Barriers to Entry

The degree with which firms can influence market prices so that they earn profits which are large but at the same time restrict the potential entry of rival firms into the industry. The major categories of barriers to entry are absolute cost advantage and economies of scale.

Baseline

The quantified analysis of sources of food and income and of expenditure for households in each wealth group over a defined reference period.

Baseline Storage Sheet

A spreadsheet that enables field teams to enter, check and analyse individual interview data in the field, and to analyze and summarize field data during the interim and final data analysis sessions.

Baseline Year

A type of reference year. Usually a normal year; neither especially good nor especially bad.

Border Point

The exact place (often, but not always, a market location), within the Reporting Country where the trade flow is observed.

Budget Share

The portion (percentage) of the household budget spent on a given good (maize), service or grouped goods and services (food). This is essentially the same thing as expenditure shares.