The Impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on Food Prices

The agricultural sector is the most protected sectorwithin the European Union. Although European farmersreceive significant sums of subsidies each year inorder to protect them from global competition and toensure their survival in a changing marketfluctuating food prices regularly represent an issuefor controversy. As a result the agricultural budgetis constantly inflating. How does the CommonAgricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Unioneffect food prices and what are the consequences forboth European and non-European farmers? The authorMaximilian Heyde investigates the impact of thispolicy on rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Heoutlines the historical development of the CAP andillustrates its economic mechanisms and consequences.Market distortions caused by the CAP in Sub-SaharanAfrica are deducted and finally differentpossibilities for trade liberalization are evaluated.The book contributes to seeing the discussion in abroader context and is thus addressed to aninterested public economic development cooperationsand farmer unions but also to students of economicsand development studies.