This article decomposes the impact of imports on domestic price-cost margins into separate price and cost effects. Using data from 24 food-processing industries, the empirical results show that although the direct impact of imports on prices is always negative, a positive net impact on...

This paper assesses the impacts of the Northeast Dairy Compact (NEDC) and retail oligopoly power on fluid milk prices in Boston. Empirical results reveal that price increases due to oligopoly power outweighed those caused by the NEDC by nearly seven times. In fact, markups are estimated at...

This article tests the Grossman-Helpman Protection for Sale model using panel data from U.S. food processing industries with endogenous protection, imports, and political organization of industries. The results support the key predictions of the model: organized industries are granted higher...

This paper ascertains the costs and benefits of diverting water from the Senegal River. Two scenarios are compared to the status quo of inaction: the social planner and the competitive scenarios. Although these two scenarios yield positive present values of net benefits, the social planner...

The authors apply the Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (1995) model to scan data from Boston supermarkets augmented with consumer characteristics data to analyze consumer choices and price competition in a differentiated fluid milk market. Milk characteristics include price, fat content, brand name,...

Agricultural land often yields significant amenity benefits that may not be reflected in the prevailing allocation of land between agricultural and nonagricultural uses. This paper introduces a simple supply-demand model that incorporates these benefits in the determination of optimal land...

This study estimates the elasticities of wholesale food prices, cost efficiency, and market power with respect to industrial concentration in 35 food processing industries, modifying the model of Lopez, Azzam, and Lirón-España (2002). In contrast to the results of their earlier analysis,...

This article tests the Protection for Sale (PFS) model using detailed data from US food-processing industries under alternative import-demand specifications. All empirical results support the PFS model predictions and previous empirical work qualitatively. However, a surprising result is that we...

This article examines the influence of campaign contributions on agricultural subsidies. Empirical results revealed that rent-seeking works, i.e. contributions, influence agricultural subsidies in the manner they best serve contributors' economic interests. Eliminating campaign contributions...