Planning Viable Wholesale Markets for Fruit and Vegetables in Eastern European Cities

Abstract

The paper provides an overview on the present status of wholesale market (wm) development in Eastern European countries. Wms are providing essential facilities for the development of a private wholesale trade for fruit and vegetables. The study addresses major issues in planning viable wholesale markets, particularly those which are affecting the economic viability of market to be newly built. The issues addressed include: the need of identifying accurately major shortcomings of the present marketing systems and their causes, the need for active participation of beneficiaries in the planning and implementation process, deciding on size, type of buildings, on institutional and management aspects and viability of assembly markets. All these issues affect the viability of wholesale markets and their capacity of repayment loans.     

基于Shapley值改进的水土保持PPP项目效益分配研究

针对水土保持项目正外部性、公益性等特点,建立水土保持效益估算模型,计算出包含生态效益、经济效益和社会效益的项目总效益,在此基础上,建立考虑投入比例、风险承担与合同执行度的Shapley值改进的效益分配模型,最后通过实例验证了模型的可行性。研究结果表明:考虑生态效益和社会效益后,效益分配基数增加,改进后的效益分配模型衡量了利益各方的实际贡献,分配结果更加合理,使项目向帕累托最优迈进。     

TESTING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF FOOD PRICE SPREADS

This paper develops and illustrates a test of the competitiveness of food price spreads. The test does not require information on the structure of the food industry or estimation of conjectural variations, but rather the prices of the intermediate inputs used to produce the raw farm product and the prices of the intermediate inputs that are combined with the raw farm product to produce the final consumer good. The test is applied to the US farm/wholesale beef market.     

Small producers,supermarkets, and the role of intermediaries in Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable market

A wide range of empirical studies show the extent to which the rise of supermarkets in developing countries transforms domestic marketing channels. In many countries, the exclusion of small producers from so‐called dynamic marketing channels (that is, remunerative ones) has become a concern. Based on data collected in Turkey in 2007 at the producer and the wholesale market levels, we show that intermediaries are important to understanding the impact of downstream restructuring (supermarkets) on upstream decisions (producers). Results show first that producers are not aware of the final buyer of their produce, because intermediaries hinder the visibility of the marketing channel, thereby restricting a producer's choice to that of the first intermediary. Econometric results show that producers who are indirectly linked to the supermarkets are more sensitive to their requirements in terms of quality and packaging than to the price premia compensating the effort made to meet standards. Therefore, the results lead us to question the role of the wholesale market agents who act as a buffer in the chain and protect small producers from negative shocks, but who stop positive shocks as well, and thereby reduce incentives.     

Assessing Market Efficiency

Abstract

Government regulations through import licensing and “seasonal calendars” entail large transaction costs for traders operating in the fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Oman. Monitoring and enforcing these market regulations increase search costs and reduce market efficiency. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology to categorize and measure transactions costs by analyzing traders perceptions and attitude toward regulatory measures, and other market activities. Results show that importers operating at Al-Mawaleh market face the highest level of transaction costs. The changing nature of import calendar as well as the import license procedure represents significant elements of uncertainty that rise the importers' search and monitoring costs. It is suggested that the conversion of these non-tariff barriers into tariffs along WTO rules would reduce market uncertainty and increase market efficiency.     

土地出让市场的博弈分析:利益背景与政府行为过程

研究目的:建立土地出让市场监管博弈模型,分析监管部门和出让部门的混合策略选择,提出完善土地出让市场监管的有效制度安排。研究方法:博弈分析。研究结果:(1)出让部门违规的动因来源于其行为所产生的远超出正常行为的得益以及违规行为被查处后所受的损失与其违规收益的机会成本考量;(2)监管部门的监管绩效取决于激励及约束机制的侧重点及其效率。研究结论:完善土地出让市场的着力点在于对监管部门和出让部门的行为空间与利益空间的规制,同时应进行相应的经济及行政体制改革。     

Analysis of a supply-control program under uncertainty and imperfect competition: Chinese cabbage in Taiwan

Researchers have often attributed the farm–wholesale price spread, after adjusting for marketing costs, as compensation for marketing firms' risk bearing. However, price spreads in excess of marketing costs can also be due to marketing firms' exercise of market power. In settings where both imperfect competition and marketer risk aversion are plausible, a modeling framework must be sufficiently general to accommodate both types of behavior. This article develops and estimates such a model in the context of fresh produce marketing and develops the implications for analysis of supply‐control programs. The model is applied to the production and marketing of Chinese cabbage in Taiwan and specifically to the analysis of supply‐control programs implemented in this industry by the Taiwanese government. The empirical results provide little support for the hypothesis that marketing firms exhibit risk averse behavior, but they do show that marketing firms exercise oligopsony power in procurement of the product from farmers, and that this power is positively related to the quantity supplied in each market period. This provides a heretofore unexplored impetus for supply controls intended to raise producer incomes. However, such controls are also rendered less effective by imperfect competition because marketing firms capture part of the benefits from supply reduction.     

