TODAY'S PROBLEMS, TOMORROW'S PUZZLES

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Price and income policies

Discussion and objective debate is an important and necessary ingredient of social decision-making in a democracy. Only thus can the public, legislators, administrators and special interest groups inventory and understand the complete range of phenomena relevant for public decision. Discussion and analysis is a method of measurement, for a more complete inventory of goals and sub-goals of public policy and for expression of hypotheses and predictions in respect to outcomes of various policy means. Discussion is the most ancient and universal process for reasoned calculation in social policy, whether this be at the program committee of the 4-H Club or in presidential elections.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1006/thumbnail.jp

The Story of Agricultural Economics: A Review

Ordinarily this article would appear in our Book Review section with the usual citation: The Story of Agricultural Economics in the United States, 1840-1932. By Henry C. and Anne Dewees Taylor (with foreword by Everett E. Edwards). The Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa. XXVI+ 1121 pages. 1951. $10. But this is no ordinary book. Rather, if the editors may anticipate their reviewer, this is "a surprisingly good book," one which we think should be called to the attention of all agricultural economists who are interested in the development of their science or discipline. For this is essentially a research product in which the Taylors have traced the development of agricultural economics from its somewhat uncertain beginnings into the year 1932. The plan of the project was based on the idea of quoting the actual words of the agricultural economists themselves rather than simply submitting the ideas of the authors. This task of finding the original sources and making the appropriate selections was a difficult one. In fact, some 200 persons contributed in varying degrees, with the work of collecting materials starting so long ago as 1939 in the form of a joint effort of the senior author, then Managing Director of the Farm Foundation, and the History Section of our Division of Statistical and Historical Research

A Comparison of Outlook Statements with Subsequent Events

Beginning in 1924, the Unites States Department of Agriculture has issued an annual "Agricultural Outlook” in which forecasts and recommendations as to the production and prices, of agricultural products arc given. These forecasts are released in the mid-winter, and are designed to furnish basic economic information to be used in planning agricultural production during the coming crop year. Since the 1930 Outlook statement is the eighth to be released, an interesting and important question is: What proportion of the forecasts contained in the 1924-1929 statements have "been correct? In this paper, an approximate answer to the general question and a detailed analysis of the 1924 and 1929 Outlook statements is presented