Le cycle des profits en économie agro-alimentaire: comparaison internationale

Based the structure-conduct-performance-approach the present paper analyses determinants of pricecost-margins over the business cycle for food industries in Germany, the USA as well as the Netherlands. Controlling for market structure variables, cyclical fluctuations in profitability are interpreted as evidence for changes in firm behavior. The econometric panel data models reveal procyclic fluctuations of profits on highly concentrated industries in Germany. In contrast, profitability in competitive industries in Germany as well as in all US-food industries are found to be more stable over the business cycle. This observation is explicable in terms of a more aggressive behavior of firms in boom periods. The econometric model does not adequately explain industry differences in profitability in the Netherlands.