A major objective ofthe Food Security Act of 1985 was to make the United States more competitive in world markets. U.S. wheat exports in 1987/88 were 75 percent above their 1985/86 level. This paper analyzes the change in U.S. competitiveness in wheat exports by quantitatively assessing those factors responsible for this export expansion. The results indicate that about half of the increase can be attributed to the provisions ofthe 1985 Act. About 40 percent ofthe increase is due to nonprice factors in the Soviet Union and China—namely production shortfalls and domestic policies—that increased import demand. The rest is due to reduced competitor yields.
