Agricultural Policy and Trade: Adjusting Domestic Programs in an International Framework

"It is politically naïve," say the authors, "to imagine . . . that international undesirability in itself" will cause the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan to make major changes in agricultural policies. They see a chance, though, that as governments try to reduce the costs of farm supports they could agree on some "mutual limitations" that would permit them to move toward more market-oriented policies together. Specific recommendations are accompanied by estimates of the effects on different countries and commodities. The experienced authors have squeezed a remarkable amount of information about agricultural conditions and policies into this excellent brief study.