From Big Ag to Big Finance: a market network approach to power in agriculture

Loka Ashwood (), Andy Pilny, John Canfield, Mariyam Jamila and Ryan Thomson
Additional contact information
Loka Ashwood: University of Kentucky
Andy Pilny: University of Kentucky
John Canfield: University of Wisconsin
Ryan Thomson: Auburn University

Agriculture and Human Values, 2022, vol. 39, issue 4, No 19, 1434 pages

Abstract: Abstract Critics charge that agriculture has reached an unsustainable level of consolidation and expropriation, as exemplified by the supply-chain breakdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, advocates suggest the current system serves consumers well by keeping prices low and access to choices high. At the center of this debate rests a disagreement over how to compute market power to identify monopolies and oligopolies. We propose a method to study power across different sectors by using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze key players, the presence of core-periphery structures, and agricultural consolidation. We test our market network approach to power through an analysis of the top ten pork powerhouses. We find that Big Finance is closely tied to Big Ag, and that key players limit the capacity for more peripheral actors, like growers, equipment producers, and regional banks, to engage in the network. We identify system level risk of collapse and suggest pathways for reform.

Keywords: Corporate agriculture; Financialization; Hog production; Market power; Monopolies; Oligopolies; Social network analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-022-10332-3

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