PREFERENCES OF CITIZENS FOR AGRICULTURAL POLICIES - EVIDENCE FROM A NATIONAL SURVEY

The increasing costs of agricultural programs is raising concern about the future direction of agricultural policies. Data from a nationwide survey on public attitudes toward agriculture are used to examine the structure of citizens’ preferences for government involvement in agriculture and especially for policies to protect family farms. Estimates of the influence of economic and sociodemographic variables on policy preferences are computed using a multiple-indicator model. Signs and magnitudes of estimated coefficients lend support to the self-interest theory of voter behavior. Results question economic arguments suggesting altruistic motives as a cause of redistributionary agricultural policies. © 1990 American Agricultural Economics Association.