The number of agri-environmental programs launched under EU Regulation 1257/99, as well as the share of agricultural land covered under these programs, varies significantly between EU member states. National differences in the uptake of agri-environmental schemes would be economically efficient...

Small countries may benefit from the formation of a trade bloc, since their combined market power will enable them to manipulate the terms of trade. The question of interest is whether countries will benefit from the enlargement of a trading bloc, if trade liberalization induces countries to...

The number of agri-environmental programs, as well as the share of agricultural land covered under these programs, varies significantly between EU member states. We analyze national differences in the uptake of agri-environmental programs by developing a model of countries' political objective...

Offering agri-environmental payments to address the various positive and negative environmental nonmarket effects of European Union agriculture might be an efficient way of dealing with market imperfections. However, the complex interaction between farming practices and agri-environmental...

This paper analyses how the enlargement of a trade bloc will affect national welfare. We establish a partial equilibrium model of a trade bloc either operating as a monopoly with a competitive fringe or facing a duopolistic game in production taxes/subsidies. Given this framework, we demonstrate...

Offering agri-environmental payments to address the various positive and negative environmental nonmarket effects of European Union agriculture might be an efficient way of dealing with market imperfections. However, the complex interaction between farming practices and agri-environmental...

This article deals with the optimal differentiation of agri-environmental contracts based on a self-selection mechanism. The paper demonstrates that both economic efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures can be increased, if a menu of combinations of farming practices and payments are...

Most bid evaluation systems in conservation auctions consider both the proposed payment and the environmental attributes. When auctioneers have a more comprehensive understanding of the conservation benefits than bidders do, information becomes a central element of the auction design. Concealing...

This paper analyses the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental auctions that solicit two-dimensional bids consisting of conservation activity and compensation payment. Taking a self-selecting contract schedule as a benchmark, an optimally designed auction has the potential to reduce government...