<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Few policies have been as heavily criticised as European agricultural policy. Consequently, since its establishment in 1962, it has been in a continuous process of reform, encompassing six major reforms in the last 30 years alone. The central question arises: What is the logic behind the endless reform history of EU agricultural policy? Are agricultural reforms fundamentally a logical consequence of changing objectives or structural conditions, and thus dynamically efficient? Or do they represent a sequence of unsuccessful political learning processes and thus a perpetual policy failure? The latter implies that there are more efficient policy options that would be politically feasible given the democratic power relations and decision-making processes in place.</p>
</abstract>

Few policies have been as heavily criticised as European agricultural policy. Consequently, since its establishment in 1962, it has been in a continuous process of reform, encompassing six major reforms in the last 30 years alone. The central question arises: What is the logic behind the endless reform history of EU agricultural policy? Are agricultural reforms fundamentally a logical consequence of changing objectives or structural conditions, and thus dynamically efficient? Or do they represent a sequence of unsuccessful political learning processes and thus a perpetual policy failure? The latter implies that there are more efficient policy options that would be politically feasible given the democratic power relations and decision-making processes in place.

The Old and New Logic of Agricultural Policy in Europe: Are there Effective Steering Mechanisms for Sustainable Agriculture?

Wirtschaftsdienst

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Zur alten und neuen Logik der Agrarpolitik in Europa: Gibt es effektive Steuerungsmechanismen einer nachhaltigen Landwirtschaft?

Few policies have been as heavily criticised as European agricultural policy. Consequently, since its establishment in 1962, it has been in a continuous...

The Old and New Logic of Agricultural Policy in Europe: Are there Effective Steering Mechanisms for Sustainable Agriculture?

Published Online: Mar 22, 2024

Page range: 153 - 158

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/wd-2024-0046

© 2024 Christian Henning et al, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.