Constructing Reform: Economic Expertise and the Governing of Agricultural Change in Australia

by Vaughan Higgins

Overview

The author, whose academic affiliation is not given, presents a framework for exploring the factors that shaped the view since the 1960s that needed agricultural restructuring in Australia is an economic management problem. Countering structural explanations of change, Higgins analyzes the "black box" variables of the genealogy of thinking about change that have informed this perspective. Appendices list the PhD study documents, survey procedures, and interview questions. Versions of several chapters appeared previously in sociology and political economy journals. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590336045
Publisher:	Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/01/2003
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	7.09(w) x 10.24(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

	List of Tables	vii
	List of Abbreviations	ix
	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction: A Framework for Studying the Governance of Agricultural Change	1
	Background to the Study	1
	Scope and Purpose of the Book	3
	Method	4
	Outline of the Argument	9
Chapter 1	The Emergence of the 'Low-Income' Farm as a National Economic Problem	11
	The Historical Context in which a National Farm Problem Emerged	12
	The Constitution of the 'Low-Income Farm Problem'	13
	Rural Reconstruction and the Regulation of Low-Income Farms	19
	Governing 'Low-Income' Farms: Administration by the States	30
	Farm Organizations and Country Party Patronage	34
	Conclusion	35
Chapter 2	A 'Rational' Approach to Economic Management: Low-Income Farms as a Long-Term Efficiency Issue	37
	Low-Income Farms as a General Economic Management Problem	38
	Addressing the Economic Inefficiency of Low-Income Farms	49
	'Broad' Interpretations: Economic Management and the State Administration of Farm Adjustment	56
	Farm Organizations and the Assemblage of a National Voice	59
	Conclusion	64
Chapter 3	Creation of the Enterprizing Farmer: International Competitiveness through 'Outward-Looking' Attitudes	65
	(Dis)ordering the Economy	66
	The Shift Toward Farmer Attitudes as a Site of Reform	68
	Governing Administrative Freedom through Financial Accountability	75
	Creating More 'Responsive' Rural Industries: The National Farmers' Federation	78
	Conclusion	79
Chapter 4	Towards Self-Reliance: Governing the Farmer as Individual Risk Manager	81
	Environmental Sustainability: A Financial Management Problem	82
	The Constitution of Self-Reliance as a Strategy for Risk Management	83
	State Administration of Self-Reliance	106
	Agricultural Producer Groups and 'Self-Reliance'	111
	Conclusion	113
Chapter 5	Self-Reliance and the Limits of Managed Risk	115
	Managing Agricultural Change: A Congenitally Failing Operation	115
	'Exceptional Circumstances' as a Site of Contestation	118
	'Local Knowledge' as a Site of Contestation	122
	Drought Management: An Evaluation	129
	'Sustainability' as a Site of Contestation	130
	Conclusion	132
Chapter 6	Agricultural Regulation: From 'Projects' to 'Problematizations' of Restructuring	135
	Reconstructing Problematizations of Agricultural Change	135
	Key Findings	136
	Implications for Future Research on Regulation	142
	References	145
Appendix A	Documents Analyzed in the Study	157
	Policy Documents and Acts of Parliament	157
	Reviews/Reports	159
	Parliamentary Debates	160
	Selected articles by agricultural economists	160
Appendix B	Interviewing and Sampling Procedures	161
Appendix C	Interview Discussion Topics	163
	Index	165