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Price, Quality, and International Agricultural Trade

Author

Listed:
  • Darian Woods

    (The Treasury)

  • Andrew Coleman

    (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and the Treasury)

Abstract

The average value of a particular class of agricultural exports varies widely across different destinations. This raises the question: in the event of a supply shock, such as the implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme, can farmers offset higher costs by raising their average prices by contracting exports to lower value destinations? If the difference in value reflects different prices because producers have market power, the answer will be “yes”. If the difference in value reflects differences in the quality of goods exported to different destinations, the answer is “no.” This paper use a variety of trade data and techniques to examine which explanation is most likely to be relevant. While the answers are not definitive, there is little support for the hypothesis that exports are curtailed.

Suggested Citation

  • Darian Woods & Andrew Coleman, 2012. "Price, Quality, and International Agricultural Trade," Working Papers 12_08, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:mtu:wpaper:12_08
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    File URL: https://motu-www.motu.org.nz/wpapers/12_08.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dean, Judith M., 1992. "Trade and the environment : a survey of the literature," Policy Research Working Paper Series 966, The World Bank.
    2. Hallak, Juan Carlos, 2006. "Product quality and the direction of trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 238-265, January.
    3. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert E. Lipsey & Haiyan Deng & Alyson C. Ma & Hengyong Mo, 2005. "World Trade Flows: 1962-2000," NBER Working Papers 11040, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Richard Fabling & Arthur Grimes & Lynda Sanderson, 2012. "Whatever next? Export market choices of New Zealand firms," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(1), pages 137-159, March.
    5. Aiginger, Karl, 1997. "The Use of Unit Values to Discriminate between Price and Quality Competition," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 21(5), pages 571-592, September.
    6. Juan Carlos Hallak & Peter K. Schott, 2011. "Estimating Cross-Country Differences in Product Quality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(1), pages 417-474.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Grimes, Arthur & Hyland, Sean, 2012. "Passing the Buck: Impacts of Commodity Price Shocks on Rural Outcomes," 2012 Conference, August 31, 2012, Nelson, New Zealand 136046, New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    2. Allan, Corey & Kerr, Suzi, 2013. "Examining Patterns in and Drivers of Rural Land Values," 2013 Conference, August 28-30, 2013, Christchurch, New Zealand 160191, New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    3. Levente Timar, 2016. "Does money grow on trees? Mitigation under climate policy in a heterogeneous sheep-beef sector," Working Papers 16_09, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agriculture; exports; emissions trading scheme; price; quality; market power; international trade; New Zealand;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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