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Abstract
This paper examines whether competition in major export markets for United States
beef has changed between 1994 and 2015 and whether underlying cattle inventories impact that
competition. The two models employed examine price markups and comparative advantage.
Both models are estimated as systems of equations taking into account competitors in eight
major beef export markets. Structural break tests of key functions of the two models are
examined. The findings complement each other showing that inventories do have some impact
on competition, but that the markets are mostly highly competitive, and that the level of
competition the U.S. faced in 2015 is not significantly different than it was twenty years prior.