This book examines the issue of price volatility in agricultural commodities markets and how this phenomenon has evolved in recent years. The factors underlying the price spike of 2007-08 appear to be global and macroeconomic in nature, including the rapid growth in demand by developing...

1. Introduction and Summary -- 2. How Trade Can Boost Food Security -- 3. The Long History of Food Globalization -- 4. The Evolution of Food Trade Patterns since 1960 -- 5. Market-Distorting Policies: Long-Run Trends and Short-Run Insulation -- 6. Estimating Trade, Welfare, and Poverty Effects...

"This paper examines interactions between market power and agricultural policy in the U.S. wheat flour milling industry using a non-parametric approach. The analysis focuses on marketing loan and pre-1986 deficiency payment programs; farmers' payments from these programs are dependent on whether...