The agribusiness supply chain includes a number of processes such as supply management, production management, and demand management to customers through a competitive distribution channel. Each step of the way can be plagued with issues such as diversity of production and demand, bulkiness of produce, perishability, and seasonality. Highlighting the complexity and importance of supply chain management within businesses handling agricultural products, Agribusiness Supply Chain Management addresses issues that help readers systematically approach decision making in the agribusiness sector. The book covers issues across various spectrums of business and government's role in the agribusiness supply chain domain. It focuses on actors in supply chains, intrinsic issues that would impact the actors and then the support systems that are essential to make the supply chain achieve its effectiveness. The authors' clear, well-structured treatment provides a logical approach to key activities of agribusiness supply chain management. They provide numerous case studies that span a wide range of issues and industries that readers can use to sharpen managerial decision making skills. In today's world, companies compete on supply chains. With the many factors that can cause delays in deliverability, a well-designed supply chain is a must. Those who have the capability to establish a distinctive supply chain and create it as a strategic asset are leaders in their business; and in fact emerge as the best in class across industries and markets. This book helps readers develop best practices for making key marketing decisions and designing efficient and effective supply chains that meet global challenges.

The McFadden Act of 1927 was one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation in U.S. banking history, and its influence was still felt over half a century later. The act was intended to force states to accord the same branching rights to national banks as they accorded to state banks. By uniting the interests of large state and national banks, it also had the potential to expand the number of states that allowed branching. Congressional votes for the act therefore could reflect the strength of various interests in the district for expanded banking competition. We find congressmen in districts in which landholdings were concentrated (suggesting a landed elite), and where the cost of bank credit was high and its availability limited (suggesting limited banking competition and high potential rents), were significantly more likely to oppose the act. The evidence suggests that while the law and the overall regulatory structure can shape the financial system far into the future, they themselves are likely to be shaped by well organized elites, even in countries with benign political institutions.