This paper calculates average technical efficiency levels and rates of technical change for Irish agriculture using an unbalanced panel of 2,603 farms drawn from the Irish National Farm Survey over the period 1984 to 1998. An average technical efficiency level of between 65 and 70 per cent with...

This paper discusses tariff rate quotas (TRQs) as a way of enhancing market access for developing country agricultural exports. Using the EU as a case study, it examines the extent to which developing countries have been able to make use of existing TRQs to gain access to the EU market. Many...

Tariff rate quotas (TRQs) were introduced and legitimised as a market access instrument in the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA). TRQs combine both restrictions on imports, as well as safeguarding current or preferential agricultural trade flows. When market access is restricted by a...

This paper analyses the economics of tariff rate quotas assuming a large importing country and several different suppliers with differing levels of competitiveness. Eleven theoretical situations are distinguished according to the way the quota is allocated to exporters, the level of constraint...

Environmental objectives have become increasingly integrated into the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) since the mid-1980s. Integration has been pursued through the attachment of environmental conditions to the receipt of direct payments in Pillar 1 (cross compliance) and the use of...

Whether the UK should hold a referendum on continued membership of the European Union (EU) is one of the issues in its general election to be held in May 2015. A possible British withdrawal, or Brexit, would have profound implications for Ireland and particularly for its agri-food sector, given...

The integration of agricultural markets and policy has played a major role in European Union (EU) integration, acting as both driver and brake at various periods. Food security was one of the motives behind the creation of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), although its importance has...

The European Union's (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has long been criticised for its damaging effects on developing countries, and developing country agriculture in particular. This paper reviews whether these criticisms are still valid in the light of the recent reforms of the CAP. It...