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This article examines the determinants and impacts of rising market concentration in food retail. We argue that the differentiated nature of food retail complicates the common assumption that rising market concentration is evidence of growing market power and rising prices. We provide a theoretical explanation for rising market concentration but relatively unchanging market power and prices. We also provide empirical data on prices, gross margins, profit margins, and demand elasticities to support our hypothesis that rising fixed costs have been the main driver of rising market concentration with little impact on market power and prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food pantries provide groceries to millions of households in the United States every year. Although there is research and information on many other aspects of food pantries, including financial information such as tax valuations for donated food, there is not a literature establishing the economic value of food pantry access for clients and potential clients. We use a valuation approach from environmental economics, revealed preference travel cost modeling, in a novel application to estimate food pantry value. We use a rich administrative dataset from a food bank system in Colorado and estimate demand for pantry visits, exploiting the move of a local pantry to correct for endogeneity bias. We find that the annual value of pantry access to pantry client households is between $600 and $1000, and the value per pantry visit is between $40 and $60. If we assume these values hold nationally, our localized results imply that the collective value of food pantry access among pantry client households may be between $19 billion and $28 billion dollars annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing evidence to support food policy requires causal identification and demonstration of economic significance. Research methods impact the ability to address these goals, often with substantial tradeoffs between methods. The constraints of food decision contexts impact which methods are feasible, shaping the universe of policy relevant food behaviour research. This relationship is highlighted in the context of four key policy levers: pricing, consumer information, accessibility and regulation of the food environment. This review provides those outside the field a lens for evaluating both the weight of evidence and a guide to what type of evidence is feasible in particular contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]