The Intended and Unintended Effects of U.S. Agricultural and Biotechnology Policies

Using economic models and empirical analysis, this volume examines a wide range of agricultural and biofuel policy issues and their effects on American agricultural and related agrarian insurance markets. Beginning with a look at the distribution of funds by insurance programs—created to support farmers but often benefiting crop processors instead—the book then examines the demand for biofuel and the effects of biofuel policies on agricultural price uncertainty. Also discussed are genetically engineered crops, which are assuming an increasingly important role in arbitrating tensions between energy production, environmental protection, and the global food supply. Other contributions discuss the major effects of genetic engineering on worldwide food markets. By addressing some of the most challenging topics at the intersection of agriculture and biotechnology, this volume informs crucial debates.

Joshua S. Graff Zivin is associate professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego, where he holds faculty positions in the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and the Department of Economics. He is research director for international environmental and health studies at the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and a research associate of the NBER. Jeffrey M. Perloff is professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former member of the NBER’s Board of Directors.