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The Making of Informational Efficiency: Information Policy and Theory in Interwar Agricultural Economics

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Delcey

    (UB - Université de Bourgogne, LEDi - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dijon [Dijon] - UB - Université de Bourgogne - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE])

  • Guillaume Noblet

    (Auteur indépendant)

Abstract

This article offers a historical analysis of American interwar agricultural economists and their interest in information. Believing that the main problem facing farmers was a lack of information, agricultural economists designed an information policy aiming to produce, format, and disseminate information. Using administrative archives, the article analyzes the motivations of these economists and the implementation of this policy. As the article shows, the policy was a prerequisite for theoretical discussions about information, and it established institutional tools that are still used today, such as the USDA market news service.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Delcey & Guillaume Noblet, 2024. "The Making of Informational Efficiency: Information Policy and Theory in Interwar Agricultural Economics," Post-Print hal-03227973, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03227973
    DOI: 10.1215/00182702-11242749
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03227973v3
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    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-03227973v3/document
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Federico, Giovanni, 2005. "Not Guilty? Agriculture in the 1920s and the Great Depression," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(4), pages 949-976, December.
    2. V. B. Hart, 1929. "Encouraging the Farmer to Take Agricultural Outlook Material and Use It," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 11(1), pages 108-125.
    3. Mirowski, Philip & Nik-Khah, Edward, 2017. "The Knowledge We Have Lost in Information: The History of Information in Modern Economics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780190270056, Decembrie.
    4. Haas, G. C. & Ezekiel, Mordecai, 1926. "Factors Affecting the Price of Hogs," Miscellaneous Publications 330853, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. H. Spencer Banzhaf, 2006. "The Other Economics Department: Demand and Value Theory in Early Agricultural Economics," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 38(5), pages 9-31, Supplemen.
    6. Carl Williams, 1929. "Continuous Economic Information Readily Available to Farmers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 11(1), pages 79-94.
    7. Holbrook Working, 1926. "Practical Applications of Correlation Studies of Prices," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 8(2), pages 227-244.
    8. H. R. Tolley, 1931. "The History and Objectives of Outlook Work," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 13(4), pages 523-534.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Delcey, 2025. "Holbrook Working and the Early Financial Economics," Post-Print hal-05056404, HAL.

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    Keywords

    History of economics; Agricultural economics; Economics of information;
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