Agricultural Distortions Publications

The project has produced the following publications:

Books

	Kym Anderson (ed), The Political Economy of Agricultural Price Distortions. Cambridge University Press, September 2010. ISBN: 978-0-521-76323-3. Despite numerous policy reforms since the 1980s, farm product prices remain heavily distorted in both high-income and developing countries. This book seeks to improve our understanding of why societies adopted these policies, and why some but not other countries have undertaken reforms. Drawing on recent developments in political economy theories and in the generation of empirical measures of the extent of price distortions, the present volume provides both analytical narratives of the historical origins of agricultural protectionism in various parts of the world and a set of political econometric analyses aimed at explaining the patterns of distortions that have emerged over the past five decades. These new studies shed much light on the forces affecting incentives and those facing farmers in the course of national and global economic and political development. They also show how those distortions might change in the future - or be changed by concerted actions to offset pressures from vested interests. "Efficiency-sapping agriculture protection in the rich nations continues to be a problem, and it seems to be spreading to emerging economies just when climate change will require the world's food production and trade to be more efficient. Using a massive new data set, this book illuminates the political economy determinants of farm policies - the determinants that we must change if the world's food production is to meet twenty-first-century challenges. In short this book is right; the right people on the right topic at the right time." - Richard Baldwin, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva. "Kym Anderson should be commended for his great public service in organizing this splendid volume. The agricultural trade policy analysts he brings together here are astute and shed great light on existing government distortions to these markets. This is a very interesting book on an important topic." - Douglas Irwin, Dartmouth College. "This book is rich, both in the early chapters, which provide excellent summaries of the literature, and in the later ones, which push the understanding of political economy forward. It is a must-read for anyone wanting to know about government policies toward agriculture, their high cost to the global economy, and their often unintended effects on farmers. The research reported on the political economy of these policies breaks new ground and also presents a challenging menu of questions for further research." - Anne Krueger, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University and Senior Fellow, Stanford Center for International Development. "Poor countries are poor because of their politics, and the place where this has the biggest consequences is agriculture. To understand these issues, this book, which brings together the leading scholars of this topic with a huge new database, is the place to start." - James Robinson, Harvard University. "This collaborative effort is a tour de force in enhancing the understanding of the characteristics and determinants of agricultural intervention policies, currently and historically, in both the major industrialized countries and the developing countries. It is especially timely in light of the key role that agriculture is playing in the ongoing Doha Round negotiations." - Robert M. Stern, University of Michigan.
	Kym Anderson, John Cockburn, and Will Martin (ed.), Agricultural Price Distortions, Inequality, and Poverty. Palgrave Macmillan and Washington DC: World Bank, March 2010. ISBN: 978-0-8213-8184-7. 528 pages. Agricultural Price Distortions, Inequality, and Poverty analyzes the effects of agricultural and trade policies around the world on national and regional economic welfare, on income inequality among and within countries, and on the level and incidence of poverty in developing countries. The studies include economy-wide analyses of the inequality and poverty effects of own-country policies compared with rest-of-the-world policies for 10 individual developing countries in three continents. This book also includes three chapters that each use a separate global economic model to examine the effects of policies on aggregate poverty and the distribution of poverty across many identified developing countries.
