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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2005

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Abstract

This article focuses on how to achieve non-trade concerns (NTC) and multifunctional goals that countries may have with minimal trade-distortion. The term 'multifunctional agriculture' focuses on the issue that agriculture, in addition to the production of food and fibre, also may provide national food security, environmental benefits and viable rural areas. The article claims that multifunctionality hardly can justify the use of market support while it may justify budget support. It is argued that just as a tax is widely accepted as the optimum policy for a negative externality, so should the use of a production-related subsidy or payment be accepted as optimum policy for a positive externality or public good that is produced jointly with or complementary to agricultural production. The article concludes with suggestions for WTO agricultural trade rules to prevent such policies from becoming a form of protectionism.

Abstract

Economic externalities of mitigating measures to reduce sheep losses to carnivores are not sufficiently addressed in Norwegian nature management. Evaluating such measures involves a "scale” problem: outfield (i.e. open range) grazing sheep have quite small home ranges, large carnivores from hundred to several thousand km2. Because these ranges are a different order of magnitude, exposure to mitigating measures taken in any sheep home range area might influence predatory behaviour outside that area. These external effects impact on society, the environment and other farmers and could outweigh any advantages. Scale consideration is of crucial importance in designing field research projects to explore such issues.