An Impossible Undertaking: The Eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis in the United States
- 1 September 2004
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in The Journal of Economic History
- Vol. 64 (3), 734-772
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022050704002955
Abstract
In 1917, after scientific breakthroughs allowed for the early detection of bovine tuberculosis, the USDA began a campaign to eradicate the disease. Agents inspected nearly every cattle farm in the country and condemned roughly 4 million reactors to slaughter without full compensation. This article analyzes how the eradication program functioned, how incentives were aligned to ensure widespread participation without excessive moral hazard problems, and why the United States led most European nations in controlling the disease. The U.S. campaign was a spectacular success, reducing human suffering and death and yielding benefits in the farm sector alone that exceeded ten times the cost.Keywords
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