Currently there is no comprehensive account accessible to undergraduate students, graduate students, economic researchers who are not specialists in the area of agricultural policy, of the economic welfare effects of the 2014 Farm Bill, passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 7, 2014. This edited collection consists of ten essays, each on the major areas of US farm programs that describes and assesses the economic welfare impacts of the programs in those areas. The chapters involve new research, but also heavily focus on providing assessments based on the current state of the art research. Each chapter is by distinguished scholars who are internationally recognized experts in the field.

From any coherent policy perspective, agricultural policy in the United States is in total disarray. Not surprisingly, persistent and pervasive rent-seeking by well-funded lobbies explains many of the complex and often internally inconsistent federal programs that fall under the umbrella of US agricultural policy. This two-volume examination of US agricultural policies includes analyses on the federal crop insurance program, the sugar program, constraints on domestic production, and policy-mandated price discrimination. Those subsidy programs and other forms of support are deliberately structured to funnel the vast majority of their benefits to large farm businesses and, in the case of agricultural insurance, an entire segment of the insurance industry that would not otherwise exist. They do nothing to alleviate rural poverty and in most cases encourage farm and other agricultural businesses to waste some of society’s scarce resources. Some federal programs do provide benefits for society as a whole. However, collusion among lobbies with competing interests has caused many of those programs to be inefficient. Agricultural Policy in Disarray provides fascinating, detailed, and contemporary evidence of how rent-seeking by small, well-organized interest groups results in government policies that do little good and much harm.

From any coherent policy perspective, agricultural policy in the United States is in total disarray. Not surprisingly, persistent and pervasive rent-seeking by well-funded lobbies explains many of the complex and often internally inconsistent federal programs that fall under the umbrella of US agricultural policy. This two-volume examination of US agricultural policies includes analyses on the federal crop insurance program, the sugar program, constraints on domestic production, and policy-mandated price discrimination. Those subsidy programs and other forms of support are deliberately structured to funnel the vast majority of their benefits to large farm businesses and, in the case of agricultural insurance, an entire segment of the insurance industry that would not otherwise exist. They do nothing to alleviate rural poverty and in most cases encourage farm and other agricultural businesses to waste some of society’s scarce resources. Some federal programs do provide benefits for society as a whole. However, collusion among lobbies with competing interests has caused many of those programs to be inefficient. Agricultural Policy in Disarray provides fascinating, detailed, and contemporary evidence of how rent-seeking by small, well-organized interest groups results in government policies that do little good and much harm.

Medical Technology and Society is a thought-provoking examination for nonspecialists of medical technology and the social and moral issues arising from it. The book describes the evolution of medicine from turn-of-the-century general practice with its few surgical techniques and scarcity of effective drugs to today's complex hierarchical delivery systems involving advanced science, sophisticated equipment, and a multitude of highly specialized personnel. The knotty economic and ethical questions that have accompanied this dramatic change are identified and discussed, enhancing our understanding not only of the science, the machinery and the organization of modern medicine but also of its origins, its social context, and its alternative futures.Introductory chapters outline the major developments since 1900. The authors then examine the technological bases of some of the most important innovations in medical technology and analyze the economic and ethical issues surrounding them. Topics include cardiovascular technology -- pacemakers, defibrillators, and artificial hearts; critical care technologies -- resuscitation and life-support devices; and medical imaging methods -- ultrasound and computed tomography. Human experimentation, artificial prolongation of life in extreme situations, fair access to the technologies, and cost are discussed side by side with presentation of scientific and technical material. The computerization of diagnostic systems and patient records is considered along with issues of liability and privacy.A concluding chapter takes up such topical issues as spending on acute care at the expense of preventive care, the starving of basic research to feed applications development, and the dehumanizing effect on patients of highly technical medical practice.Joseph Bronzino and Maurice Wade are members of the faculty of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; Vincent Smith is Professor at Montana State University. Medical Technology and Society is included in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation sponsored series, the New Liberal Arts.

Agricultural research and development has stimulated enormous increases in agricultural productivity in the twentieth century. Now, in response to common pressures, countries the world over are changing how they manage and pay for agricultural R & D. "Paying for Agricultural Productivity" reviews agricultural R & D policy in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States and assesses whether the new approaches are raising or lowering the efficiency and effectiveness of R & D. To complement the case studies, the book analyzes trends in R & D investment in twenty-two developed countries. "Paying for Agricultural Productivity" will be an invaluable resource for economic and development specialists concerned with agricultural research and development, as well as for farmers, food processors, agricultural wholesalers and retailers, environmentalists, and research scientists.

Agricultural research and development has stimulated enormous increases in agricultural productivity in the twentieth century. Now, in response to common pressures, countries the world over are changing how they manage and pay for agricultural R & D. "Paying for Agricultural Productivity" reviews agricultural R & D policy in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States and assesses whether the new approaches are raising or lowering the efficiency and effectiveness of R & D. To complement the case studies, the book analyzes trends in R & D investment in twenty-two developed countries. "Paying for Agricultural Productivity" will be an invaluable resource for economic and development specialists concerned with agricultural research and development, as well as for farmers, food processors, agricultural wholesalers and retailers, environmentalists, and research scientists.

In an era of limited research resources and limitless research needs, demonstrating the worth of any research discipline to policymakers and administrators is a prerequisite for obtaining future funding and making an impact in policy matters. Economists have worked diligently in developing both quantitative and qualitative indicators of the value of science and technology R & D. At the same time, they have paid little or no attention to valuing their own work. In What's Economics Worth? Valuing Policy Research, several expert economists take an important first step towards redressing this imbalance. Anyone who wants to understand what economists do and how to think about valuing their work will find this book intriguing and worthwhile.

Contributors: Jeffrey Alwang, Connie Chan-Kang, John Freebairn, Bruce Gardner, Arnold Harberger, Amir Heiman, Anne Krueger, Paul Krugman, Bob Lindner, George Norton, Philip G. Pardey, James Ryan, Vincent H. Smith, C. Peter Timmer, and David Zilberman

In an era of limited research resources and limitless research needs, demonstrating the worth of any research discipline to policymakers and administrators is a prerequisite for obtaining future funding and making an impact in policy matters. Economists have worked diligently in developing both quantitative and qualitative indicators of the value of science and technology R & D. At the same time, they have paid little or no attention to valuing their own work. In What's Economics Worth? Valuing Policy Research, several expert economists take an important first step towards redressing this imbalance. Anyone who wants to understand what economists do and how to think about valuing their work will find this book intriguing and worthwhile.

Contributors: Jeffrey Alwang, Connie Chan-Kang, John Freebairn, Bruce Gardner, Arnold Harberger, Amir Heiman, Anne Krueger, Paul Krugman, Bob Lindner, George Norton, Philip G. Pardey, James Ryan, Vincent H. Smith, C. Peter Timmer, and David Zilberman