Product Description

The globalization of goods, services and capital for agriculture is fundamental to the future of developing countries and has major implications for the fight against poverty and sustainability of the environment. In recent years, agriculture has once again returned to a position of centre stage as food price volatility has led countries to re-examine their development strategies.

This new edition of the essential textbook in the field builds on the 2006 original and reflects the following developments:

• the increased impact of climate change
• issues affecting agricultural markets such as bio-fuels, the rise in farm prices and energy costs
• the move to higher valued agricultural products

The book contains a wealth of real world case studies and is now accompanied by a website that includes powerpoint lectures, a photo bank and a large set of discussion and exam questions.

Product Description

Persistent problems with poverty, rapid population growth and malnutrition in many developing countries are among the most serious issues facing the world today. This book examines the causes, severity and effects of these problems, as well as potential solutions.

The authors consider the implications of globalization of goods, services and capital for agriculture, poverty and the environment; and identify linkages in the world food system, stressing how agricultural and economic situations in poor countries affect industrialized nations and vice versa.

Focusing on the role that agriculture can play in improving economic and nutritional wellbeing and how that role might be enhanced, this book is essential reading.

Customer Reviews (1)

Great
Bought the book at a cheap, competitive price and it's practically brand new. Very happy ... Read more

Product Description
This book examines the structure and organization of the agricultural industry, then discusses basic micro and macroeconomics principles as they apply to agriculture. Principles of economics are used to demonstrate to the reader that theory actually makes reality more understandable. The book is at the right level and is kept consistently up-to-date-the only text that has been consistently revised! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Text Book
Book in good condition. It was helpful for the class i was taking. A general economics book.

A great book of Agribusiness
Some time ago, I had in my hands this book. And never forgot it. This book is the most comprehensive work about agri-markets. In fact, in a wide range of topics we can learn macro and micro economics that rules this specialmarket. I remember, in special, the chapter that describes the pricedeterminations. The clarity of concepts with a easily assimilation, with alot of cases that get to readers a simply notion of his contents. In briefI believe this book is a powerfull tool for students, farmers, economist,and all those people interesten in behavoir of Agri Markets. ... Read more

Product Description

Known for its strong coverage of macroeconomic theory and international trade, this book provides readers with a systematic introduction to the basic economic concepts and issues impacting the U.S. food and fiber industry. Using a building block approach, the authors discuss individual consumer and producer decision-making, market equilibrium and economic welfare conditions, government intervention in agriculture, macroeconomic policy and international trade. This new edition provides examples not only from the farm, but also throughout the entire food and fiber industry and features updated chapters on natural resources and the government’s role in agriculture. Some additional new features include:

• Enhanced coverage of natural resource issues
• Revised chapter on the government’s role in agriculture.
• Expanded and Updated! Testing Your Economic quotient sections

This is a perfect resource for anyone interested in agriculture.

Customer Reviews (2)

Simply the best ...
Actualy this book about macroeconomics in agribusiness field, it is very good book for learning and using in research and very easy to understand. This is best way to understand economy of agribusiness.

Not bad for a first contact
Good introductory text, with structured presentation. Needs more challenging case studies and exercises. ... Read more

Product Description

"The Economics of Food demonstrates why policy makers have long relied on Patrick Westhoff and his FAPRI colleagues for sound, objective, comprehensive, and unbiased economic and policy analyses." --Rep. Collin Peterson, Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture

"I found the treatment of the issues in this book to be well balanced and straightforward. Westhoff does a great job of clearly explaining a very complex set of interrelationships." --Michel Petit, Former President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists and Former Director of the Agriculture Department of the World Bank

"Patrick Westhoff's The Economics of Food provides a thorough look at the many different contributors to the recent run-up in food prices and subsequent drop. With all of the one-sided analysis I've read over the years, this really is a breath of fresh air, providing a balanced and thorough approach to the food and fuel discussion." --Jacqui Fatka, Feedstuffs newspaper

