Free trade has become a modern-day creed, accepted by both wealthy industrialized countries and many governments of developing countries as the generator of economic growth, development and employment. However, free trade has also been condemned by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in...

Land and market imperfections shape the organization of agricultural production and lead to different production regimes within rural farm households in South Africa. This paper presents a theoretical model to explain the presence of three main households groups (classes) determined on the basis...

In many developing countries, regional integration has become a key means of promoting economic growth and fighting poverty. PTAs are increasingly used as engines of change in many developing countries, to promote, implement, and lock in reforms in a wide range of policy areas such as investment...

The paper uses bi-regional CGE models to analyse the effects of a change in agricultural support on two (very different) case study regions, one within Scotland, the other in Greece. Both regions are predominantly rural in nature but contain an urban centre as well as a rural hinterland. The...

The CAP reform and the recent EC communication aimed at preparing its Health Check emphasise the need for interventions locally based where agricultural policy integrates with a broader policy for rural areas growth. In this context, the paper investigates the possible different sets policy...

A modified version of a system dynamics model constructed for an EU-wide case-study project (TOPMARD) using STELLA software was used to simulate the effects of a number of development scenarios for a remote rural area in Northern Scotland, i.e. Caithness & Sutherland, which is characterised by...

This paper develops a thorough yet easily implementable approach to measuring agriculture’s contribution to rural viability. The approach is based on input-output modelling. It adopts a number of concepts from input-output modelling such as determining the explicit geographical origin of input...

The TOP-MARD project is a 3-year, 11 country, project supported by the EU’s Framework 6 Programme for Research and Technology Development1. The aim of the research project was to build a policy model of multifunctional agriculture and rural development which would link the multiple functions...

This paper explores the implications of an expansion of the EU milk quota. The paper begins by examining the relative competitiveness of dairy farming in the EU. FADN data is used to derive production cost measures and partial productivity indicators for selected Member States. The results show...

The paper applies a non-parametric propensity score matching approach to evaluate the effects of two types of farm programs (agri-environment (AE) programs and the less favoured area (LFA) scheme) on input use and farm output of individual farms in Germany. The analysis reveals a positive and...