Can the common agricultural policy be reformed?

Much criticism notwithstanding, the essentials of the common agricultural policy have up to now scarcely been changed. What kind of basic changes would have to be introduced for a new agricultural policy to become also politically acceptable? The following article suggests alternatives to the present agricultural policy — suggestions which the authors first made in a report prepared for the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forests.     

Development policy and foreign affairs

According to the purist view development policy amounts to the pursuit of its main objective as against those of foreign, economic and agricultural policy, i. e., to ensure that donor interests should give way as far as possible to this target. It is however self-evident that “practical development policy”, being only one part of our whole policy, cannot play such a decisive role. Therefore foreign policy and development policy do not clash if both are properly conceived.     

Breakthrough in agricultural policy,or another policy failure?

Before the European summit in February 1988, EC agricultural policy was being criticized by almost all those affected. Farmers complained about low incomes and the lack of prospects, consumers and taxpayers about the high cost of agricultural support, politicians about spending commitments that could no longer be financed, agricultural economists about the waste of economic resources and trading partners about disruption of the world market. Have the decisions taken at the European summit set the Community on a fundamentally new course?     

Autocracy,democracy and trade policy

This paper develops a politico-economic model for use in studying the role of intra-elite conflict in the simultaneous determination of a country's political regime, trade policy and income-tax-based redistribution scheme. Three socioeconomic groups are involved: two elite groups and workers, whose preferences regarding trade policy and income taxation are derived from a simple open-economy model. The critical point is that income taxation induces a rich–poor/elite–workers political cleavage, while trade policy opens the door to intra-elite conflict. In this model, when there is no intra-elite conflict, changes in trade policy are associated with political transitions. Coups (democratizations) open up the economy if and only if both elite groups are pro-free-trade (protectionist). However, in the presence of intra-elite conflict, autocracies respond to popular revolts by changing trade policy and reallocating political power within the elite (to the elite group with the same trade policy preference as the workers) rather than offering to democratize the country. The change in trade policy is credible because the elite group with the same trade policy preference as the workers controls the autocracy. Moreover, in the presence of intra-elite conflict, coups tend to result in the maintenance of the existing trade policy unless popular demands are extremely radical and/or the elite group with the same trade policy preference as the workers is exceptionally weak.     

The development of international food aid policy

The European Community is to spend ECU 680 million on food aid in 1982—an increase of 13.3% over 1981. Is this a sign of growing humanitarianism on the part of the EC or merely the side-product of a policy of agricultural protectionism which in the long run is harmful to the economies of both the donors and recipients of food aid? A look at the historical development of international food ald may help to provide an answer to this question.     

Eastward enlargement of the EU: Will agricultural policy be an obstacle?

The political preparations for enlarging the European Union to include the Central European countries are in full swing, but economic policy preparations have not yet begun. There is a need for adjustment primarily in the Central European countries, but also in sensitive areas in the EU itself, particularly the Common Agricultural Policy. Will agricultural policy be an obstacle to eastward enlargement?     

Business policy,ethics and society

This section will cover (a) definition of business policy: strategic decisions in the enterprise; (b) ethical behaviour above and beyond the requirements of the law: what might this involve e.g. in respect of products and markets in which the business is prepared to operate? (c) does business have a responsibility towards ‘society’? For example, should businesses decide without being legally required to do so, to undertake activities which they think are in the national interest even if this may appear to conflict with strictly commercial interests? (d) if ethical/social decisions are required, who is to make them — at what levels of an enterprise — e.g. does the board make them all or are they also expected below board level? This section will also cover: (e) practical examples in the light of changing attitudes towards business and market behaviour in the 1980's and 1990's; (f) implications of attitudes towards corporate crime and of behaviour which may not be illegal but which may be regarded as ‘unacceptable’: this will be discussed with examples from experience in Australia and other countries. The section will first explain the meaning of the phrase ‘business policy’ and will briefly outline the kinds of strategic decision which have to be made in business enterprises. It will go on to consider whether there are things a business ‘ought’ or ‘ought not’ to do even if they are within the law. The section will illustrate these problems with examples in the light of changing attitudes towards business policy and market behaviour in the 1980's and 1990's. It will take into account some recent cases of corporate crime in Australia and elsewhere and also of behaviour which while neither against the law or outside the power of the board, might be thought ‘inappropriate’.     

