Domestic grain market reform in china: the contribution of economic policy research funded by ACIAR

Abstract

This paper reports an assessment of the impact of economics research into domestic grain marketing policy in China, which was partly supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. A financial analysis was conducted to value the contribution of these projects in bringing forward the adoption of more liberalized grain marketing policy. An estimate had to be made of the potential welfare gains from market reform in China because grain marketing policy in China in recent decades has been characterized by periods of reform alternating with periods of retrenchment in the face of uncertainty about how best to ensure food security. Any attempt to attribute some share of these potential gains to a particular research project is highly subjective when there are multiple sources of policy advice. The potential benefit cost ratio from the Australian investment may be in the order of 5 to 10:1.