Ceny żywności a nierównowaga rynkowa

Abstract

Market disequilibrium understood as a shortage existed in the period 1975-1986 with changing intensity on particular food markets, with effectiveness of the administrative price control being dependent on specific characteristics of a given market, degree of monopolization or assortment diversity. An attempt has been made in the article to determine on which markets and in which years of the period under study we were dealing with insufficient supply. The .studies were based on published market statistics and especially detail and free-market prices and selected prices at which agricultural products were purchased from farmers. The comparative analysis of prices carried out by means of statistical indices and econometric models of prices points at. existence of a "relative" equilibrium on the market for fruit and vegetables, potatoes and eggs. Absence of price control connected with predominance of the private production sector causes that retail prices are closer here to equilibrium prices. Simple methods consisting in comparing retail prices with free-market prices and prices of purchasing agricultural products yield valuable auxiliary information allowing to evaluate the nature of disequilibrium on some food markets.