A Billion Dollars a Day: The Economics and Politics of Agricultural Subsidies

A Billion Dollars a Day: The Economics and Politics of Agricultural Subsidies

In a lively, non-technical, and up-to-date account, this book addresses the core questions that surround the issues of agricultural subsidies.
• Explores these questions: Why do we have subsidies? How did they evolve? What is the present and possible future of subsidies? What is their impact on a typical African farmer?
• Written for the general public, this book will also be useful for courses in Agricultural Policy
• Provides a detailed examination of subsidy histories and the current policies of the United States, various European countries, Australia and New Zealand, and Korea and Japan
• Includes a discussion of how these policies affect developing countries—examining, in particular, their impact on many African farmers

Contents

List of Tables and Figures.
Preface.
List of Abbreviations.
Prologue.
Chapter 1: Introduction: The Problem of Agricultural Subsidies.
Benin.
Western Agricultural Subsidies.
Organization of the Book.
Chapter 2: The Economics of Government Intervention.
Introduction.
The Invisible Hand.
Market Failures.
Violation of the Basic Conditions: Imperfect Competition, Information and Risk.
Public Goods and Externalities.
Income Distribution, Poverty and Inequality.
Conclusion.
Appendix 2-1: The Theory of the Invisible Hand.
Appendix 2-2: The Prisoners’ Dilemma.
Chapter 3: The Structure of the World Food System.
Introduction.
Historical Perspectives.
The World Food System.
Agribusiness, Government and Science.
Conclusion.
Appendix 3-1: Country and Commodity Classifications used in Statistical Tables.
Chapter 4: Global Institutions and the World Trade Organization.
Introduction.
The World Trade Organization.
Agriculture in the WTO.
Trade and Development.
Appendix 4-1: Comparative Advantage.
Chapter 5: The Nature and Scope of Agricultural Subsidies in High-Income Countries.
Introduction.
Agricultural Policy Objectives and Tools.
Agricultural Subsidies in OECD Countries.
Effects of OECD Agricultural Subsidies.
Conclusion.
Chapter 6: U.S. Agricultural Policy: How Not to Save the Family Farm.
Introduction.
Historical Overview of U.S. Farm Policy.
The Impacts of U.S. Farm Subsidies.
The Politics of U.S. Agricultural Policy.
Appendix 6-1: ERS Farm Typology.
Chapter 7: Agricultural Policy in the European Union: Europe’s Sacred Cows.
Introduction.
Agricultural Policy in the European Union.
The Impact of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Appendix 7-1: Green Currencies and the Re-Nationalization of the CAP.
Chapter 8: Agricultural Policy on the Pacific Rim: Non-Trade Concerns Versus Comparative Advantage.
Introduction.
Japan and Korea.
Australia and New Zealand.
Conclusion.
Chapter 9: Agricultural Policy in Developing Countries: Cheap Food.
Introduction.
The Developing World.
Agricultural Policy in Developing Countries.
The Impacts of Agricultural and Trade Policy Reforms.
Conclusion.
Appendix 9-1: Country Lists.
Chapter 10: Conclusion: Whither Agricultural Policy?.
References.
Index