The New Food Economy

Up till the 1990s, Agricultural Economics primarily analysed issues related to agricultural trade and agricultural policy. The academic focus was due to policy’s focus on food security (self sufficiency) and surplus production. Micro-economic market and price analysis constituted the core of Agricultural Economics. Among other things, due to the narrow policy focus, Agricultural Economics stayed within its narrow conceptual framework.

Due to major changes in the food economy, policy makers and social scientists study a range of topics which are out of the realm of traditional Agricultural Economics.

• Industry concentration throughout the food supply chain and increasing supply chain co-ordination have lead to growing interest in studies in to market structure and performance. The increase in supply chain co-ordination may be explained by the rapid digitalization of the information economy. The interest in market performance has given rise to studies on market power and pricing on the one hand and on the efficiency and equity effects of supply chain co-ordination on the other hand.
• With food supply becoming abundant and consumers becoming ever wealthier, consumer demand has become a major driver of the modern food supply chain. Because of this development, there is growing interest in consumer behaviour and food marketing. The rise of the modern food retailer and food service provider is related to the growing demand for convenience and service. Because consumers have become more ‘picky’, food processors include consumers more and more into the product development process.
• There is growing concern about social aspects of food production and consumption. Non-governmental organisations and consumers increasingly express their concerns about environmental issues, animal welfare, social and labour conditions, and the position of developing countries. Due to this development, niche markets arise for products like organics and fair food. Moreover, food processors and food retailers develop programs for CSR including private standards and select and support suppliers in order to meet social demands with respect to process characteristics.
• Finally, because there is a policy shift from traditional agricultural policy towards consumer and sustainability issues, public policy with respect to food undergoes major reforms. At the same time, governments intervene ever less in markets and try to stimulate market parties to take up their social responsibilities. These reforms have led to a range of studies into institutional reforms.

Because research and policy interests have shifted, current research includes inputs from a range of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, ethics, institutional economics, industrial organisation and economics of the public sector. Moreover, interdisciplinary research has become more important.

References

Industry concentration and market performance

• Bunte, Frank and Pavel Vavra, Supermarkets and the meat supply chain: the economic impact of food retail on farmers, processors and consumers, Paris: OECD, 2006.
• Bunte, Frank, Gli agricoltori e i pescatori olandesi crescono, AgriRegioni Europa 2(4), Maart 2006.
• Bunte, Frank, Erno Kuiper, Michiel van Galen and Silvia Goddijn, Macht en prijsvorming in agrofoodketens, The Hague: LEI, 2003, 5.03.01.
• Bunte, Frank and Jack Peerlings, Asymmetric price transmission due to market power in case of supply shocks, Agribusiness, 2003, pp. 19-28.
• Zachariasse, Vinus and Frank Bunte, How are farmers faring in the changing balance of power along the food chain?, OECD Conference, The Hague, 2003; EUNIP Conference, Porto, 2003.
• Bunte, Frank, Dutch auctions exit, EARIE Conference, Lausanne, 2000; EUNIP Conference, Tilburg, 2000.

Consumer behaviour and food marketing

• Bunte, Frank, Michiel van Galen, Erno Kuiper and Johan Bakker, Limits to growth in organic sales; The price elasticity of consumer demand for organic food in Dutch supermarkets, The Hague: LEI, 2007, 7.06.20.
• Dagevos, Hans, Erica van Herpen and Marcel Kornelis, Consumptiesamenleving en Consumeren in de Supermarkt; Duurzame voedselconsumptie in de context van markt en maatschappij, 2005.
• Dagevos, Hans and Geert Munnichs, De obesogene samenleving: Maatschappelijke perspectieven op overgewicht, Amsterdam University Press, 2007.
• Sijtsema, Siet, Your health!? Transforming health perception into food product characteristics in consumer-oriented product design, Thesis Wageningen UR, 2003.

Corporate Social Responsibility

• Hoof, Luc van (editor), Sharing responsibilities in fisheries management, The Hague: LEI, 2006, 7.05.05.
• Beekman, Volkert and H. Rosa, Ethics as a dimension of agrifood policy,  Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 16(6), 2003, p. 525 - 529.
• Beekman, Volkert, Sustainable development and future generations, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 17(1), 2004, p. 3-22.

Towards a New Food Policy

• Bunte, Frank, Marc Davidson and Machiel Mulder, Emissiehandel voor glastuinbouw; effecten van een CO2-vereveningssysteem, The Hague: LEI, 2007, 3.07.03.
• Bunte, Frank, In de markt geprijsd; Een analyse van beleidsmaatregelen gericht op prijsvorming van biologische producten, The Hague: LEI, 2004, 6.04.16.
• Bunte, Frank, Marktwerking; Een zevenstappenplan voor marktwerking in landbouw, natuurbeheer en voedselkwaliteit, The Hague: LEI, 2004, 6.04.08.
• Dagevos, Hans and Lydia Sterrenburg (eds.), Burgers en consumenten; tussen tweedeling en twee-eenheid. Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2003.
• Diederen, Paul, Frank Bunte, Lanie van Staalduinen, Annelies Huygen and Esther Uytewaal, De prijs van water, The Hague: LEI, 2001.
• Selnes, Trond and Marius Aalders, Een kantelende overheid: debat intensieve veehouderij en de transitie naar duurzame landbouw, Den Haag, Amsterdam: LEI, Centrum voor Milieurecht Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2005, Rapport PR.05.08.

Website
Please vist the New Food Economy 2007 website.

Conference
On 18 and 19 October, the second OECD/NL Conference ‘The Food Economy: Global Issues and Challenges’ was held in The Hague. Conference report.