Global Agricultural Policy Reform And Trade

‘. . . the book provides a comprehensive analysis of multiple aspects of the relationship between trade and the environment. . . It is definitely an eye-opener and a step forward in an ever more important discussion. It highlights the extreme complexity of the relationship between trade liberalization, agricultural policy and environmental effects and shows that trade liberalization does not and should not exclude environmentally friendly agricultural production.’
– Angela M. Hau, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture

‘This is a very valuable and timely book that provides insightful factual and methodological perspectives on the co-evolution of agriculture and the environment in an era of trade liberalization and environmental regulation. It is an especially useful resource for understanding the emerging agricultural policies, which integrate environmental, international trade and income distribution considerations. It will be very beneficial for students of agricultural policy as it provides broad perspectives on both the forces shaping the future of global agriculture and the environment, and the crucial details of modeling for policy assessment and design.’
– David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, US

‘The environmental consequences of trade are a major issue in the debate over the merits of expanded global trade. This book offers a systematic and accessible presentation of the conceptual issues and empirical results related to agricultural trade and the environment, as well as the impacts of environmental policies on trade. Agriculture is in many countries a major environmental driver, making an understanding of the environmental consequences of agricultural trade essential for a comprehensive understanding of the trade and environment issue. The empirical work presented in this book is largely focused on the United States but there are conceptual and methodological lessons that can be applied to studies in other contexts. The book is a valuable contribution to the emerging scientific evaluation of trade and the environment. It will be of interest to economists and policy analysts working in this area.’
– James Shortle, Pennsylvania State University, US

The WTO’s attempts at agricultural trade liberalization have raised concerns that the current movement towards globalization fails to adequately address environmental issues. Even in developed countries, where agriculture at the farm-level represents a small fraction of total GDP, trade-induced changes in agricultural production levels could have considerable environmental effects.

This timely new book analyzes the possible linkages between agricultural trade liberalization and the environment, and assesses the negative and positive impacts of any possible reforms. The authors begin by providing an extensive empirical examination of the potential environmental consequences of agricultural trade liberalization at both a global and US level. However, not only might changes in trade policy affect the environment, but environmental policy can also influence trade. Consequently, the authors conduct a detailed study of the impact of US agri-environmental policies on trade flows. To conclude, they investigate conceptual and policy aspects of the important inter-relationship between agricultural trade and unintentional environmental by-products, transboundary concerns and multilateral environmental agreements.

In the context of ongoing trade negotiations, this comprehensive book provides an objective overview of the potential economic consequences of the relationship between trade and the environment. It will be of special interest to agricultural, development and environmental economists as well as policymakers and policy analysts confronting the practical problems of environmental and economic assessment.

Contents:

Preface

1. Introduction
Joseph Cooper

2. The Environmental By-Products of Agriculture: International Policy Responses
Joseph Cooper, Jason Bernstein, Uptal Vasavada amd Jean-Christophe Bureau

PART I: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION
3. Some Domestic Environmental Effects of US Agricultural Adjustments under Liberalized Trade: A Preliminary Analysis
Joseph Cooper, Robert Johansson and Mark Peters

4. Global Environmental Effects of Agricultural Adjustments under Liberalized Trade
John Sullivan and Kevin Ingram

PART II: TRADE IMPACTS OF AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS
5. Domestic Agri-Environmental Policies in a Trade Perspective
Mark Peters and Mark Smith

6. Effects of Agri-Environmental Payment Policies on Agricultural Trade
Joseph Cooper, Mark Peters and Roger Claasen

PART III: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND POLICY
7. Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Trade
Joseph Cooper and Jonathan Kaplan

8. Further Considerations
Joseph Cooper

References

Index