The analysis proposed in this paper is concerned with the welfare effects of self-regulation by Producer's Organizations (PO) as an alternative to market or public intervention. Using the advances of the economics of incentives, it studies the interaction of asymmetric information and the...

The last three years have realized significant structural changes in the U.S. agricultural policy environment. These changes include nearly complete planting flexibility and the elimination of target-price-based income support for agricultural producers. Many have questioned the extent to which...

This paper was presented at the INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS SYMPOSIUM in Auckland, New Zealand, January 18-19, 2001. The Symposium was sponsored by: the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Venture Trust, Massey University, New Zealand, and the Centre for...

In many industrialized countries, the grocery-retailing sector exhibits a strong and increasing market concentration. Hence, it is important to understand retail pricing for many questions related to market power in the marketing chain and to agricultural and food policies. We analyze...

Rising concentration and consolidation of sales among large supermarket chains in the U.S. and other countries, due in part to a recent wave of mergers in food retailing, have made retailers' role in the food industry a topical issue. Using a unique micro dataset, this paper investigates...

Information on price-quantity relationships will enable flower producers to reduce risk and raise profits through better timing of rotations as well as better utilization of limited greenhouse space. The present paper presents econometric evidence on such price-quantity relationships for major...

Commodity price volatility in international markets has been used to justify numerous policy interventions, including the need for buffer stocks and counter-cyclical payments. The common measure of volatility, the standard deviation or coefficient of variation, likely overstates the actual...

Exchange rate effects on prices in Canada and the United States are evaluated for five traded farm outputs (wheat, soybeans, corn, feeder steers, and slaughter steers) and four traded non-farm-produced inputs (fertilizer, pesticides, petroleum, and farm machinery). Unit root tests suggest the...

Many investment decisions of agribusiness firms such as when to invest in an emerging market or whether to expand the capacity of the firm involve irreversible investment and uncertainty about demand, cost or competition. This paper uses an option-value model to examine the factors affecting an...

When contract production is marketed contemporaneously with production sold through a spot market, it is conveninet to specify the contract price in terms of the subsequent cash price. This paper examines the competitive implications of such pricing arrangements, focusing in particular upon...