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Economic statistics and U.S. agricultural policy
Author(s) -
Gardner Bruce,
Goodwin Barry,
Ahearn Mary
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.29
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1574-0862
pISSN - 0169-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2007.00248.x
Subject(s) - economic statistics , agriculture , government (linguistics) , diversity (politics) , economics , summary statistics , official statistics , public economics , production (economics) , agricultural policy , public policy , statistics , business , political science , economic growth , econometrics , geography , macroeconomics , law , mathematics , archaeology , linguistics , philosophy
Economic statistics can be used to inform policy as it is being designed, avoid policy design mistakes, or implement government programs once they are established into law. Oftentimes, statistics are used for all three purposes. This article considers the relationships between statistics and agricultural policy in the case of the United States. We address first the broad historical picture of U.S. official economic statistics concerning agriculture, and then turn to selected examples that relate policies to economic statistics in more detail. The examples show diversity in the interplay between statistics and policy. Over time, policymakers have asked for more detailed information about the financial situation of individual farm businesses and households, sources of risk in farm returns, and production practices that affect the environment.