中国大米进口波动成因分析：基于1992～2012年的数据

大米对中国粮食安全举足轻重,由于主张“坚持立足于基本靠国内保障粮食供给”,中国必须关注大米进口波动状况。基于1992～2012年的数据,本文利用CMS模型对中国大米进口波动成因分析的结果表明,由国内开放政策、人均收入、人均大米消费量和大米价格等宏观经济因素所决定的进口引力效应对中国大米进口波动所产生影响最大。与此同时。世界大米贸易的总体供求水平以及市场分布变化对中国大米进口波动也产生一定程度的影响。     

Import sensitive products and perverse tariff‐rate quota liberalization

Abstract This paper shows that a Tariff‐Rate‐Quota's (TRQ) minimum access expansion can perversely trigger domestic price increases. Often, TRQs have prohibitive over‐quota tariffs to mimic import quotas in providing minimum market access. In the WTO's Doha Round, it is likely that countries using TRQs will avoid aggressive tariff reductions if they increase the quota portion of TRQs. We show that when the import price lies between the unit cost of production and the price received by domestic upstream firms, an increase in import quota as a share of domestic production may cause an increase in the domestic retail price.     

The impacts of trade and self‐sufficiency policies on heterogeneous rice farms in Malaysia

This paper develops a farm household model of heterogeneous Malaysian rice farmers. The model determines the domestic price of milled rice in equilibrium. The model is simulated to analyze the effects of free trade, self‐sufficiency achieved through trade policy, and the impact of free trade and self‐sufficiency when rice productivity expands. The ex ante results for free trade predict that total rice supply rises as the increase in imports offsets the decrease in domestic production, causing the domestic price of milled rice to fall by 15.8 percent. While this price decrease generates negative income effects for rice farmers, it leads to an expansion of consumption of milled rice by both the farm and urban populations. The results for self‐sufficiency through heightened tariffs predict that production for domestic rice farmers increases. However, with fewer imports, total rice supply falls, causing the domestic price of rice to increase by 41.5 percent. Because free trade is politically unfeasible and trade‐driven self‐sufficiency policies contract total rice consumption, boosting rice production through research and development is an effective way for Malaysia to increase the total supply of rice while limiting its dependence on imports.     

Does asymmetry in price transmission exist in the rice market in Sri Lanka?

This study analyses asymmetry in price transmission between wholesale and retail rice markets in Sri Lanka, using the threshold autoregressive model. We found that the wholesale and the retail rice markets in Sri Lanka are integrated, with price changes moving from the wholesale to the retail market. However, the price transmission process is asymmetric. In particular, price increases at the wholesale market transmit immediately to the retail market while price decreases transmit more slowly. Parameter stability test and follow-up analysis indicated that the price transmission process is asymmetric only during periods of price surges, suggesting that the rice market is not efficient during these periods.     

同种商品中外价格差的形成原因及应对策略

中国用最低的成本为世界制造高端产品,而中国人在购买这些商品时却享受不到低廉的价格,而是用最高的价格购买自己生产的产品,这一话题,引起人们的关注。此种情况已经给我国经济造成了较大影响,分析出现这种情况的原因,一是由从生产者到消费者手中的流通环节产生的,二是由于我国消费者不成熟的消费观念所导致的,三是国内缺乏竞争对手,进口商品的垄断所形成的。当前我国应通过努力降低流通环节成本,注重国内产品的品牌培育,增加日用消费品的进口等方面着手改变中外同种商品差价过大这一现象。     

The macroeconomic and food security implications of price interventions in the Philippine rice market

The Philippine government has a number of policy interventions in the domestic rice market aimed at promoting national food security. This paper examines the economy-wide and food security implications of three of the main policies: a ceiling on prices paid by rice consumers; a floor on prices received by paddy producers; and a subsidy on prices paid for seeds by paddy farmers. These programmes have been subject to domestic criticism on allocative efficiency and distributional grounds. We examine the effects of removing the programmes using an economy-wide model with detailed treatment of agricultural activity, land use, and food security measures. We find that the programmes make a small contribution to food security, for a modest budgetary outlay. The allocative efficiency gains available from ending the programmes are small, and may be outweighed by the potential for adverse short-run macroeconomic consequences.     

Market power in distribution and pass‐through for consumers and producers

We examine the differential pass‐through of import prices into consumer and producer prices. We develop a framework with distribution costs and distribution market power. We then examine pass‐through from import prices to consumer and producer prices in the euro area using the U.S. import price as instrument. We find that pass‐through rates to producer prices are more sensitive to changes in distribution margins than pass‐through to consumer prices. Furthermore, only a portion of import price changes translate into domestic price changes limiting potential consumer benefits from tariff liberalization, with market power in distribution services being one important factor reducing pass‐through.     

