Lectures and final examination in Italian. Some course materials will be in English.
Course Content
The course addresses the functioning of agrifood markets, with a focus on products with a specific quality. The issue of food quality will be considered from different perspectives: economic, regulatory, supply chain organization and marketing. InA specific focus will be devoted to origin products, alternative food networks and collective marketing. The course is divided into two modules: the first with a theoretic/methodological focus, the second with an applied approach (lab applications).
STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE CLASS: course materials (handouts + selected papers, also in English) will be available on the e-learning platform before the start date of the course.
STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CLASS: powerpoint presentations , class notes and papers distributed during the course (also in English).
Learning Objectives
At the end of the course the students are well-acquainted with the organization and the functioning of markets for agricultural and food products, with a specific quality features. They are able to assess the relevant issues referring to public regulation, consumers' choice, firm strategies and supply chain organization, according to alternative theoric perspective and using different applied methods. During the course they achieve knowledge on the firms' approaching to markets for quality products, on the main EU and Italian relevant policy. They are introduced to some tools for the analysis of consumer behavior, learning how to use them for designing and assessing the strategies implemented by the firms. Finally, they improve their ability in presenting topics and issues through the participation to class discussions and seminars
Prerequisites
Suggested preparatory courses: Market research and data analysis
Teaching Methods
The course is divided into two modules. The first module is based on structured lectures and classroom activities asking students to apply the acquired theoretic and applied knowledge to examples and case studies from real agricultural and food markets. The second module adopts an applied approach and is based on info-lab activities on real data on agricultural and food quality markets. Classroom and on-line discussions as well as collective work are encouraged. The course includes also invited seminars with firms and institutions representatives.
Structured lectures: 20 hours.
Laboratory: 20 hours.
Seminars: 8 hours.
Further information
The course will be held in the second semester (from March to May). Some lessons will be held in the Computer Lab.
Type of Assessment
STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE CLASS: Written exam (with open questions on different topics of the course), that can be followed by an oral examination (100% of the total mark).
STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CLASS: The overall grade for the course is based on the end-of-year written examination (with open questions on different topics of the course, 50% of the total mark) plus one short report and project works to be handed in during the year (50% of the total mark).
Course program
Agricultural and food market functioning, with a specific focus on the markets for products with specific quality features, such as denomination of origin, environmental compatibility, agrobiodiversity, short food supply chain, high symbolic value. Economic issues: organization and functionings of markets and supply chains, quality differentiation and economics of information; public regulation issues: national and EU regulation, with a focus on denomination of origin certification; supply organisation: hybrid forms of supply coordination and their role within the competitive arena, marketin design and management, with a focus on producers consortia and collective marketing.
The course is divided into two modules: the first addressing theoretical and methodological issues with structured lectures, the second applied, with lab applications of data analysis (for example: income elasticity of food demand, choice experiments on food products, assessment f the wiliness to pay for geographical indications, assessment of consumers attitudes towards farmers markets).