ABSTRACT
This Chapter looks at the way in which information on the income and wealth of farmers is taken into account when shaping agricultural policy within the European Union. The present system of using partial indicators of income as a proxy for the well-being of farmers in reaching policy decisions has fostered a system of support that is ineffective at securing the main income aims and one which at the same time generates unwanted levels of production. Evidence from the branch approach shows that in the UK old the USA since the Second World War the aggregate income from agricultural activity has been under long-term downward pressure. Among the users of information, changes in income from agricultural production, at all levels of aggregation, are frequently interpreted as indicating parallel movements in the welfare of farmers. The way that income indicators are used to guide policymaking is rarely spelled out in detail by those involved.
