Price effects of common ownership in the seed sector
Abstract
We investigate the effects of common ownership on firms’ incentives to compete. Using a theoretical model, we illustrate how common ownership changes the nature of competition among firms in the same sector. Our empirical analysis examines these dynamics in the U.S. seed industry and shows that the rise of common ownership concentration is a significant contributor to increase in soy, corn, and cotton seed prices over the 1997–2017 period. These findings contribute to the current literature regarding the anticompetitive effects of common ownership and confirm the result of studies performed in other sectors, such as airlines.
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Several studies have found a relationship between corporate concentration and higher seed prices in North America over the past several decades, which have driven up farmers' production costs.
“Several studies have found a relationship between corporate concentration and higher seed prices in North America over the past several decades, which have driven up farmers ' production costs (Shi et al. 2010; Torshizi and Clapp 2021).”
From Corporate concentration and power matter for agency in food systems (2025) · cites this paper as Torshizi and Clapp 2021
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- Authors
- Torshizi, M., & Clapp, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Alberta (CA)
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- ORCID
- Torshizi, Mohammad
- Venue
- The Antitrust Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2021-01-21
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 39-67
- ISSN
- 0003-603X (ISSN-L)
- 1930-7969
- OpenAlex
- W3122140434
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 5.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Antitrust Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Merger and Competition Analysis
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Corporate Finance and Governance
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economics of Agriculture and Food Markets
- Keywords
- collective ownership, seed industry, seed prices, anticompetitive effects, competition incentives, ownership concentration, soybean seeds, maize seeds, cottonseed
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