Agricultural Economics - 2nd edition

Summary: For one-semester, introductory courses in Agricultural Economics or Environmental Economics.

This innovative text provides a broad view of the food system, with its emphasis on the links among financial institutions, the macroeconomy, world markets, government programs, farms, agribusinesses, food marketing, and the environment. Taking a macro-to-micro approach, the text introduces "high interest" topics students can relate to first, using them to ...show more capture student interest before introducing microeconomics topics. It illustrates the six economic concepts which form the foundation of the economist's decision-making process including supply and demand, opportunity cost, diminishing returns, marginality, measuring costs and returns, and the externalities of transactions. Presented in a non-threatening conceptual framework, the material covered in this text maintains a strong attachment to the application of agricultural economics to the real world.

Features

• NEW-Added chapter on the food system--Chapter 1.
  • Introduces students to the fundamentals of food production from the farm to the consumer, providing an overall context for the material to come.
  • Macro-micro organization. Introduces "high interest" topics students can relate to first, using them to capture student interest before introducing microeconomics topics.
• Reorganized content throughout--Moves some of the more advanced material in each chapter to the appendices.
  • Gives instructors the option of including certain topics in their curriculum. Helps students gain a comprehensive understanding of key content.
• Revised chapters on farm policy and market failure.
  • Keeps students up-to-date on environmental economics topics.
• Full coverage of macroeconomic policies--Explores both monetary and fiscal policies with emphasis on how policies are implemented and what the implications of policy shifts will be. Focus is on comprehension rather than rigor.
  • Exposes students to a wide variety of topics with the emphasis on comprehension at an introductory level.
• Trading of stocks and bonds--Used as examples of market price determination, is presented early in the text.
  • Captures students' attention early in the course, and provides a foundation upon which to build a basic comprehension of fiscal and monetary policy.
• Focus on futures markets and use of futures in simple hedges--Stresses the importance of understanding that what is being traded is a promise rather than a commodity, and explains how trades in those promises can be used to hedge.
  • Introduces students to the most fundamental aspect of futures markets, and presents the concept of basis.
• A focus on global food issues--Addresses the relationship between economic development and food demand, and alludes to the increased demand for food marketing services.
  • Encourages students to examine the impending consequences of population expansion and shifts in diet, and how those changes effect agricultural economics.

Edition/Copyright: 2ND 04
Cover: Hardback
Publisher: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Published: 02/24/2003

View Table of Contents

1. The Food Industry.
2. Introduction to Agricultural Economics.
3. Introduction to Market Price Determination.
4. Financial Markets.
5. Money and Financial Intermediaries.
6. Monetary Policy.
7. The Circular Flow of Income.
8. Fiscal Policy.
9. International Trade.
10. Agricultural Policy.
11. The Firm as a Production Unit.
12. Costs and Optimal Output Levels.
13. Firm Supply and the Market.
14. Imperfect Competition and Government Regulation.
15. The Theory of Consumer Behavior.
16. The Concept of Elasticity.
17. Food Marketing: From Stable to Table.
18. Futures Markets.
19. Farm Service Sector.
20. Investment Analysis.
21. Environmental Policy and Market Failure.
22. The Malthusian Dilemma.
23. Economic Development and Food.
Glossary.
Index.

Other Editions of Agricultural Economics:

Agricultural Economics - 3 edition

ISBN13: 978-0136071921