1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910838368103321

Titolo

The Economics of Food Price Volatility / / Jean-Paul Chavas, David Hummels, Brian D. Wright

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago : , : University of Chicago Press, , [2014]

©2014

ISBN

0-226-12908-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (394 p.)

Collana

National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report

Disciplina

338.19

Soggetti

Agriculture - Economic aspects

Food prices

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Influences of Agricultural Technology on the Size and Importance of Food Price Variability -- 2. Corn Production Shocks in 2012 and Beyond: Implications for Harvest Volatility -- 3. Biofuels, Binding Constraints, and Agricultural Commodity Price Volatility -- 4. The Evolving Relationships between Agricultural and Energy Commodity Prices: A Shifting- Mean Vector Autoregressive Analysis -- 5. Bubble Troubles? Rational Storage, Mean Reversion, and Runs in Commodity Prices -- 6. Bubbles, Food Prices, and Speculation: Evidence from the CFTC's Daily Large Trader Data Files -- 7. Food Price Volatility and Domestic Stabilization Policies in Developing Countries -- 8. Food Price Spikes, Price Insulation, and Poverty -- 9. Trade Insulation as Social Protection -- Contributors -- Author Index -- Subject Index

Sommario/riassunto

There has been an increase in food price instability in recent years, with varied consequences for farmers, market participants, and consumers. Before policy makers can design schemes to reduce food price uncertainty or ameliorate its effects, they must first understand the factors that have contributed to recent price instability. Does it arise primarily from technological or weather-related supply shocks, or from changes in demand like those induced by the growing use of biofuel? Does financial speculation affect food price volatility? The researchers



who contributed to The Economics of Food Price Volatility address these and other questions. They examine the forces driving both recent and historical patterns in food price volatility, as well as the effects of various public policies in affecting this volatility. The chapters include studies of the links between food and energy markets, the impact of biofuel policy on the level and variability of food prices, and the effects of weather-related disruptions in supply. The findings shed light on the way price volatility affects the welfare of farmers, traders, and consumers.