The US federal crop insurance program: a case study in rent seeking

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-358
Author(s):  
Vincent H. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Crop Insurance ◽  
Rent Seeking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Subsidies ◽  
Insurance Reform ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
The Us

Purpose Rent seeking is endemic to the process through which any policy or regulatory initiative is developed in the USA. The purpose of this paper is to show how farm and other interest groups have formed coalitions to benefit themselves at the expense of the federal government by examining the legislative history of the federal crop insurance program. Design/methodology/approach The federal crop insurance legislation and the way in which the USDA Risk Management Agency manages federal crop insurance program are replete with complex and subtle policy initiatives. Using a new theoretical framework, the study examines how, since 1980, three major legislative initiatives – the 1980 Federal Crop Insurance Act, the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act and the 2000 Agricultural Risk Protection Act – were designed to jointly benefit farm interest groups and the agricultural insurance industry, largely through increases in government subsidies. Findings Each of the three legislative initiatives examined here included provisions that, when considered individually, benefitted farmers and adversely affected the insurance industry, and vice versa. However, the joint effects of the multiple adjustments included in each of those legislative initiatives generated net benefits for both sets of interest groups. The evidence, therefore, indicates that coalitions formed between the farm and insurance lobbies to obtain policy changes that, when aggregated, benefited both groups, as well as banks with agricultural lending portfolios. However, those benefits came at an increasingly substantial cost to taxpayers through federal government subsidies. Originality/value This is the first analysis of the US federal crop insurance program to examine the issue of coalition formation.

The US crop insurance program and WTO disciplines

2016 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph William Glauber
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Crop Insurance ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Agricultural Insurance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
The Us ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Green Box

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the US crop insurance programs in the context of domestic support disciplines under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Crop insurance has become an integral part of many domestic support programs, not just in developed countries, but in important emerging markets as well. An often-cited impetus for the growth in insurance program is the potential treatment of such programs as exempt from WTO reduction commitments. Design/methodology/approach – A detailed examination of the so-called “green box provisions” of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture is presented with particular emphasis on eligibility criteria for crop yield and revenue insurance programs. Findings – While WTO rules potentially shield green box policies from reduction, few developed countries have notified agricultural insurance policies under Annex 2. Moreover, crop insurance programs have been challenged in recent WTO dispute settlement cases and domestic countervailing duty investigations. Originality/value – The paper presents a unique perspective on a program which has become the largest single farm program in the USA.

The practices of performance management and low performers in the US Federal Government

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-433
Author(s):  
Hyung-Woo Lee ◽  
Dong-Young Rhee
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
News Article ◽  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Federal Government

Purpose Addressing low performers has been an important issue for government. The purpose of this paper is to examine what practices of performance management are effective in reducing the proportion of low performers in the US federal government. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted the binary logit regression analysis and multinomial regression analysis. Findings Analyzing the Merit Principle Survey 2016, the authors found that the dismissal of low performing employees and the formal performance improvement plan (PIP) is the most effective in reducing the proportion of low performers. To the contrary, the within-grade-increase did not have a significant influence on the proportion of low performers. Moreover, using the performance appraisal for the purpose of reassigning employees to the position that better match employees’ talent increased the number of low performers in work units. Research limitations/implications Research limitations are as follows. First, the performance measure for this study was the percentage of employees rated as unsuccessful. Second, the pseudo-R2 indicated that the proposed model explained only the small, albeit significant, portion of the total variance in employee performance. Lastly, this study used a cross-sectional research design that may impede the validity of inference of causalities. Practical implications According to a recent news article (Rein, 2018), Trump signed an executive order that limits the stable benefits associated with government employment such as, limiting pay associated with union work and negotiating more stringent union contracts. These measures are largely aimed at eliminating low performing employees rather than attempting to improve their performances through carefully designed training programs. Although removing low performers may be an option, the results indicate that providing assistance in order to develop employee knowledge and skills through the PIP have a comparable impact on reducing low performers. Originality/value These findings imply that the use of performance evaluation for developmental or sanctioning purpose is more effective than reassignment or incentive purpose.

American Libraries and the US Federal Government: an overview of partnerships for enhanced resource access

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
Bethany Latham
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Us Federal Government ◽  
Partnership Program

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the US Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) partnership program: what it is, how the GPO defines partnership, the types of institutions that are participating and the resources these institutions are making available through partnership. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews the available literature and information from the US GPO on its partnership program, examines the institutions contributing to the program and what those contributions entail, surveys the resources made available through these partnerships and examines how this affects access to government information. Findings – Partnership with the US GPO provides benefits to libraries, museums, government agencies and other entities, increasing discoverability and enhancing access to digital collections of government information and other resources. Originality/value – This paper examines the parameters of the US GPO’s partnership program, why libraries and other institutions might wish to partner with the GPO and the effect these partnerships have had on enhancing access to government information resources, an area that has not been extensively covered in library literature.

EU corruption fight passes to civil society and media

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media ◽  
Roll Back ◽  
The Eu

Subject The non-appearance of an expected EU anti-corruption report. Significance The European Commission’s cancellation of its second report on anti-corruption efforts across member-states and EU institutions removes a key benchmark against which to hold European governments to account at a time when several are attempting to roll back anti-corruption reforms and disable checks and balances. Given the political sensitivity of the first report, the move also feeds populist criticisms that the EU itself is prone to corruption and unwilling to expose itself to scrutiny. Impacts Populist governments appear to be learning from one another that they can remove limits on their power. This will allow interest groups to entrench their political and economic dominance, hindering economic growth in the long run. The US president’s attacks on parts of the media for ‘fake news’ may encourage use of anti-establishment rhetoric to discredit critics.

Restricting immigration will lower US GDP

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Unemployment Rate ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Illegal Immigrants ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Federal Government

Subject Immigration policy outlook. Significance Tensions over immigration are bubbling to the surface as the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is entangled with efforts to pass a spending bill and keep the US federal government open beyond January 19. Against a backdrop of polarising political debate, concerns about the economic impact of lower net immigration risk being overlooked. Impacts Arrests of illegal immigrants rose sharply to September 2017 and deportations could surge this year; workplace raids will also increase. Having fallen to the lowest in 45 years, illegal border crossings are likely to continue to fall as detection processes are improving. With the US unemployment rate at near its lowest this century, some sectors could struggle to find workers. GDP could be cut by one-tenth of a percentage point in each year of Trump's first term as a result of lower immigration, Moody's estimates.

Canada asylum pressures may bring political friction

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asylum Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Federal Politics

Subject Asylum-seekers and Canada. Significance After an uptick in asylum claims in recent months, including via the United States, asylum policy is likely to feature more heavily in Canadian state and federal politics. Impacts New migrant flows to Canada will likely be triggered as the US government reduces its grants of Temporary Protected Status. Quebec’s government will face off against the Ottawa federal government over responsibility for new migrant arrivals. Ottawa and Washington will likely eventually update the Safe Third Country Agreement, but this could require bargaining. Canada may invest more in border policing and associated technologies.

Ransomware rise calls for stronger cyber resilience

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Lost Sales ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
Incident Response ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Business

Subject Ransomware attacks. Significance The US Department of Justice has described ransomware as a “new business model for cybercrime”. Ransomware makes part (or all) of an organisation’s computer systems unavailable and can affect the victim in various ways: system downtime, lost employee productivity, lost sales, and direct costs including incident response and restoring/replacing affected machines. Impacts A rise in remote working due to COVID-19 will have a mixed impact on the escalation of ransomware attacks. Organisations stressing good cybersecurity hygiene on both work and domestic digital devices will be better prepared. The cybersecurity insurance industry will continue to expand.

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