Intra-industry trade in agri-food products between Hungary and the EU is shown to be low and dominated by vertically rather than horizontally differentiated products, suggesting higher economic adjustment costs. Following recent empirical studies, we then test econometrically for the...

The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of nutritional policies on the behavior of firms, particularly in terms of food quality and prices, and to assess the potential impacts of such policies from a public health point of view. We determine how new products that are nutritionally...

This paper analyzes the effects of varying appropriability or strength of IPRs for agricultural seeds. Farmers are modelled as heterogeneous producers, purchasing seed from an innovating monopolist in a vertical product differentiation framework. The effects of IPRs on innovation are endogenized...

This paper examines the impact of two different model specifications on welfare estimations. A model specification that takes into account product differentiation is compared to a specification where the product differentiation is overlooked. The welfare comparison under both specifications show...

This paper illustrates the potential negative effects of increasing the scope of plant breeders' rights (PBR) protection, as has been proposed for Europe by leading plant breeding firms. Such a policy could increase the costs for varietal development for breeding companies, particularly if their...

The Scottish red meat industry is a major part of the Scottish agricultural economy and is known for producing high quality beef and lamb. Beef and lamb which are produced and processed in Scotland and according to a quality assured production specification, carry the EU ‘Protected...

Some food markets are dominated by high quality and standard quality segments, whereas medium quality products are almost absent. A modeling framework with asymmetric information regarding true quality of the products and the resulting lack of consumer confidence is presented. Uncertainty...

Within the context of liberalisation experienced by the Malian economy since the beginning of the 1990s, spatial integration of cereal markets has been considered as a major tool as to avoid localised shortages due to production shortfalls. However, market dynamic reveals since then new...

The paper analyses the current differentiation strategies in the market for fresh produce. First a short review of the literature on channel structure and product differentiation is presented, in order to identify, on a theoretical grounding the incentives for differentiation strategies. Second,...

Cooperatives and investor-owned firms are alternative forms of business organisation that coexist and compete in many markets. The theoretical literature has identified a number of comparative advantages and disadvantages of cooperatives. Decentralized decision making within cooperatives may...