The Potential Impacts of State Trading Enterprises on World Markets: The Exporting Country Case

Export state trading enterprises (STEs) play an important role in global agricultural trade. STE behavior has significant implications for world food markets, irrespective of whether or not these markets are inherently competitive. Previous literature has suggested that STEs have market power and can earn oligopolistic rents. We find there is no compelling empirical evidence to support this argument. However, we show the cross-commodity effects of export STEs can disrupt competitive world markets, through offering an implicit export subsidy to a downstream industry.     

State Trading Enterprises in a Differentiated Product Environment: The Case of Global Malting Barley Markets

This study tested if the exclusive procuring and pricing policies of two state trading enterprises (STEs) in international malting barley markets could be used in a strategic trade context. The research provided four key findings. First, the global malting barley market operated in a quantity-setting oligopolistic structure during the study years. Second, both STEs and other exporting countries were in Cournot competition and thus made available strategic trade possibilities. Third, initial commodity payments were too high to generate a rent-shifting outcome. Fourth, product differentiation was confirmed, which may have dampened the desire/ability of STEs to pursue a rent-shifting objective.     

State Trading Enterprises: Some Legal and Conceptual Issues

State trading may become an important issue in the current WTO negotiations on agricultural trade as witnessed by some of the recent proposals for negotiating agendas. On the premise that state trading enterprises can hinder market access in importing countries and can affect export competition, it has been proposed that state trading enterprises should be pan of the negotiations. We consider the current status of state trading enterprises in the GATT framework and summarize the list of concerns relating to the effects which they may have on agricultural trade. Drawing on some recent research, we show that state trading enterprises are likely to influence market access and export competition under trade liberalization when measured relative to a benchmark of imperfect competition.     

Wheat-Importing State Trading Enterprises: Impacts on the World Wheat Market

State trading emerged as one of the more contentious issues at the end of the Uruguay Round of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and US. officials have said that state-trading is an important issue for further negotiation in the mini-round on agriculture scheduled to begin in 1999. The prevalence of state trading by wheat-importing countries is examined, and reasons for reform are explored. This paper investigates two hypotheses: *whether operation of a state trading enterprise is associated with a higher level of protection than with private traders and *whether decisions made by state traders regarding the source of wheat is made on a noncommercial basis. The effective level of protection, net import demand equations and a simple Armington model for U.S. and Canadian wheat exports are estimated to investigate these hypotheses. Behavior is compared across countries who differ in their institutional arrangements for importing wheat. It is also compared over time within countries who have reformed their state trading enterprise to assess whether reform leads to different market behavior. L'intervention directe de 1'État dans les échanges commerciaux extérieurs s'est imposée comme une les questions des plus controversées au terme de l' Uruguay Round des négociations du GATT, et des hauts responsables américains ont laissé entendre qu'il faudra s'y attaquer dans la mini-ronde de négociations sur l ‘agriculture qui doivent commencer en 1999. Nous examinons Vimportance du rôle de I'État chez les pays importateors de blé en explorant les raisons justifiant une réforme. Dewr hypothèses sont considérées: *le fonctionnement de l'agence d'État est liéà un niveau de protection plus élevé qu'il ne l'est avec des interlocuteurs privés et *les décisions prises par l'agence d'État au sujet de la source d'approvisionnement de blé s'ap-puient sur des raisons non commerciales. Pour scruter ces hypothèses, nous calculons le niveau effectif de protection, les équations de demande à l'importation nette et un modèle Armington simple des exportations de bléétats-uniennes et canadiennes. Nous comparons le comportement de pays différant par leurs structures offcielles d'importation du blé. Nous étudions aussi son évolution dans le temps chez les pays qui ont réformé leur agence centrale de commerce extérieur, afin de voir si ces réformes ont conduit à un comportement d'affaires différent.     

