Price Volatility in Food Markets: Can Stock Building Mitigate Price Fluctuations?

• Departmental Seminar

Date and Location

Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
2005 Plant and Environmental Sciences

Abstract

This article studies US corn price fluctuations in the past two decades. Price volatility is explained by volatility clustering, the influence of energy prices, corn stocks and global economic conditions. A multivariate GARCH specification that allows for exogenous variables in the conditional covariance model is estimated both parametrically and semiparametrically. Findings provide evidence of price volatility transmission between ethanol and corn markets. They also suggest that macroeconomic conditions can influence corn price volatility and that stock building is found to significantly reduce corn price fluctuations.