Overview

This book offers a perspective on the transition to a market-based agri-food system in the Central and Eastern European countries and the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union. It provides a formal analysis of the entire food chain from farm inputs to final consumers including imports and exports. Major components of the agribusiness sector (inputs, farm-level marketing, processing, distribution and retailing) are all dealt with in separate chapters. In addition there is coverage of food security, multinationals, commercial law, finance and building market institutions. Theoretical chapters are devoted to problems concerning prices, transactions costs and bilateral monopoly. This theoretical discussion gives an in-depth discussion of the difficulties underlying the process of transition to a market-based agri-food system and forms a consistent focus for the book as a whole. Overall, the book makes a contribution to the literature on this topical subject and should be useful for agricultural and food economists.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jill Hobbs (Universities of Lethbridge and Calgary) ,  William Kerr (University of Saskatchewan, Canada) ,  James D. Gaisford (Department of Economics, University of Calgary, Canada) ,  J.D. Gaisford (Department of Economics, University of Calgary, Canada)
Publisher:   CABI Publishing
Imprint:   CABI Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 17.20cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 24.40cm
Weight:   0.794kg
ISBN:  

9780851991764

ISBN 10:   0851991769
Pages:   416
Publication Date:   01 June 1997
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction 2: Background to Economic Transformation 3: Description of Command Economy Agrifood Systems 4: Constraints to Transforming Agrifood Systems 5: The Problem of Prices 6: Doing Business - The High Cost of Transactions 7: Privatization and Monopolization of the Agrifood Chain 8: Progress and Problems in the Process of Transformation 9: Few Sellers: Agroinputs for the Farm Sector 10: Taking Farms Apart: Large Units or Small Farms? 11: To Whom do I Sell?: Marketing Channels for Farmers 12: Quality Control and Reliability: The Challenge for Processors 13: Moving to Market: Transportation and Distribution 14: Catering to Consumers: Retailing in Transition 15: Treating Agrifood as a System: Dealing with Perishables 16: The Horn of Plenty: Competition from Imports 17: Entering the International Market: Realizing Export Potential 18: Direct Foreign Investment: Handling Agribusiness Transnationals 19: Developing New Institutions 20: Reducing Transactions Costs Through Market Institutions 21: Financing Transformation 22: A System of Commercial Law 23: Health, Food Safety and Consumer Protection Regulations 24: Facing the Future 25: Ensuring Food Security 26: Agrifood Systems on Different Paths 27: Joining the International System

Reviews

Uses a systems perspective to analyze the entire food chain from farm inputs to final consumers, including imports and exports. Considers such stages as farm-level marketing, processing, distribution, and retailing. Other topics include food security, multinationals, commercial law, finance, and building market institutions. Theoretical studies are offered on such matters as prices, transaction costs, bilateral monopoly, and constraints on transition. Of interest to agricultural and food economists and to general economists interested in the economics of transition. --Reference & Research Book News<br>

"""Uses a systems perspective to analyze the entire food chain from farm inputs to final consumers, including imports and exports. Considers such stages as farm-level marketing, processing, distribution, and retailing. Other topics include food security, multinationals, commercial law, finance, and building market institutions. Theoretical studies are offered on such matters as prices, transaction costs, bilateral monopoly, and constraints on transition. Of interest to agricultural and food economists and to general economists interested in the economics of transition.""--Reference & Research Book News"

Author Information

- William A. Kerr is University Distinguished Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. He has a BA (International Relations) from UBC, an MA (Economics) from Simon Fraser University and a PhD (Economics and Agricultural Economics) from UBC. Prior to joining the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the U of S in 1999 he was a member of the Economics Department at the University of Calgary starting in 1980, and Professor of Economics from 1989. His major area of research is international trade and international commercial policy. He has over 250 academic publication including 25 books. Recent titles include: Handbook on International Trade Policy (2007); A Guide to the Global Business Environment (2014) and Conflict, Chaos and Confusion - The Crisis in the International Trading System (2010).

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