Agriculture and World Commodity Trading Arrangements

“…Agricultural trade has long been thought of as in some way 'special' (Corbet 1973;Josling 1974;and Johnson 1974); for some, this required it to be handled as consisting of substantially different issues, with largely distinct rules. Its 'special' nature was seen by others rather as involving greater complexity and thus needing more time and effort -with often an implicit understanding that the international community would deal with agricultural trade effectively once it had satisfactorily liberalised industrial tariffs.…”