Suchergebnisse

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Acknowledgment -- Table of Contents -- 1 Summary and Conclusions -- Past and Current Policies -- Policy Options for the Future -- Concluding Remarks -- HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE -- 2 The Performance of Past Polices: A Critique -- Introduction -- Price-Support Levels -- Some Effects of the 1977 and 1981 Acts -- Changing Conditions: Unchanged Programs -- Lessons from the Past -- Who Gets What? -- Concluding Comments -- References -- 3 Future Agricultural Policy: A Challenge for All

The traditional research paradigm represents discoveries flowing linearly from basic science conducted in public institutions to applied research and commercialization undertaken largely by private industry. This characterization fails to accurately portray the nonlinear and chaotic nature of research and development (R&D) processes. Recent United States (U.S.) legislation aimed to promote economic growth through supporting research acknowledges the "blurring of lines" between public and private research activities. Moreover, incentive alignments have recently emerged between public and private interests in life science R&D. In this context, the Berkeley/Novartis strategic alliance is shown to be a collaborative public/private relationship that is sourced in such incentive alignments. It is also argued that this alliance is consistent with the fundamental complementary relationships that formed some of the principles structuring the original foundation for Land Grant universities. ; Includes bibliographical references

This paper focuses on recent theoretical developments in political economy and what role they might play in explaining and reforming individual country and global distortions in food and agricultural markets. Four groups of forces are isolated: political governance structures emphasizing the role of democratic mechanisms; the design of polycentric structures for assigned governmental authority for setting policy instruments; market structure and other socioeconomic characteristics; and the role of sector mobility and asset diversification. Each of these forces are distilled and data sources are reviewed that will allow econometric specifications that have both explanatory and policy reform implications.

Federal renewable energy R&D spending is intended, at least in part, to achieve path-breaking commercial breakthroughs in ethanol, hydrogen, solar and wind energy. Recently, the private sector has begun to respond to market opportunities generated by the spike in oil prices and governmental support with significant increases in renewable energy investment. As firms increase their exposure in renewable energy markets, the public sector will be increasingly be pulled in the direction of insuring against the downside risks of clean energy investments. A central question arises in this context: what is the optimal ex-ante allocation of renewable energy R&D investment across the emerging technologies? From the standpoint of societal welfare, the optimal allocation of such support is fundamentally a problem of ex-ante portfolio analysis under risk and uncertainty. This paper presents the components of an ex-ante portfolio analysis of both public and private sector R&D risks in renewable energy.

This paper focuses on recent theoretical developments in political economy and what role they might play in explaining and reforming individual country and global distortions in food and agriculture. Four groups of forces are isolated: political governance structures emphasizing the role of democratic mechanisms; the design of polycentric structures for assigned governmental authority for setting policy instruments; market structure and other socioeconomic characteristics; and the role of sector mobility and asset diversification. Each of these forces are distilled and data sources are reviewed that will allow econometric specifications that have both explanatory and policy reform implications.

The prospect that the nations of Central and Eastern Europe may soon join the European Union (EU) raises a number of questions concerning the treatment of agriculture under the treaties of accession. In order to analyze the implications of alternative accession scenarios, we construct a simulation model of the agricultural economies in Eastern Europe and explore the consequences of various regimes of trade and support policies under different scenarios concerning the terms in the treaties of accession. The analysis focuses on the relationship between different negotiated accession contracts, pre-accession agricultural support policies, restructuring in the agricultural sector, and sectoral performance. The analysis suggests that the choice of transitional policies adopted during the pre-accession period are far more important in determining outcomes in the agricultural sector than are the terms of accession to the EU. The prevailing attention to convergence with EU norms may be misplaced, and perhaps even harmful.