Agriculture and World Trade Liberalisation: Socio-environmental Perspectives on the Common Agricultural Policy

The impact of free trade on the environment and the employment of environmental policies as non-tariff protectionist policies are topics which are currently receiving a great deal of attention. Proponents of freer trade insist that, by leading to higher growth rates and per capita incomes, trade increases the demand for environmental quality and helps poor countries escape the poverty-generated pollution trap. The purpose of this book is to discuss the current and future issues surrounding agriculture and its relationship to trade, sustainability and the environment. It is based on selected papers from an international conference entitled ‘European Agriculture at the Crossroads: Competition and Sustainability’ held in Crete in 1996 and further updated with the European Commission’s Agenda 2000 in mind. Written by leading authorities from Europe and the USA, this book is essential reading for researchers and policy makers in agricultural economics, rural sociology, the environment and European studies.