Agricultural Trade Principles and Policies

About this book

Agricultural Trade answers the need for a comprehensive, user-friendly analysis of trade principles, institutions, and policies necessary to understand international agricultural trade. It offers the most complete coverage available of strategic trade theory and application, imperfect competition, market power, and the political economy of agricultural trade. Designed as a core text for students with a background in micro- and macro economics, "Agricultural Trade" also provides government and industry professionals with a basic understanding of the issues and methods as well as the tools to carry out their own in-depth analyses. This will also be a convenient reference for trade and economic development practitioners. The book describes how to measure trade distortions, the gains from trade, and competitive advantage. Further, it demonstrates why the big losers from trade distortions are the nations that practice them. Its reference features include an extensive listing of trade laws, institutions, and policies; a detailed listing of elements in a sound American trade policy; and a glossary that defines trade.

Contents

Part 1 Introduction: other indicators of the importance of agricultural trade; some historical developments; new developments in world trade; outline; references. Part 2 Conceptualizing comparative advantage and the gains from trade: absolute advantage; comparative advantage; modern theory of comparative advantage and gains from trade; resource endowment on trade; arguments for trade barriers; a note on the theory of the second best; references; annex to chapter 2 - proof of Heckscher-Ohlin theorem. Part 3 Measuring comparative advantage, protection and the gains from trade liberalization: policy interventions; nominal protection coefficient; exchange rate distortion; effective protection coefficient; domestic resource costs - measuring comparative advantage; producer and consumer subsidy equivalents; classical welfare analysis; a note on competitive advantage; conclusions; references. Part 4 Border interventions - taxes, subsidies, and quotas: interventions by importers; interventions by exporters; import and export tax symmetry; conclusions; references. Part 5 Agricultural commodity programs and world trade: farm and food commodity price ceilings; productivity and trade; American commodity programs; mandatory controls; self-sufficiency rice policy in Japan; European community policy; conclusions; references. Part 6 Macroeconomic policy, exchange rates and trade: the Foreign Exchange market; determinants of demand and supply of a foreign exchange; foreign exchange, supply-demand equilibrium, and price response; balance of payments; macroeconomic linkages; the economic degradation process; conclusions; references; annex to chapter 6 - derivation of Marshall-Lerner condition. Part 7 Introduction to strategic trade theory: Genesis; the theory of games; theory of duopoly; conjectural variations; appropriateness of strategic trade theory; references. Part 8 Strategic trade theory, market power, and the political economy of trade: relating strategic trade analysis to traditional analysis; tariffs, quotas, and imperfect competition; gains from market power; grain export industry performance; reinterpreting orthodoxy in the context of modern trade theory; forms of trade; other political economic considerations; conclusions; references. Part 9 Institutions and trade policies: International Monetary fund; World Bank; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); international commodity agreements; bloc or regional integration institutions; conclusions; references; annex to chapter 9 - The General Agreement Articles as of 1989. Part 10 Major players in world trade: three economic superpowers; other players; Third-world developments; justifications for trade barriers in today's world; conclusions; references. (Part contents)

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