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The Environmental Implications of Agriculture

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  • DANIEL W. BROMLEY

Abstract

There are three general classes of environmental implications from agriculture: (1) amenity implications; (2) habitat implications; and (3) ecological implications. Environmental "benefits" or "costs" from agriculture require a prior specification of the norm against which the status quo is to be compared. Agriculture is no longer simply an activity that produces commodities for local, regional, national, or international markets. Indeed, in the OECD countries, commodity abundance, not commodity scarcity, is the norm and so it is necessary to see agriculture as primarily a land management activity that provides (and supports) rural livelihoods, and that happens also to produce some marketable commodities. This fundamental redefinition of agriculture allows us to escape the conceptual trap that seems to prevail in many discussions about the environmental attributes of agriculture. That conventional view holds that there is some normal structure of agriculture in each ecological setting which gives rise to some "natural" level of costs of production. This thinking then allows a seamless transition into a discussion of subsidies and "distortions" that contravene some inherent comparative advantage. Recent preoccupation with revising world trade arrangements has tended to reinforce such thinking.
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Suggested Citation

  • Daniel W. Bromley, 1996. "The Environmental Implications of Agriculture," Wisconsin-Madison Agricultural and Applied Economics Staff Papers 401, Wisconsin-Madison Agricultural and Applied Economics Department.
  • Handle: RePEc:wop:wisaes:401
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    File URL: http://www.aae.wisc.edu/www/pub/sps/stpap401.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. R. H. Coase, 2013. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 837-877.
    2. Arild Vatn & Daniel Bromley, 1997. "Externalities — A market model failure," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 9(2), pages 135-151, March.
    3. Bystrom, Olof & Bromley, Daniel W., 1998. "Contracting For Nonpoint-Source Pollution Abatement," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 23(1), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Bromley, Daniel W & Hodge, Ian, 1990. "Private Property Rights and Presumptive Policy Entitlements: Reconsidering the Premises of Rural Policy," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 17(2), pages 197-214.
    5. Olof BYSTROM & Daniel W. BROMLEY, 1996. "Abstract Of Contracting For Non-Point-Source Pollution Abatement," Staff Papers 392, University of Wisconsin Madison, AAE.
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    Cited by:

    1. Brugnaro, Caetano, 2010. "Valuing Riparian Forests Restoration: a CVM Application in Corumbatai River Basin," Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural (RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, vol. 48(3), January.
    2. Moon, Wanki & Kuethe, Todd H. & Kraft, Steven E. & Esseks, J. Dixon, 2005. "Public Preferences for Multifunctionality of Agriculture: National Survey of Registered Voters," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19430, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    3. Salhofer, Klaus & Streicher, Gerhard, 2005. "Production Effects of Agri-environmental "Green Box" Payments: Empirical Results from the EU," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24494, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Colyer, Dale, 2004. "Environmental Regulations And Competitiveness," Working Papers 19100, West Virginia University, Department of Agricultural Resource Economics.
    5. Saleem Shaik & Glenn A Helmers & Michael Langemeier, 2005. "'Direct and Indirect Shadow Price Estimates of Nitrate Pollution Treated as an Undesirable Output and Input', Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics Vol. 27, No. 2 (December 2002) pp: 420-432," Development and Comp Systems 0512023, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Esperanza Vera-Toscano & José Gómez-Limón & Eduardo Moyano & Fernando Garrido, 2008. "Factors Determining Citizen’s Attitudes Towards Agri-Environmental Property Rights," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 41(4), pages 541-561, December.
    7. Brugnaro, Caetano, 2010. "Valuing Riparian Forests Restoration: a CVM Application in Corumbatai River Basin," Brazilian Journal of Rural Economy and Sociology (Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural-RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, vol. 48(3), pages 1-14.
    8. Steele, Scott R., 2009. "Expanding the solution set: Organizational economics and agri-environmental policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 398-405, December.
    9. Shaik, Saleem & Helmers, Glenn A. & Langemeier, Michael R., 2002. "Direct And Indirect Shadow Price And Cost Estimates Of Nitrogen Pollution Abatement," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 27(2), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Colyer, Dale, 2004. "Environmental Regulations and Agricultural Competitiveness," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 5(1), pages 1-17.

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