The Role of information in U.S. grain and oilseed markets

摘要

Transparency of information in economic (price) signals is the crux of the debate regarding institutional guidelines for grain and oilseed markets. Federal grades and standards guide the determination and discovery of price in the competitive (public) market. However, the increasing rate of market coordination is reflective of a widening information gap, which rent-seeking entrepreneurs arc able to arbitrage into higher returns. Thus, the outcome of the debate will determine the direction and rate of change of U.S. grain-market structures as well as the degree to which market prices reflect the value of desired attributes.