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Estimating the Market Effect of a Food Scare: The Case of Genetically Modified StarLink Corn

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Listed:
  • Colin A. Carter

    (Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis)

  • Aaron Smith

    (Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis)

Abstract

In 2000, a genetically modified corn variety called StarLink that was not approved for human consumption was discovered in the food-corn supply. To estimate the price impact of this event on the U.S. corn market, we develop the relative price of a substitute method. This method applies not only to the StarLink event but also to rare events in other markets. We find that the contamination led to a 6.8% discount in corn prices and that the suppression of prices lasted for at least a year. Copyright by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin A. Carter & Aaron Smith, 2007. "Estimating the Market Effect of a Food Scare: The Case of Genetically Modified StarLink Corn," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 522-533, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:89:y:2007:i:3:p:522-533
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

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