Showing papers on "Commodity published in 1989"
TL;DR: This paper used unit root tests to reexamine the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis that the relative prices of primary commodities, in terms of manufactured goods, are characterized by secular deterioration.
Abstract: This study has two objectives. First, it uses time-series techniques (including unit root tests) to reexamine the classic Prebisch-Singer hypothesis that the relative prices of primary commodities, in terms of manufactured goods, are characterized by secular deterioration. Second, commodity price movements are decomposed into permanent and cyclical components using the Beveridge and Nelson (1981) technique. The latter information is valuable when assessing the viability of commodity stabilization funds and formulating countercyclical macroeconomic policy responses to commodity booms and busts. Copyright 1989 by Royal Economic Society.
255 citations
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, it is shown that the very use of the price mechanism to distribute an association good could diminish its value, since demand may not equal supply in equilibrium and the use of a price mechanism for distributing an associationgood could diminish the value of the association good.
Abstract: The utility from some commodities depends on the allocation rule used to distribute them because, by the acquisition of such a commodity, a person tries to gain "association" with its other recipients. Such a commodity is called an association good and it is shown that its existence can jeopardize the economist's standard model of markets. For example, demand may not equal supply in equilibrium and the very use of the price mechanism to distribute an association good could diminish its value. These and other properties are illustrated by analyzing some specific association goods, like club memberships and school admissions. Copyright 1989 by Royal Economic Society.
131 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a macro-micro model to quantify the effects of stabilisation packages on the distribution of income and wealth in a primary exporting economy in response to a reduction in the availability of external funds to finance a fiscal deficit.
Abstract: This paper presents a macro simulation model to quantify the effects of stabilisation packages on the distribution of income and wealth. It is a macro-micro model since it combines macroeconomic aspects with the microeconomic optimising behaviour characteristic of computable general equilibrium models. It can be applied to many developing countries by changing the institutional characteristics that describe commodity markets, financial markets and labour markets. Since the simulation package incorporated quite a large number of closures, the model is referred to as a "maquette."
The paper closes with illustrative simulations of the maquette showing how the distribution of income and wealth of a primary exporting economy is likely to be affected by alternative fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies in response to a reduction in the availability of external funds to finance a fiscal deficit ...
90 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the information provided to investors is significantly biased upward and that true performance cannot be determined by the information most investors see, thus, investment in commodity funds, given the information set, is rational.
Abstract: Publicly-traded commodity funds have been poor investment vehicles, yet new funds are a fast-growing part of the investment scene. In this article, the authors show that the information provided to investors is significantly biased upward and that true performance cannot be determined by the information most investors see. Thus, investment in commodity funds, given the information set, is rational. While the authors limit the study to commodity funds, the same should hold for other limited partnerships, such as real estate, oil, and gas. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.
58 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model of longer term interactions in the international markets for cereals, soybeans, and meat, and draw policy conclusions for developing countries based on comparative static in nature and largely partial equilibrium.
Abstract: This paper presents a model of longer term interactions in the international markets for cereals, soybeans and meat, and draws policy conclusions for developing countries. The model is comparative static in nature and, largely, partial equilibrium, incorporating constant elasticity demand and supply functions. It is an extension of earlier similar models: commodity interdependence is modelled explicitly and long-run effects, of productivity growth on domestic production and of income growth on demand, are incorporated. Moreover, demand for feed, as derived from livestock production, is separated from food demand.The focus is on policy analysis and on developing countries. The results are somewhat surprising. First, real prices of wheat and coarse grains would continue to fall under liberalisation assumptions. Second, developing countries' agricultural policies emerge as more important (in relation to OECD countries' policies) than expected, and as ...
