The Common Agricultural Policy

The Common Agricultural Policy is a set of regulations and subsidies in the European Union (EU) that aim to support the farming sector. The policy has been in place for over 50 years, and has undergone several changes over that time. Rosemary Fennell's book, Continuity and Change: The Common Agricultural Policy, 1945-1993, provides a detailed history of the CAP and its changes. The book is written for agricultural economists, but is accessible to non-specialists as well. Fennell provides a clear and concise history of the CAP, as well as critical observations on its evolution. She also discusses some unresolved issues, such as the role and appropriateness of a sectoral policy in today's circumstances. Overall, the book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in agricultural policy in the EU.

The Common Agricultural Policy: Continuity and Change is a major retrospective analysis of the CAP since its inception, set against the background of agricultural policy in Western Europe since the end of the Second World War. The topics covered include the development of the CAP, in particular the early dominance of the market policy contrary to the original intention; the struggle to introduce a structural policy and its subsequent unsatisfactory record; the uneasy relationship between market policy and trade policy; the question of agricultural incomes; and the broadening of policy horizons since the mid-1980s, particularly to include environmental issues. The book concludes with a discussion of some unresolved issues, including the role and appropriateness of a sectoral policy in today's circumstances. Review: readers new to agricultural policy will find in the book a concise yet detailed chronicle of the form and function of agricultural policy in the EU, together with the author's critical observations on the evolution of the CAP to 1993. Ian Bowler, Regional Studies 33.9 This is a very thorough, intense and detailed study of the evolution of Common Agricultural Policy...It has been writtenby an agricultural economist but the author deliberately avoids technical economic analysis: in only one of the book's thirteen chapters does the reader require a reasonably sophisticated knowledge of economics... This is a valuable book which fills a large gap in the literture of the CAP and the history of the EU and the author is to be congratulated. Garth Hughes, The Agricultural History Review, Vol 47, 1999 Rosemary Fennell's book on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) may be considered a 'classic' on the subject, given the previous well-known related books and articles she has published. Her approach is clear-cut and effective. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 25 (1998). Secondo Tarditi.