Replication Data for: The (still) mysterious case of agricultural protectionism

Existing research demonstrates why farmers demand subsidies, but remains ambiguous as to why consumers/taxpayers support such subsidies. We approach this puzzle from two angles: how sensitive are citizens to cost implications of agricultural subsidies, and what is their “value function” with respect to agricultural policy? We argue that farm subsidies, besides benefiting farmers, promise to generate an array of non-market goods which serve various interests in society and thus receive strong support overall. We conducted survey experiments in a country with low (USA) and a country with high (Switzerland) subsidy levels. Cost implications only marginally reduce support for subsidies, but support is positively affected by the allocation of subsidies to various policy goals such as guaranteeing food security and enhancing animal welfare. Our findings suggest that support for agricultural subsidies does not result from a lack of information, but reflects genuine appreciation of the perceived multi-functionality of agricultural subsidies.