MARKET DISTORTIONS IN BRAZILIAN AGRICULTURE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT POLICY ON THE BEEF AND DAIRY SECTORS

Intervention in the beef and dairy sectors has been the core of Brazilian agricultural policy. An econometric model of these sectors is used as a tool with which to measure the consequences of government-induced market distortions on prices, production, consumption and external trade. It is argued that large economic losses and a less egalitarian distribution of income have been the results of government policy to date.     

ISSUES OF AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Growth in agricultural productivity and the stimulus of price supports have led to overproduction in Western Europe: in particular, the European Community has become a smaller importer and even a major exporter of several products. But as prices in the EC are usually above world levels, this requires expensive subsidisation and leads to trade conflicts. Adjustments now forced on the CAP mean a greater cost-price squeeze, besides imposing quotas on the dairy sector. Policy aims relating to farm incomes and to market balance have thus become very difficult to reconcile. Future policy will also have to take more account of the impact of farming on the environment and of the role of agricultural activity in rural communities. Are there policy instruments, such as direct aids, which can help to achieve such diverse goals? What are the implications of changing circumstances for farming systems, and in particular can low-input systems offer an alternative to the ‘productivist’ farming model?     

价格支持亦或直接补贴:金砖国家农业政策改革趋向

新兴市场国家农业政策改革进程历来备受关注。利用经济合作与发展组织的生产者支持估计方法,分析金砖国家农业支持政策的结构特征可知,以市场价格支持为重心保护农业生产者、逐步加大直接补贴投入额度、注重强化农业知识创新和基础设施建设成为当前金砖国家农业政策调整的主要趋向。鉴于此,应稳步推进农产品价格支持向直接补贴转型;坚持科技兴农导向,提振农业可持续发展能力;制定差异化保护策略,提高农产品支持的针对性和有效性。     

THE EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM,AGRICULTURAL CHANGE,AND POLICY OBJECTIVES IN INDUSTRIALLY ADVANCED COUNTRIES

Traditional macroeconomic approaches to the employment problem are insufficient at the stage of development reached in the industrially advanced capitalist economies, and employment policy has to encompass a much wider range of incentives, public expenditure criteria, and investment decisions affecting all sectors of the economy. Implications for the agricultural sector are discussed. Employment and labour use are seen as inter-related with other aspects of agricultural policy, including those concerned with agronomic and ecological problems. Performance criteria often adopted in evaluating agricultural change are called into question, and a reappraisal of cost concepts is found to raise some fundamental issues faced by industrially advanced societies.     

The incidence of agricultural policy on the land market in Poland: Two-dimensional and multilevel analysis

Research has shown that the reform of the CAP which broke the link between subsidies and production (the decoupling reform) has had little effect on farmers’ demand for land under the SPS (Single Payment Scheme) system. For this reason, in the conditions of the SPS, there is petrifaction of the structure of agricultural land, and an upward trend in prices on the market for agricultural land should not be expected to continue in the long term. Under the conditions of the SAPS (Single Area Payment Scheme), which applies in the EU-12 new Member States, the position in the market for agricultural land is different. However, most research carried out in Europe relates to the SPS system, where marginal changes in the value of land are identified as a result of the incidence of agricultural policy, as well as quantitative and qualitative attributes of particular properties. Under SAPS, these issues have not been sufficiently investigated. The authors have attempted to fill that gap, constructing a two-dimensional and multilevel econometric model for land prices in a leading agricultural region of Poland based on a sample of 653 transactions in the years 2010–2013. The aim is to determine how policy, as well as various quantitative and qualitative features, including location factors, affect the prices of land under SAPS. The results indicate, among other things, the key importance of the functional type of rural areas – properties in agrotouristic areas gained 43% higher prices on average than those in agricultural areas. Another finding of interest is that LFA and agro-environmental payments decapitalise the value of land.     

Elegy,ode or panegyric? Practising agricultural economics in Australia, 1975–99

Changes are investigated in the Australian agricultural economics profession, 1975–99, using a conventional microeconomics framework of supply and demand for agricultural economists. Aggregate exogenous factors such as changes in the agricultural and tertiary education sectors, and changes in beliefs about the proper role of government, have changed both supply and demand conditions for agricultural economists. The profession has responded by shifting its focus away from narrowly agricultural policy, especially marketing policy, towards areas of market failure such as environmental and natural resource issues.     

