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Commercial Agriculture in Metropolitan Areas: Economics and Regulatory Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Bruce L. Gardner
Bruce L. Gardner*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park
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Abstract

Metropolitan agriculture is economically important, especially in the Northeast. While faced with substantial economic and regulatory obstacles, commercial farming in urban areas is surviving and even prospering. In terms of standard models of agriculture in economic development, this is a puzzle. But more detailed, spatial economic models indicate how labor-intensive production of perishable commodities in urbanized areas can make economic sense, especially when coupled with environmental amenities that farming generates for nonfarm people. At the same time, environmental disamenities of agriculture are larger in densely populated areas. The political economy outcomes have tended to be favorable to continued farming, albeit with increased regulation. Nonetheless, many questions remain about the dynamics of agricultural adjustment to urbanization, and the possible steady-state mix of farm and nonfarm activities.

Type
Invited Paper
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , April 1994 , pp. 100 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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