The Effects of Decoupling on Land Allocation

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study the impact of agricultural policy decoupling on land allocation decisions. Our analysis contributes to the literature by formally assessing the effects of decoupling on farms’ crop mix and on the decision to set land aside. The analysis is undertaken within the framework of the model of production under uncertainty developed by Just and Zilberman (1986). Our empirical application focuses on a sample of Kansas farms observed from 1998 to 2001. Results show that US agricultural policy decoupling has resulted in a shift in land use away from program crops towards non-program commodities offering higher expected profits and idle land.