"This is a highly readable explanation of food and prices. The author answers virtually every question commonly asked about food and hunger and demonstrates how reliance on the common wisdom can lead to faulty conclusions. Anyone would be well educated by this book." --Chuck Abbott, Reuters

"Patrick Westhoff has produced a readable explanation of why food costs what it does and how prices are affected by diverting crops into making motor fuel. Any journalist, policy maker, or ordinary citizen wanting to understand the food-versus-fuel debate would do well to start by reading The Economics of Food and absorbing Westhoff's analysis." --Philip Brasher, The Des Moines Register

In recent years, food prices have soared--and plummeted. As crops are increasingly shifted to biofuel production, will prices soar again? What are the hidden relationships between the food on your plate and the gas in your car? Will economic recovery lead directly to massive inflation in both food and energy? What do food prices have to do with world hunger?

Now, one of the world’s leading experts untangles the complex global relationships between food, energy, and economics and helps readers draw their own intelligent conclusions about the future of food. Patrick Westhoff reveals what really causes large swings in food prices--and what may make them careen wildly in the future.

Westhoff discusses the factors that drive food pricing: not just biofuels but also weather, income growth, exchange rates, energy prices, government policies, market speculation, and more. Next, he walks through several scenarios for the future, offering indispensable insights for consumers, commodity traders, and policymakers alike.

• Policies matter--more than you realize
  Government’s surprising impact on food prices--domestic and foreign
• Money in your pocket, food on your plate
  How changes in income and the broader economy affect food prices
• Speculating on speculation
  What market speculators can--and can’t--do to food prices
• Stuff happens
  Predicting the impact of the surprises you can’t predict

Customer Reviews (27)

Good Intro
The book contains an economics approach to international Food markets. It does provide some background into agricultural issues in order to explain the functioning of the markets. As a result, it is very useful from a practitioners' perspective. It is an introductory book and it is easy to go through it you need background Food economics. IMO, the book is a little light for someone with the basic understanding of the sector, I would recommend this is an introductory text on the topic.

Basic Economics
I guess I set my expectations high when I saw the title, but I was disappointed.The economics in this book are very basic.So much so that I believe anyone who is tempted to read the book with this title will already know more economics than this book can offer.It is commentary on the general food situation and does present some new insights, but overall I did not find the book was worth my time.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Food Prices But Were Afraid to Ask
For anyone who wants to understand why and how food prices fluctuate, this is for you.And for the greater number of armchair quarterbacks who think they know because of a soundbite they heard on tv, buy this book for them.
Patrick Westhoff is an agricultural economist of distinguished pedigree, currently at the University of Missouri.He has taken a methodical approach to explaining in clear language a very complex situation - how food prices are impacted by all the different economic factors. The theme of his book is the food vs. fuel debate, but Westhoff quickly demolishes that as a meaningless comparison.Each of the first 8 chapters addresses a specific issue, e.g., biofuels, oil, speculators, weather, and government policies. He lays out the different arguments as to how these directly impacted the price of food.Westhoff then demonstrates how those arguments are often based on cherry-picked data.Each chapter then has a section entitled "Why the story is a little more complicated", which shows why these simplistic arguments ignore many key factors that influence food prices.He concludes each chapter with a look to the future. Although this is not the most enthralling book you will read, it is one of the most important.If you don't think about corn futures, drought in Australia, and currency exchange rates when you reach for that bag or chips, then you haven't been paying attention to the book.

The Hobo Philosopher
The Economics of Food

By Patrick Westhoff

Book Review

By Richard E. Noble

"The food price story is not a simple one. Biofuel production, energy, prices, government policies, weather, income growth, exchange rates, market speculation, and a range of other factors affect how food prices change from one year to the next ... there is no way to know for sure what the price of food will be next year or in 2050. Nor do I presume to offer a prescribed list of government policies to support, stocks to purchase, or food to buy. Instead, my objective has been to help you develop a better understanding of some important aspects of world food markets so that you can make your own decisions with better information."

