ApEc 3411 midterm Flash Cards

 
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If markets were truly "perfect" there would be no need for government regulation and policy. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:55:13 GMT view revision history
Grades have what 4 impacts of markets? 1. allow for marketing by description rather than inspection
2. improves the ability to aggregate and sort products according to defined grades -- creates larger volumes of homogeneous products
3. provides info to producers and consumers about which characteristics are important to quality and how they can be improved
4. reduces incentives and ability for cheating and fraud
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:55:13 GMT view revision history
grades are usually an attempt to rank or identify products bases on observability qualitative and quantitative factors 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:55:13 GMT view revision history
standards are usually an agreed upon measure or criteria for production 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:48:57 GMT view revision history
Government regulation typically falls under three activities 1. facilitative
2. regulatory
3. price supportive and stabilization
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:48:57 GMT view revision history
Reasons for government regulation or intervention in marketing 1. unfair competitive practices
2. not enough economic incentive for firm to undertake necessary function of market
3. externalizes
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:48:57 GMT view revision history
current changes and causes of change in the packing industry number of packers has declined, while firm size and plant size has increased dramatically. In addition, there has been continuing trend of decentralization and specialization (one species - one plant) 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:48:57 GMT view revision history
key drivers of change in the swine industry affecting marketing a. improved genetics
b. vertical coordination
c. contracting between producers
d. value based marketing and branded product merchandising
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:42:24 GMT view revision history
Key changes in swine industry 1. increased production efficiency
2. changing location
3. larger farms and fewer farms
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:42:24 GMT view revision history
major structure and marketing issues in beef production a. improvements in genetics and minimize variability
b. streamline production channel - animals change hands too many times
c. grading system improvements
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:42:24 GMT view revision history
The 4 forms of competition 1. perfect
2. monopolistic
3. oligopolistic or oligopsonistic
4. monopolistic or monopsonistic
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:42:24 GMT view revision history
Why is the HHI a better indicator of the market than the CR4? the problem with the CR4 ratio is that it can't tell you how dominant one of the top 4 firms might be in the market. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:33:58 GMT view revision history
What are the variables often considered in studies of ag market structure? number of firms, size of firms, location of firms, business organization of firms, product differentiation or form 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:33:58 GMT view revision history
The four market problems are condensed into what two types of market performance? 1. operational efficiency
2. pricing efficiency
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:33:58 GMT view revision history
What are the four potential market problems? 1. determination of consumer demand or preferences
2. accurate reflection of demands back through the system to others
3. equitable distribution of income generated from market process
4. efficient physical movement and transformation of product
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:33:58 GMT view revision history
Law of one price given a perfect market there will be a single price (equilibrium price) which will clear the market (quantity supplied will be equal to quantity demanded) 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
List the three classifications of market functions and give specific examples of each a. exchange functions
1. buying (assembling product)
2. selling
ex. Chicago Board of Trade, Auction House/barn

b. Physical Functions
1. Storage
2. Transportation (form changing)
3. Processing (form changing)
ex. Cargill Elevator Terminal, Meat processing (Hormel), Wheat Milling (Gen Mills)

c. facilitating
1. standardization -- sorting and grading
2. financing
3. risk bearing -- production (insurance) and price (futures)
3. information
ex. banks/lenders (AgStar), USDA - Grading
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
Oligopsony describes a market with a few large buyers of a commodity. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
The futures or stock markets are very close approximations to perfect markets. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
Farmers are often said to be price takers. This implies that farmers cannot affect the price they receive for a product and that markets are competitive. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
The CR4 ratio will be equal to the HHI index if the top four firms have equal market shares. False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
Market share is always defined based on the level of a firm’s sales. T/F False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
15. Farm policies on which payment does not depend on production of a specific commodity are said to be ‘decoupled’. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:28:03 GMT view revision history
The existence of oligopolies in commodity markets is due to the fact that economies of scale reduce costs and can improve profits. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:12:10 GMT view revision history
Vertical integration can raise concerns regarding competition because it may
prevent easy entrance into markets by other competititors who must enter at least two stages of production to compete. T/F
True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:12:10 GMT view revision history
The law of one price means that prices for the same commodity in two different markets can differ only by the cost of transportation between the two markets. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:12:10 GMT view revision history
Demand enhancement programs benefit consumers but not producers. T/F False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:12:10 GMT view revision history
Market price reports provided by USDA provide what function for efficient markets?

