This study provides the model that first synthesizes strategic group theory with the New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) approach in the international trade analysis, and uses the annual group data (1953-1988) from the U.S. brewing industry with two strategic groups (national producers and regional producers) in the presence of growing import competition. The main goal of study is to examine the impact of import and strategic group competition on strategic group behavior and market power in the U.S. brewing industry. Using the conjectural variation technique under the profit maximization assumption, the model estimates directly conjectural elasticities and the Lerner indexes incorporating firm behavior in competing with rivals from imports, and inside and outside each strategic group. The thesis shows the main following conclusions. Inside the group, national and regional brewers behave like Bertrand-type competitors and regional firms are more competitive than national firms. In the cross-group rivalry, national firms expect a cooperative response from regional brewers and regional firms expect an aggressive response from national producers. Holding possibly a sufficient niche market, import competition does not affect the behavior and market power of national and regional producers. As for over-all behavior, neither national nor regional firms behave like price-takers. National firms exert a significantly higher degree of market power than do regional firms, the market power of which appears to be harmed by national brewers. However, an average brewer exercises no market power in the industry as a whole. / Graduation date: 1997

This study focuses on the development of new, non-parametric efficiency measures based on the idea of aggregation via merging functions. We use Shephard's (1970) axiomatic approach of distance functions as the basis for theoretical methodology. In particular, this approach is a background for non-parametric efficiency measures defined on a linearly approximated technology set (Farrell, 1957 and Charnes, et al. 1987, and Fare and Grosskopf, 1985). Two new concerns are discussed: the ambiguity in Farrell efficiency measures and the inconsistency of aggregated Industry efficiency measures with constant returns to scale assumption. As a result, two types of new measures (based on the idea of aggregation) are developed: the average efficiency measures (that take into account both input and output oriented efficiency information) and the industry structural efficiency measures via Geometric Aggregation. The existing efficiency measures as well as newly introduced measures are applied to a sample of U.S. brewing industry. The data supports the importance of new measures and the obtained results are consistent with previous studies that use similar and different (e.g., parametric) approaches. / Graduation date: 2000