That is basically the scope of this book. It is in my opinion, more or less, a lecture or outside reading in a freshman or sophmore economics class. As the title implies it deals with food. I sent for this book because of my personal experiences in the food industry. I've picked, harvested, canned, processed, stapled and packaged food (see, Hobo-ing America). I carried it on my back. I delivered it in trucks. I unloaded it from freight cars. I sold it in grocery stores and butcher shops. I delivered it to restaurants. I cooked it in restaurants. I have followed food from the fields to the dining table. I figured why not complete or add to my education by reading about the economics of food.

The book does not solve any problems concerning biofuels or whatever. As the author explained above this was not his intention. It is the economic facts or various theories surrounding the subject of foods. It's educational not political.

Throughout most of the book, I felt like I was listening to Alan Greenspan. It was all very interesting but what has any of this to do with the price of tea in China?

I would recommend this book to students of economics or agriculture but not for the general reader. I suppose investors might be interested but from my point of view, I don't understand why investors are allowed to speculate with paper futures on food in the first place. But, that's the way it is.

Speculation in these days of outrageous private wealth and investment incomes is more manipulation than speculation ... though the author would disagree and provide statistic to prove his point. I'm sure I could find statistics to prove my point also.

My tendency is to make comment on biofuel prospects or the ethics of biofuels but that would have nothing to do with the book or its intention.

The book brings to mind the old physics theory that for every action there is a reaction. Here we have the same principle but in triplicate. If corn is used to replace oil then we lose jobs in the oil industry, the price of wheat may go up, and a pork chop of beef steak in Seattle may cost more. But then on the other hand other factors may come into play. New technology, improved methods, additional competitors, new discoveries, adverse or advantageous weather or population anomalies here and there may make all the former conclusions moot. The book is reminiscent of reading David Hume analysis of first causes where he comes to the conclusion that there are no first causes but instead possible immediate causes and an indeterminal infinity of secondary and other causes.

Economics is continually promoted as a science when really it is more of a theoretical or philosophical discussion.
The book is an academic analysis on the economics of food - if you plant more corn then you have less area to plant wheat and so on. Like guns and butter but with more factors involved. This is like all of economic theory; it deals with all the speculative possibilities, all of which are good to know, especially if you like to play Trivial Pursuit.

The author has the hope that his book will supply the reader with more information so that he can make a more informed decision. Well, it certainly does that. Unfortunately my personal decisions on the positives and negatives of biofuels remain exactly the same as they were before I read the book and the reasons for my decisions have very little to due with the information learned in the text. Rather strange I suppose. All in all, I would much rather read and write books than attempt to make a living planting corn or soybeans anywhere on the globe.

But in conclusion, I can contradict the author and tell you that I do know what the prices of food will be in 2050 ... HIGHER!


Books written by Richard Noble - The Hobo Philosopher:
"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."
"A Summer with Charlie" Salisbury Beach, Lawrence YMCA
"A Little Something: Poetry and Prose
"Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother" Novel - Lawrence, Ma.
"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column.
"Noble Notes on Famous Folks" Humor - satire - facts.
"America on Strike" American Labor - History
"A Baker's Dozen" Short Stories.
"Just Hangin' Out, Ma" Anecdotes - Lawrence, Mass

a very interesting topic
I found this book to be fascinating. I guess I can understand how some people would find it dry, but I didn't. We get articles about some of this stuff sometimes, but here it's all gathered into one place and without anyone taking out just some inflammatory, juicy statistics or sound bites. I could see this being used in a classroom.
This book came out AFTER the BP gulf oil spill.The author talks about "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico and how different problems affect seafood production, prices and demand and I'd be interested to see something like an oil spill mentioned in the book.
Mostly I think this book is excellent, but it has sooo many dates in it (ie "thus and such happened with corn exports in 2007/2008) that I think it may desperately need a revised edition sooner than a book that focuses more on what happens within the economics of food and less on when particular events DID happen. I also wish the book was a bit longer. It's a relatively small book (height and width wise) with only 214 pages once you take out the "end notes" and index and it seemed to just skim the surface of the many different areas it covers. ... Read more

