Winners and losers from food industry policy: An application to Danish food industry firms

Policy impacts on food industry firms are investigated. A new approach is presented for the analysis of food industry policies that focuses on food industry firms. Data from a survey of Danish firms in 2003-2004 are used to define and construct tables of winners and losers from 30 regulatory areas. Two forms of statistical test are employed in a grid-search to identify association between regulatory areas, types of firms, and patterns of winning and losing. Results indicate that the type of firm, rather than the policy instrument, determines patterns of winning and losing. Upstream and downstream ownership of assets by food industry firms, and their trade orientation, are shown to be the most important variables. For several policy areas the pattern of winning and losing is found not to be associated with any specific firm types, which indicates that their impact is neutral across all types of firms studied. Firm size was found to be poorly associated with firms' capacity to win and lose from several policies involving high-investment compliance.     

基于信息生态理论的农业产业链优化路径研究

[目的]当农业信息生态处于失衡状态时,农业产业的价值增值效率就会受损,文章应用信息生态理论研究农业产业链的延伸、整合与提升,由此探索现代农业产业链的优化路径,以期更好地促进我国农业的现代化、信息化和产业的可持续发展。[方法]该文以点、线、面的逻辑递进思路,从信息生态位视角研究了农业产业链中信息的功能生态位、资源生态位和时空生态位;从信息生态链视角分析了农业产业链中信息流转映射出的物和资金的运转问题;从信息生态系统视角剖析了农业产业链中信息资源、信息主体和信息环境3个系统构成要素的相互关系。[结果](1)农业产业链的横向与纵向延伸是实现其优化的基本路径,合理布局和增加其中的信息生态位,可有效提升产业链的优化效率;(2)农业产业链中各环节的有机整合是提升其价值增值的关键举措,而基于信息生态链监控下的人、财、物等资源的合理配置和有效协同则成为必然选择;(3)实现农业产业链整体素质的提升是其优化的终极目标,从信息生态系统的高度统筹规划产业链发展是农业信息化和现代化的现实需求。[结论]对柑橘产业链的实证研究表明,国家现代农业产业技术体系的发展为运用信息生态理论优化农业产业链提供了良好的契机,构建相应的产业信息生态系统理论框架对提升产业竞争协作力和可持续发展能力意义重大,无论在宏观政策制订和微观产业指导中都应予以足够重视。     

Corruption in agricultural processing firms: A comparison of cooperatives and investor-owned firms

This paper examines managerial corruption in cooperatives (co-ops) and investor-owned firms (IOFs), including its impact on prices and farmer welfare. Even when co-op managers have greater incentives to engage in corruption because of the co-op's larger production, the resulting corruption is not sufficient to offset the competitive effect that co-ops exert vis-à-vis IOFs. This conclusion holds regardless of the functional form of the production function, the farm input supply curve, and the demand curve for the processed product. In addition to showing the robustness of the competition effect, the paper provides a highly flexible modeling framework that can be used to examine other co-op behavior questions.     

Issues Affecting the U.S. Poultry Industry and International Poultry Trade

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine issues and concerns that may affect the future direction of the U.S. poultry industry and international poultry trade. Given the economic contribution of the poultry industry, it is important to have some understanding about the future direction of the industry, both at the national and international levels. To generate the information required, this study surveyed the top poultry producers in the country as well as specialists and experts in the industry. Although both the producers and specialists believe that the industry has a bright future, they also think that the rapid production growth experienced by the poultry industry in the past two decades cannot be sustained. Growth restrictions in the industry will come from a variety of sources such as environmental waste management, food safety, labor shortages, animal welfare, and increased foreign competition.     

The nature of the research-induced supply shift

Differences among firms in a competitive industry can affect the shape of the industry supply curve. It is necessary to know how both production costs and rents are affected by research. Industry response to research will be different depending upon whether entry occurs. If the effect of entry is ignored, then the price decline from research will be overstated. Industry marginal returns can be positive with purely yield-increasing research, even when industry demand is inelastic. Standard formulas for calculating producer surplus based on linear industry supply and demand curves are strictly valid only if the analysis is restricted to short-run equilibrium behaviour.     

