What to do with free stuff? The case of food surpluses

The idea of “self-competition” between new goods and those produced previously (the “Coase conjecture”) is regularly revised in economics. The agri-food sector, which has to offload commodities that become free once the “use-by-date” has passed, requires the public authorities to define the conditions under which this residual supply may be used. This article considers the effects of these conditions on the quantity and nature of commodities made available to food assistance programs in Europe.