U.S. Corn Policy in Comparative Perspective.

Sociology and political science offer multiple accounts of the origins and persistence of the U.S. agricultural welfare state, all sharing a common focus on the role of powerful private actors, state agencies, and the insertion of private interest into state agencies. This piece interrogates this dominant narrative. I sketch a brief history of U.S. agricultural policy - with a focus on the leading cash crop, corn - and then utilize limited international comparisons and data on supply, demand, prices, and government subsidies over time to first suggest the inadequacy of existing accounts and later offer theoretical alternatives. I conclude with directions for future research, including a focus on the role of the corn processing market - rather than farmers, as in traditional accounts - and questions about the empirical viability of an unprotected agricultural sector. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]