Abstract
‘Structure’ is used as a term referring to the inner composition of something. We talk about the structure of a building, implying that it can be thought of in terms of subordinate parts which together make the whole. Again, the structure of an atom can be described in terms of electrons, protons and neutrons. The term need not only apply to material things; we can describe the structure of, say, a cricket club committee as consisting of a chairman, secretary, treasurer and other elected members. The purpose of knowing about the structure of anything goes beyond simple curiosity; such information gives insight into how the atom, committee or building functions or ‘works’ and, even more important, allows us to suggest explanations for why certain things have happened in the past and enables future responses to be predicted.
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Notes
Harrison, A. (1965) ‘Some features of farm business structures’, J. Ag. Econ 16:3, 330–47.
In the United Nations (1983) European Handbook of Economic Accounts for Agriculture (New York: UN), the holding is defined in the Programme for the 1980 World Census of Agriculture as ‘all the land which is used wholly or partly for agricultural production and is operated as one technical unit by one person alone or with others; establishments or other units not including any agricultural land but producing livestock or livestock products are also to be considered as holdings.’
Harrison, A. (1975) Farmers and Farm Businesses in England Miscellaneous Studies 62 (University of Reading: Department of Agricultural Economics and Management).
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Edwards, C. J. W. (1980) ‘Changing farm size and land occupancy in central Somerset’, J. Ag. Econ. 31:2, 249–51.
In the 275–599 SMD size band of farm the average number of enterprises per farm fell from 2.88 in 1968 to 2.49 in 1974, an average 13.5 per cent decline. By contrast, among holdings over 4200 SMD the fall was from 3.52 to 3.40, a 3.4 per cent decline. Britton, D. K. (1977) ‘Some explorations in the analysis of long-term changes in the structure of agriculture’ J. Agric. Econ.33:3, 197–209.
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Power, A. P. and Watson, J. M. (1983) ‘Total factor productivity and alternative measures of size’, in R. B. Tranter (ed.) Strategies for Family-Worked Farms in the UK, CAS Paper No. 15 (University of Reading: Centre for Agricultural Strategy).
Newby, H., Bell, C., Rose, D. and Saunders, P. (1978) Property, Paternalism and Power: Class and Control in Rural England (London: Hutchinson).
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Harrison, A. (1983) ‘Family farm policies in the European Community: are they appropriate for the UK?’ in R. B. Tranter (ed.) op. cit.
Revell, B. J. (1985) EC Structures Policy and UK Agriculture Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Study No. 2 (University of Reading).
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© 1987 Berkeley Hill and Derek Ray
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Hill, B., Ray, D. (1987). Farming Structure. In: Economics for Agriculture. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18782-9_9
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