Journal Issue:
Agricultural Policy Review: Volume 2023, Issue 1
Agricultural Policy Review: Volume 2023, Issue 1
Volume
Number
Winter 2023
Issue Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Journal Volume
Journal Volume
Articles
Publication
Climate Change and Aflatoxin in Corn
(
2023)
The possible impacts of climate change on field crop production are many; however, most attention to date has been paid to projecting locational effects on yield and commercial viability (e.g., Zhao et al. 2017). But an altered climate will also have more nuanced effects through impacts on grain composition, safety, and quality. Our interest here is in how changing summertime weather patterns in the US central Corn Belt can provide an opening for increased aflatoxin damage in corn.
Publication
World Spending on Agricultural Research and Development
(
2023)
In May 2020, the US Department of Agriculture reported that China, followed by the European Union (EU), the United States, India, and Brazil spent the most public funds on agricultural research and development (R&D) (Fuglie and Nelson 2022). US public expenditures on agricultural R&D were about one-third lower in real terms in 2019 than at their peak in 2002 when spending, in 2019 dollars, was $7.64 billion (Fuglie and Nelson 2022). In contrast to the decline in US public expenditures since 2002, China’s public expenditures on agricultural R&D (deflated by national GDP indexes) rose by a factor of approximately five in the two decades since 2000. EU expenditures rose by about one-third, India’s approximately doubled, and Brazil’s rose by about half. The USDA report carries an alarmist tone, suggesting that the reduction in US public spending on agricultural R&D will lead to a reduction in competitiveness in agricultural production and lower social welfare in the long term.
Publication
USDA's Outlook for 2023
(
2023)
Every February, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides its outlook for the agricultural year ahead at its annual conference, the Ag Outlook Forum. During the forum, USDA brings together industry, academic, and government experts to discuss the major agricultural issues of the day and examine the near-term market outlook for agriculture. This year’s forum follows two of the best years ever for net farm income. Farmers across the nation captured higher prices and returns for most commodities. The markets were supported by strong domestic and international demand. But with concerns about recession and inflation dominating the general economic discussion, the projections for 2023 highlight some challenges for agriculture in the year ahead.
Publication
Declining Firm Entry and Self-Employment in Small Markets
(
2023)
The pace of new firm entry has declined in the United States over the past 30 years. As shown in figure 1, the entry rate, measured as the share of establishments that newly entered in the year, fell from an average of 15.6% in 1978 to 10% in 2000, and to 8.2% in 2019. The declining pace of firm entry has important consequences for employment and economic growth. New establishments are responsible for about one-third of new job creation (Decker et al. 2014). New establishments are also prone to shut down. The survivors are atypically productive, and so a high rate of firm entry and exit is credited with faster productivity growth (Decker et al. 2017). Consequently, slower pace of firm entry is blamed for the slowing of employment and productivity growth since 2000.