Resource information
The main purpose of this study is to
assess the changing landscape of agricultural protection and
taxation patterns in the region. The study is based on the
EU-10 sample, plus Turkey, as well as seven countries in the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): Kazakhstan, the
Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan (the CIS-7). In
2000-04, these countries accounted for 89 percent of the
region's agricultural value added, 91 percent of the
population, and 95 percent of total gross domestic product
(GDP). In agricultural subsidy and trade policy, analyses of
politically feasible reforms or policy options for coping
with structural changes (such as the current boom in energy
raw material prices that has intersectoral Dutch disease
effects) need to be based on a clear understanding of the
recent and current extent of policy interventions and the
political and economic forces behind the evolution of these
interventions. The second purpose of this study is thus to
improve our understanding of the political economy of
distortions in agricultural incentives in countries in the
region. Based on this better understanding, the study's
third purpose is to explore the prospects for additional
reductions in the distortions in agricultural incentives and
their implications for the agricultural competitiveness and
trade of countries in the region.
