Abstract: Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) is one of the most applied economic theories to studies of agrifood chains, especially for presenting approaches that analyze the role of institutions in the relationship between organizations, making it completely adherent to the concept of Coordination, vital in chain management. Agro-industrial chains have continuously experienced mechanisms to reduce information asymmetry between producer and final consumer, one of these mechanisms being Geographical Indications (GIs), certifications of origin based on geographic location. This work aims to identify the state-of-the-art of TCE in studies related to GIs, identifying how the topics related to theory are approached and whether or not there are literature gaps in this regard. A systematic literature review was made in two substantial scientific databases using Methodi Ordinatio. The results demonstrate a certain homogeneity of studies, which focuses on Coordination and Governance, as well as a low synergy between the themes. Future studies could enrich the academic literature by contemplating an opposite path to this homogeneousness, either by a) exploring how TCE can explain the development of GIs; b) investigating the opportunism between producers and association members; or c) studying the limited rationality of the links downstream the chain.

A maioria dos estudos de integração de mercados que utiliza a técnica de cointegração com threshold não se preocupa em testar qual o número de regimes de ajustamento de preços é o mais adequado. Neste estudo, utiliza-se um procedimento para determinar o número de regimes estatisticamente indicado para diferentes mercados regionais de carne de frango no Brasil, no período de janeiro de 1998 a junho de 2007. Os resultados mostram que, para um grupo de mercados, o modelo com dois regimes é o mais indicado, enquanto para os demais mercados, o modelo com três regimes é o que melhor se ajusta. Constata-se a presença de significativas barreiras à transmissão de choques de preços entre os mercados, o que provavelmente resulta de custos de transação não desprezíveis na comercialização da carne de frango.<br>Most studies about market integration that use threshold cointegration do not usually test the number of regimes of price adjustment. In this study, we use a testing procedure to determine the number of statistically significant regimes for regional markets of poultry in Brazil in the period of January 1998 to June 2007. Results show that, for some markets, two regimes are adequate, whereas for others, the model should have three regimes. We also conclude that there are important barriers to price transmission among the markets which may come from the existence of high transaction costs regarding trades involving poultry.