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StarLink disrupted the U.S. corn market during the 2000|01 marketing year as a result of inadvertent commingling. The potential, upper-bound volume of marketed StarLink-commingled corn from the 2000 crop located near wet and dry millers prior to October 1, 2000, is estimated at 124 million bushels. The percentage of corn shipments that tested positive mostly ranged from 5 to 10%, varying by mode of transportation. Price differentials between StarLink-commingled and StarLink-free corn commonly ranged between 7 and 12 cents per bushel during the early stage of the incident. These differentials eroded quickly due largely to Aventis' compensation of additional transportation costs when StarLink-commingled shipments had to be rerouted to approved uses. While StarLink had a negative impact on U.S. corn exports, most of the reductions in exports to Japan and South Korea during the period from November 2000 through March 2002 were due to increased competition from rival exporters. [EconLit citations: Q130, Q170]. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 19: 473-488, 2003.

This study estimates the total benefit arising from the adoption of agricultural biotechnology in one year (1997) and its distribution among key stakeholders along the production and marketing chain. The analysis focuses on three biotech crops: herbicide-tolerant soybeans, insect-resistant (Bt) cotton, and herbicide-tolerant cotton. Adoption of these crops resulted in estimated market benefits of $212.5-$300.7 million for Bt cotton, $231.8 million for herbicide-tolerant cotton, and $307.5 million for herbicide-tolerant soybeans. These benefits accounted for small shares of crop production value, ranging from 2 percent to 5 percent. U.S. farmers captured a much larger share (about a third) of the benefits for Bt cotton than with herbicide-tolerant soybeans (20 percent) and herbicide-tolerant cotton (4 percent). Innovators' share ranged from 30 percent for Bt cotton to 68 percent for herbicide-tolerant soybeans. For herbicide-tolerant cotton, U.S. consumers and the rest of the world (including both producers and consumers) received the bulk of the estimated benefits in 1997. Estimated benefits and their distribution depend on the specification of the analytical framework, supply and demand elasticity assumptions, the inclusion of market and nonmarket benefits, crops considered, and year-specific factors (such as weather and pest infestation levels).

This study identifies the determinants of coupon values at the brand level within the context of a complex marketing program. A two-equation, fixed-effects, panel-data model accounts for the bidirectional causality between brand prices and discount levels. The empirical model is fitted with data on household purchases of ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals and captures the industry's 1996 price cuts and discount reductions. Higher brand prices cause coupon values to rise, supporting the price discrimination hypothesis. Coupon values fall with in-store displays and more intense advertising but rise when couponed products are featured in store flyers. Discount levels are positively related to brand market share and the size of discounts redeemed for rival cereals. Coupon values fall with increasing brand loyalty among RTE cereal purchasers. Cereal prices are positively affected by coupon values, advertising expenditures, input costs, and the prices of competing brands. Inventory levels are negatively correlated with brand price. [EconLit citations: Q130, D120, L130]. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 19: 223-243, 2003.*

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