Product Differentiation and Segregation in Agricultural Systems: Non-Genetically Modified and Specialty Corn and Soybean Crops in Iowa
利用爱荷华州谷物处理调查数据，检验合作社、私营及公司制企业在处理特种作物时因产品差异化与隔离产生的额外交易成本差异，并讨论其对行业结构的影响。
An important dimension of product differentiation and segregation for specialty crops is the added handling and transaction costs incurred. Some forms of business organization may realize lower costs of providing such services, and if specialty crop production is growing relative to commodity production, these two factors may have implications for industry structure. We use data from an Iowa grain handling survey to test hypotheses developed in the non-empirical transaction-costs literature with respect to organizational and financial governance of cooperatives and private and corporate firms. Preliminary results are discussed with respect to business organizations, added costs, investments, crops, and contracting.