This open access book applies for the first time emerging concepts of socioeconomics to analyse
an economic sector namely agriculture. It considers the rational choices of all actors in the
system (just as agricultural economists do) and their cultural preferences and constraints
(just as rural sociologists do). Socioeconomic concepts are subsequently used to structure
agricultural issues with regard to the three governance mechanisms (hierarchy markets and
cooperation) and different agricultural systems are presented and compared. The book will be
of interest to social scientists with various backgrounds and seeks to break down the barriers
of single-disciplinary thinking.
