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From Big Ag to Big Finance: a market network approach to power in agriculture

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Listed:
  • Loka Ashwood

    (University of Kentucky)

  • Andy Pilny

    (University of Kentucky)

  • John Canfield

    (University of Wisconsin)

  • Mariyam Jamila
  • Ryan Thomson

    (Auburn University)

Abstract

Critics charge that agriculture has reached an unsustainable level of consolidation and expropriation, as exemplified by the supply-chain breakdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, advocates suggest the current system serves consumers well by keeping prices low and access to choices high. At the center of this debate rests a disagreement over how to compute market power to identify monopolies and oligopolies. We propose a method to study power across different sectors by using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze key players, the presence of core-periphery structures, and agricultural consolidation. We test our market network approach to power through an analysis of the top ten pork powerhouses. We find that Big Finance is closely tied to Big Ag, and that key players limit the capacity for more peripheral actors, like growers, equipment producers, and regional banks, to engage in the network. We identify system level risk of collapse and suggest pathways for reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Loka Ashwood & Andy Pilny & John Canfield & Mariyam Jamila & Ryan Thomson, 2022. "From Big Ag to Big Finance: a market network approach to power in agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1421-1434, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:39:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10460-022-10332-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-022-10332-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Ana Isabel Bento & Carla Cruz & Gabriela Fernandes & Luís Miguel D. F. Ferreira, 2024. "Social Network Analysis: Applications and New Metrics for Supply Chain Management—A Literature Review," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-20, February.
    3. John Strauser & William P. Stewart, 2023. "Landscape Performance: Farmer Interactions across Spatial Scales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Changjun Zheng & Sinamenye Jean-Petit, 2023. "The Effects of the Interactions Between Agro-Production, Economic, and Financial Development on Bank Sustainability," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.

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