Product Description
A text concerning world agricultural and food markets written to give the reader a solid understanding of key concepts as well as an understanding of their mysterious and marvelous nature. DLC: Agriculture--Economic aspects. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a revised and expanded edition of a popular textbook on the economics of farm households in developing countries.The second edition retains the same building blocks designed to explore household decision-making in a social context. Key topics are efficiency, risk, time allocation, gender, agrarian contracts, farm size and technological change. For these and other topics, household economic behavior represents the outcome of social interactions within the household, and market interactions outside the household. A new chapter on the environment combines exposition of economic tools not previously covered in the book with examination of household and community decision-making in relation to environmental resources. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Critical examination creates Best Summaries of the Issues
After reading thousands of pages on the debate of returns to scale in agriculture I was amazed to find this small book present the entire issue in just 20-30 pages without leaving out any position I had previously covered. As with all the other issues all sides are presented fairly and both neo-classical and marxist dogmaticism scrutinized.The chapters on Environment and gender relations were written in response to new developments since the first edition and are not as complete as the other issues.The book assumes no previous economic knoweldge and has a chapter explaining how to interpret the graphs used later in the book.unlike most textbooks the end of chapter summaries and "further reading" lists are actually useful. ... Read more

Product Description
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 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. ... Read more

Product Description
"Millions of Africans spend their entire lives poor, hungry, and malnourished, and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, either directly or indirectly. Despite its potential to drive economic growth and poverty reduction, however, African agricultural development has remained disappointing-whether because of underinvestment or poor returns to investments. This book, Institutional Economics Perspectives on African Agricultural Development, is inspired by the conviction that effective African agricultural development requires building better institutions. It provides an accessible synthesis of new institutional economics theory and research into understanding and improving African agriculture, particularly smallholder agriculture. Interspersing theory with case studies from a wide range of countries, the book addresses such policy issues as how markets for different commodities and services function in different political, cultural, and economic contexts. It not only makes an important contribution to the existing literature, but also provides development practitioners, policymakers, and graduate students working-or intending to work-in these fields with essential knowledge and tools for addressing these challenges.OVERVIEW: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework; Exchange in Goods and Services; Natural Resources Management; and An Institutional Perspective on the State: Its Role and Challenges." ... Read more

Product Description
Studying agrarian transition in more than 25 countries from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and East Asia, this book is the first effort to analyze the economics and politics of the reforms in agriculture by comparing the reform processes, their causes and their effects across this vast region. ... Read more

Product Description
Agricultural Economics, Third Edition, offers a broad view of the food system, emphasizing the links between and among financial institutions, the macro economy, world markets, government programs, farms, agribusinesses, food marketing, and the environment. The text lays out the basic theory of microeconomics with numerous examples from the food and agricultural industries, while its coverage of macroeconomics emphasizes real world applications rather than pure theory. Addressing many topics lightly instead of one or two topics in depth, the text allows flexibility for instructors to "skip around" topics.  ... Read more

Product Description
Unlike other similar books, this step-by-step introduction to basic economics focuses on economic and management decision making in agriculture, specifically; systematically explores the full range of theoretical tools; and then relates them to practical management situations — using real-world data and examples and the most up-to-date agricultural policy.Covers the full range of tools for management decision making (how much to produce, how to produce, what to produce) -- e.g., physical production relationships, cost relationship in production, utility maximization and Consumer Demand Theory, supply and demand, and market price determination. Explores a variety of managerial situations and tools -- e.g., competitive decision making; noncompetitive decision making; time, risk, and uncertainty. Considers the decision making environment -- e.g., marketing activities, governmental impacts in agriculture, macroeconomic policy linkages to agriculture and agribusiness, international trade and agriculture, and environmental considerations. Uses real-world data and examples to illustrate basic theoretical concepts.For those interested in agricultural management and agricultural economics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

love to read more
every person needs to learn more.,by reading this book you can be closer to this goal. ... Read more

