D. Gale Johnson, one of the world's foremost agricultural economists, has over five decades been instrumental in setting the agenda for the conduct of research on agricultural economics and policy. The papers brought together in The Economics of Agriculture reveal the breadth and depth of his influence on the creation of modern agricultural economics. Volume 1 collects for the first time in one source Johnson's most important work. These classic papers explore the consequences of government intervention in United States and world agriculture; the economics of agricultural supply and of rural labor and human capital issues; and the analysis of agricultural productivity in poor countries, including the centrally planned economies of China and Eastern Europe. Models of precise reasoning and powerful empirical research, the papers cover a wide range of topics - from U.S. commodity price policy to the economics of population control and farm policy reform in China. Also included is a definitive bibliography of Johnson's published writings. The Economics of Agriculture will interest scholars and students of agricultural economics, development, world trade, and the world agricultural economy.