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The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

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The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

The EU’s CAP has changed significantly over the years, largely as a result of international pressure through GATT and the WTO, but it still has the support of farm incomes as its main concern. The old CAP of market price support has more or less been displaced by decoupled income support, in the shape of the Single Payment Scheme. Cross compliance applies, addressing concerns about European agriculture’s multifunctionality; and there is a renewed anxiety about food security. The CAP’s Second Pillar, with targeted support for rural development and environmental protection, plays a subsidiary role.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Online edition, 2011. Edited by Palgrave Macmillan

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Swinbank, A. (2011). The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2980-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2980-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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