The Economic Research Service as a Resource for Policymakers

Keith CollinsUSDA Agricultural Outlook Forum

February 25, 2011

Topics

• ERS connection to policy

• Resources for policymakers

• Looking to the future

What ERS is not . . .

• A program agency– No transfer payments/subsidies – No loans

• A regulatory agency– No rules and restrictions on businesses or the public

• A product marketer to the public– No retail distribution of products or services

• A research agency with many U.S. labs and grants

So, how has ERS made it for 50 years?

ERS vitally connected to the well-being of farm and rural people

and food consumers

ERS Mission: “. . . to anticipate economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, the

environment, and rural development, and conduct economic research that broadly and

specifically informs public program and policy decisions.”

Persistence of Existence is not Easy

• Federal budget problems• Less support for public research• Questions over ERS effectiveness• Operating in a political environment• User demands and the uncertainty

of research

ERS: “Anticipating” needs of changing users with shifting priorities . . .

Come on Kitty,You think data

users know what they really

need??

Foundations for sound economic decisionmaking

Data

Foundations for sound economic decisionmaking

Data

Applied Analysis

Foundations for sound economic decisionmaking

Data

Applied Analysis

Communication

Key: Understanding and Managing RISK • Potential hazards to the food & ag economy:

– Macroeconomics– Natural disasters– Person-made disasters– Quantity/quality of inputs– Trade policy– Energy policy– Climate policy– Food policy– Technology policy– Environmental policy

• Symptoms of hazards:– Changes in Outputs/Quality/Prices/Inputs/Costs/Loss of

Markets/Environmental Quality/Income & Wealth/Health