AGRIBUS 7054 - Global Food & Agricultural Policy Analysis

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 2 - 2018

Policies affecting agricultural and food businesses are examined using an economic framework and an international perspective. Students develop a solid understanding of the agricultural and food policy environment, the policy formulation process, and the role, rationale and economic consequences of government intervention in food and agricultural markets. They will develop the skills and working knowledge necessary to critically assess current and potential changes to domestic and global agricultural and food policy, trade policy, environmental and natural resource policy, and market regulations. Basic economic theoretical concepts and analytical tools are used to deal with the policy issues being discussed. For example, students will gain experience conducting cost benefit analyses using various policy instruments and programs. Each topic is motivated by a current or emerging issue facing the food and agricultural sectors of the economy.

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Course Details

Course Code	AGRIBUS 7054
Course	Global Food & Agricultural Policy Analysis
Coordinating Unit	Centre for Global Food & Resources
Term	Trimester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Taught as an Intensive
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assessment	Assignments and Exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Di Zeng

Lecturer in Charge:	Dr. Di Zeng, Lecturer
Email:	di.zeng@adelaide.edu.au
Location:	North TCE Campus Office: 5.24 Nexus 10 Tower
Office Hours:	By appointment

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

This course will demonstrate how economists tackle a range of policy-related issues that are relevant to food and agricultural businesses. Economics is often divided into two streams: microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics deals with how individuals and firms choose to allocate scarce resources, how markets work and how government intervention may affect market processes and firms in the market. Macroeconomics deals with the “big” picture; for example, national output and employment. We will deal with policy issues from both fields, but we will focus mostly on microeconomic issues.

When it comes to policy issues, there are often no “right” answers, but economic principles and concepts are useful for analysing and comparing the social impacts of different policy scenarios. Basic theoretical tools are introduced as required to deal with the issues being discussed. In the process students are exposed to a large number of economic concepts and analytical tools, and to the “language” of economists. After learning the “basics”, these new skills are utilized to examine the potential economic impacts of different policy instruments that might be used to deal with current issues facing agricultural and food markets. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to professionally communicate with economists in a variety of situations, for example when they are working with government officials, as consultants, or simply when they are attempting to assert their opinion in related forums.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Demonstrate practical applications of policy analysis related to agriculture and food value chain issues
Discuss the economic and political feasibility of policy changes and instruments
Think critically about the need for policies and policy reforms
Identify and analyse how public policy and firm and firm decisions affect impact agribusiness, market, and society
Recognize policy related problems and anticipate opportunities available in the market
Write concise summaries of policies affecting the agricultural and food sectors, and argue orally its implications

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,4
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,3,4,5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2,3,4,5,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3,4,5,6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1,2,3,4,5,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1,2,3,4,5,6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Assigned readings and related materials, that will be posted on the course MyUni website, and lecture notes. Lecture notes are not substitute for the assigned readings, they constitute a guide for the lectures and are not comprehensive.

We will use different textbooks available for check out at The University of Adelaide Library and for online reading via The University of Adelaide Library website http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/

Lectures will be recorded but they are not substitute for class attendance. Rather, a source for reviewing course materials when need it.

Recommended Resources

Textbooks:

Available for check out at the University of Adelaide library and for on-line reading at the University of Adelaide Library website http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library:

Nestle, M. (2007). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition (Revised and Expanded Edition edition). Berkeley: University of California Press.

Norton, G. W., Alwang, J., & Masters, W. A. (2014). Economics of Agricultural Development: World Food Systems and Resource Use (3 edition). New York: Routledge.

Pinstrup-Andersen, P., & II, D. D. W. (2011). Food Policy for Developing Countries: The Role of Government in Global, National, and Local Food Systems. Cornell University Press.

Available for check out at the University of Adelaide Library http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library:

Mankiw, N. (2004). Principles of Economics. Cengage Learning.

Penson et al. (2014). Introduction to Agricultural Economics. Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press.

Available on-line to download at the University of Adelaide Library website http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library:

Microeconomics - A Fresh Start. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/economics/microeconomics/book/978-3-642-37433-3

For the required and recommended readings for each lecture, please check the course reading list.

Journal articles and peer reviewed journals.

Some recommended peer review journals are Food Policy, World Development, Global Food Security, Agricultural Economics, Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Some websites with working papers and policy briefs include http://repec.org/, http://ideas.repec.org/, http://econpapers.repec.org/, International Food Research Policy Institute IFPRI www.ifpri.org, World Bank www.worldbank.org and https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2160. Resources are not limited to these ones, newspaper articles and research centre working papers are additional excellent sources of information. I will provide other resources in MyUni and in the course reading list.

Online Learning

MyUni will be used to post all class materials, articles, quizzes, and announcements.

All communication for this course will take place via email and MyUni. You are expected to be checking your University of Adelaide email (@adelaide.edu.au) frequently to check for course updates.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

No information currently available.

Workload

No information currently available.

Learning Activities Summary

No information currently available.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Individual assignment	10%	1,2,3,4,5,6
Individual assignment	10%	1,2,3,4,5
Policy Brief (group)	30%	1,2,3,4,5,6
Participation in class activies	10%	1,2,3,4,5,6
Final exam	40%	1,2,3,4,5,6
Total	100%

For specific due dates please see MyUni.

Assessment Detail

No information currently available.

Submission

No information currently available.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

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SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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