Oecd Publishing

Agricultural Policy and Trade Reform: the Impact on World Commodity Markets Oecd Publishing

The governments of most developed, and many developing, countries impose border measurestariffs, tariff rate quotas and export subsidiesto boost the domestic market prices of agricultural commodities. In some OECD countries, governments also provide financial support to their agricultural sector through other means, as well. These interventions typically distort the allocation of resources, leading to sub-optimal production and consumption decisions. Using a partial-equilibrium agricultural commodity model with rich policy detail, this study examines the market impacts of agricultural policy reform annually over a 10-year horizon. The study finds that the biggest impacts of agricultural policy reform would be on world dairy markets. Table of Content : Executive Summary Introduction Summary and Conclusions Policy Data Used Scenarios Expected Direction of Changes World Price Effects Results for Selected Domestic Markets References Annex A -Reviewof the Empirical Implementation -Data Issues -General Equilibrium - Partial Equilibrium Linkages -Methodology Annex B. Statistical Annex