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Rollen von Kleinbetrieben und semi‐subsistenzwirtschaftlichen Betriebe in der EU
Author(s) -
Davidova Sophia,
Bailey Alastair
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
eurochoices
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1746-692X
pISSN - 1478-0917
DOI - 10.1111/1746-692x.12044
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , rural area , common agricultural policy , welfare , poverty , business , safety net , agriculture , compensation (psychology) , public good , economics , natural resource economics , economic growth , agricultural economics , economic policy , geography , european union , market economy , political science , archaeology , microeconomics , law , psychology , psychoanalysis
Summary Small and semi‐subsistence farms ( SSF s) in the EU play a number of socio‐economic roles. They maintain rural welfare, keep rural areas populated, contribute to the rural non‐farm economy, and provide environmental public goods such as attractive landscapes. Particularly in the New Member States and in the poorer regions of the Southern EU ‐15, one of the most important roles of small and SSF s is supporting social and economic welfare, by acting as a ‘safety net’ for poor families. The disappearance of small and SSF s would often mean increased poverty, losses to the rural non‐farm economy, and depopulation, especially in remote areas, and might result in environmental loss. Variation in the importance of small and SSF s across the rural areas in Europe and the complex reality in which small and SSF s are not the only suppliers of ‘joint products’, explain some of the difficulties of designing EU policy for small and SSF s. What appears to be clear is that small farms and SSF s do produce a range of public goods for which, arguably, compensation is justified, and the case for support on welfare grounds is strong. However, the ability of the Common Agricultural Policy budget and its mechanisms to provide effective compensation for the provision of public goods is a matter of some debate.