Do retail coffee prices increase faster than they fall? Asymmetric price transmission in France, Germany and the United States

This investigation examines price transmission asymmetries (PTA) between international and retail coffee prices in the US, France and Germany. Differences in price transmission mechanisms provide evidence for disparities in market structure and market performance across countries. Although all processors of roasted coffee purchase green coffee at the same price in the international markets, one finds significant differences in retail prices among these countries. The study develops an Error Correction (EC) representation model to assess PTA of non-stationary models. Finally, it claims that identifying differences in price transmission asymmetry is an approach to compare market structure across countries.coffee, markets, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

PREDICTING COUPON USE FROM SHOPPER DEMOGRAPHIC AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS

We surveyed of grocery shoppers in the Northeast United States to measure how demographic characteristics and consumer behavior affect the use of four coupon types (paper, in-store, checkout, and online). We employ logit models to estimate the probability that a consumer is a regular coupon user conditioned to his/her demographic and behavioral characteristics. Readership and economizing-behavior variables have a larger impact on the probability of being a coupon user than do demographic variables, except in the case of online coupons. Our results suggest that targeting specific coupon types using demographic profiles alone is not an appropriate method of coupon distribution. Understanding behavioral characteristics of the coupon users will help target coupon offerings by various distribution methods.Consumer/Household Economics,

STRUCTURAL CHANGE, RENTS TRANSFERRING AND MARKET POWER IN THE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE MARKET: A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

The breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement (an oligopoly of exporting countries) in 1990 led to increasing competition for market share. We use an econometric model to examine the effects of the agreement's dissolution. Results suggest a transfer of rents from producers to wholesalers and little impact on consumers.Industrial Organization,

Impact of CO2 Emission Policies on Food Supply Chain: Application to the U.S. Apple Sector

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Price Transmission Asymmetries and Nonlinearities in the International Coffee Supply Chain

We examine two distinct and important dimensions (e.g. symmetry vs. asymmetry and linearity vs. nonlinearity) of price transmission from international to retail coffee prices in France, Germany and the United States. We show that ignoring these two features of the price transmission process may lead to misleading impact assessments resulting from the elimination of International Coffee Agreement (ICA) in 1990. Our results confirm the presence of threshold effects in both periods (ICA and post ICA) in all three countries. Our estimates show that, in the long-run, the speed of adjustment toward equilibrium becomes faster during the post-ICA period in France and Germany. Our results suggest that, for these two countries, changes in international prices did not influence retail prices in the short-run during the ICA period; in contrast, retail prices responded to changes in international prices in the post-ICA period. Our results suggest differences between the two European countries and the United States. Specifically, our results indicate that changes in international prices influence U.S. retail prices in both periods. Nonlinear impulse response analysis indicates that ICA elimination in 1990 increased the speed of adjustment toward the long-run equilibrium, given a shock in international coffee prices. Our results show that ignoring nonlinearities and asymmetries in price transmission may lead to incorrect assessment of the consequences accruing to the elimination of the ICA.Threshold, Nonlinearity, Asymmetric Price Transmission, Roasted Coffee, Germany, United States, France, Error Correction Model, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, C32, Q17,

The Competitive Causes and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction

We conduct two studies to test three hypotheses: (1) Competition increases a firm's customer satisfaction; (2) Rivals' customer satisfaction increases a firm's customer satisfaction; (3) Rivals' customer satisfaction reduces a firm's sales. First, we use store-level customer satisfaction data from a supermarket chain. Next, we consider a range of industries, using brand-level customer satisfaction ratings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Results from both studies provide support for the latter two hypotheses, while we only find support for the first hypothesis in the second study.Customer Satisfaction, Food retailing, Competitive Strategy, Consumer/Household Economics,

EFFECTS OF FOOD AND HEALTH SPENDING PATTERNS ON THE HEALTH OF THE ELDERLY

Examines linkages between food and health spending patterns, income, and health status of the elderly. Links these relationships to food insecurity and expenditures on nutraceuticals. Methodology includes simultaneous estimation of expenditure systems and health production functions. Preliminary results indicate simultaneity between health production function and spending patterns throughout the life cycle.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,

Impact of Free Trade Agreements on the Colombian Beef Sector

Colombia negotiated bilateral Trade Agreements (TAs) with the United States and with the MERCOSUR region (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Colombian cattle and beef interest groups argue that TAs hurt the local beef supply chain. We employ a partial equilibrium framework to assess the impact of these TAs on the welfare of cattle producers, beef marketers and meat consumers in Colombia. Our results suggest that with free imports of chicken parts from the U.S, beef consumption and retail prices of beef both decrease and the derived demand and prices of fed cattle decrease. With beef imports from the MERCOSUR region, domestic beef prices and beef production fall, but total beef consumption increases. Overall, consumers are better off and there are net gains to society with free trade agreements. These net gains tend to increase over time, as Colombia gradually decreases the tariff for imported beef. We identify the reduction in marginal costs required to compete with imported beef, primarily from MERCOSUR. We argue that this is possible because the elimination of trade barriers is gradual and the Colombian beef supply chain can compete with imported meats with an annual reduction of marginal costs between 2 and 4%.Beef, Colombia, partial equilibrium, trade liberalization, International Relations/Trade, F14, D60, Q17,

Case study the poultry industry in Colombia

"As developing countries open their economies further to trade, their food industries are striving to raise safety and quality standards in order to compete in new markets. Such is the case with the Colombian poultry industry... Critical questions face the Colombian poultry industry: Is it ready to compete with foreign poultry producers on price, quality, and safety? Can industry efforts to produce better quality products assure an increased share of domestic and regional markets? This brief reviews the private initiatives undertaken by the Colombian poultry industry to assure food safety in light of these questions." from TextFood safety ,food security ,Public health ,

Economic Impacts of Soybean Rust on the US Soybean Sector

The spread of Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) represents a real threat to the U.S. soybean sector. We assess the potential impacts of ASR on domestic soybean production and commodity markets as well as the competitive position of the US in the soybean export market. We develop a mathematical stochastic dynamic sector model with endogenous prices to assess the economic impacts of ASR on US agriculture. The model takes into account the disease spread during the cropping season, the inherent uncertainty regarding the risk of infection, and the dichotomous decisions that farmers make (no treatment, preventive treatment, and curative treatment) facing the risk of infection. Our results suggest substantial impacts from potential ASR spread on agricultural output, prices and exports. Our simulation results suggest that substantial losses to the US soybean producers may be avoided by establishing effective soybean rust controls. ASR control policies can be particularly efficient if applied in the gateway regions on the path of the ASR spread. On the other hand, our results indicate a possible gradual shift in soybean production from lower-latitude states toward higher-latitude statesAsian Soybean Rust, Stochastic Models, Dynamic Models, Crop Production/Industries, C61, Q13,