This paper studies the role of global factors in causing common movements in consumer price inflation, with particular focus on the food, housing and energy sub-indices. It uses a comprehensive dataset of 223 countries and territories collected from national and international sources. Global...

The paper continues a series of publications on the natural science foundations of the global economy. Physical macroeconomics treats the global economy as a living system, formed during biological and socio-economic evolution.In this Part VI of physical macroeconomics, qualitatively...

The sharp upturn of energy and food prices have become serious challenges almost all over the globe. Despite the voluminous literature on the relationship between energy prices and food prices, the existing research, however, mostly relied on linear frameworks and aggregate measures of energy...

This paper has benefited greatly from a discussion of an earlier version with the participants of the first Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture in Davos, Switzerland in March 2009. Research has been made possible in part by a research grant from BASF SE - The Chemical Company. The first two...