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Welfare Losses Under Alternative Oligopoly Regimes: The U.S. Food And Tobacco Manufacturing Industries

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  • Bhuyan, Sanjib
  • Lopez, Rigoberto A.

Abstract

This article systematically estimates the allocative efficiency losses in the U.S. food and tobacco manufacturing industries under alternative oligopoly pricing regimes using a formal model of oligopoly. Using 1987 data for 44 industries and an industry-wide oligopoly pricing scheme, these losses were estimated at approximately 3% of sales--2% in the food industries and 19% in the tobacco industries. Five additional oligopoly pricing regimes, four of which are price leaderships, are simulated and their results compared and tested relative to the industry-wide pricing regime. Findings underscore the importance of cost structure assumptions and that the impact of the type of oligopoly behavior assumed is not as dramatic when differences in demand and cost specifications are smoothed out.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhuyan, Sanjib & Lopez, Rigoberto A., 1995. "Welfare Losses Under Alternative Oligopoly Regimes: The U.S. Food And Tobacco Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 27(2), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:joaaec:15269
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.15269
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Minseong Kang & Byeong‐Il Ahn, 2023. "Market power and cost‐efficiency effects: Broiler packing industry in South Korea," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1157-1172, October.
    2. Koppenberg, Maximilian & Hirsch, Stefan, 2020. "Comparing methods for markup estimation with an application to EU food retailing," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304272, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Lopez Rigoberto A & Lirón-España Carmen, 2002. "Social Welfare and the Market Power-Efficiency Tradeoff in U.S. Food Processing: A Note," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-10, October.
    4. Xia, Tian & Sancewich, Brian, "undated". "Retail Markets and Buyer Power in Agricultural Procurements," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124929, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Ronald W. Cotterill, 2010. "Antitrust economic analysis in food marketing channels: a global perspective," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 83-91, November.
    6. Trechter, David D. & McGregor, Murray J. & Murray-Prior, Roy B., 2003. "A Neo-Institutional Assessment of Cooperative Evolution: Comparing the Australian Wheat Board and the Fonterra Dairy Group," 2003 Annual Meeting, October 29 31801, NCERA-194 Research on Cooperatives.
    7. Bhuyan, Sanjib & Lopez, Rigoberto A., 1998. "What Determines Welfare Losses from Oligopoly Power in the Food and Tobacco Industries?," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(2), pages 258-265, October.
    8. Lopez, Rigoberto A. & Bhuyan, Sanjib, 1998. "Determinants of allocative efficiency losses from oligopoly power," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 61-72.
    9. Anthony N. Rezitis & Maria A. Kalantzi, 2016. "Evaluating the state of competition and the welfare losses in the Greek manufacturing sector: an extended Hall–Roeger approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 1275-1302, June.
    10. Morrison Paul, Catherine J., 2000. "Productivity And Efficiency In The U.S. Food System, Or, Might Cost Factors Support Increasing Mergers And Concentration?," Working Papers 11983, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    11. Sanjib Bhuyan & Rigoberto A. Lopez, 1998. "Oligopoly Power and Allocative Efficiency in US Food and Tobacco Industries," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 434-442, September.

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