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The common agricultural policy and the world economy
Book Reviews Community policies. But why, for example, no comparable consideration of energy policy, policies towards the steel industry, or regional policies, especially given the acknowledgement that 1992 will exacerbate regional inequalities within the Community (see for example, pp. 58-59)‘~ More fundamentally, the book takes a rather narrow view of Europe and of the Community’s position, now and in the future, in the wider world. It presents an inwardly looking European Community centred view. The authors justify this by pointing out that their ‘initial intention’ was to include a section on external relations but decided against this because of the Linfolding changes in eastern Europe as ‘any attempt to evaluate the implications of these changes for the European ~c)mmunity would clearly be presumptuous’ (p. xii). But at a time when the former German Democratic Republic has already become the Community’s biggest problem region, this is not a convincing defence. Indeed, one could argue that the real issue may in any case not be the implications of changes in eastern Europe on the Community but the Community’s position vis-&vis these changes; what sort of Europe does the Community wish to see? This is an issue of fundamental importance. Furthermore, the Community’s external relations are not just with the rest of Europe but extend globally in a ‘pyramid of privilege’ of trade aid relations. This is recognised, but only in Appendix B; surely as the Community’s links with much of the rest of the world deserve more prominence than this?
Department
qf
Geography
RAY HUDSON and Centre for Europeun Studies, University of Durham, U.K.
The Common Agricultural Policy and the World Economy, C. Ritson and D. Harvey (eds), 344 pp., 1991. CAB International, Wallingford, f30.01)
Books comprised by essays collected to honour an academic colleague can lack form and function. Fortunately this volume avoids such pitfalls by concentrating on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Community (EC) and, for one-quarter of its length, on the relationships with other countries in the world economy. The academic being honoured is the late John Ashton, formerly Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, while the contributors are drawn either from that University or the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food where he worked for some time. In general, the essays are written by agricultural economists for other agricultural economists; there are few concessions to the non-specialist reader. The 17 chapters have been organised by the editors into sections which deal successively with (I) ‘understanding the CAP’, (II) ‘the CAP and the community’, (III) ‘the CAP and the world’, and (IV) ‘the CAP and the future’. Taken together, the chapters provide a reasonably updated overview of the research of British agricultural economists on the CAP, with perhaps an understatement of the work carried out in developing quantitative models. This last aspect is surprising given the association of the Newcastle Department of Agricultural Economics with such research.
211
To give a further selective flavour of the essays and their authors: Part I has Andrew Fearne writing on the history and development of the CAP (but only up to 198.5 for an undisclosed reason), as well as on the CAP decisionmaking process: Part II contains chapters by Christopher Ritson on the CAP and the consumer and by David Harvey on the CAP and research and development policy; Part III has Allan Buckwell analysing the CAP and world trade and Tim Josling looking at the CAP’s relationship with the United States of America: lastly, in Part IV, Lionel Hubbard and Christopher Ritson speculate on the reform of the CAP. The contributors mainly draw upon published research in agricultural economics, together with secondary data sources from the European Commission. The reader will find very few references to the research of rural sociologists and geographers on the CAP, which could inform and lend more variety to the arguments being put forward, to structural policy under the CAP, or to the farm community itself. Indeed, while the costs borne by the consumer, EC trade and the food industry are accorded separate attention, the costs of the CAP for the farm community are barely addressed. Perhaps it is felt there are none? However, the research work of political scientists is drawn into the book through the essay on decision-making. while Martin Whitby’s chapter on ‘the CAP and the countryside’ is not only a stimulating read but the only occasion when the CAP’s external costs for the environment are paid reasonable attention. Rather the essays lead up to a focus on the external costs imposed by the CAP on world trade, together with the consequences for non-EC countries. Section III, which contains four essays on the subject, will probably provide new material for many readers, but so too should David Harvey’s concluding essay on ‘The Production Entitlement Guarantee (PEG)‘. PEG looks set to become the next ‘big idea’ for the CAP: it contains elements of ‘stabilisers’, quotas and existing arrangements for sugar, but is designed to work at the farm rather than industry level. PEGS would guarantee a price for a fixed amo.unt of produce from a farm, but production beyond that quantity would have to gain a return at free market prices. Overall, therefore, this is a useful purchase for the library shelf, particularly for degree courses involved with world trade issues. But it would have to deal with wider issues to have appeal beyond the specialist reader. IAN BOWLER Department of Geography, University of Leicester, U. K.
