Instructor(s)

George Norton
Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics
Phone: (540) 231-7731
E-mail: gnorton@vt.edu

Description

Agriculture in world economic development, agricultural modernization strategies, and the effects of trade policies and agreements on agriculture. Dimensions of world food, population, income, and natural resource issues; technological and institutional change; trade, capital flows, and foreign aid.

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

Introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics are prerequisites. Knowledge of economic concepts, such as supply and demand curves, price and income elasticity, production functions, marginal products, diminishing returns, comparative advantage, money supply, fiscal and monetary policy, and exchange rates, are essential for grasping the material in the course.

Learning Objectives

Students should acquire the facts, skills, and problem-solving abilities to:

1. Describe the dimensions of world food, income, and population problems.
2. Examine economic development theories and contributions of agriculture.
3. Identify components of agricultural modernization.
4. Explore the role of international trade and the impacts of trade policies, macroeconomic policies, and foreign aid on economic development and on U.S. agriculture.