MILWAUKEE, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- "Big Ag" is
getting a big bad rep in the media in needing to break it up with
antitrust law, researchers want to provide people with some context
as to what antitrust policy was created to do and how it has been
historically implemented.
In the new Applied Economics Perspectives & Policy article
"Should we use antitrust policies on big agriculture?" Jason Winfree and Philip
Watson from the University of
Idaho discuss some of the potential problems of using
antitrust law to break up big agriculture.
Watson says, "The implications are that it would likely be
counter productive to use antitrust law to break up big ag for the
purposes of raising prices to protect small famers. Antitrust
policy is specifically designed to protect consumers from high
prices that can sometimes result from market power. However, there
is little evidence that big ag is resulting in higher prices and
there is more evidence to the contrary that big ag is resulting in
lower prices. For some, this is the problem; that food prices are
too low and this is hurting small producers. However, there are
better policy tools to assist small farmers than using antitrust to
break up big ag for the purpose of raising prices."
If you are interested in setting up an interview, please contact
Allison Ware in the AAEA Business
Office.
ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied
Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional
association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500
members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in
academic or government institutions as well as in industry and
not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research,
teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the
environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA
publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural
Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well
as the online magazine Choices and the online open access
publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn
more, visit http://www.aaea.org.
Media Contact
Allison Ware, Agricultural &
Applied Economics Association, 414-918-3190, aware@aaea.org
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SOURCE Agricultural & Applied Economics Association