Agricultural Markets, Marketing and World Agricultural Trade

Based on the guideline "Towards well-functioning agricultural markets", the department’s research activities focus on problems relating to the functionality and coordination of markets along agrarian added-value chains in countries in economic transition. Analyses deal with development deficits in competitive coordination of markets, the increasing significance of transition economies in international agricultural markets, and challenges related to supplying the world’s population with high-quality foods. Research projects include analyses of price formation and competition as well as international trade structures via investigations of enterprise performance and adaptability, demand for health-related nutrition, and issues concerning the development of rural living conditions. A variety of quantitative methods based on micro-theory approaches are employed. Studies aim to enhance our understanding of economic decisions and resulting sectoral and macroeconomic consequences while simultaneously identifying undesired developments and deriving policy recommendations in order to improve the functionality of markets.