Policy Mixes as a Strategy to Provide More Effective Social and Environmental Benefits: Evidence from Six Rural Areas in Europe

Abstract

At the EU level, agricultural and rural development policies are increasingly oriented and targeted to the provision of public goods associated with farming. While most analysis focuses on the efficiency and effectiveness of specific types of interventions, this paper aims at exploring the role of policy mixes in stimulating the provision of environmental and social benefits (ESBs) associated with agriculture. The role of policy mixes in determining the provision of ESBs to farming is a complex matter, since different types of policies may have synergistic, overlapping and/or contrasting effects. On the basis of a comparative analysis of six case studies in different European countries, the analysis shows interesting solutions already being experimented with in the field by local actors working together through some form of cooperative action, highlighting how public intervention is often a combination of different policy instruments that may vary according to the type of socio-economic and institutional settings as well as according to the type of ESB targeted. The effectiveness of policy mixes depends not only on the design and implementation phases, but also on new governance arrangements stimulating alternative mechanisms of public goods provision, including market mechanisms and collective action.