This book was first published in 1992. In the late twentieth century, the crisis in world agriculture had become increasingly evident as the protectionist agricultural policies of various countries distort the international market. Why had agricultural policies become more inward-looking as the world becomes increasingly interdependent economically? Disarray in World Food Markets addresses the nature and causes of this crisis in international trade policy. Its analysis of the effects of these food policies is complemented by a quantitative review of the long-term trends in world food markets. The study also extensively examines the reasons why governments choose to implement distortionary policies. This ambitious book, based on a dynamic, multi-commodity model of world food markets, will be an important reference work for all with an interest in trade policy, particularly in countries active in the trade negotiations.

Developing countries have a major stake in the outcome of trade negotiations conducted under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). 'Agriculture and the WTO: Creating a Trading System for Development' explores the key issues and options in agricultural trade liberalization from the perspective of these developing countries. Leading experts in trade and agriculture from both developed and developing countries provide key research findings and policy analyses on a range of issues that includes market access, domestic support, export competition, quota administration methods, food security, biotechnology, intellectual property rights, and agricultural trade under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. Material is covered in summary and in comprehensive detail with supporting data, a substantial bibliography, and listings of online resources. This book will be of interest to policymakers and analysts in the fields of development economics and commodities pricing and trade.

Rice production an policy context; Structure and performance of Rice markets; Food Demand and Calorie Consumption; Poverty and Rice Prices; Impact of Further liberalization of Rice markets; Conclusions and policy implications; Methods to analyze market integration; Derivation of Welfare Measures; Foreign demand elasticity for Vietnamese Rice; Description of the Viet Nam Agricultural Spatial equilibrium Model.

Agricultural trade, always a source of international friction, will remain a contentious issue in the years to come. The GATT agreement achieved only partial trade liberalization; recognizing this, the agreement calls for a continuation of the negotiation process to achieve the long-run goal of a “substantial reduction in agricultural support and protection.†In any case, it is clear that U.S.-European Union (EU) agricultural trade relations will remain central to any future negotiation. In this volume, leading experts present a comprehensive set of analyses of the U.S.-EU agricultural trade conflict. The discussions provide a unique perspective on the U.S.-EU agricultural trade confrontation in recent years and offer insights into both the final GATT agreement and forthcoming agricultural issues. Presenting a broad historical context, the book focuses on changes in U.S. and European trade and agricultural policies, looking at the implications of these changes for bilateral relations and global agricultural markets. Providing U.S., EU, and third-party perspectives, the contributors analyze the negotiation process in the Uruguay Round of the GATT. Finally, the book explores several additional dimensions of the U.S.-EU agricultural trade conflict, including the consequences of the EU integration and enlargement processes, the environmental impact of the Union’s agricultural policies, and the mechanisms and forces that determine agricultural policy formation in both the United States and in Europe.

Agriculture was a major item on the agenda of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), launched in 1986. In this specially commissioned volume the national positions on agriculture taken up by the major players during the course of these negotiations are set out and analysed, country by country, by a team of internationally renowned experts. The editors have selected and ordered the studies to provide a coherent assessment and synthesis of the main issues and areas of controversy raised by the negotiations. Examination of the reasons for the holding of different national perspectives on the issue of agricultural policy and trade reform helps to explain why reaching international agreement in this area of the GATT negotiations has been so elusive.

This conference proceedings examines how trade liberalisation and rich-country farming practices affect the world's poor.

This study reviews policy developments in recent years and, in the light of that, explores ways in which further consensus might be reached among WTO members to reduce farm trade distortions – and thereby also progress the multilateral trade reform agenda. Particular attention is given to ways that would boost well-being in developing countries, especially for those food-insecure households still suffering from poverty and hunger.

The emergence of a world economy depends on the reorganization of agriculture and food systems to provision the work force and the industries associated with the division of labor. This work emphasizes the central role played by food and agriculture in the world economy. The book includes a historical dimension along with the formulation of the challenges that face the world today. Social scientists of all kinds, but especially economists, sociologists, environmentalists, and political scientists, should be interested in this volume.

The aim of the book is to provide interested readers with access to a number of articles that have been written over the years on the subject of the linkages between domestic farm policies (particularly in developed countries) and world markets for agricultural goods. The scope of the book includes the measurement of protection and the estimation of transfers to agricultural producers, the effect of these policies on consumers and the consequent impact on international trade. A major theme is that the monitoring of the trade and transfer implications of farm policies is an essential first step to addressing the need for internationally agreed disciplines on their nature and extent. The topic of trade impacts of farm policies has become important in two different market situations. When agricultural commodity prices are depressed, attention turns to the activities of countries (particularly developed countries) that support the income of their own farmers but at the expense of farmers in other countries. When prices rise, as they have done in the last five years, the question is reversed: what is the impact of the farm and food policies that restrict exports to keep domestic prices low on food security in other countries? Thus, the narrative of the monitoring of farm policies by international organizations such as the OECD and the disciplining of such policies under the rules of the WTO is as relevant today as in the 1970s when the first efforts in this direction were made.