Market dynamics in supply chains: the impact of globalization and consolidation on food companies' mark-ups.

This paper examines whether ownership and increased competitive pressure affect food retailers' market power, analysing whether all actors involved in the food supply chain deviate from the pricing behaviour that exists under perfect competition. A method proposed by Roeger(1995) is used to estimate price-cost margins, relaxing the assumptions of perfect competition and constant returns to scale. The obtained results show that foreign investments and consolidation have a positive and significant impact on the market power of food processors and retailers. Food processors, agricultural producers and wholesalers have lower price-cost margins than retailers, which suggests that these actors price closer to marginal costs being more concerned with maximising social welfare or that the former have higher costs than retailers. The results are robust to various estimation techniques and specifications.price-cost mark-ups, multinational firms, retailing;

Market Dynamics in Supply Chains: The Impact of Globalisation and Consolidation on Food Companies' Mark-Ups

This paper examines whether ownership and increased competitive pressure affect food retailers’ market power, analysing whether all actors involved in the food supply chain deviate from the pricing behaviour that exists under perfect competition. A method proposed by Roeger (1995) is used to estimate price-cost margins, relaxing the assumptions of perfect competition and constant returns to scale. The obtained results show that foreign investments and consolidation have a positive and significant impact on the market power of food processors and retailers. Food processors, agricultural producers and wholesalers have lower price-cost margins than retailers, which suggests that these actors price closer to marginal costs being more concerned with maximising social welfare or that the former have higher costs than retailers. The results are robust to various estimation techniques and specifications.Price-cost mark-ups, multinational firms, retailing, Agribusiness, F23, L13, L81,

Applying regression quantiles to farm efficiency estimation

This article is concerned with the methodological question of frontier production functions estimation for agriculture, and the appropriateness of regression quantiles, as a useful semi-parametric approach. Better insights are reached using the proposed methodology that provides robust farm efficiency scores estimates. Using the 2007 Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data for Greece, analysis shows that the distribution of efficiency scores is closer to normality when employing regression quantiles, while underestimation of efficiency obtained by other parametric or deterministic methods based on the conditional mean can be avoided. The results further suggest that government support aimed at enhancing farms viability should be directed towards payments decoupled from output or prices, as well as rural development payments that affect productivity in a uniform way.Efficiency, Quantile Regression, Agriculture, Agricultural and Food Policy, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C14, D24, Q18,

The Impact of CAP Reforms on Farm Labour Structure. Factor Markets Working Document No. 63, August 2013

The labour force engaged in the agricultural sector is declining over time, and one can observe the reallocation of labour from family members to hired workers. Using farm-level data, this paper analyses the on-farm labour structure in Greece and assesses the factors driving its evolution over the period 1990-2008. The impact of agricultural policies and farm characteristics is examined in a dynamic panel analysis. Family and hired labour are found to be substitutes rather than complements, while agricultural support measures appear to negatively affect demand for both family and hired labour. Decoupled payments and subsidies on crops are found to have a significant impact on both sources of labour, as well as subsidies for rural development that do not favour on-farm labour use. The paper also finds that structural labour adjustments are the result of farm characteristics, such as farm size and location. The results are robust to various estimation techniques and specifications

A two-stage productivity analysis using bootstrapped Malmquist index and quantile regression

This paper examines the effects of farm characteristics and government policies in enhancing productivity growth for a sample of Greek farms, using a two-stage procedure. In the 1st-stage, non-parametric estimates of Malmquist index and its decompositions are computed, while a bootstrapping procedure is applied to provide their statistical precision. In the 2nd-stage, the productivity growth estimates are regressed on various covariates using a bootstrapped quantile regression approach. The effect that the covariates exert on productivity growth of the average producer is analyzed, as well as the marginal effect of a given covariate for individuals at different points in the conditional productivity distribution. The results indicate that there exists large disparity of the covariates effect on productivity growth at different quantiles. Thus, policy suggestions should take into account the productivity distribution involved, as well as the selected policy objectives.Malmquist productivity index, quantile regression, bootstrap, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C14, C21, D24,