Pricing to Firm: an Analysis of Firm‐ and Product‐level Import Prices*

We use Hungarian Customs data on product‐level imports of manufacturing firms to document that the import price of a particular product varies substantially across buying firms. We relate the level of import prices to firm characteristics such as size, foreign ownership, and market power. We develop a theory of “pricing to firm” (PTF), where markups depend on the technology and competitive environment of the buyer. The predictions of the model are confirmed by the data: import prices are higher for firms with greater market power, and for more essential intermediate inputs (with a high share in material costs). We take account of the endogeneity of the buyer’s market power with respect to higher import prices and unobserved cost heterogeneity within product categories. The magnitude of PTF is big: the standard deviation of price predicted by PTF is 21.5%.     

Price hike of staple food,nutritional impact and consumption adjustment: evidence from the 2005–2010 rice price increase in rural Bangladesh

This paper studies the nutritional impact of the rice price increase between 2005 and 2010 on households in rural Bangladesh and their resulting adjustment in consumption of rice, non-rice food and non-food items. We compare net rice buyers, who suffer from a negative income effect, with self-sufficient households that do not suffer from any such effect. Our findings indicate that rural households in Bangladesh cope well with the surge in the domestic rice price as indicated by the absence of any effect on their calorie intake and dietary diversity. In fact, both types of households similarly change their consumption of rice, non-rice grain, pulses, protein, fruits and other items. Furthermore, we do not find any evidence of buyers’ switching towards low-quality items in a food group. In a separate analysis, we compare net rice sellers with self-sufficient households and arrive at a similar conclusion. In both cases, income plays a crucial role in the consumption of non-rice food and non-food items, indicating the importance of effective income support programs at the time of price shocks in staple food items.     

WELFARE COST OF AN OIL IMPORT FEE

This paper examines the impacts on the US. oil market of a $5-per-barrel tariff on imported crude oil. The analysis shows that the United States currently is a price taker in the world oil market. This means that "optimal tariff" arguments for an oil import fee have no validity. The author also argues that any economic losses that oil supply disruptions generate are better addressed with alternative policy tools. To forecast the effects of the tariff on US. production, the author uses a domestic oil supply model that she developed elsewhere. She calculates the resulting gains in producer surplus and then combines them with an estimate of consumer surplus losses and government revenues so as to yield an estimate of the tariff's welfare cost. This welfare cost amounts to approximately $17 billion (in present-value terms) over the 1988–1998 period.     

European Integration and Production in the French Economy

Effects of greater European integration on the French economy are explored with an aggregate cost function. Input direct price elasticities are inelastic, but greatest (absolute value) for capital and lowest for imports. Cross-price elasticities suggest inputs are substitutes and are higher for domestic inputs than domestic input and imports pairs. As trade restrictions fall, effects on domestic input demand may increase as substitution elasticities rise. Inverse output supply price elasticities indicate domestic input prices are relatively important factors affecting consumption goods prices and import prices more important for investment goods. Thus, import price decreases may stimulate investment and growth. (JEL F14 , O10 , O12 )     

Market structures in small open economies: Evidence from Denmark

This paper provides some stylized facts about market structure in Denmark, a country exhibiting high rates of exports and imports as is common in small developed economies. Utilizing disaggregated data at the firm-product level for manufacturing industries, we highlight the widespread presence of industries that are neither purely oligopolistic or monopolistically competitive; rather, they contain a few domestic leaders with numerous firms having insignificant domestic market shares. We also document that, relative to the latter type of firms, leaders have greater labor productivity, are more capital intensive, and pay higher wages; additionally, they are more likely to export and import, although they exhibit a greater domestic intensity relative to exporters with negligible domestic market shares. Finally, through a model of leaders and followers, we investigate how leaders can benefit from acting strategically against small firms and quantify its potential impact on industry outcomes through a numerical exercise.     

A research on China’s long-term rice prices (1644–2000)

Drawing on the research achievements on rice prices made in the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and New China, this paper arranges, estimates and observes the statistical data on rice prices in the country over the past three-and-a-half centuries. This paper includes the following four aspects: first of all, it assembles and reorganizes the original data of rice market prices marked in various forms of money in different historical periods since the Qing Dynasty; then it converts the original data of rice prices into the nominal rice price index by making use of the numerical exchange relations between different currencies developed in the past revolution and evolution of monetary systems; and then it converts the nominal rice price into real rice price data in conjunction with the arrangement and estimation results of the general price index; and finally, it makes a brief observation of and comment on some features of long-term changes of real rice prices. __________ Translated from China Economic Quarterly (经济学季刊), 2005, (9) (in Chinese)     

Supply Disruptions and Regional Price Effects in a Spatial Oligopoly—An Application to the Global Gas Market

Supply shocks in the global gas market may affect countries differently, as the market is regionally interlinked but not perfectly integrated. Additionally, high supply‐side concentration may expose countries to market power in different ways. To evaluate the strategic position of importing countries with regard to gas supplies, we disentangle the import price into different components and characterize each component as price increasing or price decreasing. Because of the complexity of the interrelations in the global gas market, we use an equilibrium model programmed as a mixed complementarity problem (MCP) and simulate the blockage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows through the Strait of Hormuz. This enables us to account for the oligopolistic nature and the asymmetry of the gas supply. We find that Japan faces the most severe price increases, as the Japanese gas demand completely relies on LNG supply. In contrast, European countries such as the UK benefit from good interconnection to the continental pipeline system and domestic price taking production, both of which help to mitigate an increase in physical costs of supply as well as in the exercise of market power.     

