International challenges in agricultural economics for the nineties will come from a redirection of the EC policy, stimulated by GATT negotiations, the opening towards Eastern Europe and environmental considerations, from a production oriented policy towards rural policy, aiming at protecting vulnerable regions, maintaining a rural population, curtailing production in the West and fostering it in the East, and aiming at the provision of environmentally desirable output.

This book focusses on developments that are bound to dominate the discussion of agricultural economics and policy in the years to come. Together, the contributions give a vivid picture of the dynamic times that lie ahead for both Eastern and Western European agriculture, and of the profound changes that will be forced upon agricultural policy.