Structural Analysis Of Agriculture: A Methodological Perspective

The structure of agriculture and of its food and fibre systems have changed considerably over the past century, reflecting internal and external factors such as institutional, societal (demographic and consumer), technological, economic, human capital, and financial causes. Within a static setting, the analysis of the structure of agriculture can be undertaken with the traditional structure-conductperformance (S-C-P) model of industrial organisation economics which stems from neoclassical economic theory. However, in a period of relatively rapid change in information and communication technologies, in business and consumer expectations and in institutional factors, alternative tools and approaches are required. Changes that are expected to occur cannot be predicted within the boundaries of the neo-classical approach and historical data reported by traditional sources. For long term planning and policy, it is necessary to develop an understanding of expected changes and develop scenarios for the likely structure of agriculture and of its food and fibre system. The purpose focused “cause approach” suggested in this paper may be more appropriate for planning and policy analysis. In this paper, the economics and business strategy literature are brought together to understand and predict better the likely structures of agriculture.