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Sugar Industry

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The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

The sugar industry is the set of firms involved in processing sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets and distributing it to consumers. The industry is both ancient and modern. Sugar production has occurred for thousands of years. But the developments since 1880 have received the most attention from economists. Over subsequent decades, the industry experienced several structural changes and legal regimes. The industry’s evolution provides a window into central questions such as the sources of market power, and the theory of the firm. Much of this research has focused on the United States, although it was a global industry.

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Mullin, W.P. (2018). Sugar Industry. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2632

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