Recent evidence on the taxpayers’ reporting decision in Greece : a quantile regression approach

This paper examines the responses of individuals to marginal tax rates in their reporting of income, using the 2009 individual tax return data for Greece. The method of regression quantiles is employed to provide evidence on behavioral responses at different points of the income distribution. The results reveal significant differences in the marginal tax rate reporting responses across income classes and for different occupational groups; whereas high income taxpayers have a very elastic response. As particular groups of taxpayers have more flexibility in misreporting tax liability also depends on the government’s effectiveness to control tax avoidance. Evaluation of the 2010 tax reform further reveals that misreporting of the occupational groups Rental Income and Wages & Salaries appears to be the highest. Policy recommendations regarding tax reforms should therefore take into account the reported income distribution involved and the selected policy objectives.peer-reviewe

Amphiphilic block copolymers by a combination of anionic polymerization and selective post-polymerization functionalization

AbstractAnionic polymerization is the oldest known living/controlled polymerization methodology that leads to well defined macromolecules. It has been also used, with considerable success, for the synthesis of amphiphilic block copolymers (AmBC), a class of functional copolymers having interesting self-assembling properties and high potential for applications in various technological fields. The use of mild and effective post-polymerization functionalization/chemical modification reactions on block copolymers has substantially increased the synthetic capabilities of anionic polymerization methodologies, toward the creation of a variety of AmBC. In this feature article we review work done on these directions in the last ten years. Some perspectives and future work on this particular field of polymer science are also discussed

Analysis of the European Food Industry

This report is based on a study assigned to the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) by the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) to investigate recent developments in the European food industry and the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade flows on the food industry in the EU-25. The report illustrates trends in and the structure of the European food industry. Past and possible future developments are analysed, identifying the drivers behind development of the food industry and assessing the impact on production, structures, farmers and trade. Another key feature of this report is to assess the impact of EU accession and of harmonisation of trade policy for agricultural commodities and processed agri-food products on both the EU-15 and the new Member States (NMS).JRC.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Land, Labour and Capital Markets in European Agriculture: Diversity under a Common Policy. CEPS Paperback. October 2013

Well-functioning factor markets are an essential condition for the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. At the same time, the functioning of the factor markets themselves is influenced by changes in agriculture and the rural economy. Such changes can be the result of progress in technology, globalisation and European market integration, changing consumer preferences and shifts in policy. Changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the last decade have particularly affected the rural factor markets. This book analyses the functioning of factor markets for agriculture in the EU-27 and several candidate countries. Written by leading academics and policy analysts from various European countries, these chapters compare the different markets, their institutional framework, their impact on agricultural development and structural change, and their interaction with the CAP. As the first comparative study to cover rural factor markets in Europe, highlighting their diversity − despite the Common Agricultural Policy and an integrated single market − Land, Labour & Capital Markets in European Agriculture provides a timely and valuable source of information at a time of further CAP reform and the continuing transformation of the EU's rural areas

Foreign Direct Investments and productivity growth in the agri-food sector of Eastern Europe and Central Asia: an empirical analysis

Since the beginning of transition, Eastern European and Central Asian (ECA) countries compete against one another in attracting foreign investors by offering ever more generous incentive packages. Recent empirical research provides though little support for the idea that foreign direct investments (FDI) have a positive effect on local economies. This paper examines then whether FDI benefits are sufficient to justify the kind of policy interventions seen in practice. Analysis focuses on the impact of the increasing presence of multinationals on the economic development of transition economies in ECA through the generation of vertical and horizontal spillovers. Our theoretical model shows that policies which promote FDI are more likely to be justified on welfare grounds if multinationals engage in technology transfer that improves local suppliers' productivity, multinationals' technological advantage over the local competitors is only moderate, and the establishment of foreign affiliates does not lower the local processors' market share. Using data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS), empirical research suggest, however, that foreign investments are more likely to have a positive impact on their local suppliers, and a negative one on their llocal competitors, implying that the second and third conditions are unlikely to hold.status: publishe