Anderson School of Management Theses & Dissertations

Publication Date

4-14-1967

Abstract

The lack of any firm basis for pricing decisions in the processed fruit and vegetables industry was first brought to my attention by contact with some executives of the California Packing Corporation where I was employed for two years. Their consensus was that available supply was the most important factor in such determination, even though its relationship to price was only realized in a vague, ever-shifting manner. It is hypothesized both that a substantial basis on which to place pricing decisions could be determined and further that a demand function, based on utility analysis, would provide such a description of consumer behavior as pertains to processed fruits and vegetables. An econometric model was constructed to test the hypothesis. Empirical evidence supports the conjecture. The consumer was found to possess a downward-sloping demand function and a positive income effect. The consumer demand function used in this study was aggregated with the assumption of a constant income distribution under changes in mean income. The total demand function for processed fruits and vegetables may be represented by these equations:

Qt is the Index of Industrial Production for processed fruits and vegetables, Yt1 is total real disposable income, and Pt1 is a Retail Price index for processed fruits and vegetables.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Anderson School of Management

First Committee Member

Lothar George Winter

Second Committee Member

Ralph Lemon Edgel

Third Committee Member

Howard Vivian Finston

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