Overview

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.

Full Product Details

9780226128924

Table of Contents

Reviews

Although agricultural commodity prices have been unstable throughout history, price volatility increased between 2008 and 2012, a phenomenon that attracted great interest among and study by agricultural economists. This volume . . . will bring readers up to date with current factors that must be included with econometric models addressing food price volatility. . . . This important work deals with a pressing contemporary matter that will continue to affect every person in the future. . . . Recommended. -- (04/06/2015) In the continuing debate about the causes and impact of global food price volatility, what could one rely on as fact and reliable interpretation and what was overblown hype? It was with great interest that I embarked on reading the volume under review--eager to come to grips with what a group of top-notch researchers have to say about the economics of food price volatility. . . . This book is for [those] who wish to dive deep--really deep--into the themes in focus, and work their way through the wide range of underlying technical issues and methods. -- (06/12/2015)

"""Although agricultural commodity prices have been unstable throughout history, price volatility increased between 2008 and 2012, a phenomenon that attracted great interest among and study by agricultural economists. This volume . . . will bring readers up to date with current factors that must be included with econometric models addressing food price volatility. . . . This important work deals with a pressing contemporary matter that will continue to affect every person in the future. . . . Recommended.""-- ""Choice"" (4/6/2015 12:00:00 AM) ""In the continuing debate about the causes and impact of global food price volatility, what could one rely on as fact and reliable interpretation and what was overblown hype? It was with great interest that I embarked on reading the volume under review--eager to come to grips with what a group of top-notch researchers have to say about the economics of food price volatility. . . . This book is for [those] who wish to dive deep--really deep--into the themes in focus, and work their way through the wide range of underlying technical issues and methods.""-- ""Journal of Economic Literature"" (6/12/2015 12:00:00 AM)"

""Although agricultural commodity prices have been unstable throughout history, price volatility increased between 2008 and 2012, a phenomenon that attracted great interest among and study by agricultural economists. This volume . . . will bring readers up to date with current factors that must be included with econometric models addressing food price volatility. . . . This important work deals with a pressing contemporary matter that will continue to affect every person in the future. . . . Recommended.""-- ""Choice"" (4/6/2015 12:00:00 AM) ""In the continuing debate about the causes and impact of global food price volatility, what could one rely on as fact and reliable interpretation and what was overblown hype? It was with great interest that I embarked on reading the volume under review--eager to come to grips with what a group of top-notch researchers have to say about the economics of food price volatility. . . . This book is for [those] who wish to dive deep--really deep--into the themes in focus, and work their way through the wide range of underlying technical issues and methods.""-- ""Journal of Economic Literature"" (6/12/2015 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Jean-Paul Chavas is the Anderson-Bascom Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the board of directors of the NBER. David Hummels is professor of economics in the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and a research associate of the NBER. Brian D. Wright is professor in and chair of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available