Theoretical aspects of studies on agricultural economics and agrarian issues

Abstract

This article contains a theoretical proposal for classifying the agrarian economic theory as a separate school of heterodox economic thought, encompassing more than a dozen research streams. In this sense, it fills a gap in the general economic theory, in which, so far, the agrarian economic thought is not considered a separate school of economics. The study proves that for the development of agrarian economics, it is not necessary to adopt the monistic, reductive, and consolidative approach that characterises mainstream economics. We treat agricultural economics as a pluralistic science, taking into account different viewpoints and research paradigms of development, from industrial to sustainable. Raising the need to integrate agrarian thought, the study points to the designations of the substantive distinctiveness of agricultural economics, including the immobility of the land factor, the price and income specificity of food demand, and the compulsion to consume food. The considerations are supplemented by a conceptualisation of the studied issue concerning the situation in Poland, presented in the form of a case study.