Measuring the Effects of Alternative Support Policy Instruments on Beef Supply

The European Union beef market regulation is largely influenced by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With the 1992 CAP reform, there was a partial shift by the EU from product price support to a more direct form of income support by way of direct payments. For beef there was a move to direct payments on intermediate products which was essentially a direct payment for the possession of various categories of animals and these were linked to a land resource base. The Agenda 2000 reform consists in a further price decrease associated with an increase in direct payments. The objective of this paper is to assess how the behaviour of beef producers is sensitive to changes in production prices and to changes in premiums. The analysis relies on an analytical framework which allows to take into account the dynamic feature of beef production and the subsidies provided by the Common Agricultural Policy. We studys how the beef supply response is modified when various exogenous variables like prices or premiums are changed. The application focuses on the dynamics of beef supply response in the French beef sector.