WPS-29:He U.S. Food and Tobacco Manufacturing Industries: Market Structure, Structural Change, and Economic Performance
MEW- /'ICl/7 MAGR /4)S0 GOVS NS 1250 WPS-29:he U.S. Food and Tobacco Manufacturing Industries: Market Structure, Structural Change, and Economic Performance John M. Connor United States Economics, Agricultural Department of Statistics, and Economic Agriculture Cooperatives Service Report No. 451 THE U.S. FOOD AND TOBACCO MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES: MARKET STRUCTURE, STRUCTURAL CHANGE, AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. By John M. Connor, National Economics Division; Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Economic Report No. 451.. ABSTRACT The major conclusions the National Commission on Food Marketing made in 1966 about trends in the industrial organization of the U.S. food manufacturing industries are still valid. Company numbers are declining, average market concentration is among the highest in the manufacturing sector and is rising, product diversification has risen, food advertising has more than doubled, and the profitability of very large firms has remained higher than that of smaller firms., Foreign investment is substantial and rapidly growing, most food media advertising is on TV, profit rates have risen by over 50 percent in the last 25 years, and the monopoly overcharge on processed foods is about 10 percent. Keywords: competition, food manufacturing, tobacco manufacturing, industrial organization, market structure, performance, monopoly, oligopoly, conglomerate firms The names of proprietary firms and brand names are used in this publication to report facts on available data. The Department neither guarantees nor warrants these names and products and implies no approval of the products to the exclusion of others which may also be suitable. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author is indebted to Loys L.
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