The food industry is one of the most important sectors in the Latvian economy. However, due to its close links to agriculture, the structural crisis in the processing sector is the main obstacle to increasing output, productivity and profitability in the entire agricultural sector. Based on the...

In the centrally planned economy of the former Soviet Union, retail and wholesale trade were very much neglected. Since the beginning of transition the share of trade has increased considerably both in terms of its contribution to national product and employment. This paper analyses the...

Economic reform in China helped transform the structure and volume of agricultural production and resulted in significant changes in efficiency and productivity. This paper measures agricultural technical efficiency (TE) and total factor productivity (TFP) in China by allowing producers...

An die russische Agrarreform der 1990er Jahre knüpfte sich die Erwartung, dass entsprechend der Erfahrung in westlichen Staaten landwirtschaftliche Familienbetriebe (Fermer-Betriebe) an die Stelle der staatlichen GroÃbetriebe treten und einen Aufschwung in der russischen Landwirtschaft...

Transition from the planned to the market economy involved profound changes in Ukrainian economy. Before the liberalization of prices in 1992, milk processing in Ukraine was concentrated in regionally distributed large state milk processing factories. In the meantime, the dairy sector has been...

This volume of proceedings, available as both a hard copy and a pdf file, is an edited compilation of selected contributions to the MACE Conference 2009, held in Berlin, Germany, at the ICC from 14 to 15 January 2009. We would like to thank all those persons and organisations who contributed to...

In the planned Soviet economy, agricultural enterprises in Ukraine played a significant role in maintaining social infrastructure in rural areas. The state insisted that these enterprises provide medical care, transport infrastructure, kindergartens, schools and housing, as well as food...

Ukrainian agriculture is currently in a growth phase, but it is yet not clear whether this growth is sustainable. The contrast between the potential of agricultural enterprises and their present desolate condition remains very striking. At the same time, the role of individual subsidiary...

Decades of Soviet rule have left a heritage of environmental and social problems in Central Asia. The demise of an entire ecosystem at unprecedented pace, the "Aral Sea Syndrome", is the most prominent of the undesired outcomes of the focus on agricultural production that has dominated land and...

More than ten years after the departure of the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) towards market economy and democracy now it seems to be possible as well as necessary to analyse the present settings, the developments so far, and relevant problems faced during the transition. The main...