The Political Economy of Agricultural Statistics and Input Subsidies

Evidence from India, Nigeria and Malawi

Bibliographic Data

ID2285441
AuthorsMorten Jerven (0000-0002-7302-3575, School for International Studies Simon Fraser University Suite 7200, 515 West Hastings Street Vancouver BC V6B 5K3 Canada, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume14
Issue1
Pages129-145
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Agrarian Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1471-0358 • E-ISSN: 1471-0366
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/joac.12025
OpenAlexW1942082060
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited44

The political economy of agricultural policies - why certain interventions may be preferred by political leaders rather than others - is well recognized. This paper explores a perspective that has previously been neglected: the political economy of the agricultural statistics. In developing economies, the data on agricultural production are weak. Because these data are assembled using competing methods and assumptions, the final series are subject to political pressure, particularly when the government is subsidizing agricultural inputs. This paper draws on debates on the evidence of a Green Revolution in India and the arguments on the effect of withdrawing fertilizer subsidies during structural adjustment in Nigeria, and finally the paper presents new data on the effect of crop data subsidies in Malawi. The recent agricultural census (2006/7) indicates a maize output of 2.1 million metric tonnes, compared to the previously widely circulated figures of 3.4 million metric tonnes. The paper suggests that 'data' are themselves a product of agricultural policies

Agricultural economics · Agriculture · Economics · Geography · Government (linguistics · Market economy · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Subsidy · Agricultural Economics and Practices · Agricultural Innovations and Practices · Income, Poverty, and Inequality

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