The present paper examines the historical evolution of China’s rural taxation system from the pre-reform period to the late 1990s. We propose that because of information asymmetry between the upper-level and the lower-level governments, local governments had to be granted some informal tax autonomy to fulfill the upper-level policy mandates. This easily led to excessive local informal taxation ...

Redistributive land reform may promote both equity and efficiency. Implementing such reform can be costly, however, and may not be the best way to achieve redistribution. If land redistribution is to be implemented, it should be based on a uniform land ceiling that can be exceeded if landowners are willing to pay a high enough price to do so. Owners of redistributed land should be permitted to ...

the production of public goods like amenity value of the landscape, food security, preservation of rural communities and rural lifestyle, by agricultural sector is a subject that has been widely accepted by experts. however, in many policies and political analyses carried out, solely the production of private goods by the agricultural sector is paid attention and the important function of publi...

The cereal, oilseeds, and protein crop sector (COP) occupies a prominent position within the European Union’s agricultural sector. Within Spain, the COP sector accounts for almost a third of total Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund expenses, and a half of the utilized agricultural area. The COP sector is not only relevant because of its physical and economic magnitude, but also because of...

Developing countries are now the dominant voting bloc in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Many developing countries, especially the least developed, maintain that the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture did little or nothing to benefit them. While many of these countries have presented proposals in the WTO for revisions to the agreement, most of these countries have limited analytical cap...