Adding value to applied policy models:The case of the WTO and OECD support classification system

TL;DRAbstract

Both the OECD and the WTO have accumulated systematic data on the magnitude of support going to farmers as a result of farm policies. The datasets are collected for different purposes but both give a detailed picture of the evolution of these policies. This paper extends recent work on the compatibility or otherwise of these two attempts at policy monitoring by considering the categorization of individual policy instruments in Norway, Switzerland, the US and the EU. The results show how the OECD data set, particularly with respect to the link between direct payments and production requirements, complements that of the WTO. Many payments classified as in the WTO Green Box require production, raising the possibility that they may not be in practice trade-neutral. Though the issue of correct notifications to the WTO is the province of lawyers the implications for modeling and policy analysis is of interest to economists. And the broader question of improving the consistency of the two dat

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