Agricultural markets have changed rapidly in recent years, and while standard treatments of price analysis are still relevant, there is a critical need to train students to work in the new world of agricultural markets. This text incorporates new information and devotes more time and space to the issues of agricultural industrialization and market structure likely to be faced by applied economists. At the same time, it explicitly includes far more examples/case studies and covers issues in regression analysis and empiricism in far greater depth than other books at this level.
A greater focus on, and integration of, empirical techniques make this book readily usable for instructors who wish to incorporate data analysis in their courses. This text also places a heavier emphasis on market structure – imperfect competition, vertical coordination, contracting, and so on. Providing students with the necessary background to understand the new environment in which they will be expected to operate, including some introduction to game theory with applications, this book is indispensable reading for both upper-level undergraduates and graduate students. Chapters on more advanced techniques such as survey design and conjoint analysis are also included. Each chapter offers practical examples used to make key points, “key questions” for review purposes, exercises, and questions posed to students that can be used by instructors to stimulate classroom discussion.
