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Information Pooling and Collusion: Implications for The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act

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  • Njoroge Kenneth

    (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA)

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual model that analyzes the impact of increasing market transparency under the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 on the incentives for collusion in the U.S. meatpacking industry. More than likely, meatpackers will have asymmetric priors regarding the distribution of livestock prices. Moreover, they lack the incentives to voluntarily reveal their real priors. Thus, the enforcer of the Act faces a problem of asymmetric information regarding the informativeness of publicly disclosed market reports relative to that of packers' priors. Analytical results predict that divergent priors of Bayesian packers can be updated by more informative market reports, so that the resultant posteriors converge, enabling packers to identify a more efficient, unanimous trigger price. This enhances observability of deviations from collusive behavior, and increases the internal policing efficiency by a cartel that employs trigger price strategies to monitor deviations by its members. Contrary to the Act's well-intended objectives, this is consistent with promoting collusion and decreasing market efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Njoroge Kenneth, 2003. "Information Pooling and Collusion: Implications for The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bjafio:v:1:y:2003:i:1:n:14
    DOI: 10.2202/1542-0485.1025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cheryl J. Wachenheim & Eric A. DeVuyst, 2001. "Strategic response to mandatory reporting legislation in the U.S. livestock and meat industries: Are collusive opportunities enhanced?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(2), pages 177-195.
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    4. Azzeddine Azzam, 2003. "Market Transparency and Market Structure: The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(2), pages 387-395.
    5. Porter, Robert H., 1983. "Optimal cartel trigger price strategies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 313-338, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kenneth Njoroge & Amalia Yiannaka & Konstantinos Giannakas & Azzeddine M. Azzam, 2007. "Market and Welfare Effects of the U.S. Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(1), pages 290-311, July.
    2. Dimitrios Panagiotou, 2019. "Market Power Effects of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act in the U.S. Meat Industry: a Stochastic Frontier Approach Under Uncertainty," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 103-122, March.
    3. Fausti, Scott W. & Diersen, Matthew A., 2004. "The Voluntary Reporting System's Ability to Provide Price Transparency in the Cash Market for Dressed Steers: Evidence from South Dakota," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 29(3), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Rasch, Alexander & Herre, Jesko, 2013. "Customer-side transparency, elastic demand, and tacit collusion under differentiation," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 51-59.
    5. Scott W. Fausti & Zhiguang Wang & Bashir A. Qasmi & Matthew A. Diersen, 2014. "Risk and marketing behavior: pricing fed cattle on a grid," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(5), pages 601-612, September.
    6. Pozo, Veronica F. & Bejan, Vladimir & Tejeda, Hernan, 2016. "Disentangling Supply and Demand Shocks to Identify Changes in the Live Cattle’s Market Structure Post Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236234, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Chanjin Chung & Johnna Rushin & Prasanna Surathkal, 2018. "Impact of the livestock mandatory reporting act on the vertical price transmission within the beef supply chain," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 562-578, June.
    8. Joseph, Kishore & Garcia, Philip & Peterson, Paul E., 2016. "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.
    9. Kwon, Illoong & Jun, Daesung, 2015. "Information disclosure and peer effects in the use of antibiotics," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1-16.
    10. Azzam, Azzeddine M. & Salvador, Santiago, 2004. "Information pooling and collusion: an empirical analysis," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 275-286, June.
    11. Koontz Stephen R & Ward Clement E, 2011. "Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting: A Literature Review and Synthesis of Related Market Information Research," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-33, July.

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