With the expiration of the 1990 farm bill, U.S. agriculture policies have a chance of moving closer to the realities and the efficiency of the marketplace. This volume brings together key arguments and evidence from the complete AEI series on current agricultural issues, with critiques of recent policies and analysis of policy alternatives.

The authors probe the government's extensive involvment with the agricultural sector and scrutinize disaster insurance, the economics of research, food safety, and environmental impacts of farm programs. They also provide proposals for alternative trade and commodity programs that move toward freer markets. [More . . . ]

Daniel A. Sumner is the Frank H. Buck Jr. Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of California-Davis.