© 1996 Oxford University Press and the Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics
research-article |
Endogeneous price and trade policy developments in Central European agricultrue*
Catholic University Leuven, Belgium
Jo Swinnen Department of Agricultural Economics, Katholieke Universitaat Leuven, Kardinaal Mercierlaan 92, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Received December 1, 1995;
Summary
Endogenous policy theory is uded to explain developements in agricultural and trade policies in Central Europe (CE). There have been three phases since 1989. After the initial liberalisation, ad hoc interventions emerged to protect consumers and producers against the negative real income effects of economic reform. These ad hoc ingterventions were gradually consolidated into policy package. Average CE agriculatural protection increased after 1992, but large differences exist between countries and commodities. The differences are largely consistent with political economy prdictions. Domestic political economy factoras may stimulate further increases in agriculatural protection as CE economies grow. International agreements could play an important role in limiting CE agricultural protectionism.
Keywords: agricultural policy, political economy, Central Europe