High Marketing Costs Research Articles

Producer price and price transmission in a deregulated Ethiopian coffee market

Coffee producers in Ethiopia have historically received a very small share of the export price of green coffee. Reasons that are often mentioned are heavy government intervention and high marketing and processing costs. Prior to 1992, government regulation of the domestic coffee market in the form of fixed producer prices and the monopoly power of the Ethiopian Coffee Marketing Corporation put a substantial wedge between the producer price and the world price of coffee by imposing an implicit tax on producers. The domestic coffee marketing system in Ethiopia was liberalised after 1992, which was envisaged to have a positive effect on producer prices and price transmission signals from world markets to producers. This paper, with the help of Cointegration and Error-Correction Model (ECM), attempts to analyse its impact. As findings indicate, the reforms induced stronger long-run relationships among grower, wholesaler and exporter prices. The estimation of the ECM shows that the short-run transmission of price signals from world to domestic markets has improved, but has remained weak in both auction-to-world and producer-to-auction markets. This might be explained by the weak institutional arrangement coordinating the domestic coffee system and contract enforcement. In general, the domestic price adjusts more rapidly to world price changes today than it did prior to the reforms. However, there is an indication that negative price changes transmit much faster than positive ones.

Governing Of Marketing In Bulgarian Farms

Attempt has been made to identify dominant forms and factors for output realization in Bulgarian farms. New Institutional and Transaction Costs Economics framework is used to estimate comparative efficiency of various modes for realization of farm outputs in farms of different type (unregistered, cooperative, agro-firms) and various sizes (small, middle-size, large). Study is based on a large-scale microeconomic data collected through interviews with managers of 0.5% of commercial farms in the country. Big institutional, economic, and behavioral uncertainty combined with high assets specificity and low recurrence of transactions, have blocked formation of agrarian markets in the country. Market has failed to organize significant part of inputs supply and outputs realization transactions. However, agrarian agents have developed various private modes to overcome transacting difficulties and to govern their dependent transactions. A great variety of in-farm production and processing, personal contacts, long-term marketing contracts, and interlinked modes etc. have come to existence and they characterize dominant structures for outputs realization in Bulgarian farming today. Major type of farming outputs realization (household consumption and giving to friends and relatives; production in-farm consumption; additional processing in-farm; long-term contract for outside processing; sell) in farms of different types and sizes has been identified and their relative share in brut farm output determined. Product specificity (grain, vegetables, fruits and grape, live animals and meat, milk, others) and its relation to specific organizational choice of outputs realization (member cooperative; other farm, cooperative or firms; retail trade; wholesale trade to store, hotel, restaurant; commodity exchange; wholesale market; in-farm processing; state reserve; direct export) have been identified and microeconomic factors for governance choice discussed. Importance of diverse factors for preferring a particular buyer or mode for realization of farm outputs (lack of alternative buyer; best prices; maximum profit; minimum risk; cheapest way; maximum security; high trust; tradition; frequency of transactions with the same partner) have been specified. Prominence of various transacting problems for realization (lack of buyers; low prices; unstable prices; no price information; no buyer information; buyer is better informed; unreliable partner; not-fulfillment of negotiated terms; controlling and enforcement of contracts; non-business factors etc.) for main farming products and type of farms have been specified. In the same way the significance of chief factors for successful realization (mutual benefits for partners; written contract; oral agreement; third-party assistance; good will of partners; tradition; trust; beneficial for farm prices; lack of competition) have been identified. High marketing costs along with the big enforcement costs of contracts in general, and enormous credit supply costs are the major factors restricting farm enlargement of Bulgarian farms as present stage. Besides, the most important factors for farm development in future relate to improvement of institutional environment (guaranteed marketing, enforcement of Laws and private contracts, macro-economic stability, legislation framework, access to free markets), and own and family experience in farm management.

Gender factor in the structure and conduct of the cocoa industry in Nigeria

The study examined gender differentiation of tasks and responsibilities and evaluated the level of success and/ or failure among men and women in cocoa marketing in the study area using primary and secondary data collection.The study revealed that there was gender discrimination against women in access to credit due to their inability to provide collateral security. It was also found that the major marketing problems faced by cocoa marketers included those of pricing, finance, transportation, activities of fraudsters and high cost of marketing. The study also revealed that the structure of the industry did not seem to have contributed to the observed barriers to entry features. The problems preventing new entrants into the industry within the past few years included those of transportation, unstable price (unforeseen fall in Cocoa prices), access to loan or problems created by banks by charging what was considered to be too high bank interest rates on loan. These are without prejudice to their volume of trading.The study concluded that female cocoa marketers in Ondo State possessed tremendous ability to succeed in the business if only their opportunities to credit facilities and capital could be enhanced.

