THE PROFESSION OF (AGRICULTURAL) ECONOMISTS AND THE EXPERIENCE OF TRANSITION

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to survey the state of knowledge of economists and
agricultural economists at the onset of transition and seventeen years later.
The 'standard' economic reasoning in the early nineties was based on neoclassical economics and was termed the Washington Consensus. It is shown that
the discrepancy between expectations and reality as well as the evolution of
institutional economics has challenged economists. A 'blue print' favoured in
the early nineties seems to be opposed by many economist nowadays.
Agricultural economists have been influenced by the lines of thought in the
main profession, but their approach had already been country-specific in
early years of the transition period. Nevertheless, there are some open questions concerning assessment and approach in giving policy advice.