The Common Agricultural Policy and Its Reform: The Problem of Reconciling Budget and Trade Concerns

Robert Ackrill, Adrian Kay and Wyn Morgan

Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, 2008, vol. 56, issue 4, 393-411

Abstract: In 2008, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reached its fiftieth birthday. It has been a constant factor in directing resources to the EU agricultural sector, but the means of channelling these resources have changed considerably over time. This article charts the evolution of the CAPs principal policy instruments and analyzes the welfare effects of its major reforms. It also analyzes these changes in terms of the institutional context of the principal reform pressures, namely international trade obligations and EU budget concerns. We will show that the link between these two pressures was never one of simple determinism: the CAP and its reform can only be understood in light of these pressures and of endogenous vested interests to the policy. En 2008, la Politique agricole commune (PAC) célèbre ses 50 ans. Cette politique a été un facteur constant de l'orientation des ressources vers le secteur agricole de l'UE, mais les moyens utilisés pour acheminer ces ressources ont changé considérablement au fil du temps. Le présent article retrace l'évolution des principaux instruments de la PAC et analyse les effets de ses grandes réformes sur le bien‐être. Elle analyse aussi ces changements dans le contexte institutionnel des pressions de la réforme, à savoir les obligations commerciales internationales et les préoccupations quant au budget de l'UE. Nous montrons que le lien entre ces deux types de pression n'a jamais été d'un déterminisme simple: la PAC et sa réforme ne peuvent être comprises qu'en examinant ces pressions et les droits acquis endogènes qu'elles génèrent.

Date: 2008
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