|
Researchers have devoted considerable attention to analyzing the impact of macroeconomic policy reforms on stabilization in Latin American countries. But until recently, relatively little has been known about the effects of these reforms on the agriculture and the rural sectors. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is now seeking to fill the gap through its research program, "Macroeconomic Policy Reforms and Regional Trade Pacts in Latin America." Policymakers will use data generated by the IDB-financed program to gauge the effects that changes in the world trading system and regional integration schemes have on agriculture and the rural economy. Data already on hand indicate that the dramatic Mexican devaluation of 1995 caused serious strains in the country's agriculture sector. The program also found that U.S. policies to help Mexico make a "soft landing" would help shield that country's agriculture sector, resulting in less migration to the United States. In Argentina, preliminary studies indicate that the elimination of subsidies following the creation of Mercosur (the integration agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay) hurt many smaller farmers. To ease the transition to more open markets, the IFPR1 program concludes that the government should have provided more inputs to the threatened farmers. The IFPRI project is also analyzing the effects of NAFTA and U.S. agricultural policy on agriculture in the Americas.
|
