How Do Agricultural Policy Restrictions to Global Trade and Welfare Differ across Commodities?

For decades the world's agricultural markets have been highly distorted by national government policies, but very differently for different commodities. Hence a weighted average across countries of nominal rates of assistance or consumer tax equivalents for a product can be misleading as an indicator of the trade or welfare effects of policies affecting that product's global market. This is especially the case when some countries tax and others subsidize its production or consumption. This article develops a new set of more-satisfactory indicators for that purpose, drawing on the recent literature on trade restrictiveness indexes. It then exploits a global agricultural distortions database recently compiled by the World Bank to generate the first set of estimates of those two indicators for each of 28 key agricultural commodities from 1960 to 2004, based on a sample of 75 countries that together account for more than three-quarters of the world's production of those agricultural commodities. These reveal the considerable extent of reforms in agricultural policies of developing as well as high-income countries over the past two decades.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Lloyd, Peter J., Croser, Johanna L., Anderson, Kym
Language:	English
Published:	2009-03-01
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE VALUE, AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY, AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY MARKETS, AGRICULTURAL INCENTIVES, AGRICULTURAL MARKETS, AGRICULTURAL POLICIES, AGRICULTURAL POLICY, AGRICULTURAL PRICE, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, AGRICULTURAL SECTORS, AGRICULTURE, BARLEY, BORDER MEASURES, CASSAVA, COCOA, COCONUT, COFFEE, COIN, COMMODITIES, COMMODITY MARKET, COMPETITIVE MARKET, CONSUMER SURPLUS, CONSUMERS, COTTON, COUNTRY MARKETS, CROPS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DISTORTION, DISTORTIONS, DOMESTIC DEMAND, DOMESTIC PRICE, DOMESTIC PRODUCER, ECONOMETRIC ESTIMATES, ELASTICITY, EQUILIBRIUM, EXCHANGE RATE, EXCHANGE RATE POLICIES, EXCHANGE RATES, EXPORT, EXPORT SUBSIDIES, EXPORT SUBSIDY, EXPORTS, EXTERNALITIES, FARM, FARM PRODUCT, FARM PRODUCTS, FREE TRADE, GDP, GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM, GLOBAL DEMAND, GLOBAL ECONOMY, GLOBAL MARKET, GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS, GRAINS, GROUNDNUT, GROUNDNUTS, HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES, IMPORT, IMPORT BARRIERS, IMPORT DEMAND, IMPORT TARIFF, IMPORTS, INCOME, INDEX NUMBERS, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL PRICE, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY, LIVESTOCK, LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS, MAIZE, MARGINAL COSTS, MARKET ACCESS, MARKET FAILURES, MILK, MILLET, MULTIPLE EXCHANGE RATES, OILSEEDS, OPEN ECONOMIES, OPEN ECONOMY, OUTPUT, POULTRY, PRICE CONTROLS, PRICE DISTORTION, PRICE DISTORTIONS, PRICE ELASTICITIES, PRICE ELASTICITY, PRICE ELASTICITY OF SUPPLY, PRICE OF GOOD, PRICE RATIOS, PRICE SUPPORT, PRODUCE, RAPESEED, RICE TRADE, SESAME, SORGHUM, SOYBEAN, SUBSIDY POLICIES, SUGAR, SUGAR TRADE, SUNFLOWER, SUPPLY CURVES, TARIFF RATE, TARIFF RATES, TAX, TAX RATE, TEA, TOTAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, TOTAL IMPORTS, TRADE AGREEMENT, TRADE POLICIES, TRADE POLICY, TRADE REFORMS, TRADE RESTRICTION, TRADE RESTRICTIVENESS, TRADE TAX, TRADE TAXES, TROPICAL CROPS, TROPICAL PRODUCTS, TUBERS, UNIFORM TARIFF, VOLUME, VOLUME OF TRADE, WEIGHTS, WHEAT, WORLD PRICE, WORLD TRADE, YIELDS, Microdata Set,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090420113606 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4101
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