Plowshares and pork barrels : the political economy of agriculture / E.C. Pasour, Jr. and Randal R. Rucker ; foreword by Bruce L. Gardner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pasour, E. C., Jr.

Contributor:

Rucker, Randal Ray.

Clarence J. Marshall Memorial Library Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture and state--United States.

Agriculture and state.

United States.

United States--Economic policy.

Economic policy.

Physical Description:

xxi, 384 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Oakland, Calif. : Independent Institute, [2005]

Summary:

Agricultural subsidies in grains, cotton, milk, sugar, tobacco, honey, wool, and peanuts are analyzed in this examination of U.S. farm policy. Looking at such programs as food stamps, crop insurance, subsidized credit, trade credit, trade subsidies and import restrictions, conservation, agricultural research, and taxation, this historical perspective argues that these subsidies ultimately redistribute wealth to powerful agricultural interests who use their political clout to advance their economic interests at the expense of the general public. This analysis of government farm programs will appeal to professors and students who study agriculture; people affected by government farm policies; public officials, and businesses affected by agricultural policy such as those in food service, retail, and distribution.

Contents:

The role of economics in agricultural policy analysis

Economic efficiency and equity in U.S. agriculture

Government and the economy : private versus collective choice

Public choice : the economics of the political process

Implications of public-choice theory for agricultural policy

The farm problem and economic justice

The role of government in U.S. agriculture

Price supports, parity, and cost of production

History and overview of production controls and marketing quotas

Production controls, price supports, and current farm programs

Cooperatives and marketing orders

Effects of agricultural commodity programs

Subsidized food programs

International trade and trade restrictions

Crop insurance, market stabilization, and risk management

Subsidized credit in U.S. agriculture

Conservation and "protection" of natural resources

Agricultural research and extension activities

Taxation in agriculture

The effects of government farm programs

The farm security and rural investment act of 2002 : how it updated existing law.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Clarence J. Marshall Memorial Library Fund.

ISBN:

0945999038

9780945999034

1598130021

9781598130027

OCLC:

60349062

Publisher Number:

99947750279

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description