Econometric Analysis of European Food and Agricultural Trade in a Liberalized and Integrating Global Economy

As indicated by the high level of food prices and volatility thereof, the international food and agricultural trade has been characterized by increasing uncertainty in recent years. Macroeconomic fluctuations seem to affect food and agricultural markets more strongly than in the past. The liberalization of agricultural policy, especially in industrialized countries, and the integration of world markets expose actors on domestic as well as on foreign markets to increased exchange rate and price fluctuations. This book investigates the determinants of food and agricultural trade flows of European countries using various econometric approaches. Where each of the chapters focuses on a particular issue, the overall topic of the first part of this book is to identify by what means the trend towards general liberalization and especially European integration has affected the amount of bilateral trade. Moreover, in the second part the book investigates the strategic pricing behavior of European producers in a liberalized global economy and elaborates how this behavior effects trade flows.