Does Top of the Market Pricing Facilitate Oligopsony Coordination?

This paper suggests how a particular vertical arrangement, Top of the Market Pricing (TOMP), can have horizontal anti-competitive effects. The theory is also applicable to other vertical arrangements in use in the fed cattle market. The theory changes the theoretical backdrop for examining captive supplies. Until now, a negative correlation between prices and captive supplies was theorized to result from a reduction in bidding aggressiveness on behalf of packers. The theory presented suggests why bidders maybe less aggressively when captive supplies are high. Furthermore, it eliminates debates over the appropriate time span over which to define captive supplies and whether feedlots or packers control delivery. Delivery control and delivery timing matter in the theory above only in the respect that packers must know cattle are committed prior to price being determined. In short, this theory represents a dramatically new way to examine the theoretical consequences of captive supplies.Captive supply, Oligopsony, cattle markets, grid pricing

Labor-Force Heterogeneity as a Source of Agglomeration Economies in an Empirical Analysis of County-Level Determinants of Food Plant Entry

Results of this study show that a heterogeneous labor force serves to attract new food manufacturing investment. We conduct analysis for SIC 20, Food and Kindred Product Manufacturing, and disaggregate analysis on all nine three-digit SIC food industries. Heterogeneity variables are a significant factor in nearly all specifications. We also examine which factors create the greatest increases in the expected number of new establishments. Areas with a high degree of labor heterogeneity are found to have large advantages. Labor heterogeneity is among the most important factors attracting food manufacturing to urban areas over rural areas.agglomeration externalities, business location determinants, food manufacturing, labor heterogeneity, rural development, Labor and Human Capital,

Labor-Force Heterogeneity as a Source of Agglomeration Economies in an Empirical Analysis of County-Level Determinants of Food Plant Entry

Results of this study show that a heterogeneous labor force serves to attract new food manufacturing investment. We conduct analysis for SIC 20, Food and Kindred Product Manufacturing, and disaggregate analysis on all nine three-digit SIC food industries. Heterogeneity variables are a significant factor in nearly all specifications. We also examine which factors create the greatest increases in the expected number of new establishments. Areas with a high degree of labor heterogeneity are found to have large advantages. Labor heterogeneity is among the most important factors attracting food manufacturing to urban areas over rural areas.agglomeration externalities, business location determinants, food manufacturing, labor heterogeneity, rural development

Effects of aerosols and surface shadowing on bidirectional reflectance measurements of deserts

Desert surfaces are probably one of the most stable of the Earth's natural targets for remote sensing. The bidirectional reflectance properties of the Saudi Arabian desert was investigated during the Summer Monsoon Experiment (Summer Monex). A comparison of high-altitude with near-surface measurements of the White Sands desert showed significant differences. These discrepancies have been attributed to forward scattering of the dust-laden atmosphere prevalent during Summer Monex. This paper is concerned in general with modeling the effects of atmospheric aerosols and surface shadowing on the remote sensing of bidirectional reflectance factors of desert targets, and in particular with comparing the results of these models with flight results. Although it is possible to approximate the latter, it is felt that a surface reflectance model with a smaller specular component would have permitted using a more realistic set of atmospheric conditions in the simulations

Price Dispersion and Accessibility: A Case study of Fast Food

This study examines spatial variation in the price and accessibility of fast food across a major urban area. We use novel data on the price of a representative fast food meal and the location of fast food restaurants belonging to one of three major chains in the District of Columbia and its surrounding suburbs. These data are used to test a structural model of spatial competition. The results of this study are easily interpreted and compared with a past analysis. We find that spatial differences in costs and demand conditions drive variation in the number of firms operating in a market, which in turn affects prices.food prices, food accessibility, spatial competition, price dispersion, fast food

Recent Trends and Economic Issues in the WIC Infant Formula Rebate Program

Over half of all infant formula sold in the United States is purchased through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Typically, WIC State agencies obtain substantial discounts in the form of rebates from infant formula manufacturers for each can of formula purchased through the program. The cost to WIC for each can of formula provided through the program has two components: (1) net wholesale price, which is equal to the wholesale price of formula minus the amount of the rebate; and (2) retail markup, which is equal to the retail price minus the wholesale price. This analysis suggests that retail markup accounts for most of the cost to WIC of infant formula in most States. However, both cost components have increased over time. The recent increase in both net wholesale price and retail markup coincides with the introduction of higher priced supplemented infant formulas. Conditions may change after the market adjusts to these new formulas.WIC; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; infant formula; rebates; net wholesale price; retail markup; wholesale price, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, FANRP

Improvements in turfgrass color and density resulting from comprehensive soil diagnostics

There are roughly 220 golf courses in Arkansas, and as many as 50% of these courses were constructed using common bermudagrass fairways. Although resilient, common bermudagrass loses density and quality over time. In this experiment physical and chemical properties of the soil were analyzed to determine the causes of decline in turf quality observed on several fairways of a local golf course. Once a particular fairway was selected for study and preliminary soil sampling conducted, GS+, a geostatistical computer program, was used to map the location of certain chemical deficiencies. A moderate to severe Mg deficiency was detected throughout the fairway. Twelve different fertility treatments were designed to enhance the overall density, texture, and color of the turf. Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), Primo™ (a plant growth regulator), and Nitron (an organic nitrogen source) all showed significant improvements in turf quality. Extensive and comprehensive soil testing was found to be very beneficial; “hidden” nutrient deficiencies were discovered, which allowed site-specific treatments to be included in the test

Bones, Bombs and Break Points: The Geography of Economic Activity

We consider the distribution of economic activity within a country in light of three leading theories - increasing returns, random growth, and locational fundamentals. To do so, we examine the distribution of regional population in Japan from the Stone Age to the modern era. We also consider the Allied bombing of Japanese cities in WWII as a shock to relative city sizes. Our results support a hybrid theory in which locational fundamentals establish the spatial pattern of relative regional densities, but increasing returns may help to determine the degree of spatial differentiation. One implication of these results is that even large temporary shocks to urban areas have no long-run impact on city size.

The Factor Content of Trade

Study of the factor content of trade has become a laboratory to test our ideas about how the key elements of endowments, production, absorption and trade fit together within a general equilibrium framework. Already a great deal of progress has been made in fitting these pieces together. Nevertheless, the existing research raises a great many questions that should help to focus empirical research in the coming years. Among the more pressing issues is a deeper consideration of the role of intermediates, the role of aggregation biases, and of differences in patterns of absorption. This work should provide a more substantial foundation for future policy work developed within a factor content framework.

Do Factor Endowments Matter for North-North Trade?

The dominant paradigm of world trade patterns posits two principal features. Trade between North and South arises due to traditional comparative advantage, largely determined by differences in endowment patterns. Trade within the North, much of it intra-industry trade, is based on economies of scale and product differentiation. The paradigm specifically denies an important role for endowment differences in determining North-North trade. This paper provides the first sound empirical examination of this question. We demonstrate that trade in factor services among countries of the North is systematically related to endowment differences and large in economic magnitude. Intra-industry trade, rather than being a puzzle for a factor endowments theory, is instead the conduit for a great deal of this factor service trade.