Pre-Conference: The role of research in agriculture and the implementation of the European Innovation Partnership “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability”
The European Union's strategy 'Europe 2020' for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth sets the strengthening of research and innovation as one of its five main objectives. Following this approach, the CAP post 2013 place a large emphasis on innovation. Among other initiatives, the European Innovation Partnership was launched in 2012 and actions aimed at boosting innovations play a key role in the Rural Development Programmes 2014-2020. Measure 16.1, launched in several countries/regions of the EU, implements Operational Groups. Specific objectives of the preconference are:
- presenting the state of the art about research and innovation role in agriculture
- discuss the role of the EIP in the wider context of research and innovation in agriculture;
- having a better insight into local implementations of the Operational Groups and Innovation at Member State level and in the framework of regional Rural Development Plans 2014-2020;
- understanding the interactive approach between researchers, policy makers and market actorssupported by the EIP.
Conference: The changing role of regulation in the bio-based economy
Regulation has been a main concern of policymakers in a range of fields from financial to industrial and agricultural activities. Examples of regulatory areas in the bio-based economy are risk, health, environment, competition, intellectual property rights. Regulations in all these areas have deep implications for trade issues, global value chains and for the provision of public goods. In the EU, regulations concerning food retailing, food processing, farming activities, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade as well as financial markets have deeply affected the bio-based sectors.
Agricultural and applied economists have devoted significant effort to investigate the incentives, the mechanism design and evaluate the effects of regulation. In this regard, EU environmental regulation and food safety policies have provided fascinating case studies. However, there is scope for a multidisciplinary approach that more comprehensively accounts for legal and sociological issues, behavioral aspects of compliance, organization and coordination mechanisms, as in the now popular nudge approach to regulation. Efforts should also be devoted to explore the broader implications of regulation for trade and social welfare, taking into account the private interests underpinning many regulatory choices.
The 5th AIEAA Conference aims at providing a scientific contribution to these issues by expanding the knowledge base on the fundamentals of better regulation, and by promoting a critical debate on the underlying theoretical and methodological issues and policy implications.
