Policy Requirements in the EU and the Existing Array of Indicators Problem Definition, Policy Performance and the Implications of Reform

Policies involving agriculture require information about production of commodities and about the firms that produce them. Understanding the behaviour of the family-firm is central to many issues and increasingly relevant as objectives evolve and the pluriactive nature of farm households is recognised. Policy reform is likely to concentrate interest on the welfare of the agricultural household and the various sources of income that accrue to it. However, statistics that have the household-firm at their centre are poorly developed compared with those on agricultural activity. Reasons are explored and opportunities identified to correct this imbalance.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Measures of Economic Status - Combining Income and Wealth into a Single Measure of the Potential Command Over Goods and Services

The purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussion on the way that economists, statisticians and analysts treat the wealth of agricultural households and changes in that wealth not arising from production. The concept of "economic status" is revisited and the implications of using it when making comparisons of agricultural households with other groups in society is reviewed. A more explicit treatment of capital and wealth is proposed.Consumer/Household Economics,

Rural Development Policies and Agricultural Adjustment

Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Policies Affecting or Facilitating Resource Adjustment in Agriculture in the European Union

Structural policy in the EU is ambiguous in its aims and contains conflicting elements. Interventions to ease change are combined with defensive measures that support income and discourage some aspects of adjustment. Structural change is a complex process and the number of farms is an incomplete indicator. Most adjustment takes place without active public assistance. Structural measures at EU level are now mostly within the rural development pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy. Their performance is mixed. However, many countries also have national policies, especially on taxation and land transfer, whose influence on adjustment must not be overlooked.adjustment, farm, income, policy, rural development, taxation, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Structural Change in EU Agriculture and the Supply of Social Attributes

The social attributes that agriculture is assumed to provide in its multifunctional role are analysed. Links with structural characteristics are examined and questions raised on the extent to which these are dependent on sustaining the present structure of EU agriculture. The nature of an efficient policy to provide these attributes is explored, with pointers for the next round of rural development policy. Our conclusion is that non-agricultural policies may be far more significant to the supply of social attributes than those conventionally seen as agricultural and rural developmental, suggesting that general community regeneration policies and "rural proofing" of general policies will be important for the future.multifunctionality, social attributes, sustainability, rural development, CAP, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Structural Change and Public Policies in EU Agriculture: An Overview

Substantial structural change is taking place in EU agriculture. Average farm size is increasing and labour is continuing to move out of the sector. Slow growth in food demand and the effects of technological change on supply are likely to exert downward pressure on real agricultural prices. Within this context, policies at the EU and national levels will have mixed effects on economic adaptation and structural change. There is considerable uncertainty about the long-run viability of the so-called European model of agriculture, particularly given the intensification of pressures for change through economic globalisation.agriculture, structure, policy, EU, globalization, Agricultural and Food Policy,