Extension of factual and analytical work to policy issues has been a feature of agricultural economics from its beginnings, but only in recent decades have these efforts become part of the scientific core of what agricultural economists do. At the same time, the range of policy analysis has...

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Technology -- 3. Farms -- 4. Farm Communities -- 5. Markets -- 6. Government I: Public Investment and Regulation -- 7. Government II: Commodity and Trade Policy -- 8. Explanations -- 9. Regions and States -- 10. Counties -- 11. Findings and...

Volume 2B. Part 5: Agricultural and Food Policy. The incidence of agricultural policy (J.M. Alston, J.S. James). Information, incentives, and the design of agricultural policies (R.G. Chambers). Market failures and second-best analysis, with a focus on nutrition, credit, and incomplete markets...