ESTIMATING WELFARE EFFECTS FROM THE U.S. SUGAR PROGRAM

This article estimates the welfare effects from the U.S. sugar program on the country as a whole, and the states of Texas and Louisiana for fiscal years 2010-2018. Over the nine-year period, sugar policies have kept prices 69.1% higher than world price equivalents, thereby creating substantial deadw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSouthwestern economic review Vol. 47; pp. 23 - 34
Main Authors Lewer, Joshua J, Parrish, Lisa
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Canyon West Texas A&M University, College of Business 01.01.2020
Subjects
Agricultural biotechnology
Agriculture
Consumers
Demand curves
Economic theory
Elasticity of demand
Estimates
Free trade
International trade
Liberalization
North American Free Trade Agreement
Politics
Price elasticity
Sugar industry
Sugarcane
Supply & demand
Tariffs
US imports
Canada
United States > US
Texas
Louisiana
Mexico
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Summary:This article estimates the welfare effects from the U.S. sugar program on the country as a whole, and the states of Texas and Louisiana for fiscal years 2010-2018. Over the nine-year period, sugar policies have kept prices 69.1% higher than world price equivalents, thereby creating substantial deadweight losses for the nation and the state of Texas. However, certain political jurisdictions gain from this distortionary policy; for example, Louisiana's in-state producers gain on average $172.25 million more per year than the losses incurred from in-state sugar consumers. It is not unexpected that such a policy is politically difficult to reform.
ISSN:1941-7683
1941-7691