Do Alternative Marketing Arrangements Increase Pork Packers' Market Power?

In this article we use structural econometrics to formally test whether the use of the alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) by pork packers is the source of their market power on the spot (cash) market for live hogs. We specify the pork packers' conjectures of the change in the industry total market procurement of live hogs through the spot market with respect to their AMAs stocks. The test is carried out using the mandatory price reporting data. Our results show that pork packers have statistically significant market power on the spot market for live hogs, but the source of that market power cannot be narrowed down to the existence of AMAs stocks. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.