政府在家具产业竞争力培育过程中作用的思考—以广东乐从家具产业为例

运用钻石模型对影响乐从家具产业竞争力形成的生产要素、需求条件、相关与支持性产业、企业的经营战略、结构与竞争方式、机会和政府6个影响因素进行分析,并分别讨论了政府对模型中各因素的干预和影响,指出了政府在乐从家具产业的竞争力形成过程中发挥的巨大作用,并对钻石模型的这种特殊运行机制以及产业未来发展方向进行了探讨。     

Cost-effective nitrogen leaching reduction as influenced by linkages between farm-level decisions

This article focuses on how the linkages between various farm‐level decisions affect the choice of measures to reduce nitrogen leaching from crop production. A mathematical programming model is developed. The model considers not only management decisions that affect nitrogen leaching directly, but also other decision variables such as scheduling of field operations and machinery investments. A simplified analysis that ignores the latter management decisions, and the linkages between the various decisions, may result in abatement policies that are not cost‐effective because the policies will have other effects than expected. As an example, the empirical results show that subsidies to catch crops and spring ploughing may contribute to increased nitrogen load, quite contrary to the purpose of these subsidies. Further, it is noted that the characteristics of the production system make it costly to change land use, tillage practices, or fertilizer use drastically. Instead, cost‐effective nitrogen abatement includes a mix of various adjustments of farm‐level production practices. The EU set‐aside payment appears to reduce abatement costs.     

Innovation in Agro-Foods: A Comparative Analysis of Value Chains

ABSTRACT

The innovative activity of firms has been linked to the introduction of a new product or process associated with the development or application of new technological knowledge. New products generally contain innovative techniques that increase the quality of goods. New processes are based on the use of new technologies to increase the efficiency of production. However, the exclusive link between technology and innovation has been criticized for various reasons. It provides a restrictive vision considering innovation as part of the manufacturing and services sectors. Innovation in firms affects not only the development and application of new technologies but also the adoption and the reorganization of business processes, internal organization, external relations, and marketing. The literature in the field of management emphasizes the importance of integrating product, process, and organization to translate new ideas into market success. Thus, to obtain a complete picture of the innovative efforts of firms in the agro-food industry, the concept of innovation has been extended to both technological and nontechnological innovations. This analysis provided evidence of innovations used by agro-food firms. It also identified latent demand for future innovation.     

Marketing Specialty Hogs: A Comparative Analysis of Two Firms from Iowa

We study business organization and coordination of specialty-market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa firms marketing niche pork. We analyze each firm's management of five key organizational challenges: planning and logistics, quality assurance, process verification and management of "credence attributes," business structure, and profit sharing. Although each firm is engaged in essentially the same activity, there are substantial differences across the two firms in the way production and marketing are coordinated. These differences are partly explained by the relative size and age of each firm, but also by the formal organizational separation between marketing and production activities in one of the firms.     

The agrifood cooperative netchain. A theoretical framework to study its configuration

This paper proposes a research framework of the design and configuration of agrifood chains where the focal firm is a second-tier cooperative (group of affiliated cooperatives) in order to assess the alignment of (relational) governance structures and coordination mechanisms in these chains with supply chain management (SCM) principles. The theoretical framework draws on the Relational View of inter-organizational competitive advantage and the Theory of Networks given that inter-cooperative vertical relationships are embedded in horizontal ties between firms (first-tier cooperatives) of social rather economic nature. The conceptual framework developed herein will help theory building in SCM, but most importantly, it will advance current knowledge on the scope of SCM in the agrifood cooperative sector.     

Export Barriers in the Western Australian Horticulture Industry

This study was designed to identify perceived barriers to exports specific to Australian horticulture industry and the relative impact of these barriers on firms' export decisions. Specifically the study attempted to examine the differences, if any, in perceived export barriers by non-exporting and exporting firms. The analysis suggested seven major export barrier factors/variables. These barriers are somewhat different to barriers identified in recent studies suggesting that export barriers may be industry and country specific. The perceived seriousness of some of the barriers was significantly different for non-exporters and exporters. A discriminant analysis suggested, however, that it was not possible to predict whether a firm will be an exporter or not based on their perceptions of export barriers. The implications of the findings for the management of Australian horticulture exports are discussed.     

基于主成分分析法的广东省制造业竞争力研究

通过选取相关指标,利用主成分分析法分析了广东省28个制造业的竞争力状况,发现广东具有竞争优势的产业主要以医药化学工业、仪器仪表、电子信息产业、电气机械及器材制造业等资本、技术密集型产业为主;竞争力比较弱的产业主要是一些资源依赖性产业,比如黑色金属、有色金属等产业;重点扶持的汽车业、造船业和造纸业现阶段竞争力并不强,需要促进其竞争力提高。     

How to define and study farmers' management capacity: theory and use in agricultural economics

