Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar a cadeia de carne bovina de corte no Brasil e determinar, empiricamente, se há poder de mercado na relação comercial entre produtores rurais e frigoríficos. Com esse fim, procedeu-se em duas etapas. Primeiro, fez-se uma caracterização da estrutura da indústria. Concluiu-se que, de fato, a estrutura se aproxima de um oligopsônio, com potencial para exercício de poder de mercado. Na linha da Nova Organização Industrial Empírica (NOIE), o artigo desenvolve um novo método econométrico para auferir poder de mercado em indústrias oligopsônicas. Esse modelo procura superar uma limitação tradicional da literatura, na qual os resultados são sensíveis à hipótese feita sobre a tecnologia de produção. Usando a condição de maximização de lucro dos frigoríficos e dados mensais por um período de 14 anos para o estado de São Paulo, encontrou-se evidência de poder de mercado fraco no setor, o que permite descartar a hipótese de comportamento de cartel. Estimativas alternativas apenas reforçam a robustez desse resultado. Além disso, o poder de mercado não aumentou em anos recentes, quando a concentração no setor aumentou substancialmente.

This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.This paper develops a model of political regulation in which politicians set the regulated price in order to maximize electoral support by signaling to voters a pro-consumer behavior. Political incentives and welfare constraints interact in the model, yielding an equilibrium in which the real price in a regulated industry may fall in periods immediately preceding an election. The paper also provides empirical support for the theoretical model. Using quarterly data from 32 industrial and developing countries over 1978-2004, we find strong statistical and econometric evidence pointing toward the existence of electoral price cycles in gasoline markets. JEL Classification Numbers: K20, L51, E32

RESUMOO presente trabalho analisa a estratégia de entrada de firmas da indústria de fast-food brasileira em novos mercados. Investigamos quais os atributos de uma cidade que atrai firmas dessa indústria e como firmas de diferentes cadeias interagem nas suas decisões de entrada. Os resultados indicam que as firmas adotam uma estratégia do tipo me-too: uma vez que uma firma entra em um mercado inexplorado, as demais tendem a também entrar nesse mercado. A hipótese do artigo é que há uma incerteza quanto ao potencial de um mercado, e a entrada de uma firma sinaliza para as demais que esse potencial é elevado Os ganhos da descoberta e da entrada em um novo mercado com alto potencial dissipam-se rapidamente com a entrada das firmas seguidoras, concedendo uma vantagem temporária para a firma pioneira. Abstract The present study analyses the strategy of fast food industry firms to enter new markets. We investigate the attributes of cities that attract firms in this industry, and how firms from different chains interact with regard to their entry decisions. We found that firms adopt a me-too strategy: once a firm has entered an unexplored market, the others tend to also enter this market. The hypothesis of this paper is that there is some uncertainty regarding a certain market's potential, and the entry of one firm signals to others that this potential is high. Gains from discovering and entering a new, high-potential market fade quickly with the entry of the following firms, which gives a temporary advantage to the pioneer firm. keywords Entry models, fast food chains, me-too strategy, industrial organization, competitive strategy.

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This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.This paper develops a model of political regulation in which politicians set the regulated price in order to maximize electoral support by signaling to voters a pro-consumer behavior. Political incentives and welfare constraints interact in the model, yielding an equilibrium in which the real price in a regulated industry may fall in periods immediately preceding an election. The paper also provides empirical support for the theoretical model. Using quarterly data from 32 industrial and developing countries over 1978-2004, we find strong statistical and econometric evidence pointing toward the existence of electoral price cycles in gasoline markets. JEL Classification Numbers: K20, L51, E32

This paper analyzes the entry problem in the hydroelectric generation industry. The operation of an upstream generator regularizes the river flow for generators located downstream on the same river, increasing the production capacity of the latter. This positive externality increases the attractiveness of the locations downstream whenever a generator decides to enter upstream. Therefore, the entry decision of a generator in a given location may affect all entry decisions in potential locations for plants downstream. This type of externality takes place whenever the first firm to enter in a market facilitates the following entries. I first develop a method to estimate an entry model specific to this type of externality, considering the specifications of the hydro-generation industry. At last, I use a data set on investment decisions of Brazilian hydro-generators to estimate the model. The results show a positive incentive to locate downstream both from existing plants and from locations where entry is likely to occur. An interesting by-product of this analysis is that the year effects' estimates show an increase one year before the energy crisis of 2001, providing evidence that the market had anticipated the crisis. It contradicts the governmental version that the crisis was due to an unexpected drought.

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