工业化进程与商业产业政策分析

工业化过程的启动必须以一定的剩余农产品率作为历史前提。商业对农业发展具有推动作用。重工业优先发展导致工农经济结构矛盾,而矛盾的解决需要发挥商业作用。商业产业政策目标就是扩大工农业间的市场交易,化解经济结构矛盾。具体表现在:实现从传统批发商到新兴批发商的转变,实现零售商业经营方式的变革,积极发展物流中心和促进物流合理化,积极参与国际经济协调,为商品国际流通创造良好的宏观环境。     

EC agricultural policy and international trade

The world markets for agricultural products are in a state of crisis. This is manifested in phenomena such as record surpluses, falling incomes for farmers and constantly increasing agricultural expenditure in a number of industrial countries while, at the same time, people go hungry in many developing regions. What are the factors which have brought this situation about? What can be done to solve these problems?     

宜昌市农产品现代物流体系发展对策

农产品物流对宜昌建设省域副中心城市和特大城市具有举足轻重作用。在深入调查掌握宜昌市农产品物流发展现状,剖析发展中存在的问题基础上,提出从转变观念、提高农产品物流主体素质、打造一流物流人才队伍和给予政策与资金支持等建设宜昌市农产品现代物流体系的对策。     

External economic policy and development policy

Since 1970 the world economy has gone through a series of grave crises which have stimulated an intensive discussion about the economic and political relations between industrialized and developing countries. As seen from the Federal Republic of Germany, the witnessed events have not only an international dimension, but they focus attention again on one particular problem of national economic policy, the relationship of external economic policy and development policy, because the new strains on the international plane are in part reflected by this relationship.     

The international repercussions of EC agricultural policy

The importance of the EC in international agricultural markets has grown steadily since the establishment of the Community and will receive another boost following its southward enlargement. Nevertheless, agricultural policy has been inward-looking and has paid, little heed to the external effects it engenders. Prof. Schmitz shows that EC agricultural policy has tended to depress world market prices, has increased their volatility and artificially distorted the price structure in the world market.     

Industrial policy in an interdependent world

In Europe and North America there are increasing calls for an industrial policy that would foster innovation and technological development. The advocates of industrial policy warn that without active government support national firms will succumb to unfair foreign competition and that there will be an irreversible weakening of their technological capacity. OECD countries already spend 2–3% of their GDP on direct subsidies to industrial production, investment and R&;D. Is more public spending justified especially now that capital is needed for the reconstruction of Eastern Europe?     

Impact of EU agricultural policy on developing countries: A Uganda case study

Despite substantial reforms, the European Union (EU)'s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is still criticised for its detrimental effects on developing countries. This paper provides updated evidence on the impact of the CAP on one developing country, Uganda. It goes beyond estimating macrolevel economic effects by analysing the impacts on poverty. The policy simulation results show that eliminating EU agricultural support would have marginal but nonetheless positive impacts on the Ugandan economy and its poverty indicators. From the perspective of the EU's commitment to policy coherence for development, this supports the view that further reducing EU agricultural support would be positive for development.     

Climate policy and interest Groups—A Public choice analysis

Climate policy is particularly prone to the activities of interest groups. How have these shaped the development of policy targets and instruments?     

International environmental policy perspectives for the nineties

Indications of a fundamental change in the climate, worsening pollution of international waters, destruction of the atmosphere, and other disconcerting changes in the environment are international problems that know no boundaries and affect the global community. Nevertheless there exist hardly any plans for concerted action. Environmental problems are still being handled mainly on a national scale. The road to an international environmental policy is long and fraught with conflict.     

The impact of agricultural price policy in developing countries

Agricultural price policies are under closer review now in many developing countries. There is a growing tendency to rely more on market forces. What impact have agricultural price policies had on the performance of the agricultural sector in developing countries until now?     

US and EC agricultural trade policies: Confrontation or negotiation?

The current American and European mutual accusations of agricultural protectionism are an obvious case of the pot calling the kettle black. What series of events led up to this confrontation? And how can the conflict situation be eased?     

EC agricultural and regional policy

Additional state intervention harbours the danger of increasing inconsistencies; this is especially true if there is no clear demarcation of duties between authorities at different levels, as is the case in many spheres within the EC. The plans to double the size of the EC Structural Fund by 1992 give reason to subject the EC’s agricultural and regional policy interventions to scrutiny as regards their consistency and compatibility with overall economic goals.     

国债规模:在财政与金融之间寻求平衡

本文从财政政策和货币政策协调配合角度,探讨了国债在金融体系中的特殊地位和作用,着重分析了国债市场作为核心金融市场在提供市场流动性方面的不可替代的作用.本文的政策含义就是,为了给我国的金融市场运行创造一个良好的基础,我们的国债政策应当超越单纯财政的财政眼光.