Food prices buildup and the information effect: the Mexico and the United States of America cases.

摘要

For producers, commercializers and consumers of agroalimentary products, information is an outstanding aspect for decision-making concerning production, distribution and consumption, as well as an essential element in prices buildup. The aim of this paper was to measure the effect of information over the buildup and behavior consumer prices for beef, pork, chicken, eggs and milk. In Mexico, prices showed a higher variability than in the USA during 1986-2005. After the estimate of five price equations of the mentioned products, their residuals were estimated in order to analyze the lack of information. Temporary analysis showed that the behavior of USA residuals was more disperse than in the case of Mexico; this suggests that in mexican food market the need of information is lower and prices are more instable.