农业支持政策结构变迁的国际比较分析

[目的]在多哈回合谈判再次要求削减黄箱政策背景下,通过量化比较分析典型发达国家和地区在多哈回合谈判前后农业支持政策结构变化趋势,为中国农业供给侧结构性改革背景下农业支持政策改革提供方向借鉴。[方法]使用OECD农业政策评价指标对比分析欧盟、美国、日本和中国4个国家和地区农业支持力度、支持结构的变化趋势。[结果]发达国家和地区积极创新农业支持手段以替代市场价格支持,加快农业支持政策的市场化转变,强调支持政策与资源环境保护的交互作用,注重对农业知识和创新体系的资金投入。[结论]我国应持续加大对农业的支持力度,逐渐减少市场价格支持比重,创新支持工具并强化政策间的协调性,优化一般服务支持结构,加大对农业知识和创新体系的财政投入。     

Decomposing changes in agricultural price gaps: an application to Russia

The article develops a method for decomposing changes in agricultural price gaps, defined as the difference between a commodity's domestic producer and border prices. We use OECD's procedure for decomposing changes in the market price support part of producer support estimates as the starting point for our decomposition method, and our method provides a basis for critiquing OECD's decomposition approach. The transmission of changes in border prices (world prices and the exchange rate) to domestic prices is a key element in the decomposition. The method is demonstrated using Russian agricultural price gaps. The results support the argument that for Russian agriculture during the transition period, the main cause of changes in price gaps has been incomplete transmission of changes in the exchange rate to domestic prices, and where the weak transmission results mainly not from policy intervention, but rather from deficient market conditions, in particular poor market infrastructure. The policy implication is that underdeveloped infrastructure has strongly limited the benefits to the Russian economy from agricultural trade liberalization.     

攀枝花市咖啡产业发展存在问题及对策研究

发展特色农业是西部农业开发的重点,是推进西部地区农业结构战略性调整,发挥西部地区资源优势,增加农民收入,保护和建设西部生态环境的重要途径。四川省攀枝花市地处金沙江干热河谷地区、近几年已经筛选出了德热28、墨西哥11号、印度S288、卡蒂莫79635、蓝山5个适合推广种植的优质小粒种咖啡品种,发展咖啡产业条件优越。运用调查法、文献研究法等研究方法,首先从种植的自然条件,政策机遇、区位,市场需求前景等方面分析了攀枝花咖啡产业发展的有利条件;并在介绍攀枝花咖啡产业发展基本情况的基础上,分析了攀枝花咖啡产业发展存在的问题;针对存在的产业认识不高、基础设施薄弱、争地、产品附加值低、融资困难等问题,从组织领导、政策扶持、基础设施建设、种植模式和技术、、品牌建设、龙头企业及专业合作组织、融资渠道等方面提出推动攀枝花咖啡产业发展的相应策略。     

农业高质量发展空间布局研究

目的 优化农业空间布局是构建发展新格局、推进农业高质量发展的重要内容,也是保障国家粮食及其他重要农产品供给安全的重要支撑。方法 文章以高质量发展理念为指导,运用数据分析与文献研究相结合的方法,系统分析我国农业空间格局的现状、历史演变和存在问题,阐明农业高质量发展的核心要义,构建农业高质量发展空间格局优化方案。结果 1978—2019年我国农业生产重心逐渐向北推进,土地密集型农产品北移和资金密集型农产品东移。未来我国农业发展在农产品供需、自然资源、生态环境、农产品生产、国际市场贸易等方面存在诸多不确定性和潜在风险。结论 基于高质量发展的“产品高品质、生产高效率、产业高安全和经济高价值”四大核心要义,综合考虑国家粮食安全、生态安全、配置效率和乡村振兴等因素,研究提出2035年全国“六区十一带”农业空间战略格局及其耕地保护利用格局方案与相关配套政策措施建议。     

ESTIMATION OF SOCIAL WELFARE WEIGHTS IN AGRICULTURAL POLICY: THE CASE OF GREEK COTTON

This paper provides a welfare analysis of the Greek cotton market and obtains an estimate of the distributional weights implicit in the postulated welfare function of agricultural policy makers. The estimate of that weight depends, as might be expected, on the elasticity of supply and the difference between the support price and the market price. For the period covered, the welfare of Greek cotton producers was weighted about ten per cent more than that of taxpayers.     