An overview of hydrogen prospects: Economic,technical and policy considerations

Hydrogen is expected to play a role in the future low-carbon economy as an energy carrier, but its market penetration remains to be seen. Much of the existing literature generally focuses on comparison of marginal production costs and prices to make rather optimistic projections. This study argues that such analysis is myopic as important barriers are ignored. Following Porter’s five-force approach, we methodologically identify the economic market forces that shape the development of hydrogen markets, and discuss key obstacles in the supply chain. Using evidence of available hydrogen technologies and costs, the distribution network is identified as a major fixed-investment barrier to market entry, but it is argued that much of it could be overcome if natural gas infrastructure and technology is shared with the hydrogen sector. Natural gas, in turn, is projected to function as a transition fuel under current carbon emissions targets. This study finds that policy costs needed to promote hydrogen to achieve environmental goals can be substantially reduced if government and private investment decisions strategically focus on synergies with natural gas. The possible formulation of such policies is discussed using Australia’s hydrogen industry as a case study.     

Buyer Collusion and Efficiency of Government Intervention in Wheat Markets in Northern India: An Asymmetric Structural Auctions Analysis

This article uses auction theory to analyze wholesale markets for wheat in Northern India. This approach enables us to characterize the market in terms of buyer asymmetries, to detect the existence of collusion, and to quantify its impact on market prices. We show that buyer asymmetries exacerbate the downward impact of collusion on prices. The article also considers whether the government paid too much for the wheat it procured at the minimum support price, and shows that for our sample it did not. The article is based on a primary survey of two wholesale markets in North India.     

Examining long-run relationships between Australian beef prices

Cointegration and impulse response analyses are used to investigate the short-run and long-run dynamics of the Australian beef market. The aim of this study is to determine whether long-run relationships existed between Australian beef prices at the farm, wholesale and retail levels. Based on monthly data from 1971 to 1994, the results show that all three prices considered are cointegrated. Furthermore, the wholesale price is found to be weakly exogenous. The latter result might be an indication of market inefficiency due in part to price levelling often practised in the beef marketing system.     

The role of temperature for seasonal market integration: a case study of poultry in Iran*

Understanding market integration has greatly benefited from analysing and comparing variations in price transmissions. An important source of variation in agricultural markets is seasonal changes in production, consumption and transaction costs. A key factor driving seasonality in agricultural price is temperature, as supply and demand changes are triggered by seasonal temperature differences. In this paper, we study the seasonal variations in vertical price transmission focusing on the asymmetric price adjustment to analyse changes in the market interactions between the stages of the value chain. Our data reveal significant transitory effects of temperature on the price transmission process. Results of a panel threshold model suggest that the farm–wholesale price adjustments to deviations from the market equilibrium are more symmetric at higher temperatures. However, we do not find an effect of temperature on the wholesale–retail price relationship. Our findings can be rationalised with wholesalers making use of their market power to extend their margins in the upstream chain. Wholesaler market power is lower during warm periods, and price adjustment is more symmetric. Concerning the Iranian poultry value chain, our findings imply that temperature-related differences in market interactions should be considered in formulating policy interventions.     

基于核心企业的水产品供应链管理

由于批发市场对信息链、资金链的阻断,以批发市场为核心的水产品流通体制下的水产品供应链是一条低效率的断裂链或局部短链。笔者认为,解决这一问题最有效的办法是培育核心企业,替代目前批发市场的核心地位。基于核心企业的水产品供应链管理,能以最小的成本为顾客提供最大的价值,并获得共赢的效果。     

定边县白于山区干杂果产业发展现状及思考

针对定边县白于山区发展干杂果产业现状,分析当前该县白于山区干杂果产业发展中存在的问题,提出提升定边县白于山区干杂果产业发展必须采取强化科技、资金投入力度,巩固干杂果产业基础建设;大力发展贮藏、保鲜与加工业,实现供产销一体化;设立干杂果研究机构,培育多品种干杂果满足市场需求等对策。     

跨国房地产投资的动因及其风险分析

随着经济全球化的不断深入以及新兴国家房地产业的火爆发展,房地产投资全球化发展的趋势将不可逆转。在当前国际经济一体化环境下,跨国房地产投资主要动因是扩大市场机会、追求高额收益和分散风险;总体来看,跨国房地产投资的风险:一是国家风险,二是市场风险,三是交易风险。文章指出新兴国家在保护国内房地产业和国民经济发展的宏观调控上,必须要引起足够的重视,并对新兴国家的宏观调控提出了两方面的建议。     

