PRIORITIES AND PREFERENCES IN THE ALLOCATION OF MPP BRANDED FUNDS TO AGRIBUSINESS FIRMS

In 1993, legislation was passed that required the USDA to give priorit y in the allocation of its Market Promotion Program (MPP) branded fund s to small firms, new-to-export firms, and firms facing exporting prob lems in foreign markets. However, the MPP is still criticized in the p opular press and by the General Accounting Office as favoring large an d existing exporting firms that do not face exporting problems. Using a unique firm-level data set, the effectiveness of the 1993 legislatio n is evaluated by analyzing the allocation of MPP funds according to f irm characteristics and the priorities set in the 1993 legislation.