政府补贴对造纸企业出口的影响效应评估

基于造纸企业1998—2013年的非平衡面板数据构建动态面板模型,采用一般矩估计方法(GMM)克服内生性问题,明确政府补贴与造纸企业出口的因果关系,检验政府补贴对造纸企业出口扩张的影响效应,结果显示:当期的补贴收入对受补贴造纸企业出口未产生显著影响,而滞后一期的补贴收入对造纸企业当期出口具有显著的促进作用,该滞后效应出现在间断性出口企业中,但未在持续出口企业中出现,在一定程度上反映出政府补贴能激励造纸企业进入国际市场,但不是持续出口企业出口规模扩张的关键要素;滞后一期的补贴收入对纸浆及造纸企业的出口具有促进作用,但对纸及纸制品企业的出口无显著影响。     

The Rate of Return to Agricultural Research in a Small Country: The Case of Beef Cattle Research in Canada

The net economic benefits of Canadian federal beef cattle research programs were estimated using the economic surplus approach. The internal rate of return to research expenditure from 1968 to 1984 was found to be 63% at the margin, indicating substantia] underinvestment in technological change. Rates of return indicative of underinvestment were found even when an adjustment was made to research costs to reflect the marginal excess burden of taxation. Most of the benefits of beef cattle research conducted during this time period accrued to Canadian beef producers. Les bénéfices économiques nets des programmes de recherche fédéraux Canadiens sur le boeuf sont estimés en utilisant ?approche du surplus économique. Le taux interne de rendement des défenses de recherche effectuées de 1968 à 1984 est établi à 63%, indiquant un sous-investissement substantiel dans le changement technologique. Même en incluant la perte de bien-être due à ?imposition ?une taxe, ?étude montre un sous-investissement dans la recherche. La plupart des bénéfices de la recherche sur le boeuf effectuée durant cette période ont profité aux producteurs agricoles.     

企业道德及其要素的实证分析:以农村中小企业为例

通过对浙江省17家有代表性农村中小企业的70名人员(经营者、中层管理者、普通员工)的专题访谈,对目前中小企业对企业道德及其要素的认知状况进行了深入调查与分析。研究表明总体上中小企业对企业道德的认知程度不高。对访谈内容进行编码分析显示,中小企业道德作为企业处理组织内外各种关系时的道德表现可分解为企业与员工、企业与消费者、企业与竞争对手、企业与政府及公众、企业与金融机构以及企业与自然环境等6大类要素及其14个具体类别。     

Competition in Canada's Agricultural Value Chains: The Case of Grain

To open this address, I would like to advocate for membership in the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES). The fact that applied economics offers theory and methods that help us address topics as diverse as the Canadian grain value chain and the economics of species at risk speaks well for the future of our discipline. There is a vast array of work for us to do. Membership in the CAES offers an excellent link to the most up‐to‐date research in this area through our journal and conferences. Every society I attend inspires me to examine my own research and look at problems in new ways using new tools I learned from presentations made by the members of CAES. The main message of my address is to promote the application of Game Theory strategies as a way to understand behavior in the grain value chain. These tools are already being applied in areas as different as optimizing tradable systems of environmental goods and assessing competitive behavior in beef packing. Tout d'abord, je tiens à mentionner que j'appuie l'adhésion à la Société canadienne d'agroéconomie (SCAE). Le fait que l’économie appliquée offre la théorie et les méthodes qui nous aident à examiner des sujets aussi variés que la chaîne de valeur des grains du Canada et l’économie des espèces en péril augure bien pour l'avenir de notre discipline. La diversité du travail à accomplir est immense. Être membre de la SCAE procure un lien privilégié à la recherche de pointe grâce à notre Revue et à nos conférences. Aujourd'hui, mon message vise principalement à promouvoir l'application des stratégies de la théorie des jeux pour comprendre le comportement au sein de la chaîne de valeur des grains. Certains domaines, tels que l'optimisation des systèmes d’échange des biens environnementaux et l’évaluation du comportement concurrentiel dans le secteur du conditionnement du b?uf, utilisent déjà ces outils. La panoplie d'outils à notre disposition est mise en valeur dans notre Revue et lors de nos congrès. Tous les congrès auxquels j'assiste me motivent à examiner ma propre recherche et à analyser les problèmes sous un angle différent grâce aux nouveaux outils mis au point et présentés par les membres de la SCAE.     

