Enriching the CAP evaluation toolbox with experimental approaches: introduction to the special issue

Abstract

Review coordinated by Sophie Thoyer and Raphaële Préget As one of the first expenditure programmes of the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is regularly monitored and evaluated. Ex ante evaluation is a legal requirement of the EU’s Financial Regulation, responding to well-established guidelines under the ‘integrated impact assessment’ system. It is directly conducted by the European Commission (EC) and assesses the cost-effectiveness and the distributional consequences of proposed CAP reform scenarios. Ex post (retrospective) evaluation seeks to measure the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of CAP measures. Ex-post evaluation of the CAP is co-ordinated by the Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development, in relation with Member States and is often carried out by independent experts, both at European level and at national and/or regional levels. The evaluation of the CAP is part of the broader picture of the European Union’s determination to strengthen evidence-based policy-making and good public governance. Indeed the EU has developed a more systematic and integrated approach to policy evaluation1 in the last decade, confirming its place in the policy cycle, extending its scope from expenditure programmes only, to regulatory – non-spending – policies, and ensuring that ex post evaluation results feed back into the EU system of ex ante impact assessment (Smismans, 2015). The objectives of evaluation are twofold: to provide knowledge and inputs for setting policy priorities and improving the formulation and design of policy measures, but also to enhance accountability and legitimacy of policy action.