Federal policy on agriculture under the Reagan administration: the first year

Abstract

The Reagan administration focused most of its time and energy on the problems that confronted the nation in 1981. This paper assesses how the administration approached that part of the economy that pertained to agriculture. It begins with the Reagan approach to public policy in general. It reviews the policy on agriculture that the new administration inherited and discusses the problems with that policy that needed to be confronted. The administration proposed several changes to agriculture policy. The paper examines five areas of special note in some detail. The paper concludes with an assessment of how well the administration did and what perhaps it could and in some case should have done to prevent the problems that ensued.