During the 2000s agricultural commodity derivatives markets were flooded by a “wall of money” coming from financial investors. In this essay I outline the main facts about the increasing presence and impact of financial investors in agricultural commodity markets and I discuss the main...

This paper investigates the factors responsible for predicting 2012 U.S. Presidential election. Though contemporary discussions on Presidential election mention that unemployment rate will be a deciding factor in this election, it is found that unemployment rate is not significant for predicting...

The objective of the paper is to provide an estimative of the impacts that changes in international prices of agricultural commodities will have on income distribution and poverty in Brazil. To do so, a Social Accounting Matrix is constructed and applied, using a Leontief- Miyazawa type model...

A number of tests and dating algorithms have been developed and used to identify rapid increases in prices followed by a collapse, also known as explosive bubbles (Phillips, Wu and Yu, 2011; Phillips, Shi and Yu, 2012; Gilbert, 2009; Gutierrez, forthcoming). Previous analysis on agriculture commodities by...

Advances in genetic engineering involve more than scientific breakthroughs. Potential economic effects - some possibly undesirable - also need to be considered.