Market power and farm‐retail price transmission: The case of US fluid milk markets

In this paper we seek to understand the impact of market competitiveness on the degree of asym-metric price transmission and associated welfare implications. We estimate a kinked Almost Ideal Demand System for fluid milk products in 18 U.S. metropolitan areas. By conducting an asymmet-ric price transmission test, we find that cities with less competitive food retailing tend to exhibit asymmetric price transmission. The degree of price asymmetry and associated welfare loss are decreasing in the market competitiveness. Our welfare analysis suggests that the welfare loss due to asymmetric price transmission is large in terms of the percentage of milk expenditures. The potential is for substantially higher future welfare loss given the ongoing consolidation in food retailing industry

Demand for differentiated milk products: implications for price competition

The authors apply the Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (1995) model to scan data from Boston supermarkets augmented with consumer characteristics data to analyze consumer choices and price competition in a differentiated fluid milk market. Milk characteristics include price, fat content, brand name, and the organic and|or lactose-free nature of the product. Empirical results show that consumer valuation of fat decreases with income, but increases with the number of children. Low-fat and specialty milks, such as organic and lactose-free milks, are preferred by high-income consumers with no children. Although all milks are price elastic at the individual brand level, the cross-price elasticities are quite low and negligible for specialty milks. Based on calculated Lerner indexes, private label milks have the highest percent markups despite their lower prices, whereas specialty milks have the lowest markups despite their higher prices, which attests to a greater degree of market power for conventional and particularly for private label milk. [JEL Classification: D12, D40, L11, L81]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Food pricing, competition, and the emerging supercenter format

Much previous research has examined the role of concentration, level of service, and entry barriers on U.S. food retailing profits and prices. Despite the rapid advancement of food supercenters, public policy research evaluating their price impacts remains quite limited. The purpose this study is to examine the price impacts from supercenter entry, growing supercenter market share, and supermarket consolidation from 1993-2003. Findings were that both the market share of supercenter food sales and the marginal impact of supercenter entry did not have a significant impact on food prices in the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) analyzed. These are important findings in light of claims that supercenters entry causes a procompetitive effect. Futhermore, changes in market concentration was significantly and positively related to price changes. Therefore, it appears consolidation led to higher prices and any merger-related cost gains during this period were not passed on to consumers. [EconLit Classifications: D400, L130, L660]. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 295-312, 2007.