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Why Do Members of Congress Support Agricultural Protection?

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  • Bellemare, Marc F.
  • Carnes, Nicholas

Abstract

It seems paradoxical that developed countries continue subsidizing agriculture even though their agricultural sectors have been declining in relative importance since the middle of the 20th century. What drives support for agricultural protection in developed countries? We answer this question by testing three competing hypotheses about what drives support for agricultural protection in the US: (i) legislator preferences, (ii) electoral incentives, or (iii) lobbying. Using data on the roll call votes of the members of the 106th through the 110th Congresses (1999-2009) and the scores given to each legislator by the Farm Bureau, our findings suggest electoral incentives explain a great deal of the variation in support for agricultural protection, but that legislator preferences and lobbying play a role, too. Moreover, legislator preferences and electoral incentives appear to be substitutes for one another. Why does Congress support agricultural protection? Because many members have electoral incentives to—and because many of those who do not still have other personal or strategic interests at stake.

Suggested Citation

  • Bellemare, Marc F. & Carnes, Nicholas, 2013. "Why Do Members of Congress Support Agricultural Protection?," MPRA Paper 47629, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:47629
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    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Why is the agricultural sector still protected in the US?
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-08-21 20:28:00
    2. Yours Truly in the Globe and Mail
      by Marc F. Bellemare in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-07-11 14:00:40
    3. Yours Truly in the Pacific Standard
      by Marc F. Bellemare in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-07-03 14:00:53
    4. Of Gold Standards and Golden Means
      by Marc F. Bellemare in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-09-09 14:00:24
    5. New Working Paper: Why Do Members of Congress Support Agricultural Protection?
      by Marc F. Bellemare in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-06-24 14:00:45
    6. New Working Paper: Why Do Members of Congress Support Agricultural Protection?
      by ? in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-06-24 15:00:00
    7. Yours Truly in the Globe and Mail
      by ? in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-07-11 15:00:00
    8. Yours Truly in the Pacific Standard
      by ? in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-07-03 15:00:00
    9. Of Gold Standards and Golden Means
      by ? in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-09-09 15:00:00

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    7. Walls, Helen L. & Cornelsen, Laura & Lock, Karen & Smith, Richard D., 2016. "How much priority is given to nutrition and health in the EU Common Agricultural Policy?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 12-23.
    8. Wanki Moon & Gabriel Pino, 2018. "Do U.S. citizens support government intervention in agriculture? Implications for the political economy of agricultural protection," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 119-129, January.
    9. Gabriel Medina & Catherine Isley & J. Arbuckle, 2021. "Promoting sustainable agriculture: Iowa stakeholders’ perspectives on the US Farm Bill conservation programs," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 173-194, January.
    10. Jacek Kulawik, 2015. "Wspólna polityka rolna Unii Europejskiej w perspektywie globalnej," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 5, pages 119-143.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural Policy; Agricultural Protection; Farm Bill; Congress; Voting; Lobbying;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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