42 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theory of institutional innovation in which shifts in the demand for institutional change are induced by changes in relative resource endowments and by technical change is presented. And the supply of institutional innovations responds to advances in social science knowledge and changes in cultural endowment.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the economic effects of maritime trade through the Port of New York on the New York metropolitan region were investigated, and the impacts associated with the trans-shipment of waterborne exports and imports in 1977 and 1987 were decomposed into those arising from the changing tonnage of trade and those attributable to the changing commodity mix.
Abstract: This paper investigates the economic effects of maritime trade through the Port of New York on the New York metropolitan region. It decomposes the impacts associated with the trans-shipment of waterborne exports and imports in 1977 and 1987 into those arising from the changing tonnage of trade and those attributable to the changing commodity mix. Input-output analysis is used to calculate the numbers of jobs, personal and business incomes, and output which arise from each effect. Finally, it examines the impacts on specfic industries and occupations in the region.
37 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that in the case of sub-Saharan Africa neither of the above factors should cause a failure of structural adjustment policies, however, the outcome of adjustment policies could be improved if commodity and country-specific factors were taken into consideration.
18 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the gains from international risk sharing in some simple general-equilibrium models with output uncertainty and argue that the small magnitude of potential trade gains, when coupled with small costs of cross-border financial transactions may explain the apparently inconsistent findings of empirical studies on the degree of international capital mobility.
Abstract: This paper evaluates the gains from international risk sharing in some simple general-equilibrium models with output uncertainty. Under empirically plausible calibration, the Incremental loss from a ban on international portfolio diversification is estimated to be quite small--0.15 percent of output per year is a representative figure. Even the theoretical gains from asset trade may disappear under alternative sets of assumptions on preferences and technology. The paper argues that the small magnitude of potential trade gains, when coupled with small costs of cross-border financial transactions, may explain the apparently inconsistent findings of empirical studies on the degree of international capital mobility.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop a model illustrating the role of the resulting two-price system in describing price adjustment to transitory shocks; persistence effects of these shocks on prices depends on, inter alia, the fraction of trades carried out through contracts.
Abstract: This paper analyzes price adjustment in markets where trade takes place through both spot-market and long-term-contract transactions. The authors develop a model illustrating the role of the resulting two-price system in describing price adjustment to transitory shocks; persistence effects of these shocks on prices depends on, inter alia, the fraction of trades carried out through contracts. The model is tested on price data from the world copper and crude oil markets. Econometric tests of the model provide support for the hypothesis that the increase in the importance of spot markets in copper and oil is associated with an increase in the speed of adjustment of spot prices to supply and demand disturbances. Copyright 1989 by MIT Press.
16 citations
Journal Article•
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TL;DR: The current debate over the fate of remaining old-growth forests focuses almost exclusively on deciding how many acres should be devoted to commodity production and to preservation of ecological values as discussed by the authors, which is unfortunate.
Abstract: Current debate over the fate of remaining old-growth forests focuses almost exclusively on deciding how many acres should be devoted to commodity production and to preservation
Presumably, commodity land would be managed intensively for high timber yields Preserved land would be withdrawn from timber harvest Interested parties apparently feel their objectives can be achieved only with such an exclusive division of land Commodity production and preservation of ecological values are assumed incompatible Unfortunately, we foresters have not provided convincing evidence to the contrary
Limiting the debate in this way is unfortunate Society needs commodities from forest land Society also wants and needs amenities and ecological values maintained Many people also want long-term rather than short-term perspectives in resource stewardship emphasized and more options in the face of future uncertainties, such as potential global climatic change
Are there alternatives to the stark choice between tree farms and legal preservation? I believe ecological research is providing us with the basis for such alternatives We have begun to understand the complexity of forest ecosystems For example, standing dead trees and down logs contribute to the long-term productivity of forests and streams and provide critical wildlife habitat
Landscape ecology reveals …
TL;DR: In this article, an established dynamic simulation model of seven food commodity markets is used to provide synthetic estimates of the elasticities of net export demand and import supply on which government intervention, particularly in agricultural commodity markets, is frequently justified on the grounds that it favorably affects the terms of trade.
