Agricultural Economics

Examples of Agricultural Economics in the following topics:

• The Agricultural Market Landscape

  • The agricultural market landscape is the economic system that produces, distributes, and consumes agricultural products and services.
  • Agriculture, in many ways, has been the fundamental economic industry throughout history.
  • As population expanded dramatically over time (see ), so did the efficiency of agriculture economics.
  • Agricultural economics is defined as the economic system that produces, distributes, and consumes agricultural products and services.
  • The politics and economics of agriculture are also relevant issues on the global scale.

• Price Supports

  • Price supports are subsidies or price controls used by the government to artificially increase or decrease prices in the agriculture market.
  • This is an interesting economic factor in farm subsidies, as these subsidies are largely going to corporations of substantial size, as opposed to small farmers.
  • Agricultural economics is a highly complicated market as a result of these price supports and controls, particularly from the perspective of subsidization and price control.
  • This is the most relevant chart to agricultural economics specifically.
  • Assess the way in which price controls affect supply, demand, and equilibrium pricing in agricultural economics.

• Supply Reduction

  • Agricultural aggregate supply can be reduced through external capacity potential or governmental interventions.
  • Agricultural economics is largely bound by concepts of climate and overall world food producing capacity (i.e. farmlands and infrastructure), while simultaneously being enabled by government policy, technological advances, and the continued growth of developing nations.
  • Understanding the reductions in aggregate supply in this industry, as a result of governmental policy or economic limits, is a critical component in understanding agricultural economics.
  • Government policy has a large impact on the agriculture market.
  • Environmental concerns have also been widely cited as a reductive influence on the agriculture market.

• Subsidies and Income Supports

  • An agricultural subsidy is a government grant paid to incumbents in the industry to reduce costs and influence the supply of commodities.
  • This is generally in the form of subsidy and income supports, which alleviate some competitive dynamics and operating expenses to maintain reasonable price points in the market economically.
  • These subsidies play a large role in enabling higher supply at lower price points, supporting the domestic agricultural industry.
  • The International Food Policy Research Institute has estimated a total loss of economic growth in developing nations at $24 billion in 2003, all of which translate to lost income for individuals who desperately need it.
  • Analyze the positive and negative affects of subsidies on agricultural economics.

• Evaluating Policies

  • Agriculture requires a vast support system and a great deal of oversight, addressing industry threats and utilizing policy-based tools.
  • The purpose of this atom is to outline the various trends in agricultural economic policy, and how these governmental policies can be evaluated for efficacy in their respective markets.
  • Below is a list of core questions to keep in mind when evaluating agricultural policy:
  • Infrastructure: Transporting goods, irrigation facilities, land utilization, and a variety of other logistics concerns are required by the government to enable effective economic trade (domestically and internationally).
  • Technology: This is a critical driving force in increasing yield and lowering costs in the agriculture business.

• Introduction to American Agriculture: Its Changing Significance

  • Early in the nation's life, farmers were seen as exemplifying economic virtues such as hard work, initiative, and self-sufficiency.
  • Indeed, sometimes his success has created his biggest problem: the agricultural sector has suffered periodic bouts of overproduction that have depressed prices.
  • Large capital investments and increasing use of highly trained labor also have contributed to the success of American agriculture.
  • Changes in the weather give agriculture its own economic cycles, often unrelated to the general economy.
  • The government responded with sweeping agricultural reforms -- most notably, a system of price supports.

• Farm Policies and World Trade

  • Almost every agriculture-producing country provides some form of government support for farmers.
  • These policies helped shrink international markets for agricultural commodities, reduce international commodity prices, and increase surpluses of agricultural commodities in exporting countries.
  • From Americans' point of view, the European Community failed to follow through with its commitment to reduce agricultural subsidies.
  • Vice President Al Gore called again for deep cuts in agricultural subsidies and tariffs worldwide.
  • Meanwhile, efforts to move toward freer world agricultural trade faced an additional obstacle because exports slumped in the late 1990s.

• Basic Economics of Natural Resources

  • Natural resource economics focuses on the supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural resources.
  • Economists study how economic and natural systems interact in order to develop an efficient economy.
  • Traditionally, natural resource economics focused on fishery, forestry, and mineral models.
  • Additionally, research topics of natural resource economists can include topics such as the environmental impacts of agriculture, transportation and urbanization, land use in poor and industrialized countries, international trade and the environment, and climate change.
  • It is not possible for social and economic systems to exist independently from the environment.

• Introduction to Small Business and the Corporation

  • In 19th-century America, as small agricultural enterprises rapidly spread across the vast expanse of the American frontier, the homesteading farmer embodied many of the ideals of the economic individualist.
  • But as the nation's population grew and cities assumed increased economic importance, the dream of being in business for oneself evolved to include small merchants, independent craftsmen, and self-reliant professionals as well.
  • The 20th century, continuing a trend that began in the latter part of the 19th century, brought an enormous leap in the scale and complexity of economic activity.

• Current U.S. Trade Agenda

  • Trade barriers remain high, especially in the service and agricultural sectors, where American producers are especially competitive.
  • American agricultural exporters are increasingly frustrated, for instance, by European rules against use of genetically altered organisms, which are growing increasingly prevalent in the United States.
  • -Europe trade issues in the Transatlantic Economic Partnership.
  • A 1997 program called the Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity for Africa aims to increase U.S. market access for imports from sub-Saharan countries, provide U.S. backing to private sector development in Africa, support regional economic integration within Africa, and institutionalize government-to-government dialogue on trade via an annual U.S.
  • China also agreed to reduce agricultural tariffs, move to end state export subsidies, and takes steps to prevent piracy of intellectual property such as computer software and movies.