Economists and the 2002 Farm Bill: What Is the Value-Added of Policy Analysis?

Bruce Gardner

Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2002, vol. 31, issue 2

Abstract: The 2002 Farm Act is used as a case study of three problematic considerations related to economists' role in policy issues: priority on economic efficiency versus income distribution, the role of benefitcost analysis, and appropriate policies given market power of agribusiness. The results of the 2002 Act relevant to each of these issues have been widely criticized, raising questions about the effectiveness of economists' involvement. However, given the uncertainties about many key program effects, criticisms of the Act are themselves in question. In this context, the role of economists is seen analytically as generating information for Bayesian decision makers, and practically as gaining attention for that information in the political process.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002

Downloads: (external link)
http://purl.umn.edu/31386 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:arerjl:31386

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Agricultural and Resource Economics Review from Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by AgEcon Search ().