B010458 - Economics of Agro-food markets

Lectures and final examination in Italian. Some course materials will be in English.

At the end of the course the students are well-acquainted with the organization and the functioning of markets for agricultural and food products, with a specific focus on quality food. They are able to assess the relevant issues referring to public regulation, consumers' choice, firm strategies and supply chain organization, according to alternative theoretical perspectives and using different applied methods. During the course they achieve knowledge on the firms' approach to markets for quality products, on the main EU and Italian relevant policy. They are introduced to some tools for the analysis of consumer behavior, learning how to use them for designing and assessing the strategies implemented by the firms. Finally, they improve their ability in presenting topics and issues through the participation to class discussions and seminars

The course addresses the functioning of agrifood markets, with a focus on products with a specific quality. The issue of food quality will be considered from different perspectives: economic, regulatory, supply chain organization and marketing. A specific focus will be devoted to origin products, alternative food networks and collective marketing. The course is divided into two modules: the first with a theoretic/methodological focus, the second with an applied approach (lab applications).

Suggested preparatory courses: Market research and data analysis

The course is divided into two modules. The first module is based on structured lectures and classroom activities asking students to apply the acquired theoretic and applied knowledge to examples and case studies from real agricultural and food markets. The second module adopts an applied approach and is based on info-lab activities on real data on agricultural and food quality markets. Classroom and on-line discussions as well as collective work are encouraged. The course includes also invited seminars with firms and institutions representatives.
Structured lectures: 20 hours.
Laboratory: 20 hours.
Seminars: 8 hours.

STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE CLASS: Written exam (with open questions on different topics of the course), that can be followed by an oral examination (100% of the total mark).
STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CLASS: The overall grade for the course is based on the end-of-year written examination (with open questions on different topics of the course, and a possible additional final interview at the discretion of the teacher 50% of the total mark) plus one short report on project works to be handed during the year within the lab activities (50% of the total mark).
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Due to the COVID-19 emergency, starting from June 2020, exams can only be carried out electronically (D.R. 358 of 12 March 2020 and subsequent amendments to D.R. 9.04.20). Therefore, UNTIL THE STATE OF EMERGENCY STATE COVID-19, the examination modalities are varied as described below: the written test is replaced with an oral test on line through Zoom platform. FURTHER DETAILS AND ALL RELATED TECHNICAL INFORMATION will be given through the GDrive Platform, Moodle platform a.a. 2019/20 and to the list of students registered for the examinations.

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Notice for the September session (1.9.2020)
The September exams will take place according to what already happened in the June and July exams, or entirely remotely through an oral interview (via the Zoom platform).

School general information on exam methods available here: https://www.economia.unifi.it/vp-455-appello-esami-settembre-2020.html

When registering for the exam, students who have prepared the exam on the "attending" program (slides and video lessons) must write it in the notes field (simply writing "attending") and if they attended in a year other than the current one they must specify in which calendar year (eg: "Attendant year 1972"), also indicating whether they have completed the application ("Attendant with application").

Agricultural and food market functioning, with a specific focus on the markets for products with specific quality features, such as denomination of origin, environmental compatibility, agrobiodiversity, short food supply chain, high symbolic value. Economic issues: organization and functioning of markets and supply chains, quality differentiation and economics of information; public regulation issues: national and EU regulation, with a focus on denomination of origin certification; supply organisation: hybrid forms of supply coordination and their role within the competitive arena, marketing design and management, with a focus on producers consortia and collective marketing.
The course is divided into two modules: the first addressing theoretical and methodological issues with structured lectures, the second applied, with lab applications of data analysis (for example: income elasticity of food demand, choice experiments on food products, wilingness to pay for geographical indications, assessment of consumers attitudes towards farmers markets).

STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE CLASS: course materials (handouts + selected papers, also in English) will be available on the e-learning platform before the start date of the course.
STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CLASS: powerpoint presentations , class notes and papers distributed during the course (also in English).

The course will be held in the second semester (from March to May). Some lessons will be held in the Computer Lab.