Textbooks and articles on farm management stress the importance of the management capacity of the farmer with respect to his farm results. However, explicit definitions together with an elaboration of this concept are hard to find. In this article, aspects of management capacity are grouped into: (1) personal aspects, consisting of fanner's drives and motivations, fanner's abilities and capabilities and his biographical facts such as age and education; and (2) aspects of the decision-making process, consisting of practices and procedures with respect to planning, implementation and control of decisions at the farm. Empirical studies on the role of management capacity in relation to farm results are reviewed. Frontier production functions are widely used in recent literature to estimate technical and economic efficiency of farms. However, in explaining differences in efficiency most studies do not go further than adding a biographical variabk (e.g., level of education). This study concludes that a next step would be to include aspects of the decision-making process. Longitudinal on-farm observations, which give possibilities for studying the dynamic aspects of the decision-making, are suggested to further analyze the concept of management capacity.     

现金流视角下中国房地产行业偿债能力分析——以136家上市公司为例

偿债能力作为房地产行业平稳发展的关键,其管理至关重要。本文在现有现金流偿债指标的基础上,构建偿债能力综合分析框架,并选取沪深A股136家房地产上市企业为样本,分析我国房地产行业的偿债能力现状。研究发现,偿债能力短期波动较大,长期后继无力,资产创造经营性现金流的能力总体偏低。     

基于生态文化的安吉竹产业战略协同发展路径研究

对安吉竹产业的概况与存在的问题进行分析发现:利润空间压缩,企业资金紧张,缺乏信心,发展后劲不足,管理服务缺失,生产积极性受挫,竹凉席甲醛超标,存在质量安全隐患等问题。因此建议:加大生态竹产品开发,围绕竹产业升级,逐步建立以龙头企业为中心的技术创新体系,向精深加工、全竹利用、高附加值路径发展;加强建立健全更加完善的生态文化制度体系;推动竹文化与竹产业的互融共进,积极培育集群内企业的生态文化意识。     

Profitability of incremental generic promotion of Australian dairy products

The motivation for this study rests on two factors. First, Australian dairy farmers spend around $20 million annually on generic promotion and estimates of the returns from this expenditure are required to facilitate efficient investment decisions. Second, while the Australian dairy industry has been highly regulated, there has been a substantial reduction in assistance over the past decade and farm‐gate milk prices were deregulated on 1 July 2000. The profit potential of promotion may vary with the degree of regulation, so past estimates of the returns from promotion may not hold in the competitive environment of the future. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of government intervention on the profitability for dairy farmers of incremental changes in generic dairy promotion expenditure using a perfectly competitive market as a reference point. Competitive market price and quantity outcomes for the Australian dairy industry are estimated. The impacts of increments in dairy product and competing product generic promotion expenditures on dairy farmers’ profits are assessed using equilibrium displacement modelling. Finally, graphical procedures are used to examine the effects of dairy industry regulation on the profitability of dairy promotion.     

国有林区林业产业演化中生态位构建机制研究

介绍了生态位构建的生态系统控制和进化协同性观点,阐释了林业产业生态系统、生态元、林业产业生态位和林业产业生态位构建的内涵,提出了东北国有林区林业产业生态系统的基本结构,分析了林业产业演化中的自然选择和生态位构建协同效应,并剖析了东北国有林区传统林业产业演化的负生态位构建机制和现代林业产业演化的正生态位构建机制。     

Technological Innovation Drivers in Rural Small Food Industries in Iran

The first step in devising the best incentives to support innovation is to investigate factors that affect the development of innovations. This article contributes to exploring such factors in small food industries in the rural areas of Tehran province, Iran. Using a census sampling method, 111 managers of 60 active firms were interviewed. The results showed that in general the level of technological innovation is low in the studied firms. The managers do not find the technological changes successful in bringing benefit to their firms. Even though correlation analysis indicated a complex association matrix between independent variables, only the firm's capacity of production was associated with technological innovation as a dependent variable. Furthermore, the regression analysis revealed that factors which influence technological innovation are the firm's age, formal research and development, fixed capital, and capacity of production. The results of this study were used to derive practical suggestions for managers and policymakers to increase technological innovation in the studied industry.     

用新的思维理念构筑地勘产业的新格局

文章指出了当前地勘产业存在的诸如产业布局分散、规模小、科技含量低等问题 ,提出要用新的思维理念提升地勘产业水平 ,要调大调强现有地勘产业和开辟构筑新产业 ,提高地勘产业的科技含量 ,大力发展第三产业。为保证地勘产业水平的提升 ,文章提出了建立新的决策机制 ,建立以局为单元的产业宏观运行机制和建立严格的产业微观管理机制等项措施。