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I am intrigued by the recent debate over the best ways to alleviate
African poverty. To that extent, there have been calls to reduce the
level of agricultural subsidies offered to farmers in developed
nations. It's true that these subsidies are almost always a waste of
taxpayer money in the developed country because they are used to prop
up ailing industries that the country probably never had a comparative
advantage in. The argument I am seeking to know is correct or not is that for
exporting farmers in the developed nation, these subsidies allow them
to sell overseas to places like Africa at prices that are
significantly cheaper than local producers. They can literally "dump"
surplus production. Is this of benefit to consumers in places like
Africa and how frequently does this occur? See the detailed argument
here: http://ashishniti.blogspot.com/2004/07/poorer-countries-should-take-advantage.html Also see here:
http://catallarchy.net/blog/archives/2005/06/15/agri-subsidies/ Are these arguments correct? I'd appreciate if someone is able to answer my question.
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