(introduction...)
2.40 A wide range of technical, institutional, and other
measures can be adopted to facilitate the flow of information, goods, money, and
product ownership rights in commodity systems, to achieve economies of scale and
reduce the risks and transaction costs associated with food procurement and
marketing, to internalize externalities, and to provide those public goods
necessary for efficient market development. Many of these measures are
essentially market or quasi-market responses on the part of private firms and
individuals; others entail government interventions which stimulate, re-direct,
constrain, or supplement private activity. While the available space here does
not permit a comprehensive discussion of this wide array of technologies and
institutions, this section does examine an illustrative sample of such measures,
noting their potential for promoting improved efficiency, coordination,
competitiveness, and other
objectives.