a. Exchange
b. Facilitation
c. Transport
d. Regulatory
d. Regulatory 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:32:31 GMT view revision history
Which of the following does not define a relevant market?

a. Location
b. Time
c. Number of buyers and sellers.
d. Product form.
C. Number of buyers and sellers 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:32:31 GMT view revision history
What is the market action that assures that prices for a single commodity in two markets separated by space, time, product form or level will differ only by the cost of moving the products to the same market?

a. Supply and demand
b. Minimum costs
c. Operational efficiency
d. Arbitrage
d. Arbitrage 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:26:34 GMT view revision history
Suppose that in the pork industry, 30 percent of operations account for 15 percent of inventories and in the beef feedlot industry 5 percent of operations account for 25 percent of inventories. Which industry is more concentrated?

a. The pork industry.
b. The beef industry.
c. The two industries are equally concentrated.
d. Requires more information to answer.
b. The beef industry. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:26:34 GMT view revision history
Which of the following describes ‘loan deficiency payments’?

a. Farmers growing corn receive a direct payment regardless of the price.
b. Farmers can market their crop for a target price if prices are too low.
c. The farmer can accept a loan price and then either deliver the crop for that price if the market price doesn’t rise or take the market price and repay the loan.
d. None of these describe loan deficiency payments.
c. The farmer can accept a loan price and then either deliver the crop for that price if the market price doesn’t rise or take the market price and repay the loan. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:26:34 GMT view revision history
What is the maximum price difference for a product in two different time periods?

a. The cost of transportation.
b. The cost of storage.
c. The cost of processing.
d. In efficient markets all prices will always be equal across time.
b. The cost of storage. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:26:34 GMT view revision history
Which of the following is the only way to improve profitability in a perfectly competitive market?

a. Raise the price of your product.
b. Collaborate with your competitors to raise prices.
c. Gain better information than your competitors.
d. Reduce your cost of production.
d. Reduce your cost of production. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:22:40 GMT view revision history
Which of the following is not a role government plays in markets and policy?

a. Legal framework.
b. Regulatory functions.
c. Income stabilization and price supports.
d. Determining production levels.
d. Determining production levels. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:22:40 GMT view revision history
Marketing cooperatives were established by which legislative act?

a. The Sherman Anti-trust Act.
b. The Capper-Volstead Act.
c. The Cooperative Adjustment Act.
d. The Farm Bill Act.
b. The Capper-Volstead Act. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:22:40 GMT view revision history
Which of the following represents monopolistic competition?

a. Many firms with no differentiable products.
b. A few large firms with no differentiable products.
c. Many firms with slightly differentiable products.
d. A single firm controlling the market for a product.
c. Many firms with slightly differentiable products. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:22:40 GMT view revision history
Suppose you have the following information related to storing corn.

