Recent literature about gravity models points out the importance of institutional frictions in the international market of agricultural products beyond the traditional economics variables as transport costs reducing the mass of trade in bilateral relationships. In particular, previous...

The producer support estimate (the successor to the producer support equivalent) calculated by the OECD is widely used as an indicator of distortions created by agricultural policies. In this paper we demonstrate that changes in the relative (percentage) PSE are not an accurate indicator of the...

The research undertaken was four-fold. First, to investigate whether government policy provides protection and by extension, incentives for the local table egg farmers to remain in production. To do so, EPC's for all commercial farms in the industry were estimated to arrive at a weighted or...

The effects of globalization on smaller nation Caribbean states have not been thoroughly examined, and the trade performance of these states has not been evaluated since the WTO came into existence. In this paper, we report on a study that conducted a comparative analysis of selected Caribbean...

Seafood consumption in the U.S. has increased over the period 1990 to 2003. A large percentage of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. The most important seafood products imported to the U.S. are shrimp, Atlantic salmon, tilapia, catfish, crayfish, mussels and a mixture of mollusks. In...

This paper is based on the premise that if CARICOM’s agricultural sector in general, and more specifically the export sub-sector, is to thrive in the rapidly changing trade environment there has to be a continuous systematic assessment of market opportunities and competitiveness status. Such...

The sugar industry in the island of St. Kitts came to a close in 2005 and so too did a long period of monoculture and possibly a culture and lifestyle of a people that affectionately refer to their country as Sugar City. Sugar was cultivated on approximately 4,500 hectares and there is now a...

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...

Legislation has prompted changes in milk price volatility. Milk price volatility impacts the producer's exposure to business risk which is compound by the firms financial risk. Financial risk is a function of the firms capital structure. In the short run it is difficult for the producer to...