The Effect of a Cooperative Grain Alliance on Wheat Basis

This study estimates the impact of joining a cooperative grain alliance on the wheat basis for elevators in Oklahoma. The study uses augmented difference-in-differences regressions to analyze the effects of joining the alliance on an elevator’s grain basis. Entry is not randomly assigned across elevators, and an elevator’s basis is codetermined with its neighboring elevators due to transport costs and other unobserved variables. Instrumental variable regression is used to address these issues. The main takeaway is that joining the alliance did not change the wheat basis.