The Impact of Biofuels Crop and Land Rental Markets on Farm Household Incomes: Evidence from South Africa

Consumer/Household Economics, Land Economics/Use,

Hedonic Analysis of Sustainable Food Products

hedonic, sustainable, sustainability, eggs, free-range, cage-free, Agribusiness, Q13,

THE ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC AND BUSINESS INTEGRITY IN THE FUTURE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: A SCENARIO ANALYSIS

The emergence of biotechnology in crop and livestock applications has been an issue of great controversy. Proponents argue that the potential benefits are dramatic while opponents have raised many concerns about the technology's risks. The Starlink debacle is a prime example of the undesirable outcomes which the debate has created. Given the controversy, what is the future of biotechnology for food uses? This paper is designed to address this question with a focus on the feasible range of alternative futures (scenarios) that could emerge. As a major variable in this analysis, the integrity of the scientific and business communities plays a critically important role. The paper begins with a description of three key uncertainties-food security, environmental/health impacts, and consumer reaction-that will define the future for biotechnology's use in food applications. Based on these uncertainties, four alternative future scenarios for biotechnology are presented. The role of messenger integrity is then introduced. The integrity of various possible messengers (scientists, businesses, government, and non-profits) is examined. The concept of integrity is then used to address a series of current biotechnology issues. Throughout the paper, comparisons and contrasts between the developed and developing world are made.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

DO THE JAPANESE DISCRIMINATE AGAINST AUSTRALIAN BEEF IMPORTS?: EVIDENCE FROM THE DIFFERENTIAL APPROACH

This paper considers an application of the differential approach to Japanese demand for beef imports from 1970 to 1993. Results of homothetic demand and negative (significant) own-price elasticities indicate that the Japanese did not discriminate against Australian beef, but the decrease in Australia's trade shares was due to changes in relative prices.Japan, Beef Imports, Rotterdam model, CBS model, International Relations/Trade,

EMERGING BUSINESSES: THE SOUTH AFRICAN WINE INDUSTRY CASE

Emerging economies such as South Africa, only a few years out of apartheid, have been feeling the strains of socio-political change. While South Africa has experienced political reform, economic reform and access are slow to come. Currently, South Africa is the 7th largest producer of wine in the world. Although this industry is impressive, the apartheid era production practices have caused primarily the European consumers and media to be vocal about this issue. However, this concern has spread to other regions. The South African government and wine industry must respond to the external and internal market pressures and minimize transaction costs. Both entities want to increase wine exports and expand market share, however, given the socio-economic and political climate in the country neither knows how to manage this difficult process which emanates from deeply rooted distrust of groups within the country. Socio-political constraints facing previously disadvantaged groups (PDG) as emerging business owners need to be understood; and, measures which could be undertaken by government and industry need to be identified. The objectives of this research were to identify: institutional constraints and transaction costs faced by PDGs aspiring toward production and leadership roles in the wine industry; ways the government can collaborate with the KWV to build social capital and promote PDG ownership in the wine industry, thus minimizing social conflict; and, identify industry strategies to increase exports and international market share under the "New South Africa" banner. This analysis was based on primary and secondary data and information gathered on site. Several potential solutions were suggested for ways to include PDGs in the South African wine market while minimizing the impact on the market shares of existing producers. It is anticipated that the window of opportunity to increase exports and involve PDG is quite small.Agribusiness,

Designing the Last Mile of the Supply Chain in Africa: Firm Expansion and Managerial Inferences from a Grocer Model of Location Decisions

The recent interest in the expansion of retail food chains and the perceived problems resulting from competition between these new, sophisticated supply chains and the most basic of food distribution networks in emerging economies have been greatly debated in the literature. This paper is a seminal approach to examining South-South food firm (grocer) foreign direct investment by incorporating data on the informal market into a facility location decision model. There are unique environmental complexities that developing/transitioning economies present. The unique finding of this model is that informal employment patterns, in both Agricultural and non-Agricultural sectors, influence the firm’s location. Given the absence of data, South-South foreign direct investment managers perceive avid market transactions as indicators of demand and potential supply availability in formal and informal sectors. For example, Pick n’ Pay’s CEO stated recently that their growth in the Southern Africa supermarket business is a direct result of the informal market converting to the formal market.Supply Chain, Africa, Informal Markets, Facility Location Model, Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing, Q10,

Food Manufacturers’ Sustainable Product Launch Strategy: Game Theory Approach

We construct the model for food manufactures’ decision making to launch a new sustainable product to the market. The main factors that influence firms to launch the new sustainable product are that consumers are willing to pay more for the sustainable product, and perceive that the conventional and the sustainable products are different. Morover, the firms has more probability to get higher profit when launching the new sustainable product if the ratio of the cost over the maximum willingness to pay for the conventional product is equal to or greater than the same ratio of the sustainable product.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy,

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: A SCENARIO ANALYSIS

Over the years agricultural technology has created remarkable commodity production growth rates and enhanced general economic growth through food production, manufactured goods and trade for most nations. Biotechnology holds the promise of continuing this remarkable record. There is a long list of potential benefits of biotechnology but unfortunately the perceived costs/risks are also many. These concerns have lead to significant consumer reluctance to accept the technology and, in some cases, outright consumer rejection of the technology. To discuss the future of biotechnology, scenario analysis is used to examine the social and economic impact of biotechnology on industrialized and emerging nations. Four scenarios are discussed in detail: biotechnology may be formally or informally banned (Scenario 1), fully accepted (Scenario 2), marketed through strict labeling (Scenario 3), or limited to non-food applications (Scenario 4). Consumer acceptance of this technology will be key to determining which scenario becomes the future for each nation. The likelihood of each scenario is different for each nation, the U.S. will most likely evolve into scenario 2 or 3, while in the EU scenarios 1 or 4 are more likely. Determining the future for emerging nations is extremely complex and dependent on several factors like malnutrition rates, environmental safety and historical trading routes. Each scenario has a major impact on small producers worldwide which ultimately influences the health of rural communities. The analysis indicates that emerging nations are the most sensitive to the timing of decisions being made about the future of biotechnology. If biotechnology becomes a reality, new data will be required to assess the social and economic impact of this technology.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The Specialty Coffee Quality Rating as a Measure of Product Differentiation and Price Signal to Growers: an Entropy Analysis of E-Auction Data

Demand and Price Analysis,

MEMBERS' FINANCIAL EVALUATION AND COOPERATIVES' DECISION PROCESSES

The paper presents an analysis of cooperative investment decision based on the coalition theoretical framework (Staatz 1983, 1987, 1989). According to this framework, cooperatives can be considered as coalitions of groups with different interests. The behavior of any cooperative is determined by the interaction of its many groups (different types of farmers, managers, lenders, input suppliers, buyers, etc.) with different objectives. The group that can impose its will on the coalition will determine the cooperative's strategy. The other parties may accept this leadership, leave the cooperative or try to use their bargaining power to modify the final outcome. The paper discusses the impact of group bargaining on cooperatives' decision process. In particular, the paper addresses the issues related to the consequences of members' heterogeneity on cooperative efficiency. The proposed model utilizes tools from financial theory already successfully applied in the literature (Peterson 1992, Hendrikse 1998) providing a more detailed insight into the determinants of the cooperative decision process. The paper shows that cooperatives evaluate investments differently from IOFs due to the unique characteristics of their patrons compared to other types of investors.Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance,