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How Do Governments Respond To Food Price Spikes? Lessons From The Past

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  • KYM ANDERSON

    (University of Adelaide and CEPR, Australia)

  • SIGNE NELGEN

    (University of Adelaide, Australia)

Abstract

Food prices in international markets spiked upward in 2008, doubling or more in a matter of months. Evidence is still being compiled on policy responses over the following two years, but new time series estimates of government intervention for the previous five decades allow insights into past policy responses to price fluctuations and spikes. This paper reviews the distortionary impacts of policies used by governments attempting to stabilize their domestic food markets. It then focuses on policy responses in the mid-1970s, as reflected in domestic prices and various annual indicators of distortions to producer and consumer incentives, before drawing out some policy lessons.

Suggested Citation

  • Kym Anderson & Signe Nelgen, 2010. "How Do Governments Respond To Food Price Spikes? Lessons From The Past," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(02), pages 265-285.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jicepx:v:01:y:2010:i:02:n:s1793993310000159
    DOI: 10.1142/S1793993310000159
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tyers,Rod & Anderson,Kym, 2011. "Disarray in World Food Markets," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521172318, September.
    2. Anderson,Kym (ed.), 2010. "The Political Economy of Agricultural Price Distortions," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521763233, September.
    3. James E. Anderson & J. Peter Neary, 2005. "Measuring the Restrictiveness of International Trade Policy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262012200, April.
    4. Kym Anderson & Signe Nelgen, 2010. "How Do Governments Respond To Food Price Spikes? Lessons From The Past," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(02), pages 265-285.
    5. Kym Anderson, 2009. "Distortions to Agricultural Incentives : A Global Perspective, 1955-2007," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 9436.
    6. Pursell, Garry & Gulati, Ashok & Gupta, Kanupriya, 2007. "Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in India," Agricultural Distortions Working Paper Series 48483, World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Fatima, Hira & Ahmed, Mumtaz, 2019. "Testing for Exuberance Behavior in Agricultural Commodities of Pakistan," MPRA Paper 95304, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Kym Anderson & Signe Nelgen, 2010. "How Do Governments Respond To Food Price Spikes? Lessons From The Past," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(02), pages 265-285.
    3. Zissimos, Ben, 2017. "A theory of trade policy under dictatorship and democratization," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 85-101.
    4. Sisira Jayasuriya & Purushottam Mudbhary & Sumiter Broca, 2013. "Food Security in Asia: Recent Experiences, Issues and Challenges," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(3), pages 275-288, September.
    5. Will Martin & Kym Anderson, 2012. "Export Restrictions and Price Insulation During Commodity Price Booms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 94(2), pages 422-427.
    6. Colin A. Carter & Gordon C. Rausser & Aaron Smith, 2011. "Commodity Booms and Busts," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 87-118, October.
    7. Bourgeon, Jean-Marc & Jean, Sebastien & Maillet, Anais, 2015. "State Trading Enterprises and Price Stabilization," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211367, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Commodity price stabilization policies; domestic market insulation; distorted incentives; agricultural and trade policies; trade restrictiveness indexes; F14; Q17; Q18;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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