Agricultural policy in disarray / edited by Vincent H. Smith, Joseph W. Glauber, and Barry K. Goodwin.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Smith, Vincent H., editor.

Glauber, Joseph William, editor.

Goodwin, Barry K., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture and state--United States.

Agriculture and state.

United States.

Agriculture--Economic aspects--United States.

Agriculture.

Agriculture--Economic aspects.

Physical Description:

2 volumes : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : American Enterprise Institute, [2018]

Summary:

"From any coherent policy perspective, agricultural policy in the United States is in total disarray. Not surprisingly, persistent and pervasive rent-seeking by well-funded lobbies explains many of the complex and often internally inconsistent federal programs that fall under the umbrella of US agricultural policy. This two-volume examination of US agricultural policies includes analyses on the federal crop insurance program, the sugar program, constraints on domestic production, and policy-mandated price discrimination. Those subsidy programs and other forms of support are deliberately structured to funnel the vast majority of their benefits to large farm businesses and, in the case of agricultural insurance, an entire segment of the insurance industry that would not otherwise exist. They do nothing to alleviate rural poverty and in most cases encourage farm and other agricultural businesses to waste some of society's scarce resources. Some federal programs do provide benefits for society as a whole. However, collusion among lobbies with competing interests has caused many of those programs to be inefficient. Agricultural Policy in Disarray provides fascinating, detailed, and contemporary evidence of how rent-seeking by small, well-organized interest groups results in government policies that do little good and much harm."--Page 4 of cover.

Contents:

Volume I

section I: agricultural policy in disarray

agricultural policy in disarray: an overview

where the money goes: the distribution of crop insurance and other farm subsidy payments

section II: multi-commodity farm subsidy program

the US federal agricultural insurance program: time for reform?

title I of the US farm bill: an overview of the commodity title

US farm policy and trade: the inconsistency continues

section III: commodity-specific programs

analysis of the US sugar program

dairy policy progress: completing the move to markets?

unraveling reforms? cotton in the 2018 farm bill and beyond

the US peanut program: an exercise in excess

conclusion

about the authors.

Volume II

section I: poverty and US agricultural policy

poverty, hunger, and US agricultural policy: do farm programs affect the nutrition of poor Americans?

the future of SNAP: continuing to balance protection and incentives

international food aid and food assistance programs and the next farm bill

section II: waste not, want not: transactional politics, research and development funding, and the US farm bill

the impact of genetic modification technologies on agricultural productivity: evidence from a comparison of US and EU crop yields

section III: conservation and the environment

the farm bill, conservation, and the environment

waters of the US rule and clean water act and cost-effective approaches to water-quality improvement

biofuels, the renewable fuel standard, and policy ineffectiveness

section IV: regulation and market performance

futures markets regulation

agricultural contracts and competition policies

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780844750163

0844750166

9780844750170

0844750174

9780844750194

0844750190

0844750204

9780844750200

OCLC:

1060195732