The position of agriculture from a structural and relational perspective

Abstract

Thc agricultural economis perspertive emphasizes two aspects as characterising economic development. On one side there is the sector's decline, owing to its loss of ernployment and of relative output. On the ther side there is the sector's evolution, from a position showig poor links with other sectors (self-sufficiency), proper of lcss developed agricultures to positions irnplying its increasing integration and interdependence with industrial and service activities. When Davis ( 1956) and Davis and Goldberg 1957) introduced the concepl of Agribusiness they alreacly remarked the relevance of those mentioned relationships. However it is still necessary to offer sati factory explanations from alternative perspectives to the role of certain activities on systems and to the dynamics of economic structures. This paper offers an atiempt to examine the role of agriculture on certain economic structures, by applying the concepts and too Is of Social Network Analysis (SNA). In that form, the structural position of agriculture in three Spanish regions, is analysed fom a relational methoclological perspective considering also thc changes expericncecl by the studied sector in the 1980-1995 period. Different concepts of SNA have been applicd in ordel' to do so ( entrality Blockmodelling, eater Periphery tructure ancl the results have been interpreted and cornpared Lo th deduced from the application of traditional fnput Output indicators (Streit, Rasmus en). The analysis, focused on lhe agriculture sector, is developed by considcring the role and the relacional dynamism of agriculture on the agro-food system ancl als on the whole economi system.