New administrative geospatial data for agricultural policy evaluation: an application to EU crop diversity obligations

This study showcases a new class of administrative, geo-spatial data sourced from agricultural subsidy registers as a powerful tool for agricultural policy evaluation. Beyond full national coverage and accurate identification of land use, the key novel feature of GeoSpatial Aid Application (GSAA) data consists in the ability to link agricultural parcels managed by the same farm, enabling causal analysis at the holding level. Using Spanish GSAA data, we evaluate an EU-wide environmental regulation, also unveiling the occurrence of strategic behaviour among a subgroup of farm holdings. We concisely discuss implications for future research endeavours in the agricultural policy domain.