農業環境政策論の課題と方法 : 農業・農村の外部経済効果の評価を中心に

Abstract

Compared with other industries, agriculture and forestry play an important role to preserve natural resources and provide desirable rural amenities for the people who either live in the region or visit the place. Such multiple roles are seldom marketed or traded, most of which are so-called external economies that are not compensated by anyone through market mechanism. For this reason, it is indispensable for future research and policy implementation to make an economic evaluation and quantify the magnitude of those externalities provided by agriculture and rural communities. This paper tries to examine the nature and basic issues of environmental policies in agriculture. The following three points are analyzed, employing theories and analytical framework used in environmental economics. First, the concept and characteristics of national (and regional) resources are discussed. Secondly, economic and policy analyses are made on multiple functions played by agricultureand rural communities. Finally, by reviewing literature on the economic evaluation of public functions of agriculture and forestry, various alternative methods to evaluate such externalities are compared and critically examined.