Future Prices = $6/bushel

Current Cahse price = $5.50/bushel

interest rate = 5%

Facility cost = 10 cents/bushel

Shrink = 10 cents/bushel

Dpereciation = 5 cents/bushel

Time to store = 6 months

1. What is the formula for additive storage costs?

2. Using the formula, calculate the breakeven price for storage. Should you store the commodity?

3. Why might the futures price be different from the expected breakeven price?
1. E(Pf) = (Pc + C) e^(r*t)

2. (5.5 + 0.25)*e^(.05*(6/12))= $5.896

3. The futures price includes time as well as location - here we're only factoring time
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:18:41 GMT view revision history
For storable commodities with a single harvest period, as in the case of most
crops, you would expect prices to decrease within a given crop year, all else equal.
False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:10:03 GMT view revision history
The futures or stock markets are very close approximations to perfect markets. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:10:03 GMT view revision history
The existence of oligopolies in commodity markets is due to the fact that economies of scale reduce costs and can improve profits. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:10:03 GMT view revision history
Government grading programs are increasingly being used because there is
no way to enforce claims from private grading or branding. T/F
False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:10:03 GMT view revision history
A characterization of markets based on concepts of market power and rivalry
would be an example of a behavioral approach to commodity marketing.
True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:07:57 GMT view revision history
Direct payments are considered to be “decoupled”. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:07:57 GMT view revision history
In commodity markets all participants are said to be ‘price takers’ because
they cannot influence the prices the pay or receive. T/F
True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:07:57 GMT view revision history
Vertical integration means that a firm owns only a single stage of the supply chain. T/F False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:07:57 GMT view revision history
Standards (as opposed to grades) are used to define production processes which are pre-defined to determine a product quality. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:06:40 GMT view revision history
The law of one price allows for the idea that prices may differ but only by the costs of transferring or transforming the product. T/F True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:06:40 GMT view revision history
Whate are the three approaches to studying commodity marketing? Institutional, functional, and behavioral 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:06:40 GMT view revision history
Which of the following modes of transportations is the lowest cost?

a. rail
b. truck
c. barge
d. truck and rail are equal
c. barge 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:06:40 GMT view revision history
Which of the following marketing activities link space, time and product form?

a. Transportation, labor and product placement.
b. Farm production, marketing and finance.
c. Transportation, storage and manufacturing.
d. Finance, exchange and production.
c. Transportation, storage and manufacturing. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:04:36 GMT view revision history
Suppose the top four firms in an industry control 25%, 20%, 10% and 5% of total sales. What is the Herfindahl-Hirshman Index for this industry? 1150 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:04:36 GMT view revision history
Which of the following would imply a failure of the assumptions of a perfect market?

a. There is no product differentiation.
b. Market prices are reported and everyone has the same information.
c. You can buy or sell in the market for a $500 investment.
d. There is only a single seller in the market.
d. There is only a single seller in the market. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:04:36 GMT view revision history
What is the maximum price difference for a product in two different time periods?

a. The cost of transportation.
b. The cost of storage.
c. The cost of processing.
d. In efficient markets all prices will always be equal across time.
b. The cost of storage. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:04:36 GMT view revision history
In the case of grains, which payment occurs regardless of high or low market prices?

a. Counter-cyclical payments.
b. Marketing assistance loan payments.
c. Crop failure payment.
d. Direct payments.
d. Direct payments. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:02:14 GMT view revision history
A "relevant" market is defines by what? time, location, product form, and level 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:02:14 GMT view revision history
The Herfindahl-Hirshman Index (HHI) is used to measure what? the concentration of firms in a market 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:02:14 GMT view revision history
In terms of market functions, what role do government grading programs serve?

a. market facilitation
b. physical functions
c. exchange functions
d. none of the above
a. market facilitation 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:02:14 GMT view revision history
List some activities that support commodity markets Aggregation
Credit/Finance
Exchanges
Transportation
Storage
Government policy/regulation
Grading and Standards
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:15:40 GMT view revision history
What are the factors that define a relevant market and identify the marketing function associated with each one? 1. location (transport)

2. Product (form)

3. Time (Storage)

4. Level (retail, wholesale, producer)
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:15:40 GMT view revision history
List the 4 conditions for a perfect market many buyers and sellers

homogeneous products

perfect information

low barriers to entry
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:15:40 GMT view revision history
Give three advantages to private grades or branding Allows for greater innovation

Allows for differentiation

Greater accountablility for quality with branding
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:15:40 GMT view revision history
Give advantages for public grades Creates common comparable standard

Everyone gets same information

Reduces chance for fraud

Adds fluidity to market

Tends to be lowest common denominator – discounts quality
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:09:10 GMT view revision history
Provide a distinction of the difference between Grades and Standards and give an example of each. Grades are based on observable traits of the product.

