Kornher, L.; Kalkuhl, M.; Mujahid, I.
Food price volatility in developing countries: the role of trade policies and storage.
in FOODSECURE Working paper no. 57, 15.03.2017
Arbeitspapiere , Economic Growth and Human Development
The work at hand contributes to the ongoing discussion on drivers of food price volatility and closes the gap with respect to the impact of trade and storage policies. A dynamic panel is estimated to account for country fixed e ects and the persistence of volatility. Findings underline the importance of international price volatility and transactions costs, while international volatility spill-overs are significantly higher in countries with high imports. New evidence is provided with respect to the impact of anti-cyclical trade policies: Accordingly, both exporters and countries that switch between net-importer and net-exporter successfully stabilize domestic prices by insulating themselves from international markets. On the other hand, regional market integration, as a tool to reduce reliance on (unstable) international trade and to improve stable regional trade relations, reduces volatility at domestic markets.
