- Department of Agricultural Economics
Bio
Dr. Coatney is an economist with over 25 years of industry experience working in cattle ranching, feedlots, regulation, and research positions. From 1995 to 2003, he worked in management roles for Monfort and ConAgra Beef, as well as a senior economist regulating the beef packing industry with the USDA, GIPSA. During his time at ConAgra, Dr. Coatney retrofitted production facilities, evaluated domestic and international joint ventures, and conducted beef production research from feedlot to box. While at USDA, GIPSA, he investigated allegations such as bidder collusion, extortion, coerced reciprocity, and various other business practices, winning the Secretary of Agriculture’s Award Superior. His academic research expertise includes Industrial Organization, Applied Game Theory, Antitrust, and Experimental Economics.
RELATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Haines, C., D. Sajeev, K. Coatney, D. Rivera, T. Dinh. “Impacts of Chilling Duration on Marbling Score, Shrinkage, and Lean Color in Beef Carcasses,” Meat and Muscle Biology 3(2)(2019).
Sukumaran, A.T., K.T. Coatney, J.D. Ellington, A.J. Holtcamp, M.W. Schilling, and T. Dinh. “Consumer Acceptability and Demand for Cooked Beef Formulated with Pre- and Post-Rigor Deboned Beef.” Meat and Muscle Biology 3:1(2019):210-219.
Maples, J.G., K.T. Coatney, J.M. Riley, B.B. Karisch, J.A. Parish, and R.C. Vann. “Comparing Carcass End-Point and Profit Maximization Decision Rules Using Dynamic Nonlinear Growth Functions.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 47(2015):1-25.
Coatney, K.T. and J.B. Tack, “The Impacts of an Antitrust Investigation: A Case Study in Agriculture.” Review of Industrial Organization 44(4)(2014):423-441.
Coatney, K.T. and S.L. Shaffer, “Coerced Reciprocity and the Leverage Theory.” Journal of Competition Law and Economics 9(2)(2013):473-493.
Coatney, K.T., S.L. Shaffer, and D.J. Menkhaus. “Auction Prices, Market Share, and a Common Agent.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 81(2012): 61-73.
Phillips, O.R., D.J. Menkhaus, and K.T. Coatney. "Collusive Practices in Repeated English Auctions: Experimental Evidence on Bidding Rings." The American Economic Review 93(2003): 965-79.
Menkhaus, D.J., O.R. Phillips, and K.T. Coatney. "Shared Agents and Competition in Laboratory English Auctions." American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85(2003): 829-39.
Coatney, K.T., D.J. Menkhaus, and J.D. Schmitz. "Feeder Cattle Price Determinants: An Hedonic System of Equations Approach." Review of Agricultural Economics 18(1996): 193-211.
Sanderson, B.L., K.T. Coatney, B.J. Parman, and J.B. Tack. “A Theoretical Analysis of Multiproduct Mergers: Application in the Major Meat Sectors,” Agriculture and Applied Economics Association Annual Meetings, Boston, MA, July 31 – August 2, 2016.
Coatney, K.T., J.M. Riley and S.E. Head. “Captive Supply Experiment: Linking Bidding Behavior and Firm Cost Structure.” 2013 Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, June 26-28.
ONGOING RELATED RESEARCH
Dr. Coatney’s most relevant current research involves the impacts of COVID-19 on the meat supply chain. The primary goal of our research is to identify the economic and input logistical issues due to disruptions in labor availability and efficiency. Driven by economies of size, the loss of any one or more large plants has major impacts on meat supply. As such, the secondary goal is to weigh the tradeoffs between economic efficiency and improved supply resiliency by moving toward smaller and more geographically dispersed plants.
