The key issues on the negotiation table in the agriculture sector are the elimination of export subsidies, a progressive reduction of tariffs and reduction in domestic support. However, it is observed that trade liberalization often involves moving from one set of distortions to another rather...

This study analyzed the cost to U.S. cotton producers of two policy alternatives under which the U.S. seeks to cut its total AMS payments for cotton by 60%. We considered two scenarios; the U.S. decides to act unilaterally versus conducting the policy initiative along with multilateral tariff...

Using primary data of 3,327 Chinese farmers and their villages collected through a survey in 2010, this study identifies the factors that affect farmers’ decision to raise hogs and the factors that determine the hog farmers’ production scale and discusses the likely future of small-scale hog...

This study analyzes the implications of increasing population density in Kenya’s rural areas on smallholder production and commercialization. Using data from five panel surveys on 1,146 small-scale farms over the 1997-2010 period, we use econometric techniques to determine how increasing rural...

The current study explores the role of economic integration in catalyzing structural change. Specifically, it addresses the question of how reductions in transportation costs affect patterns of production specialization over time. Drawing upon the New Economic Geography literature (Krugman, 1991;...

The potential of agricultural biotechnology to produce seed traits that reduce yield risk generates widespread excitement. Hopes are high that in an era of tightening water constraints and climate change drought tolerant (DT) crop varieties will stabilize food production and allow for greater...