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Agricultural economics: a discipline in crisis?

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  • Melissa van der Merwe

Abstract

Agricultural economists have continuously raised questions about their role in the wider economy and society since the discipline's establishment. This led to continuous reinvention, development and stretching of the discipline's boundaries. We have seen the same critique by scholars in other disciplines; many of these evolved to thrive or regressed to die. This begs the question, is the agricultural economics discipline evolving and adapting to change or regressing and facing extinction? To answer this evolutionary question, I use the three key pillars that make up the hereditary material of a discipline as a conceptual framework: research, teaching and association. I use several data sets to diagnose the health of each of these pillars to ultimately comment on the health of the discipline. Our findings indicate the weakest pillar as the association. Although our research and teaching pillars are not as strong as we want them to be, we are in the process of reinforcement. In conclusion, the agricultural economics discipline is not in crisis, at least not yet. I also acknowledge that the emergence of crisis does not always lead to the end of a discipline, but it promotes educational reflection and reform to lead to disciplinary evolution.

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  • Melissa van der Merwe, 2023. "Agricultural economics: a discipline in crisis?," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(2), pages 117-132, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ragrxx:v:62:y:2023:i:2:p:117-132
    DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2023.2186003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas A. Grossman, 2001. "Causes of the Decline of the Business School Management Science Course," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 1(2), pages 51-61, January.
    2. Johann Kirsten, 2021. "Introduction to volume 60 of Agrekon," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(1), pages 1-6, January.
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    1. Melissa van der Merwe, 2024. "How do we secure a future for the youth in South African agriculture?," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 63(1-2), pages 1-15, April.

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