Suchergebnisse

The Republic of Serbia is in the process of joining the EU, which implies harmonization of Serbia's agricultural policy with Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) measures and mechanisms that are constantly in the process of reforming. The aim of the paper is to present the CAP reform solutions for the 2014-2020 programming period, as well as their comparison with the instruments of agricultural policy in Serbia. The analysis is primarily focused on direct payments due to their significance, in the total EU and the CAP budget, and importance in overall agricultural support in Serbia. Comparison of the instruments of CAP with the instruments of agricultural policy of Serbia, within direct payments, indicates significant differences. Namely, agricultural policy of Serbia is characterised by certain forms of direct incentives, which are fully eliminated in the CAP (payments based on output, input subsidies, etc.). ; Republika Srbija se nalazi u procesu pristupanje EU, što, pored ostalog, podrazumeva usklađivanje agrarne politike Srbije s merama i mehanizmima Zajedničke agrarne politike - ZAP (Common Agricultural Policy), koja se neprekidno reformiše. Cilj rada jeste da se prikažu reformska rešenja ZAP za period 2014-2020. godine, kao i komparacija s instrumentima agrarne politike Srbije. Analizom su prvenstveno obuhvaćena direktna plaćanja, s obzirom na njihov značaj u ukupnom budžetu EU i budžetu ZAP, te značaj koji imaju u ukupnoj agrarnoj podršci u Srbiji. Komparacija instrumenta ZAP s postojećima u agrarnoj politici Srbije, u okviru direktnih plaćanja, ukazuje na to da se ona značajno razlikuju. Naime, u agrarnoj politici Srbije evidentno je prisustvo pojedinih oblika direktnih podsticaja koji su u ZAP potpuno eliminisani (proizvodno vezana plaćanja po autputu; regresi za đubrivo i sl.).

The article provides an overview of the main contents of a brand new textbook on agricultural economics and evaluates them in the context of economic theories and concepts as well as against the background of agricultural developments. In addition, the second part of the article presents an outstanding contribution of the author of the textbook to agricultural research and teaching.

The aim of this paper is to provide a review of policy instruments aimed at controlling pollution from agricultural diffuse sources, and compare their pros and cons. The review also includes a description of instruments introduced through recent reforms of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), reforms aimed, inter alia, at integrating environmental protection into policies traditionally designed to achieve other objectives. The major results of this review may be summarised as follows. Firstly, a major barrier to the implementation of effective policy measures is the lack of information about the nature, extent, and social costs of groundwater pollution from agricultural diffuse sources. Secondly, policies aimed at controlling pollution from agricultural sources have usually relied, and still largely rely upon what is often referred to as "voluntarism", but which can probably be better described as a "soft-persuasion-though-subsidisation" approach. Besides being in contrast with the polluter pays ethics dominating other environmental policies, this approach has not brought about a significant and widespread reversal of pollution trends. Finally, there is a need for clearer policy framework specifying the principle for a division of labour between CAP and environmental policy provisions, and between payments and regulation related to positive and negative externalities of agricultural production.

Trade negotiators and policy advisors are keen to know the relative contributions of different farm policy instruments to international trade and economic welfare. Nominal rates of assistance or producer support estimates are incomplete indicators, especially when (as in many developing countries) some commodities are taxed and others are subsidized, in which case positive contributions can offset negative contributions. This paper develops and estimates a new set of more-satisfactory partial equilibrium indicators of the relative contribution of different farm policy instruments to reductions in agricultural trade and welfare. It does so by drawing on the trade restrictiveness index literature and a recently compiled database on distortions to agricultural prices for 75 developing and high-income countries over the period 1960 to 2004. Results confirm earlier findings that border taxes are the dominant instrument affecting global trade and welfare, but they also suggest declines in export taxes contributed nearly as much as cuts in import protection to the trade and welfare effects of agricultural policy reforms since the 1980s. ; The authors are grateful for funding from World Bank Trust Funds provided by the governments of the Netherlands (BNPP), the United Kingdom (DfID) and Ireland, as well as from the Australian Research Council.

Trade negotiators and policy advisors are keen to know the relative contributions of different farm policy instruments to international trade and economic welfare. Nominal rates of assistance or producer support estimates are incomplete indicators, especially when (as in many developing countries) some commodities are taxed and others are subsidized, in which case positive contributions can offset negative contributions. This paper develops and estimates a new set of more-satisfactory partial equilibrium indicators of the relative contribution of different farm policy instruments to reductions in agricultural trade and welfare. It does so by drawing on the trade restrictiveness index literature and a recently compiled database on distortions to agricultural prices for 75 developing and high-income countries over the period 1960 to 2004. Results confirm earlier findings that border taxes are the dominant instrument affecting global trade and welfare, but they also suggest declines in export taxes contributed nearly as much as cuts in import protection to the trade and welfare effects of agricultural policy reforms since the 1980s. ; The authors are grateful for funding from World Bank Trust Funds provided by the governments of the Netherlands (BNPP), the United Kingdom (DfID) and Ireland, as well as from the Australian Research Council.

We study the political economy of instrument choice in agricultural and food policies. After a review of the historical evolution of European agricultural price and trade policy instruments since 1880, we develop a political economy model of instrument choice. The key predictions of the model suggest a rational explanation of instrument choice patterns, based on the trade-off between the different cost components of the policies, and internal and external political constraints. An empirical analysis supports the main predictions of the theoretical model. We find that the GATT/WTO agreement had a significant impact.

The Paper's goal is the identification of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) instruments as factors influencing environmental sustainable development of Polish agriculture. These instruments were assessed in the light of the way in which agricultural and environmental policies are projected and introduced. Direct payments - on one hand - contribute to intensification of agriculture (causing negative environmental externalities). On the other hand,- they are important factors of maintenance of extensive farms in other regions (enabling environmental services delivery). The environmental impact of the CAP is strictly associated with cross-compliance. However, Polish authorities did not implement many important standards (regarding water protection, biodiversity and soil conservation). The agri-environmental programme is a factor with a strong positive impact on sustainable development. However, in Poland, its effectiveness of its financing is relatively low - especially in comparison to the main groups of the EU member states. Other CAP instruments with potential positive influence on sustainable development (supporting the development of less favourite areas, afforestation programmes) were insufficiently directed to stimulate supply of environmental services.

The national limits of investigations suggest that rather than developing a general theory of policy instrument choice, analysts may have unintentionally contributed in a significant way to a larger discussion of the concept of 'national policy styles'. The different national treatments of instrument choice are outlined and their contribution to the investigation of policy styles discussed. (SJK)