Farm Incomes, Wealth and Agricultural Policy

The central aim of the Common Agricultural Policy is to support the incomes of farmers, yet reliable information on the overall incomes of farmers and their households is scarce. In general, farmers in the EU are not a low-income or poor sector of society, and much of the present CAP income support goes to those that are relatively well-off. This third edition has been updated and expanded to include: coverage of statistics and references; the major changes in methodology of income measurement flowing from the 1995 revision of the European system of accounts; a critical examination of wealth and balance sheets for the agricultural industry; and incorporation of material from Japan and countries in Central and Eastern Europe that are candidates for EU membership.