Patent•
27 Jul 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, a commodity information retrieval system comprising at least one host station and a plurality of user stations interconnected through telecommunication lines by way of a repeater mounted on a communications satellite is described.
Abstract: A commodity information retrieval system comprising at least one host station and a plurality of user stations interconnected through telecommunication lines by way of a repeater mounted on a communications satellite. The host station stores various commodity data including video data of commodities. Each of the user stations includes a terminal commodity data storage, and a retrieval terminal for searching desired commodities by utilizing commodity data stored in the terminal commodity data storage., When the user wants to look at a selected number of commodity images, corresponding video data are requested from the host station. Desired commodities are made referring to commodity classifications, users' tastes and/or purposes of purchase. Various data are obtained from the selections made by the user, which data are used as history data, demand data and so on for grasping market trends and system operations.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the changing form of multinational enterprise expansion in the twentieth century, with special reference to multinational enterprise and its role in the development after the Second World War and recent tendencies.
Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction: multinational enterprise Barry Supple 2. History, the social sciences and economic 'theory', with special reference to multinational enterprise Edith Penrose 3. The changing form of multinational enterprise expansion in the twentieth century John Cantwell 4. Electrical research, standardisation and the beginnings of the corporate economy Mikulas Teich 5. The nature of multinationals, 1870-1939 T. A. B. Corley 6. International price maintenance: control of commodity trade in the 1920s Joseph Brandes 7. Financial operations of US transnational corporations: development after the Second World War and recent tendencies Monika Sestakova 8. Multinational enterprise - financing, trade, diplomacy: the Swedish case Klaus Wohlert 9. Foreign penetration of German enterprises after the First World War: the problem of Uberfremdung Gerald D. Feldman 10. International industrial cartels, the state and politics: Great Britain between the wars Clemens A. Wurm 11. Vickers and Schneider: a comparison of new British and French multinational strategies 1916-26 R. P. T. Davenport-Hines 12. J. & P. Coats Ltd in Poland Emma Harris 13. Multinationals and the French electrical industry, 1889-1940 Pierre Lanthier 14. The Japanese cotton spinners' direct investments into China before the Second World War Tetsuya Kuwahara 15. Mitsui Bussan during the 1920s Hiroaki Yamazaki 16. Japanese business in the United States before the Second World War: the case of Mitsui and Mitsubishi Nobuo Kawabe 17. The state and private enterprise in the United States-Latin American oil policy Stephen J. Randall 18. Transnational corporations and the denationalization of the Latin American cigarette industry Phil Sheperd 19. Summary: reflections on the papers and the debate on multinational enterprise: international finance, markets and governments in the twentieth century Charles Kindleberger Indexes.
Patent•
29 Nov 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose to quickly offer various types of commodity information to the demanders by transmitting various commodity data and the desired picture data to the user slave stations via a repeater mounted on a communication satellite.
Abstract: PURPOSE:To quickly offer various types of commodity information to the demanders by transmitting various commodity data and the desired picture data to the user slave stations via a repeater mounted on a communication satellite. CONSTITUTION:The commodity data required by the user slave stations 200 for retrieval of commodities are transmitted to these stations 200 from a master station 100 via a repeater 300. Then the commodities are retrieved out of the commodity data. Furthermore the picture data on the designated commodity is sent to the station 200 from the station 100 by a command given from the station 200. Thus the relevant picture is displayed at the station 200 and a user studies the pictures of retrieved commodities by comparison and selects his/her preferable commodities.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors measure the shares of national waterborne imports and exports for the eight largest US ports and their changes between 1985 and 1987, and examine the decline of East-Coast ports, especially New York, and the ascendancy of their West- Coast counterparts, notably Los Angeles and Seattle, on the basis of 42 commodity groups.