Estimating the Extent of Imperfect Competition in the Food Industry: What Have We Learned?

Since the late‐1980s, empirical analysis has typically analysed the extent of market power in the food industry using structural econometric models drawing on an approach commonly termed the new empirical industrial organisation (NEIO). In this paper, we examine what has been learned from the use of this methodology, and consider whether it has relevance for empirical analysis of market power in food retailing, and the nature of vertical contractual arrangements between food manufacturers and retailers.     

Melitz Meets Milk: The Impact of Quota Abolition on EU Dairy Export Competitiveness

Previous studies of EU milk quota abolition usually assume perfect competition (PC) in the dairy industry, despite evidence to the contrary. We use a global computable general equilibrium framework with an imperfectly competitive (IC) model variant, which offers insights into structural change (i.e. scale of output, firm entry/exit) and varietal diversity in the dairy industry. A heterogeneous‐firm Melitz extension enriches our analysis by endogenising the decision‐making process of domestic firms when exporting (or not) to specific foreign markets. The results from a PC CGE model variant are found to be consistent with respected market outlooks and official data. Furthermore, PC and IC variants generate broadly similar trends – a result corroborated in a previous study of Italian dairy firms. Our IC model prediction of a ‘shakeout’ among EU dairy firms is tentatively supported by actual observations. Finally, as an industry characterised by significant product innovation, increased extra‐EU export orientation by remaining dairy firms increases varietal choice, which further boosts EU dairy exports compared with the PC model variant.     

中国木制家具出口贸易影响因素的实证分析

近些年来,中国的木制家具出口贸易发展迅猛,与此同时,诸多问题也开始逐渐显现。在此背景下,先对中国木制家具出口贸易的整体情况进行了描述,进而通过逐步回归的方法,对可能影响中国木制家具出口的六个指标进行了实证分析,结果发现:汇率、人均GDP、劳动力成本三个指标影响较为显著。针对木制家具出口影响因素所面临的问题,提出了几点建议。     

The Potential Impact of Tobacco Biopharming: The Case of Human Serum Albumin

Biopharming stands to significantly expand the uses of many agricultural crops. This article examines the potential size and distribution of welfare gains from biopharming transgenic tobacco as a source of human serum albumin (HSA) using an economic surplus model under imperfect competition. The results suggest that HSA from transgenic tobacco will generate annual profits for the innovating firm of between $25 million and $49 million. On the other hand, consumers are unlikely to benefit during the patent life of the product given the innovator's market power.     

Ex Ante Impact Assessment under Imperfect Information: Biotechnology in New Member States of the EU

Some argue that the lack of modern agricultural development in the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe has made cutting‐edge biotechnology attractive. However, enthusiasm for planting genetically modified (GM) crops varies greatly in the enlarged European Union (EU) and especially among the New Member States (NMS); the Czech GM maize area is progressively growing whereas Hungary imposed a de facto ban on GM crops. Remarkably, the Hungarian ban was not supported by any cost–benefit assessment. In the literature, ex ante impact assessments of monopolistically priced technologies are often based on cross‐sectional comparisons of average cropping budgets. Such assessments ignore heterogeneity of farmers and underestimate the true impact of these technologies because of homogeneity bias. Therefore, we propose an improved method by explicitly modelling farmer heterogeneity under imperfect information, and assess the potential value and benefit sharing of GM crops in the two NMS using a stochastic partial equilibrium model. The total potential value of GM crops is estimated at €82 million for both countries, of which €60 million (73%) accrues to farmers and €22 million (27%) to the gene developers and the seed industry. This is in line with the literature on global benefit sharing of first‐generation GM technologies.     