	Anderson, K. (ed.), Distortions to Agricultural Incentives: A Global Perspective, 1955 to 2007, London: Palgrave Macmillan and Washington DC: World Bank, October 2009 The fifth volume in the Distortions to Agricultural Incentives series summarizes the findings of the preceding four regional volumes plus four new studies of distortionary policies in high-income countries since the 1950s. "The international agricultural economy is bewilderingly complex, and an up-to-date study of economic policies and their effects has been sorely needed. Kym Anderson has done a remarkable job of leading such a huge ambitious study. This volume provides the synthesis and will serve as the standard reference for years to come, documenting the impacts of current policies toward agriculture and analyzing changes over the past several decades. With increasing concerns about global food supplies, it should be required reading for academics and policy makers seeking to understand the current structure of the international food economy and considering policy alternatives."   Anne O. Krueger, Professor, Johns Hopkins University and former First Deputy Managing Director, Internationl Monetary Fund. "This book provides absolutely unique information on agricultural policies around the world, in an internationally comparable manner. It will serve a whole generation of analysts and policy makers with a benchmark against which to assess the pursuit of future policies in world agriculture."   Stefan Tangermann, Emeritus Professor, University of Gottingen and former OECD Director for Trade and Agriculture.
	Anderson, K. and W.A. Masters (eds.), Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Africa, Washington DC: World Bank, March 2009 This volume provides analytical narratives for scores of countries that shed light on the evolving nature and extent of policy interventions over the past half-century. This title provides an overview of the evolution of distortions to agricultural incentives caused by price and trade policies in the Arab Republic of Egypt plus 20 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa which account for about 90 percent of that region's population, farm households, agricultural output, and overall GDP. Sectoral, trade, and exchange rate policies in the region have changed greatly since the 1950s, and there have been substantial reforms since the 1980s. Nonetheless, numerous price distortions in this region remain and others have been added in recent years; and there has been some backsliding also, such as in Zimbabwe. The new empirical indicators in these country studies provide a strong evidence-based foundation for assessing the successes and failures of the past and for evaluating policy options for boosting economic growth and reducing income inequality and poverty.
	Anderson, K. and W. Martin (eds.), Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Asia, Washington DC: World Bank, February 2009 This book provides an overview of the evolution of distortions to agricultural incentives caused by price and trade policies in the 12 largest economies of East and South Asia. Together these countries constitute more than 95 percent of the region's population, agricultural output, and overall GDP. Sectoral, trade, and exchange rate policies in the region have changed greatly since the 1950s, and there have been substantial reforms since the 1980s, most notably in China and India. Nonetheless, numerous price distortions in this region remain and others have been added in recent years. The empirical indicators in these country studies provide a strong evidence-based foundation for assessing the successes and failures of the past and for evaluating likely and future policy trends.
	Anderson, K. and A. Valdés(eds.), Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Latin America, Washington DC: World Bank, October 2008 This book provides an overview of the evolution of distortions to agricultural incentives caused by price and trade policies in five economies of South America plus the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Together these countries comprise about 80 percent of the region's population, agricultural output, and overall GDP. The country chapters assess the successes and failures of the past and evaluate policy options for the years ahead.
	Anderson, K. and J. Swinnen (eds.), Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Europes Transition Economies, Washington DC: World Bank, June 2008 This book provides an overview of the evolution of distortions to agricultural incentives caused by price and trade policies in the economies of Central and Eastern Europe (including the ten that recently joined the European Union), Russia, and Central Asia that are transitioning away from central planning. Together these countries comprise over 90 percent of the ECA region's population and GDP. Sectoral, trade, and exchange rate policies in the region have changed greatly since the dissolving of the Soviet Union in 1991, but many price distortions remain. The new empirical indicators in these country studies provide a strong evidence-based foundation for evaluating policy options.

