Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on agricultural economics. Agricultural economics is economics applied to agriculture with the former drawing on the latter for its basic laws and analytical models. On the whole, the mainstream methodology of applied microeconomics has provided the foundation for agricultural economics work—the practitioners have based their conceptual models upon the postulates of neoclassical theory and have attempted to quantify relationships via the use of statistical methods and operations research techniques. Furthermore, agricultural economists have, in general, accepted the non-radical view, albeit to different degrees, that the market system tends to produce allocative efficiency and that the socially harmful results of its operation can be ameliorated by public intervention within the framework of private property. Cooperation and organization of producers to enhance their collective bargaining power has been a feature of some importance in developed country agriculture. The establishment of Marketing Boards via enabling legislation passed by government can be viewed as a reaction to the failure of voluntary cooperation encumbered by the free-rider problem.