Product Description
This book on agricultural management and decision making differs from other texts which tend to describe production economics followed by the presentation of analytical approaches. Instead, the processes of agricultural production and their management are couched in terms of activity analysis, since this permits greater integration of theory with practical evaluations. Analytical tools developed in the book involve the construction of spreadsheet models, and readers are able to construct their own PC spreadsheets from the books examples and case studies. Economic principles are presented that will assist in improving the design of agricultural processes and technologies, in guiding their appropriate combination in a business setting, and with the making of decisions through time and in recognition of noncertainty. Activity analysis models that allow the design and combination of agricultural activities to be optimized are also discussed. These include single versus multiple objective models, investment models, and approaches that allow decisions to be optimized under conditions of noncertainty. ... Read more

Product Description
In a lively, non-technical, and up-to-date account, this book addresses the core questions that surround the issues of agricultural subsidies.

• Explores these questions: Why do we have subsidies? How did they evolve? What is the present and possible future of subsidies? What is their impact on a typical African farmer?
  
• Written for the general public, this book will also be useful for courses in Agricultural Policy
  
• Provides a detailed examination of subsidy histories and the current policies of the United States, various European countries, Australia and New Zealand, and Korea and Japan
  
• Includes a discussion of how these policies affect developing countries—examining, in particular, their impact on many African farmers

Customer Reviews (2)

Very informative
This book is great for anyone trying to get a better grasp on the full impact of food subsidies .

Thoughtful, clear and compassionate
Dr.Peterson writes clearly and thoughtfully, not only explaining subsidies historically, but, he further helps the reader understand and feel the impact of how the spending of these billions of dollars impacts the world we live in "human" terms.He makes this often discussed but little understood topic of subsidies understandable and relevant.It is an essential read for anyone with compassion and a desire to understand the human condition and the accompaning human rights. ... Read more

Product Description
A classic work, which presents the case for population growth rather than the impact of new technologies being the primary mechanism of agrarian development within traditional communities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Modern classic
Ever since Malthus most people have believed that increasing population slows or even reverses economic development. However in 1965 a young Danish economist wrote this small book questioning this orthodoxy. Sheshowed that over most of history the effect of increasing population hasbeen positive. Most serious demographers and economists now accept thatshe was right.It is tragic that the general public and populationdoomsayers have still not got the message, and persist in pushing familyplanning down the throats of the poor in the vain hope that it will helpeconomic development. This book is a modern classic. ... Read more

Product Description
Agricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock - a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximising the yield of crops while maintaining a good soil ecosystem. Throughout the 20th century the discipline expanded and the current scope of the discipline is much broader. Agricultural economics today includes a variety of applied areas, having considerable overlap with conventional economics. This new book focuses on new research from around the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Reflecting on the agricultural future options markets as the stable road through the often times volatile world economy, this important guide provides a basic but functional treatment of futures/options in price risk management for agricultural commodities,fully supporting material with actual data analyses to demonstrate and illustrate concepts. Offers an integrated treatment of fundamental and technical analyses of the markets, and provides extensive treatment of fundamental demand/supply analysis with data-rich examples and illustrations. Presents full coverage of technical analysis, using actual charts and prices to demonstrate concepts, and discusses the bar chart as guides to management decisions. Emphasizes interest rate, stock index, and currency futures as important to the agribusiness and multinational firm, providing a detailed study of these dimensions and sources of risk. Now updates all data-driven illustrations and examples and offers extended content, coverage, and sophistication to treatment on options. ... Read more