Governing of Land Supply in Bulgarian Farms

In this paper an attempt has been made to identify dominant forms and factors for in Bulgarian farms. The New Institutional and Transaction Costs Economics framework is adapted to transitional agrarian economy. Institutional, behavioral, and transaction costs factors for evolution and sustainability of different forms of subsistent, cooperative, and commercial in Bulgaria have been analyzed. Comparative efficiency of various forms for in market-oriented farms of different type (unregistered, cooperatives, agro-firms) and sizes (small, middle, large) has been estimated. The study is based on original microeconomics data collected through interviews with managers of 0.5% of commercial farms in the country. First of all, a general characteristics and development of different kind of farms in Bulgaria has been presented. That analysis comprises: the kind of new commercial farms; the type of transactions under their management; the pace of evolution of market oriented farms; and factors for emergence of large-scale subsistent farming. Institutional and transaction costs origin of existing forms of farming has been underlined. Secondly, an analysis is made on major modes for in commercial farms. It includes: the type of (e.g. own land, leased land, cultivation in groups); modes of acquisition of ownership (restitution, privatization, purchase); extend of lease-in contracts; forms for reduction of supply (sell off and lease-out land). Dominating modes of are found to relate to critical dimensions and costs of transacting. Thirdly, an analysis of the transaction costs in has been made. In encompasses: the specific features of contracts; the type of rent; extend of a third-party involvement in transactions; and problems in deals. Preferred contract forms depend on attributes of transactions and aim at protecting and minimizing costs of deals. Finally, factors for enlargement of Bulgarian farms have been specified. It is proved that the reduction of and the expansion of size of commercial farms, both have been determined by the transaction costs reasons. Presently, the high marketing, credit supply, and contract enforcement costs are the major factors restricting farms enlargement. A good part of cooperatives and middle-size farms also spend significant time and efforts for finding partners selling or leasing-out land On the other hand, the most important factors for farm development in the future relates to improvement of the institutional environment, and managerial experience of farm entrepreneurs. According to the farm managers there are no specific factors related to which could impede farm development in the country.

Mutual Funds and Institutional Investments: What is the Most Efficient Way to Set Up Individual Accounts in a Social Security System?

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at defined contribution individual account (IA) components of social security systems is that they are too expensive. This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of three options for constructing funded social security pillars: 1) IA's invested in the retail market with relatively open choice, 2) IA's invested in the institutional market with constrained choice among investment companies, and 3) a centralized fund without individual accounts or differentiated investments across individuals. Our questions: What is the most cost-effective way to organize a mandatory IA system, how does the cost of an efficient IA system compare with that of a single centralized fund, and are the cost differentials large enough to outweigh the other important considerations? Our answers, based on empirical evidence about mutual and institutional funds in the U.S.: The retail market (option 1) allows individual investors to benefit from scale economies in asset management, but at the cost of high marketing expenses that are needed to attract and aggregate small sums of money into large pools. In contrast, a centralized fund (option 3) can be much cheaper because it achieves scale economies without high marketing costs, but gives workers no choice and hence is subject to political manipulation and misallocation of capital. Mandatory IA systems can be structured to get the best of both worlds: to obtain scale economies in asset management without incurring high marketing costs or sacrificing worker choice. To accomplish this requires centralized collections, a modest level of investor service and constrained choice. The system of constrained choice described in this paper (option 2) is much cheaper than the retail market and only slightly more expensive than a single centralized fund. We estimate that it will cost only .14-.18% of assets annually. These large administrative cost savings imply a Pareto improvement so long as choice is not constrained too much.'

American Heart Association Report on the Public Access Defibrillation Conference December 8-10, 1994

During the past 20 years, morbidity and mortality rates for nearly all types of cardiovascular disease have declined. Progress in these areas is in stark contrast to that for sudden cardiac death, which continues unabated at a rate of approximately 1000 times per day in the United States, with little decline in incidence or improved outcome. Clearly, the problem of sudden cardiac death is best approached through prevention, but horizons in that area seem no more promising and in some respects less promising and substantially more costly than 2 decades ago. The means necessary for successful resuscitation of a patient in cardiac arrest were known by the early 1960s. Externally performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) could maintain an “oxygen plateau” and delay permanent brain damage long enough to allow external defibrillation using direct current (DC). The possibility of long-term survival was increasingly recognized, as early anecdotal experiences accumulated into published series.1 2 3 Given the hindsight of 3 decades, the obstacles to be overcome before significant progress could be made in out-of-hospital resuscitation were formidable. First, cardiac arrest was perceived as an event that typically occurred in the hospital. In-hospital cardiac arrests are now recognized to represent only a small proportion of sudden deaths based in the community. Second, the CPR technique was known to only a limited number of hospital-based physicians. CPR is no longer restricted to hospitals or physicians; it is routinely taught to the lay public. Third, only line-powered, bulky, and awkward defibrillators were available. The first out-of-hospital defibrillation device weighed 110 lb. Contemporary external defibrillators are available that weigh less than 10 lb. The present report details progress made in achieving the goal of facilitating out-of-hospital resuscitation and specifies those areas in which further headway is needed. This effort began in 1990 with an American Heart …

The Challenge of High Costs of Marketing

The Challenge of High Costs of Marketing

Are There too Many Retailers?

expensive step in the whole marketing process, it is in the retail field that there is the greatest opportunity for cutting down marketing costs. Students of marketing have come to realize that the general organization of the marketing system is sound, and that middlemen exist for the simple reason that they furnish the most economical method of performing the necessary marketing functions. Realizing that the cost of retailing is relatively high, investigators have turned their eyes in this direction in an attempt to find a solution of the socalled marketing problem. Perhaps the most obvious thing about retailers is their great number. In a large city there may be four or five grocery stores on a single street in one block. In a small town there may be eight or ten grocery stores, whereas two or three stores are all that are necessary to take care of the needs of the community. The immediate conclusion is that there are too many retailers and that this accounts for the high cost of marketing. Thousands of people who have never studied marketing have been expressing this thought for years. During the recent agitation on marketing questions, certain writers have featured this thought in newspapers and in magazine articles as though it were an important dis-