Slotting Allowances as a Facilitating Practice by Food Processors in Wholesale Grocery Markets: Profitability and Welfare Effects

Slotting allowances, which are lump-sum transfers paid by food manufacturers to grocery retailers in return for various retail concessions, are becoming increasingly common in wholesale grocery markets. This article extends the literature on slotting allowances by considering two features that previously have been ignored: the role of food processors in determining these pricing arrangements, and the effect of slotting allowances on the size and distribution of economic surplus. Slotting allowances motivated by food processors increase procurement quantities and farm prices, and this raises farm surplus, increases total producer surplus, and improves consumer welfare in the food system.     

Slotting Fees for Organic Retail Products: Evidence From a Survey of U.S. Food Retailers

Based on a survey of U.S. food retailers, our study finds that almost one third of U.S. food retailers charge slotting fees for certified organic food products, a retailing area where slotting fees had not previously been well documented. Econometric results from both ordered response and binary response models suggest that a number of firm-level attributes do influence the presence and/or relative size of organic slotting fees in a manner that is mostly consistent with an economic efficiency rationale and partly consistent with a market power/strategic behavior rationale for slotting fees.     

International technology transfer through local business linkages: the case of Volvo Trucks and their domestic suppliers in India

Using unique firm‐level data from Volvo Trucks and their 64 manufacturing suppliers in India, this paper focuses on the significance of technology transfer from transnational corporations (TNCs) to their domestic suppliers in developing countries. Our case study shows that a relatively small number of international follow‐source suppliers have captured a dominant part of Volvo's local purchases of components, reducing the opportunities for domestic suppliers to forge business linkages with this foreign TNC. At the same time, the domestic suppliers, as well as the follow‐source suppliers, seem to improve their internal capabilities from the technological assistance given by Volvo as part of their business relationships. Even a simple assembly operation by a TNC seems to generate important linkages and technological upgrading among domestic suppliers, thus enhancing their domestic and international market positions. Volvo's technological assistance to domestic suppliers was also transferred down in the supply chain, contributing to long‐term improvements among the smaller companies that make up the lower tiers of the Indian auto‐component sector.     

森工企业税费的问题及建议

通过对西藏林芝地区森工企业的调查,针对森工企业木材税费高,各种税费约占销售价的４９％,费大于税,不合理不合法费多,征管方式单“等问题,本文结合实际提出了进一步完善林业税费收取的若干建议。并指出国家及地方政府应适当采取扶持政策,森工企业应进一步加强内部管理,银行应适当让利,企业可逐年扭亏增盈,达到三年脱困的目标。     

Exit fees and termination fees revisited: funding irrigation infrastructure in a manner compatible with water trade*

It has long been recognised that the mechanism for funding irrigation infrastructure in Australia may be incompatible with efficient trade in the rural water market. If the revenue received by an irrigation operator is dependent on the volume of water entitlements held in the operator’s region, out‐of‐region permanent water sales threaten the operator’s revenue stream, potentially leading to higher charges on remaining irrigators, encouraging an inefficient ‘rush for the exit’. In response, irrigation operators have imposed restrictions on permanent water trade, such as exit fees and termination fees, to protect their revenue stream. Previous economic analysis has suggested that exit fees, in particular, are a barrier to efficient trade in the water market and should be abolished. In contrast, this paper argues that allowing irrigators to cancel their water delivery rights without fees or charges leads to inefficient trade in the water market, hinders efficient on‐farm investment in sunk complementary assets and leads to inefficient network rationalisation decisions. Instead, the revenue stream of irrigation operators should be insulated from water trade decisions, through high termination fees, tying irrigation charges to the land, or tagging the obligation to pay delivery charges to the new owner of the traded water.     

The fall and the fragmentation of national clusters: Cluster evolution in the paper and pulp industry

A common expectation in evolutionary cluster studies is that national clusters engage in competitive interactions that lead to a continuous stream of changes in global dominance. Our fuzzy-set analysis on the evolution of the paper and pulp industry demonstrates that globalization has dramatically changed this situation. National clusters have largely faded away; the value chain dominance is now held by technology suppliers who are global hubs in majority of identifiable business activities in the focal industry. Our results imply that when industrial decline is accentuated by industrial concentration in some part of the value chain the national clusters may lose their importance.     

