IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea05/19338.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Missed opportunities and missing markets: Spatio-temporal arbitrage of rice in Madagascar

Author

Listed:
  • Moser, Christine M.
  • Barrett, Christopher B.
  • Minten, Bart

Abstract

This paper uses an exceptionally rich data set to test the extent to which markets in Madagascar are integrated across space, time, and form (in converting from paddy to rice) and to explain some of the factors that limit arbitrage and price equalization within a single country. In particular, we use rice price data across four quarters of 2000-2001 along with data on transportation costs and infrastructure availability for nearly 1400 communes in Madagascar to examine the extent of market integration at three different spatial scales sub-regional, regional, and national and determine whether non-integration is due to high transfer costs or lack of competition. The results indicate that markets are fairly well integrated at the sub-regional level and that factors such as high crime, remoteness, and lack of information are among the factors limiting competition. A lack of competition persists at the regional level and high transfer costs impede spatial market integration at the national level. Only six percent of rural communes appear to be intertemporally integrated and there appear to be significant untapped opportunities for interseasonal arbitrage. Income is directly and strongly related to the probability of a commune being in interseasonal competitive equilibrium.

Suggested Citation

  • Moser, Christine M. & Barrett, Christopher B. & Minten, Bart, 2005. "Missed opportunities and missing markets: Spatio-temporal arbitrage of rice in Madagascar," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19338, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea05:19338
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.19338
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/19338/files/sp05mo01.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.19338?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Angus Deaton & Guy Laroque, 1992. "On the Behaviour of Commodity Prices," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(1), pages 1-23.
    2. Li, Jau-Rong & Barrett, Christopher B., 1999. "Distinguishing Between Equilibrium And Integration In Markets Analysis," Working Papers 14607, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    3. Fafchamps, Marcel & Gabre-Madhin, Eleni & Minten, Bart, 2005. "Increasing returns and market efficiency in agricultural trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 406-442, December.
    4. Deaton, Angus & Laroque, Guy, 1996. "Competitive Storage and Commodity Price Dynamics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 896-923, October.
    5. Barrett, Christopher B., 1997. "Food marketing liberalization and trader entry: Evidence from Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 763-777, May.
    6. Timmer, C. Peter, 1974. "A Model of Rice Marketing Margins in Indonesia," Food Research Institute Studies, Stanford University, Food Research Institute, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24.
    7. Marcel Fafchamps & Christine Moser, 2003. "Crime, Isolation and Law Enforcement," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 12(4), pages 625-671, December.
    8. Christopher B. Barrett & Paul A. Dorosh, 1996. "Farmers' Welfare and Changing Food Prices: Nonparametric Evidence from Rice in Madagascar," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(3), pages 656-669.
    9. Marcel Fafchamps, 2002. "Returns to social network capital among traders," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(2), pages 173-206, April.
    10. Fafchamps, Marcel & Minten, Bart, 2001. "Property Rights in a Flea Market Economy," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(2), pages 229-267, January.
    11. Martin Ravallion, 1986. "Testing Market Integration," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 68(1), pages 102-109.
    12. Bob Baulch, 1997. "Transfer Costs, Spatial Arbitrage, and Testing for Food Market Integration," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(2), pages 477-487.
    13. Christopher B. Barrett, 1996. "Market Analysis Methods: Are Our Enriched Toolkits Well Suited to Enlivened Markets?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(3), pages 825-829.
    14. Christopher Barrett, 1996. "Urban bias in price risk: The geography of food price distributions in low‐income economies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 830-849.
    15. Fackler, Paul L. & Goodwin, Barry K., 2001. "Spatial price analysis," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 17, pages 971-1024, Elsevier.
    16. Christopher B. Barrett, 2001. "Measuring Integration and Efficiency in International Agricultural Markets," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 23(1), pages 19-32.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chabot, Philippe & Dorosh, Paul A., 2007. "Wheat markets, food aid and food security in Afghanistan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 334-353, June.
    2. P. M. Korale Gedara & S. Ratnasiri & J. S. Bandara, 2016. "Does asymmetry in price transmission exist in the rice market in Sri Lanka?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(27), pages 2491-2505, June.
    3. Anderson, Kym & Kurzweil, Marianne & Martin, William J. & Sandri, Damiano & Valenzuela, Ernesto, 2008. "Methodology for Measuring Distortions to Agricultural Incentives," Agricultural Distortions Working Paper Series 48326, World Bank.
    4. Haggblade, Steven & Nielson, Hunter & Govereh, Jones & Dorosh, Paul A., 2008. "Potential Consequences of Intra-Regional Trade in Short-Term Food Security Crises in Southeastern Africa," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 55376, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    5. Minten, Bart & Barrett, Christopher B., 2008. "Agricultural Technology, Productivity, and Poverty in Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 797-822, May.
