The infant formula market : consequences of a change in the WIC contract brand / Victor Oliveira, Elizabeth Frazão, David Smallwood.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Oliveira, Victor J., author.

Frazão, Elizabeth, author.

Smallwood, David M., author.

Contributor:

United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service, issuing body.

Series:

Economic research report (United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service) ; no. 124.

Economic research report ; number 124

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Infant formulas--Prices--United States.

Infant formulas.

Market surveys--United States.

Market surveys.

Infant formulas--Prices.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (iv, 38 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

Consequences of a change in the WIC contract brand

Place of Publication:

[Washington, D.C.] : United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2011.

Summary:

USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the major purchaser of infant formula in the United States. To reduce the cost of infant formula to WIC, Federal law requires that WIC State agencies enter into cost-containment contracts with manufacturers of infant formula. Typically, WIC State agencies obtain substantial discounts in the form of rebates from infant formula manufacturers for each can of formula purchased through the program. In exchange for rebates, a manufacturer is given the exclusive right to provide its product to WIC participants in the State. These sole-source contracts are awarded on the basis of competitive bids. The brand of formula provided by WIC varies by State depending on which manufacturer holds the contract for that State. What is the impact of WIC and its sole-source infant formula rebate program on market share? Does the program and its use of sole-source contracts have economic implications that extend beyond WIC? In this report, we examine the effect of the program on the infant formula market in supermarkets. We explore situations in which the holder of the WIC contract in a State switched from one manufacturer to another.

Contents:

Introduction

WIC and the infant formula rebate program

Characteristics of the infant formula market

Infant formula data

Contract brand status and market share

Effect of a change in the WIC contract brand on market share

Does WIC limit infant formula selection?

Retail prices are not behind increases in contract brands' market share

Discussion

Appendix : Comparison of the infant formula market based on the Nielsen's supermarket subsample and Nielsen's national-level data set.

Notes:

Title from title screen (viewed Sept. 2, 2015).

"A report from the Economic Research Service."

"August 2011."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 33-34).

OCLC:

919630650