Most types of agricultural insurance in Italy is managed by Consorsi di Difesa (CdD). These are farm cooperatives providing several services to their members. This paper estimates the benefits that are generated for farmers by the following three services: collective bargaining with insurance...

Direct payments are the main instrument of support to farm incomes in the European Union. After their decoupling from production, the redistributive goal has become a major political justification for maintaining this support tool. This paper analyzes the role of direct payments in the formation...