Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book utilizes the contributions of the discussants at the symposium to comment on the various problems raised by the authors in their treatment of the complex subject matter of agriculture and international trade. It examines some aspects of the theory surrounding the gains from trade and analyzes various aspects of commercial policy as they relate to agricultural trade of the United States and other developed economies. The book reviews the some state of gains-from-trade theory. It also analyzes the impact of international trade policy on the size and management of food reserves. The book demonstrates the important notion that while it is trade policies that destabilize prices in national attempts to achieve domestic agricultural price stability, it is the resultant instability which creates the potential for gains from reserves.