Search

Cooperation is particularly important for innovation in the food industry. as it has traditionally been considered as a "low tech" sector. This paper analyses how different forms of cooperation affect innovation activities in the EU's food industry. To this purpose, we analysed data at the country level drawn from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). A random effect linear model is formulated and estimated to analyse the panel data obtained from five CIS waves. The model indicates that cooperation with universities positively affects innovative activity whereas, surprisingly, government financial support has not been an effective instrument to foster innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its formation the European Union (EU) has employed a rather complicated policy to ensure high prices to domestic sugar growers and trade preferences to certain sugar exporting countries, e.g. the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group. One result of this policy is that the EU has been both the second largest importer and second largest exporter in the world market. Under pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the EU agreed to reform its policies toward sugar in 2001, with the full effect of the reforms being fully implemented in 2006. In this paper, the impact of the sugar reform on EU production, consumption, imports, and exports is examined especially with regard to how it all affects the ACP countries who receive preferential treatment regarding access to EU sugar markets. Preliminary analysis indicates that lowering domestic EU prices, while quotas requirements for ACP countries remain intact might have negative revenue implications for poor sugar producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Association Agreement concluded between the European Union and Chile in 2002 included a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that entered into force in February 2003. Our purpose is to analyse some of the economic consequences of the agricultural part of this agreement focusing in the fruit and vegetable market. Our finding is that market concentration has significantly decreased since the beginning of previous dec ade and has been reinforced in both markets. This has been an advantage for both Chilean producers and European consumers of fruits and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]