Agricultural insurance, defined here to include crop and livestock insurance, is an instrument of choice in many countries for helping farmers and rural communities cope with risk. This paper explores the reasons why governments and donors subsidize agricultural insurance, and asks: (a) is this...

This issue of "Agricultural Economics" contains articles from a seminar entitled "Small Farms: Decline or Persistence?" held at the University of Kent. This issue includes nine papers selected from more than 50 papers presented at the seminar. Articles published use a range of econometric...