Standards generally set a criteria for production process that may or may not be observable in the final product
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:09:10 GMT view revision history
Suppose the current price of soybeans is $5.00 per bushel, the cost of storage is $0.10 per bushel. The interest rate is 5% and you plan to store them for 6 months. What is the breakeven price you must receive for the soybeans to pay for the storage? (note: the future value of a price is P*erT. Where e is the base ten exponent function. If your calculator does not have this function, use the formula as P*(1+r)T). $5.23 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:09:10 GMT view revision history
What are the four major components of carrying costs? DIRTI - amortized fixed costs
Interests costs
Shrinkage
Direct Costs
0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:09:10 GMT view revision history
What are the three features of markets that are important for storage? Physical Assets, Credit Markets, Futures Markets 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:59:50 GMT view revision history
Storage provides the market function of moving products through time. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:59:50 GMT view revision history
Grain shipments are increasingly going to the west coast because of demand from east Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:59:50 GMT view revision history
The form of an auction can affect the price efficiency of a market. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:59:50 GMT view revision history
Market share is a frim's sales divided by the sales of the top 4 firms. False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:50:10 GMT view revision history
Standards are generally guidelines regarding methods of production which cannot be observed whereas grading is usually bades on observable traits of the product. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:50:10 GMT view revision history
In addition to the size of firms it is important to consider the rivalry among firms to determine if the market is efficient. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:50:10 GMT view revision history
In an efficient market supply chain, each participant receives a price according to their contribution to the production process. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:50:10 GMT view revision history
Public grading systems are becoming less useful as ag firms seek to differentiate their products in the market. True 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:43:54 GMT view revision history
A firm's relevant market shoul always be determined based on the product it sells. T/F False 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:43:54 GMT view revision history
What are the conditions of a perfect market? Many buyers and sellers, homogeneous products, low barriers to entry 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:43:54 GMT view revision history
What is the fastest growing mode of transport for agricultural products in general?

a. air transport
b. container shipments
c. bulk cargo shipments
d. bulk rail hopper cars
b. container shipments 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:43:54 GMT view revision history
Which transportation system accounts for the greatest volume of grain export shipments in the US?

a. barge transport
b. railroad transport
c. truck transport
d. air transport
a. barge transport 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:38:37 GMT view revision history
Livestock Revenue Protection represents what new innovation in government policy?

a. Government insurance mandates to avoid moral hazard.
b. Direct payments to decouple production from prices.
c. Price limits on the total payments made to producers.
d. Market based policy solutions where there is cost sharing.
d. Market based policy solutions where there is cost sharing. 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:38:37 GMT view revision history
Suppose you are told taht the vitamin manufacturing sector has a CR4 ratio of 64 but an HHI index of 1024. What would this imply about the structure of the firms within the industry? There are a few large firms all of nearly equal size 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:38:37 GMT view revision history
Which of the following is NOT an implication of the "law of one price"?

a. prices in two regions may differ by cost of transportation
b. prices at wholesale and retail must be equal
c. prices in two time periods may differ by the cost of storage and interest
d. prices of hogs and pork may differ by the cost of processing
b. prices at wholesale and retail must be equal 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:38:37 GMT view revision history
Banking firms which provide credit to agribusiness marketing would be considered as providign which function?

a. regulatory
b. price supportive
c. facilitative
d. none of the above
c. facilitative 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:33:02 GMT view revision history
Which of the following would best represent an example of imporved operations efficiency in markets?

a. branding pork products
b. mandatory price reporting instituted by government
c. enforcement of anti-trust rules on a merger
d. improved packaging that extends shelf-life of a product
d. improved packaging that extends shelf-life of a product 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:33:02 GMT view revision history
Describe export enhancement programs It increases domestic producer prices and reduces foreign market prices 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:33:02 GMT view revision history
Which of the following makrets is the most fundamental role of government in markets?

a. Price supportive
b. legal structure
c. information services
d. regulatory standards
b. legal structure 0 jenmn2010 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:33:02 GMT view revision history

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