SP A2: Policy and Supply Chain Participation

The agri-food system transformation is associated with changing market structures – also affecting vertical price transmission and value distribution in supply chains. Especially spurred by the growing concentration at the retail level, research in agricultural economics has investigated the impact of oligopolistic and oligopsonistic market structures. However, most of the existing research has focused on national chains; global agri-food chains, which are increasingly linking farmers in developing countries to consumers in developed countries, have rarely been addressed. The added transaction costs and often reduced transparency associated with border effects (e.g., tariffs, different currencies, standards) and trade over large distances can have an impact on vertical price transmission. Furthermore, many of the products in question, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, are not processed and of perishable nature. As a result, the distribution of market power can be highly asymmetric. Where processing does take place, tariff structure (e.g., escalation) can influence the distribution of economic activity and value added. Subproject A2 analyzes such issues, mostly building on secondary data and using time-series econometric models.

Topics of doctoral research:

• Market power, vertical, spatial and global price transmission, and value distribution in supply chains
• The influence of national policies on countries' participation in global supply chains for high-value agricultural products
• Spillover effects of participation in global agricultural supply chains on overall agricultural production growth

Doctoral researchers involved:

Doctoral researchers of the first cohort:
Nelissa Jamora
Carolin Kouyaté (née Mengel)
Ayako Ebata

Doctoral researchers of the second cohort:
Andras Tothmihaly

Doctoral researchers of the third cohort:
Jessie Lin

Principal investigators/supervisors:
Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel