Recent lumber price volatility has been attributed to Spotted Owl Litigation and U.S.-Canada trade disputes. We use intervention analysis to explain daily lumber futures price volatility based on these events and other factors. The way information enters the market is shown to affect the speed...

U.S. ethanol production capacity increased more than threefold between 2002 and 2008. We study the effect of this growth on corn acreage. Connecting annual changes in county-level corn acreage to changes in ethanol plant capacities, we find a positive effect on planted corn. The building of a...