Agglomeration and Spatial Dependence in Certified Organic Operations in the United States

I. Julia Marasteanu and Edward Jaenicke

No 149551, 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: The purpose of this paper to provide added insight into clustering as it pertains to the United States organic sector. I identify clusters of United States certified organic operations by showing how a formal definition of spatial clusters can emerge from an estimated model that accounts for spatial dependency. I also analyze how county-level variables impact the distribution of certified organic operations while controlling for spatial autocorrelation. My results indicate that the spatial distribution of certified organic operations displays statistically significant spatial autocorrelation as well as spatial heterogeneity. The results also indicate that county-level factors related to policy, economics, demographics, and land assets impact the distribution of certified organic operations. As research on firm and industry agglomeration, in general, typically finds that clustering benefits economic development, the results of this paper provide motivation for further research on the formation and impact of clustering in the U.S. organic sector.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Crop Production/Industries; Industrial Organization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38
Date: 2013-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-geo and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea13:149551

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.149551

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