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Hyejin Lee, Patrick Van Cayseele, Market power, markup volatility and the role of cooperatives in the food value chain: evidence from Italy, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Volume 51, Issue 3, July 2024, Pages 844–894, https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbac001
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Abstract
Agricultural cooperatives are often promoted as a way to give farmers countervailing market power and greater income stability. This paper investigates to what extent cooperatives in food supply chains achieve these objectives. We estimate firm-level markups and markup volatility in the Italian fruits and vegetable (F&V) and dairy sectors at both the farming and processing stages for the period 2007–2014. We find mixed results: compared to non-cooperatives, F&V processor cooperatives have higher markups, while F&V farmer cooperatives and dairy processor cooperatives have lower markups. We do not find strong evidence of their role on markup volatility.