NON-CREDIBLE INFORMATION FLOWS BETWEEN FOOD MANUFACTURERS AND RETAILERS

Asymmetric information between food manufacturers and retailers constrains the efforts of analysts studying the retail food chain. The problem may be especially pronounced during new product introductions. Manufacturers may have demand information about new products but have incentives to not credibly relay that information. Retailers often lack reliable demand information about new products. Understanding the roots of non-credible information flows within the manufacturer/retailer relationship is important to behavioral modeling in the food chain. This paper provides an analytic derivation to explain sufficient conditions for non-credible information flows leading to asymmetric information and adverse selection problems. Results provide insight about formation of information sharing mechanisms in the retail grocery channel.Agribusiness,

SLOTTING ALLOWANCES, FAILURE FEES AND ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION IN THE GROCERY SUPPLY CHAIN

Marketing,

THE CWAE TRACKING SURVEY: OBJECTIVES, METHODS AND RESULTS

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

MODELING INTERNATIONAL TRADE IMPACTS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT INTRODUCTIONS

Planned introductions of genetically modified crop varieties can be troublesome to model. Estimation of demand and supply equations is not feasible due to lack of data. Further, specifying demand and supply equations requires calibration to a presumed equilibrium. Depending on the point chosen, highly questionable results may be obtained. We propose a model that uses existing supply, demand, and elasticity estimates. The approach relies on composite supply and demand functions. These composite functions are linear combinations of GM and non-GM varieties. We then employ this approach in a model of world wheat trade to analyze the impact of several plausible GM wheat adoption and consumer acceptability scenarios.international trade, genetically modified organisms, producer surplus, consumer surplus, welfare, transportation cost, International Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES IN RURAL NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITIES: SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The purpose of this study was to examine the local socioeconomic impacts of new economic development initiatives in North Dakota's rural (nonmetropolitan) communities. This report is the second to present findings from this project; an earlier report analyzed the effects of four new agricultural processing plants on their host communities. This report examines the effects of manufacturing and/or exported services facilities in three communities and presents comparison data drawn from two control communities (i.e., towns that had not experienced the advent of a major new employer during the 1990s). The information from the two groups of development communities and the control communities is compared and contrasted to discern similarities and differences in the effects of the different types of development initiatives and to develop a set of general principles and recommended actions for community leaders to follow when planning for a new employer. The agricultural processing projects were sited in rural counties, developed during the 1990s, and employed at least 40 workers. The communities with other types of economic development initiatives were rural communities where a new nonagricultural employer or an expansion of an existing facility had created at least 40 new jobs during the 1990s. The two control communities were located in rural counties, had not experienced a new nonagricultural employer or expansion with more than 20 new jobs since 1990, and were characterized by economic and demographic trends prior to 1990 that were similar to those of the development counties. In each of the study communities, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with a cross-section of community leaders, with the aim of gaining an understanding of the community (e.g., its population, economic base), the effects of project development, other socioeconomic changes that might have either exacerbated or offset the project's effects, and the community's response to the situation. Representatives of each of the development projects also were interviewed. Subsequently, a short survey was completed by a random sample of residents in each community. Improved job opportunities and enhanced incomes were generally seen as major positive effects of each of the new economic development initiatives. Further, aside from some management and engineering positions, most of the plant jobs appeared to represent employment opportunities for area workers, rather than being taken primarily by in-migrants. Residents' incomes were enhanced both by the plants' jobs and payroll (which often represented second incomes for area households) and by increased incomes for area farmers (in the case of agricultural processing facilities). Because most of the plant jobs were taken by persons already living in the area, the new plants did not lead to substantial in-migration or major population growth in the host communities. Rather, a reoccurring comment by local leaders was that the plant in their community had stabilized the local economy and population. Comparison of population trends in the development and control communities supports the perception of local informants that the economic development initiatives served to stabilize local populations.rural development, community impacts, North Dakota, manufacturing, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL AND NON-AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL NORTH DAKOTA

Information from the groups of development communities and control communities is compared and contrasted to discern similarities and differences in the effects of the different types of development initiatives and to develop a set of general principles and recommended actions for community leaders to follow when planning for a new employer.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Genotyping: What Applied Economists Should Know

Livestock Production/Industries,

REPRESENTATIONS OF MULTI-ATTRIBUTE GRAIN QUALITY

Grain quality is typically measured via several attributes. As these attributes vary across shipments and time, grain quality can be described using multivariate probability or frequency distributions. These distributions are important in modeling blending opportunities inherent in various grain shipments. For computational reasons, it is usually necessary to represent these distributions with a small set of discrete points and probabilities. In this analysis, we suggest a representation method based on Gaussian quadrature. This approach maintains the blending opportunities available by preserving moments of the distribution. The Gaussian quadrature method is compared to a more commonly used representation in a barley blending model.Crop Production/Industries,

POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF GM WHEAT ON UNITED STATES AND NORTHERN PLAINS WHEAT TRADE

The potential introduction of genetically modified (GM) wheat has both supporters and opponents waging battle in the popular press and scholarly research. Supporters highlight the benefits to producers, while the opponents highlight the unknown safety factors for consumers. The topic is very important to the United States, as a large portion of the wheat production is exported overseas. Consumer groups in some countries are resisting GM wheat. This study utilizes a spatial equilibrium model to evaluate the trade impacts associated with GM wheat introduction along with several assumed post-GM adoption scenarios. Wheat is converted into protein equivalents to allow for substitution between wheat classes. The importance of the U.S. handling/transportation system is highlighted in the ability of the system to develop an affordable and effective segregation system for GM wheat. Producers who do not produce GM wheat would face externalities associated with GM wheat contamination of non-GM wheat.genetically modified wheat, spatial equilibrium model, trade flows, protein equivalents, externalities, Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

FLOOD EASEMENTS

We examine the efficiency of current flood risk allocation and the use of flood easements as a means of reallocating flood risk and reducing total flood damages in large river floodplains. Changes in agricultural floodplain land use and levels of crop insurance coverage as the risk of flooding changes are simulated using mathematical programming. The net benefits of flood easements to a portion of the Lagrange Reach of the Illinois River region are then simulated. Our results indicate that flood easements may provide positive net benefits. This positive result stems primarily from the decreased risk of flooding for non-inundated agricultural levee districts, rather than from reduced municipal flood damages. Our results are robust to changes in the estimated dollar damages, yet extremely sensitive to changes in hydrological estimates.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,