Politics, coalitions, and support of farmers, 1920-1975
Fernandez, E.
European Review of Economic History 20: 102-122
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 1361-4916
DOI: 10.1093/ereh/hev019
Accession: 066310653
This article studies the political determinants of agricultural policies in twelveWestern countries based on new estimates of support of farmers during the period from 1920 to 1975. In continental Europe, the rapid growth of agricultural support after 1955 was driven by the combination of the rapid decline in the size of agriculture, the relative agricultural comparative disadvantage, and the high frequency of coalition governments that resulted from the proportional electoral systems. During the interwar period, agricultural support depended on the presence of authoritarian regimes and economic downturns in the 1920s and 1930s induced politicians to increase support.