The Comparative Advantage of Agricultural Economists

Abstract

As I sat down to compose this presidential address, a comment spoken by Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet stole through my thoughts. She said, O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! I drew only slight comfort from knowing that others before me have surely felt the same uneasy sensation. Two questions framed my uneasiness. First, what does the AAEA membership want in its annual Presidential address? And second, what do I, in particular, have to say to this assembly? I believe that the membership these days wants something subjective and idiosyncratic in its presidential address. This morning, we sit on the brink of another large and complex annual meeting of this large and complex Association. The Fellows Lecture, the Waugh Memorial Lecture, the invited and selected papers, the symposia, the posters, and the free sessions soon will engulf us in a tidal wave of analytical economics. So, as I see it, another technical paper from an incoming president is not really needed nor will it be much missed if not delivered. There is, however, a sizeable demand within our membership for what I choose to call introspection. Like other social scientists, we are powerfully drawn to this form of discourse; we revel in it. Perhaps, we agricultural economists wallow in professional introspection even more than other social scientists. I could produce a barrage of citations from our literature to underscore this point, but, for this audience, that will not be necessary. You all know what I mean.