Beef Supply Chain Price Dynamics: Event Analysis of Alleged Price Fixing, 2015 to 2019

ABSTRACT Concerns for fed‐cattle price‐fixing collusion by beef packers persist. Though beef packers have recently settled these claims, they did so while issuing a statement of no wrongdoing on their parts. To better understand future allegations of packer price‐fixing, we examine beef supply‐chain price dynamics within an event analysis over periods of purported collusive activity. Error‐correction vector autoregressive analysis yields no concerns over collusive activity. Next, absolute values of time‐varying speed‐of‐adjustment coefficients are regressed on event periods and market factors to determine whether commerce reaction is slower to react during these time periods. There is only slight evidence of a change in price responsiveness during the purported period of collusive activity, but of insufficient magnitude to warrant much economic importance.