Redefining government's role in agriculture in the nineties

Abstract

The authors argue that government policies in agriculture have been costly and misdirected worldwide. For them, this inefficiency need not continue. The Urugauy Round is an ideal opportunity for developed and developing nations to strike a bargain. They suggest 1) making agricultural trade subject to the full discipline of the GATT by eliminating waivers and exemptions that have set agricultural commodities apart from other products in their treatment under the GATT, 2) bringing developing countries fully into the GATT, by eliminating their special status, 3) getting all countries to reform their agricultural policies, to reduce the many policy-induced distortions that plague the sector. The authors claim that such a bargain would result in a redefinition of governments'role in agriculture, increased sectoral efficiency nationally, and a more smoothly functioning and tightly knit world agricultural trading system.Crops&Crop Management Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Economic Theory&Research,Agricultural Research