摘要：In most countries of the world, a sustainable agricult ure is both an important and difficult issue. The agri-cultural sector in Central and Eastern European is confronted by two large problems at the same time:transition processes and sustainability. The purpose of this paper is, in the first place, to make clear thatthe institutional setting is very important. Second, it gives an o verview of the literature on sustainability,institutions and institutional innovation. The phenomenon sustainability enco mpassing three dimensions:economic, social and environmental. Institutio ns are not always exogenous and right so that economicagents will behave in the 'correct' (that is efficient) manner. The non-marketable attributes of agriculturalland use such as wildlife and landscape and the quality of soil, water and air create market failure. How-ever, they are important for sustainability. With a lack of markets to realise sustainability, there is a strongincentive to develop institutions capable of changing the farmer's behaviour in ways that will achieve theunachievable via market signals alone.Direct government production is likely to be superior, if the government may not know what it wants andif the contract party has a strong tendency to reduce costs, but this is accompanied by a reduction in (non-contractable) quality. However, in general, both situations do not apply to sustainable agriculture. Type ofgovernment intervention has consequence for property rights. Under influence of changes in the institu-tional environment, the opinion about the protection of the property rights is shifting. The economicvaluation of changes in the quality of soil, water, wildlife and landscape depends on if the change takingplace either below or above the reference level. From the actual behaviour of the go vernment, it can beconcluded that the reference level is being used more and more as a watershed to the question of the allo-cation of property rights and the use of charges or compensation.
