The Political Economy of Food and Agriculture in the United States and Russia

Abstract

Most modern states take a keen interest in food production and farming. Governments pursue a variety of aims in this realm—from ensuring food supply and stabilizing farm income or consumer prices to protecting national or regional foodsheds. Multiple policy regimes regulate agriculture and food production, fundamentally shaping domestic and international markets for food and agricultural commodities. Though many political goals remain quite similar over time and across different economies, how policy regimes function and what their effects are have varied widely. Even one type of policy in one economy rarely affects all constituents equally. Policies redistribute resources via public programs or via the price and supply of commodities, variously shaping incentives for producers and consumers in different sites. A place-sensitive approach to studying the political economy of food produces analytical maps that draw attention to how policy regimes interact with particular locales. Such an approach could grasp, for example, how agricultural policies affect rural and urban constituencies differently. Urban constituencies tend to benefit from policies that address the affordability, quality, and reliability of food and the cost of producer-support programs to taxpayers.

Keywords

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