Abstract:
Public policy decisions involving agricultural and natural resource issues are founded on prevailing world views and ethical considerations. Teaching undergraduate students how to analyze these fundamental factors demands the use of models and tools which go beyond the standard content of the conventional economics class. A political economic framework is developed in this essay which enables the instructor to capture the essence of policy analysis without losing the analytical rigor of economics. This framework serves as both a challenge to standard classroom approaches and as a complimentary instructional tool.
The predominant emphasis in undergraduate economic education is placed on models of self-interest and purely competitive markets. In colleges of agriculture, rational maximization models at the consumer and firm level, and the assumption that agriculture is a perfectly competitive industry, continue to dominate our instructional programs. Yet it is increasingly obvious to this interested observer that a world view solely based on simple abstract models of economic rationality falls short in preparing our students for management positions in industry and government where human interaction is not costless, information is not complete, institutions matter and where the exercise of economic power is an everyday occurrence. Our undergraduates need and deserve a broader, yet complimentary, analytical framework which will equip them for grappling with the major agricultural and natural resource issues they will confront in their careers.
As noted by Jimmerson (1991):
“Leaders recognize the importance of their personal world view of others as basic to the change process. One’s world view includes his/her culture, background and experiences which provide the basis for his/her values, goals, beliefs and assumptions” (p. 50).
Key words:
NACTA Reprint, Paul N. Wilson, 1992
 12 NACTA Reprint NACTA Journal Dec 2012.pdf | [ ] | 239 kB |
