The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies [electronic resource] /
Swinnen, Johan.author.
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. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Introduction -- 2. Political Coalitions in Agricultural and Food Policies -- 3. Factors Influencing Policy Choices -- 4. The Development Paradox -- 5. Anti-trade Bias and the Political Economy of Instrument Choice -- 6. Development Paradox and Anti-trade Bias Revisited? -- 7. Policy Reforms in History: Europe, the United States, and China -- 8. Price Volatility -- 9. Crises and Development Policies -- 10. Food Standards -- 11. Public Investment in Agricultural Research -- 12. Land and Institutional Reforms -- 13. Policy Interactions. .
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. .
Industrial organization.
Economic policy.
Political economy.
Industries.
International economics.
Comparative politics.
Industrial Organization.
Economic Policy.
International Political Economy.
Industries.
International Economics.
Comparative Politics.