This paper investigates the certified organic handler sector, a specialized component of the middle part of the farm-to-table marketing chain, and documents the impacts of firm agglomeration (or firm clusters) on firm-level performance or firm-level decisions. After accounting for endogeneity in...

Wal-Mart® has created tremendous economic benefits for consumers by providing more choices at lower prices. The benefits are felt especially in communities that had only local retail monopolies prior to the arrival of the store. Yet no mretailer evokes stronger negative emotions than this...

An empirical analysis reveals that states with more highly educated populations have better environmental conditions, after controlling for income, population density, and industrial composition. The strategy of raising human capital stocks to maintain or improve environmental quality is...

Location decisions of electric energy-intensive manufacturing establishments are examined in the context of electric utilities deregulation, using Tobit and probit methods. Rural counties which once had an advantage recruiting manufacturing industries by offering low electricity rates may lose...

In market-oriented economies, 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...

This study seeks to identify the independent effect of Wal-Mart stores on changes in U.S. family-poverty rates at the county level. We draw on the contributions of a number of disciplines to enhance our understanding of the broader forces that influence poverty. Copyright (c) 2006 by the...