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Regime switching and oligopsony power: the case of U.S. beef processing

Author

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  • Xiaowei Cai
  • Kyle Stiegert
  • Stephen Koontz

Abstract

In this article, we estimate a Green and Porter (GP 1984) trigger pricing model to analyze weekly marketing margin data for the U.S. beef packing industry from 1992-2000. Oligopsonists are hypothesized to follow a discontinuous pricing strategy in equilibrium, and we focus on shocks in the normal throughput of supply as a potential catalyst for regime switching between cooperative and noncooperative phases. We use an algorithm developed by Bellone (2005) that relies on Hamilton's (1989) multivariate first-order Markov process to test for the cooperative/noncooperative switching behavior. We find strong evidence that links switching conduct by packers to disruptions in coordinating the derived demands for processed beef with the supply of live cattle. Once switched, cooperative regimes lasted an average of 21 weeks, while noncooperative regimes averaged 33 weeks. The average marketing margin for processed beef was 66% higher in the cooperative regimes compared to the noncooperative regimes. This implies an annual average increase in profits of 491 million dollars to the beef packing industry.
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Suggested Citation

  • Xiaowei Cai & Kyle Stiegert & Stephen Koontz, 2011. "Regime switching and oligopsony power: the case of U.S. beef processing," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(1), pages 99-109, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:42:y:2011:i:1:p:99-109
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    Cited by:

    1. Dimitrios Panagiotou & Athanassios Stavrakoudis, 2018. "A stochastic frontier estimator of the aggregate degree of market power exerted by the US meat packing industry," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(3), pages 387-401, September.
    2. Joseph, Kishore & Garcia, Philip & Peterson, Paul E., "undated". "Does the Boxed Beef Price Inform the Live Cattle Futures Price?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236166, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Xiaowei Cai & Kyle W. Stiegert, 2013. "Economic analysis of the US fluid milk industry," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(10), pages 971-977, July.
    4. Cai, Xiaowei & Stiegert, Kyle W. & Koontz, Stephen R., 2011. "Oligopsony Fed Cattle Pricing: _x000B_Did Mandatory Price Reporting Increase Meatpacker Market Power?," 2011 Conference, April 18-19, 2011, St. Louis, Missouri 285343, NCR-134/ NCCC-134 Applied Commodity Price Analysis, Forecasting, and Market Risk Management.
    5. Tian Xia & John M. Crespi & Kevin C. Dhuyvetter, 2019. "Could packers manipulate spot markets by tying contracts to futures prices? And do they?," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 67(1), pages 85-102, March.
    6. Ryo Sakamoto & Kyle Stiegert, 2018. "Comparing competitive toughness to benchmark outcomes in retail oligopoly pricing," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 44-60, December.
    7. Melissa G.S. McKendree & Tina L. Saitone & K. Aleks Schaefer, 2021. "Oligopsonistic Input Substitution in a Thin Market," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(4), pages 1414-1432, August.
    8. Leslie J. Verteramo Chiu & Loren W. Tauer & Yrjo T. Gröhn, 2022. "Pricing efficiency in livestock auction markets: A two‐tier frontier approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(S1), pages 139-151, November.
    9. Stavrakoudis, Athanassios & Panagiotou, Dimitrios, 2016. "A stochastic frontier estimator of the aggregate degree of market power exerted by the U.S. beef and pork packing industries," MPRA Paper 75997, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Dimitrios Panagiotou & Athanassios Stavrakoudis, 2017. "A Stochastic Production Frontier Estimator of the Degree of Oligopsony Power in the U.S. Cattle Industry," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 121-133, March.

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