Abstract: Competition among US ports has heightened significantly in the 1980s, in large part due to the rising importance of intermodal transportation systems. This paper measures the shares of national waterborne imports and exports for the eight largest US ports and their changes between 1985 and 1987. It examines the decline of East-Coast ports, especially New York, and the ascendancy of their West-Coast counterparts, notably Los Angeles and Seattle, on the basis of 42 commodity groups. Finally, it documents the minibridge and reverse minibridge systems as they pertain to the emerging pattern of winners and losers.
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe an international commodity market as a difference game between buffer stock manager, producing countries and consuming countries and use an empirical model for the world cocoa market to analyse the effects.
Abstract: The effects of price stabilization policies have been investigated for both theoretical and empirical models. The institutional construct for international commodity markets is that a buffer stock manager employs a band width rule or a price adjustment rule to stabilize the world market price. In those investigations it is assumed that the other market participants do not react to the stabilization activities of the buffer stock manager. This paper describes an international commodity market as a difference game between buffer stock manager, producing countries and consuming countries and uses an empirical model for the world cocoa market to analyse the effects. The feedback Nash behavioural equilibrium for this game is compared with the optimal control outcome which ignores the strategic behaviour in producing countries and consuming countries. It is found that producers and consumers engage in storage activities which have a negative effect on the stabilization efforts of the buffer stock manager but which decrease the operating costs of the buffer stock, decrease the revenues of the producers and decrease the costs of consumers.
TL;DR: In this paper, a lack of accurate data regarding current and emerging competencies needed for employment in agriculture has been identified as one of the main obstacles to the development of agricultural education.
Abstract: Agriculture has undergone considerable change during the past several decades due to advances in technology. Surplus commodities and high interest rates have imposed adverse economic conditions on producers and agri-business. Employment in agriculture has been affected by new technology; mechanization has decreased the need for labor in production agriculture and commodity surpluses have reduced employment opportunities (Holmes, 1986). The dramatic shifts taking place in agriculture are dictating changes that need to be made in agricultural education. As the industry of agriculture changes, so do occupational requirements. If the educational system is to effectively prepare people to fill changing job requirements, instructional programs must change to reflect the dynamic needs of industry (Merritt, 1984; Moore & Borne, 1986). Currently, there is a lack of accurate data regarding current and emerging competencies needed for employment in agriculture (Holmes & Hempel, 1985). As Moore (1986) notes, many of the competency studies conducted ten to fifteen years ago are out of date. Without accurate knowledge of competencies desired by employers, it is difficult for schools to know how to modify current agricultural curricula, accurately advise students concerning career choices, or plan continuing education programs.
TL;DR: In this article, the welfare economics of schemes for countering price instability and to the macroeconomic destabilization attributed to commodity price fluctuations are discussed. But the focus is on the welfare aspects of the schemes.
Abstract: Nicholas Kaldor's commodity concerns were wide and persistent; they encompassed a number of micro and macro issues, some of which are still prominent in both academic and policy agendas and are capable of generating new insights. This paper, while attempting comprehensiveness, pays special attention to the welfare economics of schemes for countering price instability and to the macroeconomic destabilization attributed to commodity price fluctuations. The micro subheadings include: the rationale for intervention; efficiency-preserving intervention, distributional neutrality, and income stability; and market failures. Macro subheadings include: intersectoral asymmetries; flexible commodity prices and demand deficiency; commodity reserve currency; and severing the first link of an inflationary chain. Copyright 1989 by Oxford University Press.
TL;DR: In this paper, the determinants of agricultural price protection for one important food, wheat, in a pooled cross-country and time-series analysis were analyzed, showing that wheat price protection increases with a rising level of economic development and with a growing import dependence in wheat.
