Economics of Incorporating Public Participation in Efforts to Redress Degradation of Agricultural Land (original) (raw)
Related papers
2014
As the environmental policy recommendations of economists become more acceptable, differences in the professional understanding of, and support for, different policy forms are becoming more apparent. These different approaches to environmental policy and research are described around a taxonomy of four perspectives: “rational analysts; ’ “cost analysts; ’ “market managers; ’ and “free market environmentalists. ” These perspectives are compared and contrasted. Recognition of these differences can result in a better appreciation of the different research agendas of economists and can improve clarity in teaching and policy advising. Key Words: economic incentives, environmental policy, regulation. The numerous environmental laws put into place around the time of the first Earth Day addressed many environmental concerns. The laws designed to reduce waste discharges to air, land, and water adopted what has been characterized as “command and control ” regulation. 1 In simplest terms, com-
This paper reviews agricultural externalities as a source of market failure and as a reason for a lack of sustainability of agricultural incomes and production. It concentrates mainly on environmental externalities (which include biodiversity loss) but consideration is also given to externalities involving adverse selection. Types of agricultural externalities are classified and their nature is explored. Depending on their type and nature, different policy implications often follow. For example, no intervention may be required, or it may be reasonable for a farmer to have to pay to create an unfavourable externality or be paid to moderate or eliminate it. Adverse selection is also an externality phenomenon and some of its implications for agricultural policy are explored. Traditionally, environmental economics has focused on economic efficiency in formulating policies for environmental regulation but equity is also important in relation to public policy. The implications of various equity priciples for designing policies to address the occurrence of agricultural externalities are outlined. Attention is subsequently centred on the economic practicality of agricultural environmental policies when account is taken of transaction costs and knowledge limitations, as well as the political and social acceptability of such policies. These factors can alter the choice of ideal policies. Biodiversity change (conservation and loss) involving agriculture is considered as a particular case. By showing the relevance for agricultural policy of diverse foci, this study accords with the polycentric approach of Konrad Hagedorn. His approach should make us wary of cut-and-dried specific but narrow policy solutions that characterise traditional environmental economics. The "exactitude" of these solutions appears in many cases to be obtained at the expense of relevance.
Complex Policy Choices about Agricultural Externalities: Efficiency, Equity and Acceptability
A feature of the research contribution of Konrad Hagedorn is his proposals for the integration of economic, social and political dimensions of agricultural policy. His wholistic approach involves, in part, an extension of new institutionalism to public policy. This article identifies a number of difficulties that arise in choosing public policies for regulating externalities generated by agricultural activity. First, it is noted that finding an economically efficient agricultural policy can be difficult because the functions involved can be irregular – they may involve features associated with the mathematics of catastrophe. This adds to the complexity of public decision-making and adds to the bounds in rational choice. Secondly, in the light of the research results of behavioural economists and other considerations, it is shown that efficient economic solutions to resource allocation are not independent of the distribution of property rights. This inevitably requires consideration of whether the distribution of these rights is equitable. Thirdly, the importance of institutional structures for the transaction costs (or more generally administrative costs) of implementing agricultural policy are stressed and this is illustrated. Fourthly, the political acceptability or practicality of implementing policies is claimed to be a relevant consideration in choosing agricultural policies. It is noted that this is influenced by existing social structures and cultural factors. Some of these issues are briefly illustrated by public policies (such as those implied by the International Convention on Biological Diversity) designed or intended to extend property rights in genetic material.
Public Economics and the Environment in an Imperfect World: An Introductory Summary
Springer eBooks, 1995
There is a growing awareness to the role that natural resources such as water, land, forests and environmental amenities play in our lives. There are many competing uses for natural resources, and society is challenged to manage them for improving social well being. Furthermore, there may be dire consequences to natural resources mismanagement. Renewable resources such as water, land and the environment are linked, and decisions made with regard to one may affect the others. Policy and management of natural resources now require interdisciplinary approach including natural and social sciences to correctly address our society preferences. This series provides a collection of works containing most recent findings on economics, management and policy of renewable biological resources such as water, land, crop protection, sustainable agriculture, technology, and environmental health. It incorporates modern thinking and techniques of economics and management. Books in this series will incorporate knowledge and models of natural phenomena with economics and managerial decision frameworks to assess alternative options for managing natural resources and environment. Public intervention is essential in preventing and restoring environmental degradation. The Bovenberg-Cnossen book contributes to our understanding of the interface between public economics and environmental economics. The book emphasizes the role of incentives such as taxes and subsidies, and institutions, regulations and agency coordination in reducing environmental pollution, and their effects on welfare.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2007
A variety of tools can be employed in support of environmental policy objectives, but achieving preferred outcomes also requires the cooperation of private landholders and others with vested interests in the land. The Land Stewardship project in the state of Victoria, Australia, is an initiative devoted to exploring the ways in which private landholders could be encouraged towards more sustainable land management. Following the view that the success of policy initiatives is contingent on effective stakeholder engagement, a component of the Land Stewardship project involved a dialogue with landholders about policy tools (e.g., regulation, economic instruments) that might be deployed to encourage improved land management practices. This paper provides an account of the views and attitudes of landholders, as revealed in a series of three workshops, which consisted of discussions about the factors influencing agriculture, participants’ interpretations of sustainability, and policy methods. The focus of the paper is on what landholders believe to be the strengths and limitations of standard policy tools, and the essential requirements for these tools to deliver the best land management outcomes. One of the main findings of the project was a ‘preference hierarchy’ in respect of policy methods, according to which the strongest support was expressed for voluntary and education-based tools, followed by market-based instruments, with command-and-control regulation identified as a measure of ‘last resort’. In the paper we reflect also on how the views and outlook of landholders should be positioned relative to other inputs in the design of policy interventions.
Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development
Agriculture, 2018
Sustainable development is more often considered by media, public opinion, and politicians to be the main goal our society should attempt to pursue in the coming years. To this aim, academic researchers have made sustainability one of the main objects of their studies. This work focuses on environmental sustainability and presents a brief overview of how it is taken into consideration in the agricultural economics field by considering this topic from different perspectives and thus highlighting how this field is gradually broadening its scope to include sustainable development objectives. Our analysis shows that the path towards sustainable development is strongly correlated to the protection of the environment. Therefore, agricultural policies aimed at protecting and preserving the environment, and, more in general, innovation along the agri-food chain, together with consumer attention towards environmental issues, can play an important role in achieving this objective.
As outlined in this chapter, agricultural development has a major ecological and environmental footprint. Nevertheless, agricultural development (together with other biologically based food-supplying industries) is needed to provide enough food for the world's growing level of human population. This chapter begins by discussing the general impacts of agriculture on the environment and the use of natural resources, then considers market failures as influences on the occurrence of agriculture's environmental impacts and its use of natural resources before examining economic factors that affect agricultural sustainability. Subsequently, the implications of agricultural policies for the state of the environment and for the availability of natural resources are outlined.