A descriptive study of the marketing boards of British Columbia

This study has two purposes; first to describe the marketing boards of British Columbia with regard to their nature, scope of power, organizational structure, quota and pricing policies, distribution of returns and policing, and secondly to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing boards with particular attention to the B.C. Broiler Marketing Board. The theory of cartels provides a framework for the analysis of the marketing boards and their effects. Data for the study were obtained primarily from the various boards, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, and the Canada Department of Agriculture. The B.C. Broiler Board was examined in more detail than the other boards. This Board was used as a case study in analyzing some of the propositions developed in the marketing board model, against actual data of the broiler industry of British Columbia. The conclusions of this study are based upon detailed analysis of the effect of the Broiler Board and more casual observations of the other boards. In general, the producers receive a higher and more stable price for their product, and their membership in the marketing boards appears to engender higher and more stable incomes than could have been obtained by independent producers. This implies that consumers are paying higher prices for the products, provided all other things are held equal. In some instances consumers may benefit from a longer marketing season for local produce, and a wider range of processed products than would have been possible without the marketing boards.Business, Sauder School ofGraduat