Rising concentration and consolidation of sales among large supermarket chains in the U.S. and other countries, due in part to a recent wave of mergers in food retailing, have made retailers' role in the food industry a topical issue. Using a unique micro dataset, this paper investigates...

Spatially dispersed production and processing, endemic for most agricultural or renewableresource markets, causes oligopsonistic competition. The possibility and useof spatial price discrimination in these markets is well documented. It is also wellknown that the location of processors relative...

When contract production is marketed contemporaneously with production sold through a spot market, it is conveninet to specify the contract price in terms of the subsequent cash price. This paper examines the competitive implications of such pricing arrangements, focusing in particular upon...

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/20/05.

Using a unique micro dataset and advanced panel models, this study examines the effects of demand shocks on grocery retail price for avocados, a key Californian fresh produce commodity. Retail prices for avocados exhibited countercyclical movements over seasonal demand shocks for avocados...

The typical model of retail pricing for produce products assumes retailers set price equal to thefarm price plus a certain markup. However, observations from scanner data indicate a largedegree of price dispersion in the grocery retailing market. In addition to markup pricingbehavior, we...

The typical model of retail pricing for produce products assumes retailers set price equal to the farm price plus a certain markup. However, observations from scanner data indicate a large degree of price dispersion in the grocery retailing market. In addition to markup pricing behavior, we...

Replaced with revised version of paper 08/06/07.

Among other functions, federal marketing orders allow producers to impose quality regulations and inspections, and, under the section 8e provision, require imports to be subject to the same quality standards and regulations as the domestic industry. As efforts to liberalize trade continue apace,...

Agricultural markets often feature significant transport costs and spatially distributed production and processing which causes spatial imperfect competition. Spatial economics considers the firms’ decisions regarding location and spatial price strategy separately, usually on the demand side,...