Book Chapters (not including chapters in books listed above).

Anderson, Kym, “Costing Global Trade Barriers, 1900 to 2050”, Ch. in The Way the World is: Past, Present and Future Challenges, edited by B. Lomborg, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012 (forthcoming).

Anderson, Kym, “Policy Responses to Changing Perceptions of the Role of Agriculture in Development”, Ch. 11 in The Theory and Practice of Globalisation in Asia: Essays in Honour of Ross Garnaut, edited by P. Drysdale, H. Hill and L. Song, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012 (forthcoming).

Anderson, Kym, “Scope for World Trade Reforms to Ease Asian Poverty and Inequality”, Ch. 12 in Trade‐Led Growth: A Sound Strategy for the Asian Region, edited by S. Evenett, M. Mikic and R. Ratnayake, Bangkok: ESCAP, 2011.

Anderson, Kym and Signe Nelgen, “What’s the Appropriate Agricultural Protection Counterfactual for Trade Analysis?”, Ch. 13 (pp. 325-54) in Unfinished Business? The WTO's Doha Agenda, edited by W. Martin and A. Mattoo, London: Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Bank, 2011.

Anderson, Kym, Will Martin and C.S. Pham, "Effects of GATT/WTO on Asia's Trade Performance", Ch. 4 in Impact of International Agreements and Organizations on Development in Asia and the Pacific, edited by D.V. An, Canberra: Asia Pacific Press, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "The Impact of Manufacturing Protection on Agricultural Incentives in Australia", Ch. 4 in Light the Lamp: Papers on World Trade and Investment in Memory of Bijit Bora, edited by C. Findlay, M. Pangestu and D. Parsons, Singapore: World Scientific, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "Agricultural Policies: Past, Present, and Prospective under Doha", Ch. 7 in Food Crises and the WTO, edited by C. Häberli and B. Karapinar, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "Government Distortions to Agricultural Incentives: Lessons from Rich and Emerging Economies", Ch. 7 in State, Community and Market in Development: Essays in Honour of Yujiro Hayami, edited by K. Otsuka and K. Kalirajan, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Also to be included in a Japanese language book entitled State Building and Economic Development, edited by K. Otsuka, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Agricultural Policy as a Barrier to Global Economic Integration", Ch. in the International Handbook of Economic Integration, edited by M.N. Jovanovic, London: Edward Elgar, London, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "International Trade Policies Affecting Agricultural Incentives in Developing Countries", Ch. 62, pp. 3215-52 in the Handbook on Agricultural Economics, Volume 4, edited by P. Pingali and R.E. Evenson, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, Will Martin and Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, "China, the WTO and the Doha Agenda", Ch. in China and the World Economy, edited by D. Greenaway, C. Milner and S. Yao, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "Asia's Role in Stabilizing Food and Agricultural Prices", Ch. 4, pp. 51-95 in Asia's Contribution to Global Economic Development and Stability, edited by M. Kawai and S. Stone, Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, 2009.

Anderson, Kym, James Giesecke, and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Distorted Agricultural Incentives and Australian Economic Development", Ch. 12, pp. 339-78 in Globalization and the Rural-Urban Divide, edited by M. Gopinath and H. Kim, Seoul: Seoul National University Press, 2009.

Anderson, Kym, "Distortions to Agricultural Incentives", pp. 287-93 in Volume 1 of Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy (2 Volumes), edited by K.A. Rienart and R.S. Rajan, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.

Anderson, Kym, Will Martin and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Long Run Implications of WTO Accession for Agriculture in China", Ch. 7, pp. 138-158 in China's Agricultural Trade: Issues and Prospects, edited by I. Sheldon, St Paul MN: International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, 2009. http://iatrc.software.umn.edu/publications/proceedingsissues/proceedings_2007Jul-Beijing.html

Anderson, Kym, "Policies Affecting Agricultural Incentives in Developing Countries", Ch. 7 in Non-Distorting Farm Support to Enhance Global Food Production, edited by A. Elbehri and A. Sarris, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization, 2009.

Anderson, Kym, and Tim Josling, "The EU's Common Agricultural Policy at Fifty: An Outside View", pp. 51-58 in G. Verburg (ed.), Vijftig jaar Verdrag van Rome: De betekenis van landbouw voor één Europa, Den Haag: Boom Juridische uitgevers, 2007.

Journal Articles

Martin, Will and and Kym Anderson, “Export Restrictions and Price Insulation During Commodity Price Booms”, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 94(1), January 2012.

Anderson, Kym and Signe Nelgen, “Trade Barrier Volatility and Agricultural Price Stabilization”, World Development 40(1): 36-48, January 2012.

Croser, Johanna L. and Kym Anderson, “Agricultural Distortions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Trade and Welfare Indicators, 1961 to 2004”, World Bank Economic Review 25(2): 250-77, 2011.

Croser, Johanna L. and Kym Anderson, “Changing Contributions of Different Agricultural Policy Instruments to Global Reductions in Trade and Welfare”, World Trade Review 10(3): 297-323, July 2011.

Anderson, Kym and Johanna L. Croser, “Novel Indicators of the Trade and Welfare Effects of Agricultural Distortions in OECD Countries”, Review of World Economics/Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv 147(2): 269-302, June 2011.

Anderson, Kym, John Cockburn and Will Martin, “Would Freeing Up World Trade Reduce Poverty and Inequality? The Vexed Role of Agricultural Distortions”, The World Economy 34(4): 487-515, April 2011.

Anderson, Kym and Signe Nelgen, “How Do Governments Respond to Food Price Spikes? Lessons from the Past”, Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy 1(2): 265-85, December 2010.

Anderson, Kym and Johanna L. Croser, "New Indicators of How Much Agricultural Policies Restrict Global Trade", Journal of World Trade 44(5): 1109-26 October 2010.

Croser, Johanna L., Peter J. Lloyd and Kym Anderson, "How Do Agricultural Policy Restrictions to Global Trade and Welfare Differ Across Commodities?", American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92(3): 698-712, April 2010.

Anderson, Kym "Krueger/Schiff/Valdés Revisited: Agricultural Price and Trade Policy Reform in Developing Countries Since 1960", Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 32(2): 195-231, Summer 2010.

