In dealing with the subject of federal-state research programs, I shall summarize areas and topics for research as visualized by some of those engaged in production economics research in the southern region, and raise some questions relative to organization for Federal-State cooperation on research programs.

Complicating the problem of coordination of effort is the traditional compartmentalization of research and the entanglement one often encounters in administrative procedures when encroaching into areas and topics of research claimed by others.

A joint task force of researchers from state agricultural experiment stations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has completed a report entitled “Rural Development and the Quality of Living.” This report is an attempt to express the collective judgment of individual scientists and research administrators in regard to the research questions that need to be answered, some evaluation of present efforts, the adequacy of present facilities, and to suggest changes in research to meet present and future needs. The Task Force looked at these twin goals of research: (1) Raise the level of living of rural people, and (2) improve community services and the environment.

“The Great Society is the ‘age of the economist.’ One finds economists not only at the center of economic policy, in the Council of Economic Advisers, but also as important formulators of policy in the Departments of Defense, HEW, and HUD, and even as analysts of the status of the performing arts.” (USDA could have been added.)

Despite the contemporary accuracy of these lines from a recent issue of The Public Interest, any inference that the Great Society was the first “age of the economist” is patently wrong. That label belongs to the New Deal era.

Whether we are to discuss Extension as an administered agency or as a type of work in which agricultural economists engage themselves must be clarified first. If the choice is to feature the needs from an administrative point of view, probably the real issues would be missed. Therefore, the choice must be meeting the agricultural needs for economics through Extension. There is something to say about Extension needs, however, from the administrative viewpoint, and I do plan to put an oar on that side of the question as well.

An attempt will be made to indicate: (1) the future needs for social scientists, in general, and agricultural economists, in particular, for research in the land-grant institutions and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, (2) the location of these needs for agricultural economists, and (3) the types of research activities that are gaining in relative importance in the social sciences. The quantitative and qualitative information presented should provide some guidance in locating professional research workers where they are most needed.

Let us examine the present and prospective allocation of social scientists among the various areas of research activity, as well as the relative importance of these areas.

Statements are varied on the need as distinct from those on employment opportunities for Agricultural Economists abroad. The more useful information on potentialities must recognize congressional as well as political, economic and military uncertainties associated with U. S. foreign policy. The following comments are directed at probable employment opportunities.

The central idea in these comments is that foreign economic development activities for U. S. Agricultural Economists over the next few years will most likely focus on cooperative research in areas of commercial agriculture and rural poverty.

Industrial demand for agricultural economists can be viewed theoretically as the demand for a factor of production. In this case, the marginal revenue productivity of an industrial economist defines the factor demand. This factor demand is “derived” from the demand for the product.

It is an hypothesis of this paper that the industrial demand for economists has shifted outward and to the right. This has occurred because the two components of factor demand-marginal physical productivity of the factor and marginal revenue of the product-have both shifted outward and to the right.