We consider a network in which products consist of combinations of connecting edges and each edge corresponds to a perishable resource. In our model, different revenue-maximizing “controllers” determine the prices associated with different resources and the price of the product is the sum of the prices of the constituent resources. At one extreme, a single controller might set all resource pric...

BACKGROUND Atrazine and other triazine herbicides are widely used in US maize and sorghum production, yet the most recent market-level assessment of the economic benefits of atrazine is for market conditions prevalent in the early 1990s, before commercialization of transgenic crops. Grain markets have changed substantially since that time; for example, the size of the US maize market increased ...

How could a cluster of high quality agrifood SMEs face global competition? How could a local group of consumers purchase trusted quality goods at reduced prices? To address these issues, we present a model of local trade networks that specifies relationships and links between and within consumer groups and agrifood producer clusters, where exchange can take place only if formal relationships be...

This paper applies real options theory into a resource extraction problem with capacity constraints and demand uncertainty. The producer decides on the optimal rate of extraction and the optimal time to build further capacity simultaneously. It is shown that previous results which suggest that extraction capacity should be built at the beginning, are not necessarily true under uncertainty. The ...

We develop a two-good model of North-South trade where middlemen mediate trade in the good exported by the South to overcome quality assurance problems. Middleman margins and entry into intermediation are endogenously determined by underlying distribution of entrepreneurial ability. Trade liberalization increases inequality in the Southern export sector, as middleman margins increase more than ...

A puzzling feature of pharmaceuticals markets is that sellers of branded drugs will, sometimes, sell generic versions of their own branded products, either directly or through license agreements. This paper proposes a new theoretical rationale for the fact that the introduction of these pseudogenerics may have anti-competitive effects. In a model that combines horizontal and vertical product di...

This article investigates the optimal crop planting schedule and hedging strategy in the mean return versus CVaR risk framework. Crop insurances and futures contracts are available for hedging against yield and price risks. The impact of the ENSO-based climate forecast on the optimal production and hedging decision is examined. Gaussian copula is applied in simulating the scenarios of correlate...

Within the framework of multi-stage mixed-integer linear stochastic programming we develop a short-term production plan for a price-taking hydropower plant operating under uncertainty. Current production must comply with the day-ahead commitments of the previous day which makes short-term production planning a matter of spatial distribution among the reservoirs of the plant. Day-ahead market pr...

Major investments in infrastructure rehabilitation have been undertaken by govemments, development banks and donors in developing countries in recent decades. In Sub-Saharan Africa road deterioration is perceived to be one ofthe main causes for the limited supply response after price liberalization in agricultural markets. Studies of the quantitative effects on marketing margins are rare. This ...