以基础地质为例谈如何加强地质勘查行业管理

基础地质工作问题关系到找矿理论和技术问题,在为经济建设服务的同时还肩负着解决很多基础科学问题。地质工作如果只注重经济效益而轻视社会效益,就会影响社会的和谐发展。当前我国地勘行业存在着市场运作不规范、行业准入制度不合理、行业垄断、恶性竞争等问题。应加大基础地质工作投入力度,实行公益性地质项目公开投标、资质管理社会化,建立完善的地质勘查市场运行机制,以加强地勘行业管理。     

Spatial distribution pattern and its optimization strategy of China’s overseas farmland investments

Overseas farmland investment is an “external program” contrary to the “internalization program” such as multiple planning integration and farmland protection, to solve the contradiction of food security and urbanization during the process of China’s development. Though overseas farmland investment being a new investment tide for decades, research on overseas farmland investment is still in its infancy, with limited research dimensions and insufficient depth. How to establish a scientific and reasonable selection model of the host country for China as well as other countries has become an urgent academic and practical issue to decrease the investment risks. This paper analyzes the spatial distribution of China’s overseas farmland investment with the investment samples from 2000 to 2017 and proposes its operational strategy. Here are the conclusions. (a) The obvious imbalance of the distribution of China’s overseas farmland investment. Further research from a global perspective finds that the existent distribution pattern of China is not optimal. (b)The correlation analysis result shows the trends of overseas farmland investment with political stability and benefits seeking. (c) Host countries most suitable for overseas farmland investment are concentrated in Southeast Asia and along the equator in Africa and Latin America. (d) The existent distribution pattern for China’s overseas farmland investment needs some proper adjustment. China should increase the scale of overseas farmland investment in non-traditional regions while strengthening the status of the core investment regions in Southeast Asia, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.     

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Since the economies of mature industrial societies are fairly well regulated by fiscal and monetary policies, it stands to reason that investment and wage policies, if correctly applied, can encourage growth. The assumption is that if a region is made more economically productive then all the benefits of modern society will flow into it, while it, in turn, will make an equal contribution to the national product. This assumption can be applied to regions which have not shared the rise in prosperity characteristic of the nation generally. It is argued, however, that this assumption (1) grossly underestimates the social change required of a depressed region and (2) entirely overlooks concomitant changes required in the prosperous regions and the nation generally.     

Decarbonisation and wholesale electricity market design

In recent decades, many power systems have introduced electricity generator competition. Market designs have varied with some countries adopting ‘energy‐only’ markets and others utilising capacity remuneration mechanisms. With increasing deployment of cost competitive renewable energy and the introduction of policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, concerns are emerging about the sustainability of these market designs. In Australia, wholesale electricity prices have increased markedly – the result of a ‘disorderly’ transition away from coal to new renewable energy. This paper critically examines the ‘energy‐only’ market in a high‐penetration renewables system, with a particular focus on the vertically and horizontally restructured National Electricity Market (NEM). We propose that the ‘energy‐only’ market can indeed work within a decarbonised energy system. But as renewables increasingly replace coal‐fired power stations, ‘unintended consequences’ will need to be addressed to facilitate an ‘orderly’ transition. It will be important that policy ensures appropriate new investment in firm capacity is forthcoming; and pricing outcomes are acceptable given political economy constraints.     

我国水利生态效益实证分析

根据水利生态效益的特点,运用市场价值法和人力成本法,从水土保持、水质改善、饮水安全3个方面量化水利生态效益,测算1990—2015年全国、陕西省、江苏省的水利生态效益。结果表明,虽然我国水利生态效益总体上升,但效益值仍然偏低,各地区水利生态面临的主要问题不尽相同,需进一步加强水利生态的投资和建设,因地制宜,解决各地主要生态问题。     

Price shock transmission: evidence from the wheat‐bread market value chain in Ethiopia

This study assesses the degree of vertical price transmission along the wheat‐bread value chain in Ethiopia. This is pursued by applying a vector error correction model and an impulse response analysis using monthly price data for the period 2000–2015. Our analysis considers transmission of price shocks across different market levels, including from the international and domestic wheat grain markets at the upstream to the domestic wheat bread market at the downstream of the value chain. The empirical findings indicate that significant cointegration exists across prices of the different market stages. There is a transmission from international prices to domestic prices at downstream markets, in particular to flour and bread prices. Prices at upstream markets are largely influenced by the domestic wholesale market. In general, the speed of adjustment is quite slow with a half‐life of about one year for restoring the equilibrium price relationship. As price margins between the different market stages in the value chain have substantially decreased in the last 15 years, higher transmission, and thus exposure to international market shocks, can be expected in the future. The results also show that causal relationships exist between prices at different market stages—with the wholesale market identified as the key market level where prices and price expectations are formed.