How does economic development and import dependency affect agricultural price protection? A pooled cross-country and time-series analysis for the wheat sector

This article analyzes determinants of agricultural price protection for one important food, wheat, in a pooled cross-country and time-series analysis. For the aggregate sample it is shown that wheat price protection increases with a rising level of economic development and with a growing import dependency in wheat. Beyond this general pattern, the paper shows that the variation in wheat price protection can be significantly better explained if qualitative variables are introduced additionally into the model. For example, in Japan, in the Northern countries and during the commodity price boom (197 3-75), wheat price protection followed a specific pattern. Income elasticities and import-dependency elasticities of wheat price protection are computed for all countries in 1968-80, and additionally for various sub-regions and sub-periods.

Measuring national interests in the international coffee agreement

This article shows how national interests in price-changing international commodity agreements can be measured. Two approaches are distinguished. Firstly, changes in national interests can be measured that are caused by the introduction of an international commodity agreement in an otherwise unregulated world market. This approach is based on a comparison of the situations with and without a commodity agreement. It represents a positive approach to measuring national interests. Secondly, changes in national interests can be measured that result from the individual country's decision to participate in the agreement or to stay outside. This approach compares the situation of participation with that of non-participation in an existing commodity agreement. As the consequences of a national decision are analyzed, it is a normative or decision-oriented approach to measuring national interests. The ICA is a particularly interesting scheme to show the two approaches, as some countries participate in the agreement while others do not. This has led to the co-existence of a controlled and an uncontrolled market with different prices.

A welfare analysis of non participation in an export quota scheme: The case of importing countries

It has been largely ignored in the commodity stabilization literature that export quota schemes can cause a co-existence between a controlled and an uncontrolled market. This article analyzes the welfare implications of such a scheme on non-participating importing countries. The determinants of the welfare effects are elaborated. It is shown that non-participation in the export quota scheme may increase or decrease the importing countries' welfare compared to the situation of a liberalized world market. Magnitude and sign of the welfare impacts are shown to depend crucially on the rigidity of the quota policy. From the individual importing country's point of view, it is derived that non-participation instead of entering the agreement may raise national welfare, even if the export quota policy lowers its welfare level compared to a free trade situation.

Agricultural price policy in the Republic of South Africa, the Southern African Customs Union, and food security in Botswana

This analysis is concerned with the direct impacts of the regulation of food markets under SACU on food security in the BLS countries. There are two basic rules in SACU determining trade in food and non-food products (Ettinger, 1974; Maasdorp, 1986). The first of these is that common tariffs exist for trade with the rest of the world. The second is that the internal market of SACU represents a free-trade area. The common external tariffs of SACU are fixed by the Republic of South Africa. These rules of SACU link the agricultural price policy in the Republic of South Africa with food imports and food security in the BLS countries. It is the objective of this paper to investigate this linkage which has been hitherto ignored in the literature. The paper analyzes quantitatively how the agricultural policy of the Republic of South Africa affects food security in Botswana and particularly how this was transmitted via the rules of SACU during the period 1969-84. The analysis begins by describing the institutional relationship between agricultural price policy in South Africa and food security in the BLS countries. Section 3 considers empirically what impacts agricultural policy in South Africa has had upon the food import sector of Botswana, and the magnitude, trends and instabilities of these economic variables are investigated. The analysis is based upon econometrically estimated food import demand equations for Botswana. Section 4 takes into consideration the effects of the customs union remittances received from SACU by Botswana. The effects of customs union membership, as they apply to food security in Botswana are tested by the hypothesis as to whether the joint impact of the external tariff policy on food and of customs union revenues was positive or negative. Finally, in section 5 the main results of the analysis are summarized and suggestions for further research are indicated.

Food Expenditure Patterns of the Generation 50+: An Engel-Curve Analysis for Germany

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Some neglected issues in food demand analysis: retail-level demand, health information and product quality

Food demand analysis is dominated by the econometric estimation of demand systems based on aggregate market data and steady progress has been made in analytical techniques. Yet some issues have been neglected in food demand analysis which are crucial for understanding recent consumption trends in industrialised countries. Three of these issues are dealt with here: analysis of food demand at the retail level; influence of health information on food demand; and importance of product quality for food demand. It is shown that answers to important questions in these areas can be given when large and unconventional data sets are used.Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Health Economics and Policy,

Do They Always Say No? German Consumers and Second-Generation GMO Foods

European consumers and, in particular, German consumers are known to be very critical towards the introduction of genetically modified (GM) foods. It is analyzed here whether German consumers do reject second-generation GMO foods, too. Whereas first-generation GM crops induced producer-related benefits, second-generation GM crops are associated with consumer-oriented benefits like an improvement of nutritional quality. The determinants of demand for second-generation GM rapeseed oil are investigated within an online survey of 1556 German consumers. It is elaborated how two functional properties of that product matter; i.e. long-chain ϖ3 fatty acids and the cholesterol-lowering effect of phytosterols. It turns out that GMO rapeseed oil is neglected by 74 % of all respondents. Output traits, however, will increase the probability of purchases of GMO rapeseed oil. This is more the case for long-chain ϖ3 fatty acids than for phytosterols.consumer behavior, second generation, GMO foods, rapeseed oil, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Price variability or rigidity in the food-retailing sector? Theoretical analysis and evidence from German scanner data

In many industrialized countries, the grocery-retailing sector exhibits a strong and increasing market concentration. Hence, it is important to understand retail pricing for many questions related to market power in the marketing chain and to agricultural and food policies. We analyze intertemporal pricing of grocery retailers in Germany with a large set of scanner data for processed foods. In theory, food prices could be rather variable, e.g. due to fluctuating commodity prices in a competitive world, or rather rigid, e.g. due to price adjustment costs. We elaborate that retail sales are crucial and raise food price variability at the points of sale. Despite this, prices are rather rigid and often do not change for many weeks. Moreover, pricing strategies for identical brands vary strongly across retailers. Retailers seem to have differential pricing strategies and, thus, market power. This casts substantial doubt on the assumption of a competitive price transmission in the marketing channel underlying most analyses in agricultural economics. --Grocery retailing sector,pricing patterns,sales,price rigidity,scanner data

Psychological Prices and Price Rigidity in Grocery Retailing: Analysis of German Scanner Data

A substantial degree of price rigidity has been reported for branded foods in various studies with scanner data. One possible explanation for price rigidity is the existence of psychological pricing points. We analyze to which extent psychological pricing plays a role in grocery retailing and whether it contributes to price rigidity of branded foods in Germany. Psychological pricing defined here as just-below-the-round-figure-pricing is empirically analyzed with scanner data of weekly prices for 20 food brands in 38 retail outlets from September 1996 to June 1999. Psychological pricing turned out to be extremely important in German food retailing. Branded food prices are remarkably sticky and psychological pricing points contribute strongly to price rigidity. Other factors like the sales phenomenon and firm-specific effects are additionally important.Marketing, Q110, Q130,

Food quality, imperfect information and the role of markets and the state

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,