Abstract: This article analyses determinants of agricultural price protection for one important food, wheat, in a pooled cross-country and time-series analysis. For the aggregate sample it is shown that wheat price protection increases with a rising level of economic development and with a growing import dependence in wheat. Beyond this general pattern, the paper shows that the variation in wheat price protection can be significantly better explained if qualitative variables are introduced additionally into the model. For example, in Japan, in the Northern European countries and during the commodity price boom (1973–75), wheat price protection followed a specific pattern. Income elasticities and import-dependence elasticities of wheat price protection are computed for all countries in 1968–80, and additionally for various sub-regions and sub-periods.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the experience of Jamaica in identifying and targeting of non-traditional products for export and examine the actions adopted by the public sector for increasing export-led growth and the corollary reactions of the private sector.
Abstract: Many less developed countries depend on a few traditional commodities for their foreign exchange earnings. These exports are subject to the vagaries of the world commodity markets which have declined in the 1980s. To bolster their dwindling foreign sales, some emerging nations have sought to foster new, non‐traditional exports. We examine the experience of Jamaica in its identification and targeting of such products for export. The actions adopted by the public sector for increasing export‐led growth and the corollary reactions of the private sector are ancillary but key considerations because these, in turn, develop general strategies for exporting non‐traditional products.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at one aspect of current United States agricultural policy, which concerns the attempt by the federal government to support commodity prices and income of farmers through the deficiency payments program.
Abstract: This paper looks at one aspect of current United States agricultural policy. This concerns the attempt by the federal government to support commodity prices and income of farmers. This is accomplished through the deficiency payments program. Unfortunately, the program is inherently economically inefficient. Moreover, alternatives (short of eliminating the program altogether and not replacing it) also are not economically efficient.
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the commodity composition of Latin America's recent exports of manufactures with a view to identifying main products and groups of products exported, and an attempt was made at reconciling trade and industrial-based export statistics.
Abstract: This paper explores the commodity composition of Latin America’s recent exports of manufactures with a view to identifying main products and groups of products exported. Problems of classification are discussed, and an attempt is made at reconciling trade and industrial-based export statistics.
Patent•
29 Nov 1989
TL;DR: In this article, the preference of a user is designated by said commodity code, attribute key code and free key code, and then the commodity groups corresponding to the designated commodity code and atribute key code are further specified by the free key codes.
Abstract: PURPOSE:To enable a user to quickly and surely retrieve his/her desired ones out of many groups of commodities by using the free key codes in addition to the commodity codes and the attribute key codes for designation of the preference of the user. CONSTITUTION:The commodity codes, the attribute key codes and the free key codes are allocated to the commodities forming the commodity groups to be retrieved. Then the preference of a user is designated by said commodity code, attribute key code and free key code. Thus the commodity groups corresponding to the designated commodity code and atribute key code are further specified by the free key code. The commodity information like the picture data on the retrieved commodity groups, etc., are sent to the user slave station from a master station based on a request of the user slave station and displayed on a display device like a CRT, etc. Thus the user can select his/her preferable commodities by reference to the displayed pictures of commodities. In such a constitution, the user can retrieve quickly and surely the preferable commodities out of many groups of commodities.
TL;DR: In a centrally planned economy market forces are likely to fail to provide the appropriate price adjustment reaction to excess-demand situations as discussed by the authors, therefore, at least in some markets commodities will be of "short supply" and the article represents an attempt to treat this phenomenon with the help of standard tools of microeconomic analysis.
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this article, an integrated market model of exhaustible resource behavior is presented, where the Gustafson problem is revisited and the impact of price stabilization on producers' revenue and consumers' expenditure is investigated.
