Shredded wheat was invented in the late 19th century and has been marketed under the Nabisco brand name since 1925. In 1985 the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company acquired the Nabisco Company and in 1988 the RJR Nabisco Company underwent a leveraged buyout (LBO) led by Kolberg, Kravis, and Roberts...

Antitrust policy and the economic analysis of related issues in the food channel have attracted the attention of agricultural economists since the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. In this paper we endeavor to provide some information on the actual operation of antitrust policies in...

When a competitor buys another competitor in a local food market, prices may increase because there is less competition. The antitrust laws are designed to prevent mergers that most likely will result in higher prices. Economists do three things to help legal authorities determine whether a...

The U.S. economy is enjoying the longest economic expansion in history. Inflation is at an historic low, unemployment is also low, governments at all levels are enjoying surpluses, and the top 1% of the population, or some number thereabouts, are now millionaires due to the unprecedented advance...

I would like to thank you for inviting me to talk this evening. Turkey is a nation that has been at the center of the World for much of the past 2,000 years, and now it is again at the crossroads of world affairs. It is a dynamic and modern nation that is playing a leading role in the...

Congressmen Gejdenson and Schumer should be commended for their persistent interest in the performance of the ready to eat cereal industry. The release of their well documented and thorough report, "Consumers in a Box" a year ago focused media attention on high cereal prices, which in turn...

This brief addresses three issues related to the performance of the RTE cereal industry. First, consumers are dissatisfied with the high price of many breakfast cereals and farmers are concerned about the consequent impact on the demand for agricultural inputs to the industry. Second, although...

Antitrust laws, or alternatively competition laws, are now in place in over 100 nations. (UNCTAD, 2004, p. 12). Many countries have enacted such since 1990 with China’s coming on line in 1994 (Brumfield 2005) and formally codified as an antimonopoly law in 2007 (Blumenthal, et. al., 2007)....

I want to thank the Subcommittees for inviting me to present some insights and suggestions on how to improve the integrity and efficiency of cheese pricing in the United States. As these Subcommittees well know the reduction in government support prices means that market forces and market...