我国农业高质量发展的机遇、问题及对策研究

[目的]农业高质量发展对于促进农业全面升级、农村全面进步、农民全面发展具有重要意义。[方法]文章采用文献研究法发现,当前,我国农业高质量发展的基础更加坚实,农业高质量发展应更加注重资源节约、更加注重环境友好、更加注重农产品质量、更加注重增加农民收入。[结果]我国农业高质量发展既面临着政策环境更加优越、市场空间更加宽广、创新驱动更加有力、内生动力更加强劲的大好机遇,但也面临着资源条件和生态环境两个"紧箍咒"对农业约束趋紧、农业产业结构亟待优化、农产品结构不尽合理、农产品质量安全水平亟需提升、农业特色优势产业不明晰、农产品区域品牌建设缓慢、农业现代物流业建设滞后等问题。[结论]应从加强顶层设计、推进农业绿色发展、大力优化农业产业结构、加快调整农产品供给结构、着力提升农产品质量安全水平、加快培育特色优势产业、推进农产品区域品牌建设、打造现代农业物流体系等方面推动农业高质量发展,不断满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要。     

THE PROBLEM OF AGRICULTURE IN A EUROPEAN ECONOMIC UNION

A revaluation of the German Mark has been hindered by the effects that this would have on German farm prices, given the E.E.C. agricultural policy. The article therefore examines the implications of (a) a common agricultural price level, and (b) fixed or adjustable exchange rates within a customs union such as the E.E.C. It concludes that a change in relative price levels between countries couldbe tackled by means of exchange rate changes, while retaining a common agricultural price level; but even with adjustable exchange rates, a common price level may give rise to diBculties unless agricultural productivity in the member countries grows in a particular way. It finally suggests that a wider European economic union would require niorejexible arrangements than those at present in force in the E. E.C.     

广东省农产品绿色物流系统构建及其运作模式研究

目前,农产品物流产业已经成为加快新农村建设与促进农村经济发展的新增长点。同时,随着人们消费理念的转变,对农产品的配送要求逐步转变为健康环保、安全快捷的物流模式,因此既要注意农产品的绿色生产过程,更要重视农产品物流系统的构建及其运作模式的确立。广东省对农产品的需求量相对来说比较大,对农产品绿色物流配送要求较高,鉴于此,文章以广东省为例,首先对广东省农产品绿色物流存在问题进行分析,发现存在绿色物流的观念落后、农产品运输的绿色化程度低、绿色物流技术落后等问题,拟从物流中心结点、区域规划、物流通道等方面构建农产品绿色物流系统,并将广东省农产品绿色物流运作模式划分为批发市场主导模式、行业协会主导模式及第三方物流企业主导模式。同时,为了确保绿色物流能够正常运转,有必要落实政策、人才、技术以及资金等保障机制,旨在有效降低农产品物流成本,提升农村经济效益的同时,推动农民工资性收入的显著增加。     

加强东南亚农业合作开发的战略重点与布局研究

加强农业国际合作开发是中国特色农业现代化道路的重要组成部分,东南亚与我国合作开发地缘优势明显,是我国农业海外合作开发的重要首选区域。在国家"一带一路"的全球战略格局指导下,通过区域比较优势分析等方法,立足我国对粮食等大宗战略农产品的发展需求、东南亚各国的农业资源禀赋与合作意向,从提升我国农业国际竞争力和话语权的高度,系统谋划了东南亚地区农业合作开发的战略重点领域,确定以稻谷、天然橡胶、油棕榈、木薯、甘蔗和林业六大行业为合作重点,以提升原料掌控权和贸易话语权为关键环节,根据东南亚重要交通物流通道、资源禀赋和产业基础的区域差异,提出"三线两区"的合作开发总体布局。围绕各种合作有力推进,提出设立专项基金、加强金融支持、提升政府服务等政策建议保障,为我国政府与企业在东南亚地区长远战略合作的顶层设计提供重要依据和支撑。     

