A REVIEW OF BASIC PRICE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES WITH EMPHASIS ON INTERPRETATION AND DATA LIMITATIONS IN THIRD WORLD FOOD SYSTEM APPLICATIONS

In market-oriented economics, agricultural markets and marketing functions become increasingly important as the food system evolves. This paper focuses on how selected dimensions of markets and marketing functions can be studied and evaluated in Third World settings. The specific purpose of this paper is to review basic price and related market analysis techniques which are and can be used in Third World countries. In so doing, the objective is also to focus specifically on identifying food system problems, techniques for improved interpretation of price analysis results, and means of dealing with the all too common problem of data limitations.