In the long view, recent grain price volatility is not anomalous. Wheat, rice, and maize are highly substitutable in the global market for calories, and when aggregate stocks decline to minimal feasible levels, prices become highly sensitive to small shocks, consistent with storage models. In...

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of grain reserves and grain banks. One important argument against establishing official reserves is that they are more likely to stiffen the barriers to food trade whereas a financial grain bank might be used to reduce those barriers. A...