Politics, Bureaucracy, and Agricultural Policy

This study is a quantitative time-series analysis of politics and agricultural policy in the United States from 1950 to 1990. Agricultural policy is an area that generally does not fit the assumptions of the principal-agent model but rather relies on cooperative relationships between politicians and bureaucrats. Congress is the most active political institution, and bureaucracy has substantial expertise. The result is a mix of political controls and bureaucratic discretion that shapes major agricultural programs. The impact of these agricultural programs, especially those relevant to agricultural research, is assessed on several indicators of the farm sector's economic health.