    6. Bart Minten & Philippe Méral & Lalaina Randrianarison & Johan Swinnen, 2010. "Trade Liberalization, Rural Poverty and the Environment: Two Studies of Agricultural Exports in Madagascar," Chapters, in: Jonathan A. Cook & Owen Cylke & Donald F. Larson & John D. Nash & Pamela Stedman-Edwards (ed.), Vulnerable Places, Vulnerable People, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Kym Anderson & Johan Swinnen, 2008. "Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Europe's Transition Economies," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6502.
    8. Arndt, Channing, 2005. "The Doha Trade Round and Mozambique," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3717, The World Bank.
    9. Xavier Cirera & Channing Arndt, 2008. "Measuring the impact of road rehabilitation on spatial market efficiency in maize markets in Mozambique," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 39(1), pages 17-28, July.
    10. World Bank, 2008. "Regional Trade in Food Staples : Prospects for Stimulating Agricultural Growth and Moderation Food Security Crises in Eastern and Southern Africa," World Bank Publications - Reports 7829, The World Bank Group.
    11. Cadot, Olivier & Dutoit, Laure & Olarreaga, Marcelo, 2010. "Barriers to Exit from Subsistence Agriculture," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1014, CEPREMAP.
    12. Dorosh, Paul A. & Minten, Bart, 2006. "Rice Price Stabilization in Madagascar: Price and Welfare Implications of Variable Tariffs," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25478, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Donovan, Cynthia & McGlinchy, Megan & Staatz, John M. & Tschirley, David L., 2006. "Emergency Needs Assessments and the Impact of Food Aid on Local Markets," Food Security International Development Working Papers 54566, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christine Moser & Christopher Barrett & Bart Minten, 2009. "Spatial integration at multiple scales: rice markets in Madagascar," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(3), pages 281-294, May.
    2. Quattri, Maria A., 2012. "On trade efficiency in the Ethiopian agricultural markets," 123rd Seminar, February 23-24, 2012, Dublin, Ireland 122512, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Stephens, Emma C. & Mabaya, Edward T., 2008. "Spatial Price Adjustment with and without Trade," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6538, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    4. Fafchamps, Marcel & Gabre-Madhin, Eleni & Minten, Bart, 2005. "Increasing returns and market efficiency in agricultural trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 406-442, December.
    5. Listorti, Giulia & Esposti, Roberto, 2012. "Horizontal Price Transmission in Agricultural Markets: Fundamental Concepts and Open Empirical Issues," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-28, April.
    6. Sekhar, C.S.C., 2012. "Agricultural market integration in India: An analysis of select commodities," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 309-322.
    7. Brian Dillon & Chelsey Dambro, 2017. "How Competitive Are Crop Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1344-1361.
    8. Van Campenhout, Bjorn, 2007. "Modelling trends in food market integration: Method and an application to Tanzanian maize markets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 112-127, February.
    9. Ankamah-Yeboah, Isaac, 2012. "Spatial Price Transmission in the Regional Maize Markets in Ghana," MPRA Paper 49720, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Sahito, Jam Ghulam Murtaza, 2015. "Market integration of wheat in Pakistan," Discussion Papers 72, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Center for international Development and Environmental Research (ZEU).
    11. Ebata, Ayako & Pacheco, Pamela Alejandra & Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan von, 2015. "Distance to market and farm-gate prices of staple beans in rural Nicaragua," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211582, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Olivier Massol & Albert Banal-Estañol, 2014. "Market power across the Channel: Are Continental European gas markets isolated ?," Working Papers hal-02475017, HAL.
    13. Badolo, Félix, 2012. "Chocs de prix internationaux et transmission : cas du marché du riz au Burkina Faso," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 88(3), pages 317-346, Septembre.
    14. Olivier Massol & Albert Banal-Estanol, 2018. "Market Power and Spatial Arbitrage between Interconnected Gas Hubs," The Energy Journal, , vol. 39(2_suppl), pages 67-96, December.
    15. Escobal, Javier, 2005. "The Role of Public Infraestructure in Market Development in Rural Peru," MPRA Paper 727, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Hamulczuk, Mariusz, 2020. "Spatial Integration of Agricultural Commodity Markets – Methodological Problems," Problems of Agricultural Economics / Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej 311225, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI).
    17. Andrew Coleman, 2007. "A model of spatial arbitrage with transport capacity constraints and endogenous transport prices," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Discussion Paper Series DP2007/05, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
    18. Shrestha, Sundar S. & Frechette, Darren L., 2003. "Transfer Costs And Spatial Price Efficiency In The Nepalese Tomato Markets," 2003 Annual meeting, July 27-30, Montreal, Canada 22076, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    19. Galang, Ivory Myka R., 2014. "A Spatial Integration Analysis of the Regional Fertilizer Markets in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2014-36, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    20. Ebata, Ayako & Velasco, Pamela & von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan, 2015. "Distance to market and farm-gate prices of staple beans in rural Nicaragua," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 197540, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marketing;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aaea05:19338. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.