Abstract: I: MODELLING METHODOLOGIES.- 1. An Integrated Market Model of Exhaustible Resource Behaviour.- 2. Optimal and Competitive Storage Rules: The Gustafson Problem Revisited.- 3. The Impact of Price Stabilisation on Producers' Revenue and Consumers' Expenditure.- 4. Stability of Base Products Markets: A Game Theory Analysis.- II: APPLICATIONS.- 5. A World Grains and Soybeans Model.- 6. Simulation of Supply, Demand and Price Interactions in the Magnesium Market.- 7. Demand for Gasoline: An Application of a New Selection Model Procedure.- 8. Competitive Technologies, Equipment Vintages, and the Demand for Energy.- III: STABILISATION POLICY.- 9. Asymmetry and Robustness in Stabilisation Policy for Imperfect Commodity Markets.- 10. Commodity Market Stabilisation with Speculative Activity: An Example From the World Copper Market.- IV: TRADE ASPECTS.- 11. Oil and the North-South Terms of Trade.- 12. Modelling Commodity Prices in a World Macro-Economic Model.- 13. The Econometrics of Commodities in International Economic Linkages.
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that half of the 256 State checkoff programs reported export promotion expenditures totaling more than $27 million in 1986, and that exporting cooperatives paid assessments to 59 State check-off programs with export promotion expenditure.
Abstract: Export market development activities are an integral part of today's agricultural marketing due to increasing competition worldwide. Marketing activities include promotion, advertising, and research financed by private and government-supported commodity groups. Cooperatives and private industry primarily market brand products but they also support generic promotion through legislated commodity programs. Federal and State agricultural commodity promotion programs are supported by growers and/or handlers, including cooperatives and their members. These legislated commodity programs promote domestically and overseas. Half of the 256 State checkoff programs reported export promotion expenditures totaling more than $27 million in 1986. Exporting cooperatives pay assessments to 59 State checkoff programs with export promotion expenditures. Four case studies detail effective export promotion programs.
TL;DR: In this paper, the development and management of major commodity markets are described, together with supplementary programs (set-aside, income aids, extensification and reconversion) and boundary conditions of the Common Agricultural Policy (monetary and fiscal restrictions, international trade negotiations).
Abstract: This article is part of a series of reviews designed to provide topical information on agriculture and agricultural policy in the European Community. The development and management of major commodity markets are described, together with supplementary programs (set-aside, income aids, extensification and reconversion). Some boundary conditions of the Common Agricultural Policy (monetary and fiscal restrictions, international trade negotiations) are also dealt with. Finally, the consequences for agriculture and the food sector of the imminent realisation of the Community's single internal market are reviewed and some aspects of German agricultural policy are commented on. The state of information being 1 May 1989, the 1989-90 price decisions have already been taken into account.
TL;DR: In this paper, game theory is used to assess the effects of retaliation, given that traders assume that rivals will respond to any policy change, and estimates of expected responses are obtained for each trading bloc, and are included in regional welfare functions.
Abstract: Retaliation and other strategic trade policies can be readily observed in world commodity markets. Strategic behaviour can be analysed with game-theoretic models. Game theory is used to assess the effects of retaliation, given that traders assume that rivals will respond to any policy change. Estimates of expected responses are obtained for each trading bloc, and are included in regional welfare functions. These are used to derive a market-cleaning global equilibrium in which domestic prices, trade flow and welfare distribution in each region are determined. Market power among importers relative to exporters determines the effect of changes in expectations of retaliation on optimal trade policies and trade flows. The analysis is applied to a twenty-one region linear wheat trade model.
Posted Content•
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that government programs to expand use of such contracts by farmers generally would not raise or stabilize market prices or farmers' incomes unless subsidies were involved, and such subsidies would be difficult to administer and offer few advantages over conventional farm programs.
Abstract: By using commodity futures, options, or cash forward contracts, farmers can broaden their pricing alternatives and partly protect themselves against price declines within a given year, but they cannot effectively stabilize their incomes across years. Each of these types of contracts sets a price or a price limit for a commodity to be delivered at a later date; futures and options contracts are standardized and traded on exchanges; a commodity option gives the holder the right to buy or sell a futures contract at a specified price during a designated time interval. Government programs to expand use of such contracts by farmers generally would not raise or stabilize market prices or farmers' incomes unless subsidies were involved. Such subsidies would be difficult to administer and offer few advantages over conventional farm programs.