Supplier-Retailer Relationships in the UK Fresh Produce Supply Chain

Abstract

Over the past decade, the UK fresh produce (fruit, vegetables, and salads) supply chain has undergone numerous changes, with retailers becoming increasingly powerful. The overall trend is towards the industry being dominated by a few large corporations operating on a national level, with some corporations even operating on a European or global scale. This process, which could significantly impact on the supplierretailer relationships, is examined in this study using indepth interviews with participants from the fresh produce supply chain. Amongst the findings are the following: Supply chain advancements, including backhauling, and factory gate pricing are causing some controversy because suppliers feel that these initiatives do not benefit their relationships with retailers. There is room for supplierretailer relationship improvement in areas such as trust, co-operation, and collaboration. Retailers, who have significant supply chain power, are starting to acknowledge the importance of suppliers in the gaining of gaining retail market share. Lastly, the intense process of supplychain rationalisation that we have seen in recent years appears to be leveling out in the UK fresh produce supply, such that there is less anticipated further rationalisation. The study outlines a series of recommendations for how suppliers (retailers) can improve their relationships with retailers (suppliers).     

试论我国污水治理的“产治分离”体制

在现行“谁污染谁治理”的治污体制下,企业出于追求利润最大化的考虑,必然产生将污水偷排滥放的行为。要彻底解决污水治理问题,必须建立新的污水治理体制,能够满足“偷排污水不能获得经济上的利益”的要求。新体制应该是“产治分离”,即企业的产品生产和污染治理相分离。企业专注于产品生产,并按预先核定的污水排出量缴纳治污费;组建专业化的公共事业组织专门进行污水处理,并向用户提供可利用的再生水。进行污水处理的公共事业组织具有公益性、非营利性,其人员参照公务员的办法管理。     

我国污水治理的"产治分离"体制

在现行"谁污染谁治理"的治污体制下,企业出于追求利润最大化的考虑,必然产生将污水偷排滥放的行为.要彻底解决污水治理问题,必须建立新的污水治理体制,能够满足"偷排污水不能获得经济上的利益"的要求.新体制应该是"产治分离",即企业的产品生产和污染治理相分离.企业专注于产品生产,并按预先核定的污水排出量缴纳治污费;组建专业化的公共事业组织专门进行污水处理,并向用户提供可利用的再生水.进行污水处理的公共事业组织具有公益性、非营利性,其人员参照公务员的办法管理.     

Farm Business and Household Expenditure Patterns and Local Communities: Evidence from a National Farm Survey

Farm operators are an integral part of some rural economies. The businesses they operate support jobs and purchase goods and services from local implement and input suppliers. Farm household spending on food, furniture and appliances, trucks and automobiles, and a range of consumer goods also supports local jobs and retail businesses. Based on the 2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, the linkages between farm household and business expenditures and communities are explored. Farms in urban areas purchase household goods in markets closest to the farmstead, but traveled further to purchase farm business items. The opposite pattern was observed in rural locations.     

A COMPARISON OF DEPRECIATION METHODS UNDER CURRENT COST ACCOUNTING

In New Zealand the Richardson Report has recommended to government the adoption of a form of inflation accounting known as Current Cost Accounting (CCA). This paper reports research carried out to determine which of the traditional historical cost depreciation methods used in farm accounting might be most appropriate when adapted to a current cost basis. The current cost depreciation methods are compared on the basis of their ability to predict accurately actual replacement values for a survey sample of farm tractors and headers. The resultant measures of depreciation are compared with those currently allowable under New Zealand taxation laws, and the proposition that investment allowances on purchases of new machinery offset the inadequacies of historical cost depreciation is discussed.     

Which farmers benefit the most from Bt corn adoption? Estimating heterogeneity effects in the Philippines

The potential contributions of new biotechnologies to sustainable food and income security have been the subject of widespread discussions around the turn of the 21st century. But distributional issues of which segments of adopters of genetically modified (GM) crops benefit the most have not been given ample attention). Using propensity scores, we apply the (a) stratification‐multilevel method of estimating heterogeneous treatment effects; and the (b) matching‐smoothing method of estimating heterogeneous treatment effects proposed by Xie et al. We find that the incidence of higher yields, lower insecticide use, and reduced seed utilization in the Philippines diminishes progressively as a farmer's propensity to adopt Bt corn increases. Farmers with a low propensity to adopt Bt are those who farm smaller, nonirrigated farms located farther from seed suppliers and farmers without previous training on pest identification. In most cases, while these farmers are typically poorer farmers in smaller parcels, cannot afford irrigation and are situated in remote areas away from easily accessible seed suppliers, there is no evidence, however, that profits differ across farmers with varying propensities to adopt the Bt variety.     