Peter J. Lloyd, Johanna L. Croser and Kym Anderson, "Global Distortions to Agricultural Markets: New Indicators of Trade and Welfare Impacts, 1960 to 2007", Review of Development Economics 14(2): 141-60, May 2010.

Anderson, Kym and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Agricultural and Trade Policy Reforms in Latin America: Impacts on Markets and Welfare", Revista de la CEPAL 100: 143-163, April 2010 (also in Spanish).

Anderson, Kym, James Giesecke and Ernesto Valenzuela, "How Would Global Trade Liberalization Affect Rural and Regional Incomes in Australia?, Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 54(4): 389-406, October 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "Can the WTO Reduce Agricultural Trade Distortions?" Journal of International Trade and Economic Development 19(1): 109-34, March 2010.

Josling, Tim, Kym Anderson, Andrew Schmitz and Stefan Tangermann, "Understanding International Trade in Agricultural Products: One Hundred Years of Contributions by Agricultural Economists", American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92(2): 424-46, April 2010.

Anderson, Kym, and Johan Swinnen, "How Distorted Have Agricultural Incentives Become in Europe's Transition Economies?" (with J. Swinnen), Eastern European Economics 48(1): 79-109, January-February 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "Policy Reform Affecting Agricultural Incentives: Much Achieved, Much Still Needed", World Bank Research Observer 25(1): 21-55, February 2010.

Anderson, Kym, "Distortions to Agricultural versus Non-agricultural Producer Incentives", Annual Review of Resource Economics 1:55-74, October 2009.

Anderson, Kym, "Distorted Agricultural Incentives and Economic Development: Asia's Experience", The World Economy 32(3): 351-84, March 2009. (Revision of the inaugural The World Economy Annual Asia Lecture, University of Nottingham, Kuala Lumpur campus, 16 January 2008.) Also circulated as CEPR Discussion Paper 6914, London, July.

Anderson, Kym, "Reducing Distortions to Agricultural Incentives: Progress, Pitfalls and Prospects" (AAEA Fellows Address), American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(5): 1135-46, December 2006. Also circulated as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4092, Washington DC, December 2006.

Anderson, Kym, P.J. Lloyd and D. MacLaren, "Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Australia Since World War II" , The Economic Record 83(263): 461-82, December 2007. Also circulated as CEPR Discussion Paper 6436, London, September 2007 and as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4471, Washington DC, January 2008.

Anderson, Kym, Francesca de Nicola, Esteban Jara, Marianne Kurzweil, Damiano Sandri and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Distortions to Farmer Prices Since the 1950s: South Africa in International Perspective" , the 2007 Simon Brand Memorial Address, Agrekon: South African Journal of Agricultural Economics 46(4): 427-59, December 2007.

Anderson, Kym, "Reducing Distortions to Agricultural Incentives: Progress, Pitfalls and Prospects" (AAEA Fellows Address), American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(5): 1135-46, December 2006.

Working papers

To access the longer World Bank Working Paper versions of above books chapters and appendices (more than 70 of them), please click here.

The second stage of the project involves using econometrics and CGE modeling to estimate the political economy reasons behind the pattern of distortions across countries, commodities and over time, and the inequality, poverty and other economic effects of current versus alternative policy regimes for individual countries.

Two books from Stage 2 were published in 2010, and the working paper versions of the chapters (more than 30 of them) can be accessed here

Methodology paper

Anderson, Kym, Marianne Kurzweil, Will Martin, Damianl Sandri and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Measuring Distortions to Agricultural Incentives, Revisited", World Trade Review 7(4): 1-30, October 2008.

Database Resources

A complete compilation of the core database in an excel format is freely downloadable:

Anderson, Kym and Ernesto Valenzuela, "Estimates of Global Distortions to Agricultural Incentives, 1955 to 2007", World Bank, Washington DC, October 2008, available here.

A suplementary database of Trade Restriction and Welfare Restriction Indexes is freely downloadable:

Anderson, Kym and Johanna Croser, National and Global Agricultural Trade and Welfare Reduction Indexes, 1955 to 2007", World Bank, Washington DC, April 2009,  available here. 

To access the detailed national spreadsheets that underlay the distortion estimates in the above books, please click here.

Related documentation and resources for economy-wide or sectoral modelers:

Valenzuela, Ernesto and Kym Anderson (2008), "Alternative Agricultural Price Distortions for CGE Analysis of Developing Countries, 2004 and 1980-84". GTAP Research Memorandum No 13, December. Purdue University, West Lafayette

- Tax rates into the GTAP database, VIEWHAR resource, available here.