A framework for examining the impacts of climate variability

A previously presented framework is revisited. It depicts the pervasive effects of climatic variability on agriculture, its outputs and prices and, through individual farm profitability and resource impacts, eventually the welfare of people who depend on agriculture. The framework can be fleshed out at diverse levels ranging from individual plots and farms through to regional, national, and global economies. Many agents act to intervene in moderating with the consequences of climatic variability. Such consequences are technically risky given that much variability is unpredictable when resource-allocative decisions must be made. The effects of variability are thus examined from the points of view of both individual agricultural managers and those agricultural policy analysts who deal with government intervention at various levels. The framework thus introduces several themes taken up in detail in other parts of the Symposium.