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Abstract
Many government regulations and programs operate on the basis of tiering, that is, the
regulatory conditions change at certain points. Typically, regulatory thresholds arc designed
to restrict benefits or to provide an exemption to a particular class of recipients. It is
hypothesised, however, that regulatory thresholds may impede certain scales of business
activity, constrain structural adjustment and productivity improvement and, hence, influence
output.
The total number of tiered regulatory systems that impact on small agribusiness firms is
unknown. Several such systems arc, however, readily identifiable and some of these arc
detailed in this paper. While the marginal costs of crossing some thresholds appear
substantial the extent of their influence on the behaviour of small agribusincsses will likely
be constrained by the objectives, skills and strategies of individual managers. This paper
comprises a preliminary exploration of the extent and influence of regulatory tiering in the
agribusiness sector in Australia.