Demand for quality-differentiated beef in Japan

In this article, we apply a model of vertical product differentiation to the Japanese beef market. We theoretically derive a system of consumer demand functions for quality-differentiated beef in Japan. We choose a particular utility function which is nonlinear in the consumption of the quality-differentiated product and linear in the consumption of all other goods. We employ a seemingly unrelated econometric model to estimate Japanese consumer demand functions for four beef types from the four origins. The empirical results show Japanese consumers prefer domestically produced beef to imported US and Australian. We also find seventeen substitution and two complementary effects among the various origins.vertical quality differentiation, consumer demand, beef, Japan, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

SIFTER search: a web server for accurate phylogeny-based protein function prediction.

We are awash in proteins discovered through high-throughput sequencing projects. As only a minuscule fraction of these have been experimentally characterized, computational methods are widely used for automated annotation. Here, we introduce a user-friendly web interface for accurate protein function prediction using the SIFTER algorithm. SIFTER is a state-of-the-art sequence-based gene molecular function prediction algorithm that uses a statistical model of function evolution to incorporate annotations throughout the phylogenetic tree. Due to the resources needed by the SIFTER algorithm, running SIFTER locally is not trivial for most users, especially for large-scale problems. The SIFTER web server thus provides access to precomputed predictions on 16 863 537 proteins from 232 403 species. Users can explore SIFTER predictions with queries for proteins, species, functions, and homologs of sequences not in the precomputed prediction set. The SIFTER web server is accessible at http://sifter.berkeley.edu/ and the source code can be downloaded

The Effects of E. Coli 0157:H7, FMD and BSE on Japanese Retail Beef Prices: A Historical Decomposition

This study examines the time-varying Japanese price reactions to the 2001 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) discovery, the 2000 outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD), and the 1996 E. coli food po isoning events. Historical decomposition of retail-level price-series aids in explaining the behavior of beef prices in a neighborhood (period-by-period time interval) of the three events. This is based on an application of directed acyclic graphs, constructing orthogonal innovations to determine causal patterns behind contemporaneous innovations. The results show the beef safety events had different negative impacts on Japanese retail beef prices, suggesting that consumers understood and differentiated among the health risks. The results provide incentives for beef producers and retailers to proactively inform consumers about ongoing beef safety measures. Understanding consumer reaction to BSE, FMD and E. coli helps the beef industry restore consumer confidence after future food safety crises, and provides policy makers a basis for countermeasures and compensations.Japan, beef prices, BSE, FMD, E. coli, historical decomposition., Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Q11, Q13,

Cost Sensitivity Analysis on the Optimal Location of Technology Providers In Kentucky

A warehouse location model was utilized in order to expand upon previous research. The aim was to more accurately depicting the optimal location for an agribusiness firm providing precision agriculture technologies in the state of Kentucky. It was determined that the optimal solution was Muhlenberg County.warehouse location model, precision agriculture, agribusiness, Agribusiness,

MEASURING THE DEGREE OF MARKET POWER AMONG BEEF EXPORTERS TO JAPAN

A residual-demand model for beef exporters to Japan is specified to estimate market power. The analysis is disaggregated by beef cut and form. The results indicate U.S. frozen-ribs category enjoys the highest markup of price over marginal cost, while Australia and New Zealand have some market power, which includes five chilled-beef categories.International Relations/Trade,

Integrating Marginal Cost into Pricing-to-market Models for U.S. Agricultural Products

This article investigates the markup pricing behaviour of U.S. exporters of agricultural products. Agricultural products studied are feed, flour, frozen potatoes, frozen orange juice, five categories of beef, five categories of pork, and two categories of chicken. The popular pricing-to-market (PTM) approach of Krugman (1987) is used to examine market power and imperfect competition for the markets under study. The PTM model can directly investigate whether there is any evidence of market power in international trade.The sensitivity of U.S. export prices to exchange rate fluctuations may indicate price discrimination and imperfect competition in the international markets. The PTM approach is popular because of its relatively simple specification and empirical testing.Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade,

The Impact of Competition Policy on Production and Export Competitiveness: A Perspective from Agri-food Processing

This study tests the hypothesis that competition policy positively impacts a country's production and export competitiveness. The results show that competition policy has a significantly positive impact on manufacturing production. The results also show that exports for both total manufacturing and food manufacturing are positively related to competition policy.Competition policy, production, export competitiveness, Agribusiness,

Export Market Pricing Decisions and Market Power in World Grain Markets: A Duopoly Model for Soybeans

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/13/07.Marketing,

Komparasi ASEAN Sme Policy Index dengan Rencana Strategis Dinas Perindustrian dan Perdagangan Provinsi Kepulauan Riau

This article compares two documents, ASEAN SMEs Policy Index 2014 with 2016-2021 Strategic Planning of Industrian dan Trade Office of Riau Islands Province. The aims is to see wether Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) policy, especially for Small and Medium Industries, has been aligned with ASEAN Economic Community framework for SMEs development. From the analysis, it can be found that there are three field of comparison which show that those two documents aren not yet alligned: definition, informality and High-Growth Entrepreneurship orientation