October 23, 2009

A UNL agricultural economist will speak about the economics and politics of agricultural subsidies at UNL's East Union Oct. 30.

Wes Peterson's talk, "A Billion Dollars a Day: The Economics and Politics of Agricultural Subsidies," is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Peterson has just published a book by the same title. The book explores the impact of agricultural subsidies all over the world — specifically, the contention that they encourage additional production in wealthy countries, depressing prices that farmers in low-income countries receive.

Peterson will explain agricultural policies and why both low- and high-income countries intervene so heavily in food and agricultural markets. He also will discuss results of various studies of the economic impact of agricultural policies on domestic and world markets.

IANR News Release