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Why do members of congress support agricultural protection?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bellemare, MF; Carnes, N
Published in: Food Policy
January 1, 2015

It seems paradoxical that until recently, developed countries have continued subsidizing agriculture even though their agricultural sectors had been declining in relative importance since the middle of the 20th century. What drives support for agricultural protection-the broad array of subsidies to farmers and taxes and quotas imposed on agricultural imports-in developed countries? We answer this question by testing three competing hypotheses about what drives support for agricultural protection in the US: (i) legislator preferences, (ii) electoral incentives, or (iii) lobbying. Using data on the roll call votes of the members of the 106th through the 110th Congresses (1999-2009) and the scores given to each legislator by the Farm Bureau, our findings suggest that electoral incentives explain a great deal of the variation in support for agricultural protection, but that legislator preferences and lobbying might play a role, too. Moreover, legislator preferences and electoral incentives appear to be substitutes for one another. Why does Congress support agricultural protection? Because many members have electoral incentives to-and because many of those who do not still have other personal or strategic interests at stake.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Food Policy

DOI

ISSN

0306-9192

Publication Date

January 1, 2015

Volume

50

Start / End Page

20 / 34

Related Subject Headings

  • Agricultural Economics & Policy
  • 4407 Policy and administration
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 3006 Food sciences
  • 1605 Policy and Administration
  • 0908 Food Sciences
 

Citation

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Bellemare, M. F., & Carnes, N. (2015). Why do members of congress support agricultural protection? Food Policy, 50, 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.10.010
Bellemare, M. F., and N. Carnes. “Why do members of congress support agricultural protection?Food Policy 50 (January 1, 2015): 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.10.010.
Bellemare MF, Carnes N. Why do members of congress support agricultural protection? Food Policy. 2015 Jan 1;50:20–34.
Bellemare, M. F., and N. Carnes. “Why do members of congress support agricultural protection?Food Policy, vol. 50, Jan. 2015, pp. 20–34. Scopus, doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.10.010.
Bellemare MF, Carnes N. Why do members of congress support agricultural protection? Food Policy. 2015 Jan 1;50:20–34.
Journal cover image

Published In

Food Policy

DOI

ISSN

0306-9192

Publication Date

January 1, 2015

Volume

50

Start / End Page

20 / 34

Related Subject Headings

  • Agricultural Economics & Policy
  • 4407 Policy and administration
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 3006 Food sciences
  • 1605 Policy and Administration
  • 0908 Food Sciences