© 1988 Oxford University Press and the Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics
research-article |
International coordination of agricultural policy adjustments*
Institute of Agricultural Economics G
ttingen, FRG
Summary
The need for international coordination of agricultural policies in order to reduce the excess production capacity resulting from the rapid growth of agricultural productivity and a stagnating demand for agricultural products is addressed in this article. A simple conceptual framework is introduced based on the realistic assumption that aggregate world production and consumption would not change significantly if agricultural trade were liberalized. If this is true any country's protection can only be successful in attracting a larger share of global demand to the extent that it exceeds other protectionist countries' efforts. Within this framework the bargaining positions of various categories of countries in international trade negotiations are analysed in relation to their rates of protection and of self-sufficiency. The main conclusions are that there is some redundancy in the existing rates of protection, that if all (or a large number) of countries engage in agricultural policy reform the political difficulties for each of them are significantly smaller, and that restoring a functioning international trading order in agriculture is an international public good-that can only be provided through international coordination.