Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate market power of soybeans exported by the United States to Korea. Particularly, this paper considered dichotomous characteristics of genetically modified (GM) soybeans and non-GM soybeans and conducted empirical analysis of these two segregated soybean markets to understand key tenets of market power in international soybean trade. Design/methodology – The difference in market power between GM and non-GM soybeans was analyzed using Residual Demand Elasticity (RDE) and Residual Supply Elasticity (RSE) models over the period of 2008~2018. RDE and RSE models under an imperfect competition condition were used to estimate market margins and determine whether GM and non-GM exporters or importers exercised market power in the destination market. Findings – Empirical results suggested that the U.S. had a market power on both GM and non-GM soybean exports. GM exports had greater market power than non-GM exports (14% vs. 9%). By contrast, Korea showed an inability to grab market margin or exert market power in soybean imports. Both export supply by the U.S. and import demand by Korea were found to be more responsive to price changes of GM soybeans than to prices changes of non-GM soybeans. This might be due to a self-interested, profit-seeking strategy by the exporter and many concerned consumers regarding potential adverse effects of GMOs in the importing country. Originality/value – This paper fills the literature gap by exploiting market power in both GM and non-GM markets with explicit consideration of price correlations between GM and non-GM soybeans in Korea. A number of existing studies have provided evidence for market power broadly embedded in international commodity trade. However, studies focusing on Korean markets are limited. No study has explored the country’s soybean trade. Furthermore, the majority of prior studies have almost exclusively focused on the market power from a standpoint of exporting countries without discussing importers’ market structure. This paper also sought to understand potentially distinguished patterns of market power between GM and non-GM markets.

中文翻译：

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美国和韩国之间交易的转基因大豆的市场力量

目的–这项研究的目的是调查美国向韩国出口的大豆的市场力量。特别是，本文考虑了转基因大豆和非转基因大豆的二分特征，并对这两个分离的大豆市场进行了实证分析，以了解国际大豆贸易中市场力量的关键原则。设计/方法论–使用残差需求弹性（RDE）和残差供应弹性（RSE）模型分析了转基因大豆和非转基因大豆之间的市场力量差异。在不完全竞争条件下的RDE和RSE模型用于估计市场利润，并确定转基因和非转基因出口商或进口商是否在目的地市场上行使了市场支配力。调查结果–实证结果表明美国 对转基因和非转基因大豆出口都有市场力量。转基因产品的出口具有比非转基因产品更大的市场力量（分别为14％和9％）。相比之下，韩国表现出无法在大豆进口中获得市场利润或发挥市场力量。发现美国的出口供应和韩国的进口需求对转基因大豆的价格变化比对非转基因大豆的价格变化更敏感。这可能是由于出口商和许多有关消费者针对转基因生物在进口国的潜在不利影响而采取的自利，谋利策略。原创性/价值–本文通过明确考虑韩国转基因和非转基因大豆之间的价格相关性，通过利用转基因和非转基因市场的市场力量来填补文献空白。许多现有研究为广泛嵌入国际商品贸易中的市场力量提供了证据。但是，针对韩国市场的研究有限。没有研究探索该国的大豆贸易。此外，从出口国的角度来看，大多数先前的研究几乎都只专注于市场力量，而没有讨论进口商的市场结构。本文还试图了解转基因市场和非转基因市场之间潜在的独特市场力量模式。从出口国的角度来看，大多数先前的研究几乎完全专注于市场力量，而没有讨论进口商的市场结构。本文还试图了解转基因市场和非转基因市场之间潜在的独特市场力量模式。从出口国的角度来看，大多数先前的研究几乎完全专注于市场力量，而没有讨论进口商的市场结构。本文还试图了解转基因市场和非转基因市场之间潜在的独特市场力量模式。