Concerns about market power and competition in the agri-food sector are widespread, with commentators regularly suggesting that farmers are in a structurally weaker position than other actors, who therefore benefit at their expense. The evidence reviewed in this paper indicates that downstream...

The concept of "filière" was developed by French industrial economists between the late sixties and early seventies. It consists of the total of technical and transaction operations needed to obtain a finished product from some given raw material. Since then, the application of the concept has...

This study contributes to the empirical industrial organization literature by deriving and estimating the empirical equation containing the parameter for bargaining power and an indicator of competition between suppliers. We specify a reduced form of the price equation, which is composed of the...

The Rapporto sulla Federconsorzi (Report on the Italian Confederation of Agricultural Unions), published in 1963, is one of Manlio Rossi-Doria’s better known works. The book prompted widespread debate, not only among agricultural economists but, even more, in the national political arena. The...

Since 2006 the conversion of vineyards to organic or biodynamic vineyards has been accelerating in France, and the annual rate of conversion varies between 20- 25% per year, attaining the total surface of 61.055 ha of bio vineyards in 2011. This growth is even more striking in the light of the...

Political control of firms is prevalent across the world. Evidence suggests that firms profit from political connections, and politicians derive benefit from control over firms. This paper investigates an alternative mechanism through which politicians may benefit electorally from connected...

Quality considerations are increasingly important drivers of production and coordination choices for players in the agrofood chain. Incentive contracts between farmers and processors, shippers, and other buyers are an increasingly popular means of coordinating to improve food quality. This...

This paper summarizes and evaluates recent research on food product quality and differentiation, both key dimensions of modern food markets. We emphasize the implications for modeling of violation of the product homogeneity and perfect information axioms of perfect competition and focus on...

The study analyses the spillovers effects within the Prosciutto di Parma district and the relations between the products involved, whether or not Pdo. There are two distinct networks within the Prosciutto di Parma district: one related to Pdo ham, the other to Parma type ham. This latter network...

The Second Edition of <em>The Future of Food Business: The Facts, The Impacts and The Acts</em> is an updated collection of thoughtful articles previously published in leading newspapers around the world based on the author's practical life as international project leader, consultant, businessman,...