ABSTRACT
In this 24th Presidential Address of the International Association of Agricul tural Economists, I want to explore the changing nature of policy formulation and application for agriculture and the agri-food systems. The systems have been under significant strain in recent years owing to increased economic globalization, changing political and economic forces, technological advances, environmental and food safety concerns, and numerous other pressures. Hence policy formulation and its application have been changing dramatically over the past decade, with more and faster changes facing all of us in the future. Policy systems around the world are the clients of our profession, and many of our members are involved both in the continuing research and analysis to support them, and in policy formulation and application itself.
