Focusing on the interaction between national brands and private labels, this paper has two main empirical contributions: i) a simultaneous system of demand (share), price and expenditure equations is estimated, and ii) differences in the structure of the local geographic market are incorporated...

This article separates oligopoly-power and cost-efficiency effects of changes in industrial concentration and assesses their impact on output prices in 32 food-processing industries. Empirical results indicate that although concentration induces cost efficiency in one-third of the industries,...

Despite considerable debate as to Wal-Mart’s impact on retail workers, to date there has been little structural analysis on the topic. This paper measures and tests for Wal-Mart’s monopsony power in local labor markets using a dominant-firm model and data on contiguous U.S. counties where...

The bottled water market in the U.S. is a recent development. Most water bottlers had traditionally positioned their products as an alternative to tap water. A few imported waters were sold for health reasons. The real growth in the bottled water market took place in the second half of 1970s...

This study was provided to the staff at the Federal Trade Commission in October, 1999. It expands the analysis of divestitures that was presented in an April 1999 report to the FTC (An Antitrust Economic Analysis of the Proposed Acquisition of Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation by Ahold...

This paper assesses the impacts of the Northeast Dairy Compact (NEDC) and retail oligopoly power on fluid milk prices in Boston. Empirical results reveal that price increases due to oligopoly power outweighed those caused by the NEDC by nearly seven times. In fact, markups are estimated at...

Since 1977, the U.S. beef packing industry has been restructured at a pace unprecedented in large American industries. By 1987, four packers slaughtered over two-thirds of all steers and heifers. In the thirteen regional feedlot-packer markets studied here, the four leading packers slaughtered...

This paper uses graphical and statistical techniques to examine the effects of the acquisition of the Beatrice Foods Company by ConAgra, Inc. on brand-level marketing strategies. While some instances of postmerger brand harvesting were found, we did not find evidence that there was any...

This paper is a survey on noncooperative game theory relevant to agricultural markets. It is divided into two parts. Part I discussed types of noncooperative games and reviews important developments in noncooperative game theory solution concepts, including Nash equilibrium, subgame perfect...

This research report provides a comprehensive description of the organization and performance of the food retailing industry. During the 1980s, the industry's operations and financial structure were dramatically altered by mergers and leveraged buyouts. Thus, it provides an excellent case for...