Price-discriminating Marketing Board with Imperfect Supply Control: A Case of B.C. Mushrooms

The board that has had monopoly marketing powers over B.C.-produced mushrooms can sell either into the fresh market, or to processors, and can prevent arbitrage between consumers equalizing the price in the two markets. It must pay growers a 'pooled' price based on the average revenue received. The board controls growers' square footage through quotas but growers have some discretion over output from varying other inputs. It is shown that the combination of price pooling and imperfect supply control can generate very substantial welfare losses, especially in the context of the depressed market for processing mushrooms that existed in 1986. Full monopolization of the industry would actually reduce the welfare costs.
L'Office, qui détient le monopole de la commercialisation des champignons produits en Colombie-Britannique, peut vendre ces produits soit sur le marche du frais, soit aux transformateurs, et il peut empêcher l'arbitrage entre les consommateurs voulant équilibrer les prix sur les deux marchés. Il doit verser aux producteurs un prix commun basé sur les recettes moyennes resues. L'Office contrôle la superficie allouée aux producteurs, par le biais de contingents, mais les producteurs peuvent dans une certaine mesure varier leur production en modifiant d'autres facteurs de production. Il a été démontré que l'effet combiné de la mise en commun des prix et d'un mécanisme imparfait de gestion des approvisionnements peut entraîner des pertes de bien-être très substantielles, en particulier dans le contexte d'un marché en baisse, comme celui qui existait en 1986 dans le secteur de la transformation des champignons. La monopolisation complète de l'industrie réduirait en fait les coûts du bien-être.     

Evaluating Agricultural Energy Policies Under Uncertainty: The Case of Electricity in South India

Farmers' attitude towards risk associated with the availability of energy inputs will influence their investment behavior and demand for energy inputs. In order to analyze policies that reduce the risk in energy availability, some modifications in methods are required. This study, using a mean-variance framework, demonstrates how cross-sectional data and time-series data on crop yields and prices can be used to analyze agricultural energy policies under uncertainty in a developing country context. It is argued that the farmers risk attitudes, their crop allocation behavior, changes in the demand for energy inputs and the stochastic relationship between various forms of energy inputs can be explained by the various energy constraints faced by them. Furthermore, using the same methods the impact of policies which affect these constraints, can be analyzed.     

人民币双边实际汇率与农产品出口:以对日出口为例

本文构建了农产品出口需求自回归分布滞后模型,同时引入实际汇率水平和GARCH(1,1)模型计算的实际汇率风险变量,讨论了实际汇率影响出口的净效应。以中国对日农产品出口双边月度数据进行实证估计,结果表明,当前人民币升值对农产品实际出口将产生双重负效应:升值本身所产生的负效应和汇率风险所引致的负效应。其政策含义在于保持汇率平稳波动,为出口商提供相关指导和外汇金融工具以尽量规避汇率风险。     

The Impact of Market Intervention on Quota Mobility: The Case of the Ontario Dairy Industry

We examine the relationship between farm‐level scale efficiency and quota purchases in the Ontario dairy quota market before and after the implementation of a progressive transfer assessment policy and a price cap policy. We find that scale efficiency has a positive effect on net quota purchases and that the two regulations slowed down this effect. The largest deterrent in the movement of quota from less efficient to more efficient producers occurred after the implementation of the capital asset pricing policy. If the capital asset pricing policy remains in effect, it will likely take a longer time to achieve an efficient allocation of quota across producers in the industry. Nous examinons la relation entre l'efficience d'échelle agricole et les achats de quota au sein du marché des quotas laitiers ontariens, avant et après l'implantation d'une politique d'évaluation progressive de transfert, et d'une autre de plafonnement des prix. Nous avançons que l'efficience d'échelle a un effet positif sur les achats nets de quota et que les deux politiques ont freiné cet effet. La plus grande dissuasion au sein du mouvement des quotas de producteurs moins efficients vers ceux qui le sont plus, survient après le plafonnement des prix. Si la politique de plafonnement des prix demeure en vigueur, il faudra attendre encore longtemps avant de réussir une allocation efficiente des quotas parmi les producteurs de l'industrie.