Exchange rate pass-through in Canadian manufacturing: its direct and indirect components

Changes in the exchange rate have direct and indirect effects on the prices of domestically produced goods and imports in the domestic market. The direct effects originate with the impact of the exchange rate on the marginal cost of imports; the indirect effects, with its impact on the price of materials used by domestic producers and hence on their marginal costs. Direct and indirect exchange rate pass-through elasticities are estimated for 37 Canadian manufacturing industries and their determinants are examined in a cross-section analysis. It is found that the direct and indirect elasticities are approximately equal in size for domestic goods, while the direct effect is dominant for imports. For a small number of industries, the net result of the direct and indirect effects is that a depreciation of the domestic currency increases the competitiveness of imports, contrary to conventional analysis. Important determinants of the direct (indirect) elasticities are the import share and non-tariff barriers (the responsiveness of domestic costs to changes in the exchange rate, and concentration).     

THE DEMAND FOR CIGARETTES IN TAIWAN: DOMESTIC VERSUS IMPORTED CIGARETTES

This paper uses annual time series data from Taiwan to empirically estimate the demand for cigarettes, in consideration of the import liberation of foreign cigarettes and of antismoking campaigns. The results indicate that the price elasticities for domestic and imported cigarettes are -0.6 and-1.1, respectively. The cross-price elasticities are 0.08 for domestic and 2.78 for imported cigarettes. The spread of cigarette health information has had a significantly negative effect on cigarette consumption. In addition, this study offers mild support to the argument that opening the market to imported cigarettes has resulted in significant increases in overall cigarette consumption. (JEL D12, 118)     

Inflation dynamics in open economies: Empirical evidence for G7 countries on the role of import prices and the cost channel

The supply side effects of both the nominal interest rate (i.e., the cost channel) and import prices on inflation are very important for the design of monetary policy. However, the empirical identification of the cost channel (traditionally associated with the advance payment of wages) has ignored import prices. We start by deducting a New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC) which shows that ignoring import prices in the estimation of the cost channel may lead to incorrect results. Taking this into account, we study the empirical relevance of the cost channel and import prices using the NKPC for the G7 countries. We test whether the estimation of the cost channel is affected when the price of imported inputs is considered; if it is relevant to extend the cost channel given that imports of final consumption goods are also paid in advance; if imports should be treated as inputs and/or consumption goods, and if there is an immediate or slow exchange rate pass-through. Empirical results indicate that the cost channel is present in imported consumption goods in particular, and import prices play an important role in explaining inflation dynamics.     

中国进出口价格弹性研究

本文通过建立中国进出口弹性模型和行业计量经济模型,测算和研究了中国进出口弹性问题.主要研究结论是:第一,中国中长期出口价格弹性和进口价格弹性分别为-0.8579和-1.0774;第二,中国大部分行业的出口价格弹性小于1,特别是农业、石油及天然气开采业、纺织业、化学工业、仪器仪表及文化办公用机械制造业以及社会服务业价格弹性绝对值都在0.5左右.适当提高价格对增加这些部门的收入是有利的;第三,中国大部分行业进口需求价格弹性小于或接近于1;石油及天然气开采业的进口价格需求弹性为异常值,为 1.3148,说明:对于原油这样的战略性物资应该反市场操作,中东出现安全时价低时吃进以为战略储备,而出现危机时抛出以平抑国内原油市场价格的加速上扬.     

Market collusion and the politics of protection

This paper investigates the relationship between trade and competition policy within a model where market collusion and protectionist lobbying are themselves related. Collusion and lobbying are modeled as joint products of the same collective effort of firms. In equilibrium, firms cannot achieve greater cooperation in one dimension without reducing it in the other. A trade agreement that limits the effectiveness of lobbying may cause firms to increase market collusion, thereby increasing the domestic price. Thus, international trade agreements may run counter to the goals of competition policy. On the other side, a more restrictive competition policy is shown to either reduce the domestic price or reduce import protection. Thus, competition policy tends to promote trade policy goals. The reason is that restrictive competition policy undermines collusion at the source—it decreases the per-firm benefit to collusion relative to the gains from deviating—reducing firm cooperation in both dimensions.     

粮食涨价引发的思考

2003年10月份以来,中国粮食及大宗农产品价格出现6年来的首次明显上扬。涨价反映出中国粮食产量满足不了国内需求。本文对其中的主要原因进行了分析,结合中国今后人口增多对粮食需求量增大、粮食播种面积减少、农户种粮比较效益低种田积极性不高、库存粮食减少、进口粮食补充又有限的背景,从目前和长远角度分析了中国粮食安全面临的严峻形势,并提出了确保粮食安全的对策建议。