湖南资兴市林木林地流转改革调研报告

湖南省资兴市在林改前,集体林经营形式以林业股份公司为主,经营面积占集体林面积的59%。2004年起全市开展以林木林地使用权流转为核心的林权制度改革。主要做法:制定实施方案;规范流转程序;明晰产权;严格采伐管理;组建专业采伐队伍;完善林业股份制等。通过改革促进了林业增效、林农增收和森林资源增长。针对存在问题提出加强监管、调整税费、扶持资源评估机构等建议。     

Co-creating Value in the Dyadic Relationships of Small and Large Firms in the Agri-food Sector

Given the increasing interest in the process of how value is co-created through interaction in business relationships, this paper examines the areas of collaboration, value co-creation practices and the respective co-created value in the dyadic relationships. Multiple case studies design involving in-depth interviews were undertaken with small and medium-sized suppliers (SMEs) of organic food in South West England with the dyadic relationship being the unit of analysis. The findings suggest that SME suppliers and their larger customers collaborate in many areas including: innovation, corporate social responsibility, planning and interactive learning. The collaboration led to co-creation of monetary and non-monetary values. This research advances the extant literature on value co-creation in business relationships by examining this complex phenomenon in the context of small and large firms’ dyads in the organic food sector. It is novel in identifying the linkage of the co-created value to the respective value co-creation practices and collaborative areas.     

Testing errors, supplier segregation, and food safety

Diagnostic tests provide valuable information to buyers about credence attributes such as food safety and GMO content. Errors in testing, however, can mislead buyers and lead to problems such as adverse selection. The ability to segregate suppliers who can deliver safe food from suppliers who cannot depends on the accuracy of the test procedure. In this article we examine the effect of test sensitivity, specificity, and sampling error on the ability to segregate safe and unsafe suppliers. We find that there is a maximum level of error below which unsafe suppliers are deterred from accepting a utility maximizing buyer's bid price. The maximum error depends on the probability that a supplier's production is unsafe and the cost of producing an unsafe lot, among other things. Understanding this relationship makes it possible to design contracts and government regulations that discourage unsafe suppliers from trading.     

舟山捕捞渔民基本生活保障问题研究

本文总结了舟山捕捞渔民基本生活保障的历史经验，探讨了当前实现基本生活保障的模式及筹资渠道，并提出了相应的政策建议。     

渔业资源保护的税费激励研究

税费激励是近年来国际上流行的用经济手段控制捕捞力量和保护渔业资源的盛行方法之一。本文研究分析税费激励通过价格传递作用对渔业资源的保护,由于“税赋归宿”效应,需求价格弹性和供给价格弹性比较,使税费激励效应产生不定结果。研究认为,对于渔业资源保护采取税费激励办法有其局限性,税费激励要针对不同的捕捞对象设计不同的税费激励政策和激励尺度。     

乡村森林旅游项目升级发展过程政商博弈探微——基于Z风景区3A创4A的案例分析

以Z风景区3A创4A愿景中当地政府与风景区经营商两个主体的决策行为为研究对象,以制度经济学为理论基础,采用博弈论模型进行分析。结果表明:在政府和经营商目标不一致的前提下,从政府来说,在政绩驱动下急于达到创4A目标,但政府又不能滥用纳税人的钱追加投资,其意愿是让商家继续投资,为创4A发力;从商家来说,虽然创4A有利于项目营利空间,但是客观上有规避未来市场不确定性和投资回报周期长双重风险的意识,还可能由于政府对项目创4A的急切性,导致商家存在"政府有可能追加投资,自己"搭便车"的"等靠要"机会主义思想,追加投资意愿不高;反过来也可能存在政府等待商家投资的搭便车行为。为此,提出以政商共同利益最大化为目标,通过改变激励措施,使政商博弈达到合作状态下较优的均衡结果。     

Cross-licensing agreements in presence of technological improvements

This study investigates the relationship between technologies that firms expect to achieve after cross-licensing (CL) and their incentives for signing CL agreements in a multiproduct-firm setting. Results indicate that if markets are bounded substantial technological improvements that result in removal of firms’ current products from the market may in fact reduce firms’ incentives to negotiate a CL deal. This may also give firms an incentive to agree upon a tacit collusion by which they limit the utilization of CL technologies. However, when markets are unbounded, the prospect of capturing new markets and charging royalty fees can significantly increase firms’ incentives for CL. The rationale behind our modeling assumptions is discussed using example from agriculture biotechnology industry.     

农民用水户的农业水价承受能力研究

基于对3个典型地区68户农业用水户入户调查数据,采用支付意愿评估法分析农民用水户的水价承受能力问题。分析调查从家庭特征、水费支出情况、水费承受意愿以及对水价变动反应等方面分析和探讨了农业用水户面对不同水价政策变动的态度和应对措施。分析结果表明:水价变动对农民用水户的用水意愿和实际用水行为均能产生显著作用,其应对农业水价改革的决策行为是"理性的"和"利己的",国家制定的相关政策只有在能够充分考虑到农户的实际反应时才能发挥最大的政策效应。