Polish Agriculture in Transition: Does it Hurt to be Slapped by an Invisible Hand?

Abstract

Polish economic data is assembled in order to assess the impact on the agricultural sector of the recent reforms. Evidence of recovery in this sector is slight, but the decline seems to have halted. Policy issues for agricultural reform are discussed, emphasizing regulation of the monopolistic input and processing sectors. The evidence for the existence and nature of these monopolies is reviewed. The goals of the chief regulatory body in Poland, the Antimonopoly Office, are summarized. A selection of recent models in industrial organization, dealing with entry, horizontal mergers, and vertical control, are used to provide a basis for assessing the direction of Polish regulatory policy.