Chapter 32 Agriculture in the macroeconomy: Theory and measurement

Macroeconomic events and policies strongly influence agricultural sector outcomes. Chapters synthesized here delineate both feed-forward and feedback linkages between agriculture and the macroeconomy, examining how relationships change as countries develop and undergo structural transformation. Historically, most aggregate work by agricultural economists follows a neo-classical paradigm, and the micro-foundations approach to macroeconomics. More microeconomic approaches and some recent aggregate efforts address institutional issues and market imperfections that lie behind alternative approaches to macroeconomics. Controversies on macroeconomic theory and data limitations have constrained the extent to which macroeconomic issues have been incorporated into agricultural economics research.