GSB 620 The Agribusiness Environment
The over-riding objective in the unit is to provide students with the background knowledge that is necessary to understand the agricultural policy debate that occurs in the media and elsewhere and to provide the foundations for critical thinking about policy alternatives.
The unit provides an overview of the Australian agricultural sector with particular emphasis on the economic environment in which it operates. The importance of the agribusiness sector that supports the production agriculture sector is also provided. Basic tools of economic analysis necessary for analysing agricultural policy, particular the fundamentals of demand and supply analysis, are covered. Then, attention is focussed on the analysis of historical and contemporary agricultural policy issues, including the impacts of US and EU policies on Australian agriculture. This analysis will highlight the shift that has occurred from a relatively high to relatively low regulatory environment for Australian agriculture.
Case study material is drawn from agricultural marketing (e.g., arrangements that have been used to support and stabilise agricultural incomes), international agricultural trade (e.g., how high levels of agricultural support and import restrictions in the US and EU impact upon the level and stability of world prices for agricultural commodities) and resource issues (e.g., the economics of transferable water rights).
The basic economics necessary to study the unit will be taught within the unit. Hence, a background in economic theory is not essential, although obviously it will be helpful. Anyone working in the agricultural sector (e.g., for producer organisations, marketing firms, agribusiness suppliers) and those who are involved in agricultural policy formulation or who view themselves as being affected by agricultural policies, will benefit from studying this unit