DEGREE OF COMPETITION IN THE U.S. PEANUT BUTTER INDUSTRY: A DYNAMIC ERROR CORRECTION APPROACH

Reforms in the U.S. peanut program entail a reduction in support price of peanuts. The degree to which price reduction is passed on to final consumers of peanut butter is directly related to the degree of competition in the peanut butter market. To assess the impact of changes in the peanut program on final consumers, it is necessary to know the degree of competition in the peanut butter industry. A dynamic error correction model (ECM) developed by Steen and Salvanes is estimated using nonlinear-three-stage-least-squares procedure to measure the degree of competition. Results indicate that the market is characterized by perfect competition in the short-run. The hypothesis of perfect competition is rejected in the long-run, although the long-run solution is close to a perfectly competitive behavior. This result has important implications for the peanut butter industry. Reductions in the support price of peanut may not be fully passed on to peanut butter consumer, but the consumers' welfare gain will certainly be much higher than what it would have been if the market was collusive in structure.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

MARKET POWER IN THE WORLD MARKET FOR SOYMEAL EXPORTS

In this article, the degree of imperfect competition in the world market for soymeal exports is estimated using a structural econometric model. The procedure consists of estimating a demand function and the industry first-order profit-maximization condition, from which an estimate of the degree of market power can be retrieved. Using a nonlinear three-stage least squares procedure, the estimate of market power shows that the world market for soymeal exports is perfectly competitive. The empirical results also indicate that this market was competitive even prior to entry by Argentinean firms in the mid-1970s.Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

DYNAMIC EFFECTS OF PEANUT BUTTER ADVERTISING ON PEANUT BUTTER DEMAND

Using error correction approach and nonlinear three-stage-squares, long-run and short-run effects of aggregate brand advertising on the U.S demand for peanut butter are estimated. Results indicate that demand for peanut butter is more responsive to advertising in the long-run. Moreover, demand is responsive to price only in the short-run.Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing,

ESTIMATION OF IMPERFECT COMPETITION IN FOOD MARKETING: A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF THE GERMAN BANANA MARKET

Several studies have estimated the welfare effects of recent changes in the European Union's common policy on banana imports, based upon the assumption that the market is perfectly competitive. However, if the market is imperfectly competitive, predictions about changes in banana policy may be inaccurate. The objective of this paper is to estimate the degree of market imperfection in the German market for banana imports using dynamic methods. The hypothesis that this market is perfectly competitive is rejected, and, in addition, the degree of market imperfection is estimated to be higher using a dynamic model compared to previous static estimates.Marketing,

An interesting case of suicidal poisoning

Aconite is one of the most poisonous known herbs. It has been known to be used as a homicidal poison from long time in history. However this is rarely known to be used as suicidal poison. Poisoning with aconite is usually fatal and death commonly occurs due to arrhythmias and cardiotoxicity. We report a case of attempted suicidal poisoning by aconite where patient survived in spite of documented cardiotoxic effects of the poison