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"The Norwegian food market engenders strong opinions and substantial media attention, with questions regarding agricultural regulations, competition between retail food chains, and the relationship between chains and their suppliers fueling debate. Meanwhile the country's politicians call for greater intervention.

Much of the debate can seem to be happening "against our better judgment". Vague assumptions about the state of the food sector, paired with a strong political will to apply initiatives, is reason enough to look closer at the situation.

This anthology provides an up-to-date factual assessment of the entire value chain in the food market. Central topics include development of productivity in the various segments of the food chain, price differences between different countries, and effects of Norway's tariff system. The book presents new contributions concerning the structure of the market, access to food stores and the significance of brand names, and especially to the kind of bargaining tactics employed between food chains and suppliers, with an overview of how their negotiations are carried out and possibilities for regulatory measures afforded under existing laws.

Against Better Judgment in the Norwegian Food Sector confirms existing knowledge and presents new findings that deserve attention from the sector itself, the media and public authorities. The book will be of interest to everyone seeking to understand the Norwegian food sector and take part in its further development.

The book's chapters have been written by seven researchers with lengthy experience in the field, and edited by Frode Steen, a professor in the Department of Economics at the Norwegian School of Economics, and Ivar Pettersen, a senior advisor at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research." - "Det norske matmarkedet er preget av sterke meninger og stor medieoppmerksomhet. Spørsmål som reguleringer i jordbruket, konkurranse mellom dagligvarekjeder og forholdet mellom kjeder og leverandører skaper debatt. Samtidig etterlyser landets politikere en mer intensiv bruk av virkemidler.

Mye av debatten kan synes å skje «mot bedre vitende». Uklare oppfatninger om tilstanden i matsektoren, koblet med en sterk politisk vilje til å gjøre tiltak, gir grunn til å se nærmere på situasjonsbeskrivelsen.

Denne boken gir et oppdatert faktagrunnlag om hele verdikjeden i matmarkedet. Sentrale tema er produktivitetsutvikling i de ulike leddene i matkjeden, prisforskjeller mellom ulike land og effekter av det norske tollvernet. Boken presenterer nye bidrag rundt markedsstruktur, butikktilgjengelighet og merkevarens betydning. Forhandlingsspillet mellom kjeder og leverandører vies stor plass, med innføring i hvordan forhandlingene foregår samt hvilke muligheter eksisterende lovverk gir for regulerende tiltak.

Mot bedre vitende i norsk matsektor bekrefter eksisterende kunnskap og frembringer nye funn som fortjener oppmerksomhet fra bransje, medier og myndigheter. Boken vil være nyttig for alle som ønsker å forstå norsk matsektor og delta i den videre utformingen av denne.

Boken inneholder bidrag fra syv forskere med lang fartstid på feltet. Den er redigert av Frode Steen, professor ved Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi ved Norges Handelshøyskole, og Ivar Pettersen, seniorrådgiver ved Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi."

This study analyzes TTIP, its implications for Norway and Norway's trade policy choices. TTIP will hardly be concluded under Obama's presidency, but the agreement could become a reality within a few years. TTIP aims at comprehensive cooperation in the regulatory area. In the short term there will be limited harmonization of standards but regulatory cooperation between different systems. In the long term, the goal is stronger cooperation in the regulatory area. TTIP will from what we know not lead to a lowering of European health regulations or a "race to the bottom". If TTIP is realized and Norway remains outside, the EEA Agreement will be little affected and the overall economic impact is moderate. If Norway joins TTIP, there will be a significant real income gain, with estimates ranging from 2236 to 6772 NOK per capita in the various scenarios. There is considerable variation across sectors. With Norway outside TTIP there will be a moderate negative impact for a majority of the sectors, especially some manufacturing sectors that face tougher competition in the EU and USA export markets. The oil industry will benefit from increased demand and higher prices. If Norway joins TTIP, a clear majority of industries will benefit; especially business services and a number of other service industries. The public sector gains from TTIP, mainly due to cheaper inputs. TTIP will contribute to the dismantling of import protection for Norwegian agriculture and without compensating measures, production and employment will be reduced. TTIP will still allow some import protection and this margin of maneuver, which depends on future negotiations, is important for the outcome. With a larger margin of manoeuvre and unchanged budgetarty support, most of Norway's agriculture can be maintained. With less margin of manoeuvre, it will be more challenging. Norwegian accession to TTIP may occur in the form of a standard trade agreement in which Norway or EFTA are formally equal to the EU and the United States. Alternatively, Norway may participate in a European pillar as in today's "Open Skies" agreement on air traffic. If TTIP succeeds in establishing comprehensive regulatory cooperation, the latter solution is most likely. Such a solution implies that Norway will become more closely integrated with the European Union also in trade policy towards third countries. Norwegian entry into TTIP implies that we have to accept the established rules and negotiate bilaterally with the EU and the USA on market access. The negotiations with the USA will apply to all aspects of market access, while negotiations with the EU will apply only to areas in which the EEA agreement is not already deeper. The negotiations with the EU for TTIP entry will thus include, among other issues, tariffs for seafood and agriculture. As an alternative to membership in TTIP, Norway or EFTA may initiate a trade agreement with the USA. Such an agreement would likely be less extensive in the regulatory area. Such an agreement will also provide an economic gain for Norway, but less than accession to TTIP. For Norway as a whole, accession to TTIP creates a real income gain between 12.5 and 35 billion NOK according to various scenarios, while a free trade agreement with the United States results in a gain of about 7.4 billion NOK. TTIP also includes negotiations on so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), whereby foreign-owned companies can sue a state if they are unfairly or inappropriately treated. Such rights also exist in national law but international tribunals have to some extent extended the interpretation of what is considered unfair. The European Union has proposed a solution in TTIP with a permanent court as well as rules that discipline the interpretation of the principles, and thus avoids that ISDS unduly interferes into the states' "right to regulate". This and many other issues are analysed in this report and six background papers.