THE ROLE OF ECONOMISTS IN FORMULATING AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN THE 1950s

The paper forms part of a larger study into the development of agricultural economics in Australia and the influence of economists in agricultural policy formulation. This particular paper focuses on the 1950s and 1960s, a period of rapid growth in Australian agricultural economics. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics was building up an excellent reputation as an independent research agency within government and, together with other agricultural economic research organisations, significant research projects were undertaken. The profession further gained stature at this time, when it became institutionalised within the universities, when the professional society was formed and the first issue of the Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics was published. Particular economists who were involved in the formulation of Australian agricultural policy at this time, are identified in this paper and their influence on policy formulation assessed. Australian agricultural policy is put into world context with some consideration being given to agricultural policy in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.