The subject matter of agricultural economics has both broadened and deepened in recent years, and the chapters of this Handbook present the most exciting and innovative work being done today. Following Volume 1, Volume 2 consists of three parts: 'Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment', 'Agriculture in the Macroeconomy' and 'Agriculture and Food Policy'. Although agricultural economists have always paid attention to these topics, research devoted to them has increased substantially in scope as well as depth in recent years.

Volume 2B. Part 5: Agricultural and Food Policy. The incidence of agricultural policy (J.M. Alston, J.S. James). Information, incentives, and the design of agricultural policies (R.G. Chambers). Market failures and second-best analysis, with a focus on nutrition, credit, and incomplete markets (R. Innes). Political economy of agricultural policy (H. de Gorter, J. Swinnen). Agricultural trade economics (L.S. Karp, J.M. Perloff). International trade policy and negotiations (D.A. Sumner, S. Tangermann). Public policy: Its many analytical dimensions (G.C. Rausser, R.E. Goodhue). Food security and food assistance programs (C.B. Barrett). Food security and the world food situation (R.C. Duncan). Policy-related developments in agricultural economics: Synthesis of Handbook Volume 2 (B.L. Gardner, D.G. Johnson).