Marketing cooperatives that operate on a pool basis allocate net returns on the basis of the "economic value" of the raw products each member has delivered. Economic values ideally reflect the raw products' expected contributions to pool net return. In a competitive market, raw product prices would reflect these expected...
Government intervention in food grain markets is a common feature of most LDCs. Inasmuch as liberalizing markets is difficult for some of these governments, researchers have offered suggestions to reduce detrimental affects of intervention. The general advice for pricing policy has been for governments to set prices at c.i.f. or...
The performance of the meat products industry, the largest food processing sector in the U.S. in terms of shipment value, is an important issue. A key indicator of its performance is productivity growth, which results in reduction in the cost of production at given input prices. The present study employs...
The grain milling industry has undergone substantial change during the past several decades in technical as well as industry structure. This study seeks to determine how industry performance, as reflected in productivity growth, has varied since the 1950's. Productivity growth is represented primarily by its dual rate, the percentage reduction...
A cost function characterizes a firm's cost-minimizing behavior. It is defined
as a function of the level of outputs produced and the prices of factors which enter
the production process. Econometric estimation of a cost function allows one to test
hypotheses regarding the structure of cost and the structure of...
Increased competition brought about by trade liberalization has raised the stakes
for improving productivity in U.S. and Canadian food processing. A key element of
productivity growth is technological change, which in turn results from R&D investment.
The present study employs an econometric model to assess rates of technological change
and...
World food markets are becoming increasingly interconnected as firms seek to sell their products not only in domestic markets but in international ones as well. Moreover, processed and high-value consumer-oriented products represent an increasing share of total agricultural exports. This growing international market may have implications for the future competitiveness...
Searching for suitable measures to solve internal economic problems and
promote economic development, many third world countries have switched from
competitive to government-controlled trade of their agricultural staples. Such
government intervention has failed in many LDCs and researchers have
formulated models and made suggestions to alleviate the resulting distortions.
Modelling...