Growth Management in Countryfied Cities, J.C. Doherty, Vol. III, 204 pp., 1991, Pub. Vert Milon, U.S.$10.95
In 1979 the author initiated a study of the physical changes taking place in rural communities in the United States of America brought about by urbanization. The inquiry also focused on ways in which individuals and governments were attempting to preserve landscapes and protect the environment in areas subject to these changes. The work has yielded three volumes to date. Volume II published in 1984, provided a general overview of change in nonmetropolitan areas and discussed various growth manage-
Department
qf
Geography
RAY HUDSON and Centre for Europeun Studies, University of Durham, U.K.
The Common Agricultural Policy and the World Economy, C. Ritson and D. Harvey (eds), 344 pp., 1991. CAB International, Wallingford, f30.01)
Books comprised by essays collected to honour an academic colleague can lack form and function. Fortunately this volume avoids such pitfalls by concentrating on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Community (EC) and, for one-quarter of its length, on the relationships with other countries in the world economy. The academic being honoured is the late John Ashton, formerly Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, while the contributors are drawn either from that University or the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food where he worked for some time. In general, the essays are written by agricultural economists for other agricultural economists; there are few concessions to the non-specialist reader. The 17 chapters have been organised by the editors into sections which deal successively with (I) ‘understanding the CAP’, (II) ‘the CAP and the community’, (III) ‘the CAP and the world’, and (IV) ‘the CAP and the future’. Taken together, the chapters provide a reasonably updated overview of the research of British agricultural economists on the CAP, with perhaps an understatement of the work carried out in developing quantitative models. This last aspect is surprising given the association of the Newcastle Department of Agricultural Economics with such research.
211
To give a further selective flavour of the essays and their authors: Part I has Andrew Fearne writing on the history and development of the CAP (but only up to 198.5 for an undisclosed reason), as well as on the CAP decisionmaking process: Part II contains chapters by Christopher Ritson on the CAP and the consumer and by David Harvey on the CAP and research and development policy; Part III has Allan Buckwell analysing the CAP and world trade and Tim Josling looking at the CAP’s relationship with the United States of America: lastly, in Part IV, Lionel Hubbard and Christopher Ritson speculate on the reform of the CAP. The contributors mainly draw upon published research in agricultural economics, together with secondary data sources from the European Commission. The reader will find very few references to the research of rural sociologists and geographers on the CAP, which could inform and lend more variety to the arguments being put forward, to structural policy under the CAP, or to the farm community itself. Indeed, while the costs borne by the consumer, EC trade and the food industry are accorded separate attention, the costs of the CAP for the farm community are barely addressed. Perhaps it is felt there are none? However, the research work of political scientists is drawn into the book through the essay on decision-making. while Martin Whitby’s chapter on ‘the CAP and the countryside’ is not only a stimulating read but the only occasion when the CAP’s external costs for the environment are paid reasonable attention. Rather the essays lead up to a focus on the external costs imposed by the CAP on world trade, together with the consequences for non-EC countries. Section III, which contains four essays on the subject, will probably provide new material for many readers, but so too should David Harvey’s concluding essay on ‘The Production Entitlement Guarantee (PEG)‘. PEG looks set to become the next ‘big idea’ for the CAP: it contains elements of ‘stabilisers’, quotas and existing arrangements for sugar, but is designed to work at the farm rather than industry level. PEGS would guarantee a price for a fixed amo.unt of produce from a farm, but production beyond that quantity would have to gain a return at free market prices. Overall, therefore, this is a useful purchase for the library shelf, particularly for degree courses involved with world trade issues. But it would have to deal with wider issues to have appeal beyond the specialist reader. IAN BOWLER Department of Geography, University of Leicester, U. K.
Growth Management in Countryfied Cities, J.C. Doherty, Vol. III, 204 pp., 1991, Pub. Vert Milon, U.S.$10.95
In 1979 the author initiated a study of the physical changes taking place in rural communities in the United States of America brought about by urbanization. The inquiry also focused on ways in which individuals and governments were attempting to preserve landscapes and protect the environment in areas subject to these changes. The work has yielded three volumes to date. Volume II published in 1984, provided a general overview of change in nonmetropolitan areas and discussed various growth manage-