Evaluating Agricultural Productivity and Policy in Russia

Russia's transition to a market economy in the early 1990s shocked its agricultural sector, creating the potential for profit and gains from specialisation and productivity improvements. However, subsequent regional agricultural development has been highly uneven, and the sources of the sector's productivity improvement remain unclear. Drawing on a newly-assembled Russian regional farm production and policy dataset, we evaluate agricultural total factor productivity growth from 1994 to 2013, decomposing that growth into technical progress and efficiency gains, for the nation as a whole and for the major agricultural districts of the South and Central. We then test how investments in road and rail infrastructure and human capital have influenced those gains. The South substantially outperformed the Central district and the nation at large with respect to all three performance indicators. However, contrary to the literature, we find that these particular state policies provided no substantial growth advantages, there or elsewhere. Rather, the dominant force behind Russia's agricultural growth has been informal technical change.     

我国家庭农场发展现状及其对策研究

家庭农场是在我国农村现有基础上建立的,是新型的农业生产主体,是实行农业现代化的金钥匙。家庭农场的出现,既增加农民的收入,又可以实现农业生产的产业化。文章运用文献分析和实地调研相结合的研究方法,分析了当前我国家庭农场的发展现状,即我国家庭农场呈现出经营规模不同、经营品种不同、经营效益较好、具有市场竞争力等明显特征。家庭农场的发展面临大好机遇,但是也存在土地产权认识不明晰、资金短缺、劳动力缺乏等瓶颈问题。并提出明确家庭农场认定标准、引导土地向家庭农场流转、农民的技术培训、完善农业保险、政府给予一定的资金政策等建议,旨在为各地区制定发展家庭农场政策提供参考。     

THE EGYPTIAN STATE AND AGRICULTURAL LAND MARKET 1810–1986

The paper examines the economic effects of state policy on land transactions in Egyptian agriculture since 1810, with special reference to the post-1952 government intervention in the land market. Following a combination of historical and econometric approaches, the analysis shows that: (i) under conditions of market forces, factor prices responded to changes in land-labour ratio, cotton price and output value, and landlords' monopoly power was dominant; (ii) while the inequality was sharply reduced after equity-directed intervention, value productivity of the scarce factor, land, has lost its significance in determining rental values and the effective supply of land has, since 1970, declined together with agricultural growth rates; and (iii) there has been a trade-off between equity and agricultural growth during periods of non-intervention and relaxation of tight State control of the land market. Proposals for policy adjustment are presented.     

论农地政策对农民财产权利的限制与扩张

农地政策反映国家和政府对农地问题的意志和态度。现行农地政策重在保障农村社会的稳定,提高农业生产,在相当长一段历史时期内适应了我国农村社会经济的发展。但是以严格限制农地流转和农地转用为特征,以行政控制为方式的农地政策不能适应社会化大生产对农村规模经济发展的要求。国外的农地政策大多也走过了从严格限制到相对宽松,从行政控制到市场调节的发展历程。本文通过对我国现有农地政策进行分析,并借鉴国外农地政策经验,提出农地政策不是僵硬的教规,灵活运用和适时改变农地政策可以增加农民财富,满足农民对农地利用的诉求。     

A Market-Forces Policy for the New Farm Economy?

This paper first discusses the changes that are bringing about the New Farm Economy. A wave of consolidation has shifted agricultural production to larger, lower cost producers in almost all sectors of agriculture. At the same time, supply chains represent a new form of ownership and control that is replacing commodity markets as the preferred way to market farm output. Both consolidation and the development of supply chains offer the possibility of producing a greater variety of safer, cheaper food. The paper argues that farm policy, crafted for the agriculture of the 1930s, is no longer necessary to raise or stabilize farm incomes, and is largely ineffective anyway. Moreover, farm policy impedes the market forces driving innovation and efficiency in the farm economy. Letting market forces guide the evolution of the farm economy, unfettered by outdated government programs and unnecessary farm subsidies, is the best way to harness the benefits of the New Farm Economy. Getting rid of government subsidies and control will lead to dramatically fewer farmers in agriculture: a policy to deal explicitly with those who will leave agriculture is needed. A transition policy is described that focuses on helping reduce the number of farmers by offering a buyout to farm producers which subsidizes their exit from farming and prevents reentry.