Agricultural Policy and Rural Appraisal

The course consists in two modules: Agricultural policy and rural appraisal. The students will acquire skills both in International and European policies as well as in appraisal procedure aimed at professional activity.

The agricultural policy module will address basic and intermediate topics on international agricultural and environmental policy with a focus to (domestic) European Union policies. The module will study trade, agricultural and environmental policy issues, developed through simple economic models. In addition, students will be introduced to the topics of climate change impact assessment in agriculture, with the aims to study the economic impacts of agricultural mitigation and adaptation policy. Emerging topics such as the recent changes in the common agricultural policy (CAP), environmental and food standards, and climate change issues will be the main learning outcomes. The presentation of the different economic models will give emphasis to applied work and issues pertinent to current real problems.

The rural appraisal module will address rural appraisal theory with specific regards to the entrepreneurial choices and the relationships between public and private actors. The module will study the basics of appraisal, introducing fundamental concepts as value, criteria and methods. The analysis of private (cash flow analysis and business plan) and public (public goods and cost-benefit analysis) will be studies. The module will address property rights and compensations. Moreover, the environmental appraisal, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will be analyzed. Finally, innovative approaches as the International Valuation Standards (IVS) will be a fundamental part of the module. The module aims at provide knowledge and expertise to the students useful for the scientific and professional activities in different contexts.

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