Decoupling of agricultural support payments: the impact on land market participation decisions

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of the recent decision by the European Union to ‘decouple’ agricultural support payments from agricultural production on Irish farmers' land market decisions. The land market participation decisions of Irish farmers are modelled using a dynamic probit model, while the extent of participation decisions is modelled using a dynamic tobit model. Decoupling does not appear to have significantly altered farmers' land market decisions. One likely explanation for this is the cross-compliance obligation for farmers to maintain land in a state fit for agricultural production in order to receive their full payments. , Oxford University Press.