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Farm and market structure, industrial regulation and rural community welfare: conceptual and methodological issues

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  • Rick Welsh

Abstract

The Goldschmidt Hypothesis posits that rural community welfare is negatively associated with the scale of farms surrounding them. The intervening mechanism that links a farm structure dominated by larger farms to negative rural community welfare outcomes is polarized class structure. There have been a number of studies that have found support for the basic relationship between increasing farm scale and negative rural community outcomes. However, since Walter Goldschmidt’s original study was completed in the 1940s, the agricultural market and farming structures have changed dramatically. Market structure is now more differentiated than in previous decades. Vertical and horizontal integration, contract production, organic and other specialty markets, and direct marketing are examples of new marketing forms that have emerged over the past few decades. In addition, as farm and market structure have shifted, some states have enacted public policy to forestall negative outcomes related to the industrialization of agriculture. Previous studies which measured the effects on rural community welfare from the structure of the surrounding farming sector have been valuable contributions to the development of the sociology of agriculture and have led to increased understanding of agriculture and rural development. However, a new generation of studies should be undertaken to address the impacts of changing market structure as well as assess public policy attempts to mitigate negative impacts of agricultural industrialization. To that end I present a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues related to such a research program. And I offer a conceptual model intended to be useful in guiding future research in this area. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

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  • Rick Welsh, 2009. "Farm and market structure, industrial regulation and rural community welfare: conceptual and methodological issues," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 26(1), pages 21-28, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:26:y:2009:i:1:p:21-28
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-008-9184-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Welsh, Rick & Carpentier, Chantal Line & Hubbell, Bryan, 2001. "On the Effectiveness of state anti-corporate farming laws in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 543-548, October.
    2. Martinez, Stephen W., 2002. "A Comparison of Vertical Coordination in the U.S. Poultry, Egg, and Pork Industries," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33773, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
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    5. Thomas Lyson & Annalisa Raymer, 2000. "Stalking the wily multinational: Power and control in the US food system," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(2), pages 199-208, June.
    6. Payne, Tim, 2002. "U.S. Farmers' Markets 2000: A Study Of Emerging Trends," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 33(1), pages 1-3, March.
    7. Rick Welsh & Bryan Hubbell & Chantal Line Carpentier, 2003. "Agro-Food System Restructuring and the Geographic Concentration of US Swine Production," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(2), pages 215-229, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Mann, 2021. "Synthesizing Knowledge about Structural Change in Agriculture: The Integration of Disciplines and Aggregation Levels," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, June.
    2. Theesfeld, Insa & Soliev, Ilkhom & Bunkus, Ramona, 2020. "Social Dimensions of Agricultural Land Transactions in Germany: An Analysis with a Structural Equation Model," 60th Annual Conference, Halle/ Saale, Germany, September 23-25, 2020 305582, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    3. Jill Harrison & Christy Getz, 2015. "Farm size and job quality: mixed-methods studies of hired farm work in California and Wisconsin," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(4), pages 617-634, December.
    4. Marta Sylla, & Julia Olszewska, & Małgorzata Świąder, 2017. "Status And Possibilities Of The Development Of Community Supported Agriculture In Poland As An Example Of Short Food Supply Chain," Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland, vol. 43(1), March.
    5. Theesfeld, Insa & Soliev, Ilkhom & Bunkus, Ramona, 2020. "Social Dimensions of Agricultural Land Transactions in Germany: An Analysis with a Structural Equation Model," 60th Annual Conference, Halle/ Saale, Germany, September 23-25, 2020 305582, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    6. Ramona Bunkus & Ilkhom Soliev & Insa Theesfeld, 2020. "Density of resident farmers and rural inhabitants’ relationship to agriculture: operationalizing complex social interactions with a structural equation model," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 47-63, March.
    7. Jenő Zsolt Farkas & Irén Rita Kőszegi & Edit Hoyk & Ádám Szalai, 2023. "Challenges and Future Visions of the Hungarian Livestock Sector from a Rural Development Viewpoint," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, June.

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