Some economists have theorized that there is a common thread in terms of national agricultural policies among countries as their economies transition through the stages of development. It is the agricultural policies of less-developed economies that tend to focus on agriculture as a source of tax revenue. However, as national economies become more developed, agricultural polices shift to focus more on supporting crop prices and farmer income. We are not sure how broadly this theory can be applied, but there are certainly a number of examples that support it.One example is China. Through the 1990s, there was little effort by Chinese government entities to do much of anything that would support crop prices or farmer income, although farmers...

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