First World politicians ascribe an exceptionally high social value to the well-being of domestic farmers, apparently without being penalized by political setbacks. In the European Community (EC) , they fix domestic prices on most agricultural commodities above world market prices, sustain these...

The agricultural and food sector is an ideal case for investigating the political economy of public policies. Many of the policy developments in this sector since the 1950s have been sudden and transfirmational, while others have been gradual but persistent. This article reviews and synthesizes...

"Despite recent reforms, world agricultural markets remain highly distorted by government policies. Traditional indicators of those price distortions can be poor guides to the policies' economic effects. Recent theoretical literature provides indicators of trade and welfare-reducing effects of...