This paper aims to determine the solidity of the notion of the "coffee paradox" using annual data from 1977 to 2007. In the confines of an export supply model, we analyze the effects of export coffee price on export volume. Price and profit equation are used to determine the effects of market...

Economic theory posits that the removal of impediments to trade should redound to improvement in the overall well-being of all nations. Unfortunately, for many developing countries, this has not been the case; upon significantly reducing their tariffs, they are yet to see any tangible benefits....

Several Caribbean sugar producing countries are actively looking for viable alternatives to recover some of the expected lost revenues due to the WTO (World Trade Organization) ruling that sugar subsidies in the European Union (EU) are illegal. One alternative worth considering is exporting...

This manuscript studies the market conduct of the milk manufacturers and retail chains in a Midwestern state in the U.S. Following the menu approach we employ a random coefficient logit demand model to investigate several possible scenarios on the supply side. Demand estimates are obtained using...

The proposition of a carbon tax has reinvigorated the discussion about the price elasticity of gasoline demand. This paper analyzes how consumers react to higher gas prices in a new setting, examining whether they choose Internet purchasing over in-store purchasing when gas prices increase....

We theoretically examine a farmer’s coverage demand with area and individual insurance plans as either separate or integrated options. The individual and area losses are assumed to be imperfectly and positively correlated. With actuarially fair rates, the farmer will fully insure with the...

The current obesity crisis in the United States is generating numerous alternative policy options for combating the problem. One alternative that has been widely proposed is an excise or sales tax on sugar-sweetened non-alcoholic beverages. This literature started out within a very simple...

Commodity and energy prices have exhibited an unprecedented increase between October 2006 and July 2008, only to fall sharply during the last months of 2008. Many explanations have been offered to this phenomenon, including steadily increasing demand from China and India, large mandated...

The typical model of retail pricing for produce products assumes retailers set price equal to the farm price plus a certain markup. However, observations from scanner data indicate a large degree of price dispersion in the grocery retailing market. In addition to markup pricing behavior, we...

This paper is Selected for presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, January 31-February 3, 2009. The research is partially funded by ERS/USDA China Project and Social Science Fund of Jiangsu Province in China. The authors are grateful for...