Understanding the Common Agricultural Policy

Most of the recent written material on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is about the details of the day for example, the views of interested parties on the way milk quotas should be removed or the consequences for the EU of different proposals from opposing camps in the international trade negotiations. Surprising little is available which attempts to increase understanding of why the policies are as they are, how they attempt to tackle the underlying problems faced in the European Union and the degree of success they achieve, and the prospects for change. In short, there are few attempts to place the CAP within the conceptual framework of the 'policy process', aimed at students and others concerned with agriculture, the countryside, rural areas and related subjects. Yet knowledge of this process and how it can be applied is precisely the sort of material which students require to gain good understanding of the CAP. The details of agricultural and rural policies have changed and will change many times, and the number of Member States may increase further; yet the principles of policy analysis as applied to the CAP will endure and be of use as details evolve. These principles are the main focus of this book. The authors use economics as the main toolkit, as fairly simple economics holds the key to understanding many of the fundamental pressures to which agriculture, environmental issues and rural areas are subject. However, to explain the CAP they acknowledge the importance of the political and administrative environment in which CAP decisions to allocate public funds are made. Thus political economy, especially theory of public choice and the behavior of bureaucratic organizations, is also drawn upon.

The majority of recent publications on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union address current issues and specific applications. There is little available which attempts to increase understanding of the nature of existing policies, their development, intentions, problems and successes.

The aim of this book is to improve knowledge and understanding of the policy process and its application to the CAP, focussing on the principles of policy analysis. For while the details of agricultural and environmental policies evolve, the principles upon which they are based endure. The author uses economics as a basis for his exploration, as fairly simple economics holds the key to understanding many of the fundamental pressures to which agriculture and rural areas are subject. He explains the importance of the political and administrative context in which the process occurs, acknowledging the influence of environmental and sociological concerns.

Such knowledge of the conceptual framework of the policy process and its application to the CAP is essential for all concerned with agriculture and rural livelihoods, both within the European Union and in those countries trading with the EU. This includes both students and professionals. The book provides an understanding of these principles in terms of how and why policy changes, thus increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the process.