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ERIC Number: EJ684095
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Dec
Pages: 22
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-0112
EISSN: N/A
Sliding toward the Free Market: Shifting Political Conditions and U.S. Agricultural Policy, 1945-1975
Winders, Bill
Rural Sociology, v69 n4 p467-489 Dec 2004
Between 1945 and 1975, the twin pillars of U.S. agricultural policy--price supports and production controls--were weakened significantly. Price supports levels were reduced and made flexible in 1954, and the concept of parity was removed in 1973. Production controls were softened in 1964 and 1973. How can we explain these policy shifts? While many scholars focus on the rise of urban and consumer interests, I look at changes within agriculture and focus on the economic interests and political power of three segments of agriculture: producers of cotton, corn, and wheat. These segments anchored the political coalition that forged and expanded the New Deal agricultural policies. Yet, these policies eventually reshaped market conditions, thereby changing the interests of these segments. Changes in the economic interests and political power of these segments influenced the timing and substance of shifts in U.S. agricultural policy.
Rural Sociological Society, 104 Gentry Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-7040. Tel: 573-882-9065; Fax: 573-882-1473; e-mail: ruralsoc@missouri.edu.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A