This paper investigates the dynamics of sequential decision-making in agricultural futures andoptions markets using a quantile regression framework. Analysis of trading records of 12 traderssuggests that there is great heterogeneity in individual trading behavior. Traders responddifferently to...

This study examines the systematic risk present in major crops for the United States andthree corn-belt states. An index of commodities is used in conjunction with cash receiptsto generate dynamic estimates of the systematic risk for each crop and state. In our study,we find that beta estimates...

Hedging effectiveness is the proportion of price risk removed through hedging. Empiricalhedging studies typically estimate a set of risk minimizing hedge ratios, estimate the hedgingeffectiveness statistic, apply the estimated hedge ratios to a second group of data, and examinethe robustness of...

The commodity bull cycle of 2006-2008 and subsequent dramatic price decline have been asource of hardship for traditional commodity market participants such as producers andmerchant/shippers. The usefulness of futures markets has been called into question, especiallygiven that some market...

Recent accusations against speculators in general and long-only commodity index funds inparticular, include: increasing market volatility, distorting historical price relationships, andfueling a rapid increase and decrease in commodity inflation. Some researchers have argued thatthese market...

This paper analyzes the relationship between Global Wine Industry Share Price Indexes and composite stockmarket indexes using a Threshold Vector Error Correction Model (TVECM), aiming to investigate if investmentsin the wine sector play a role in determining financial risk and return to...

In the era of a global economy, farmers face increasing pressure in developing a portfolio of various marketing channels. However, the literature on direct marketing strategies has mainly focused on consumers. Using farm-level data this study investigates factors associated with the choice of...

This study contributes to the understanding of behavioural responses to climate change induced extreme weatherevents. It suggest a microeconometric method for measuring flooding related risk preferences of affectedindividuals. The method is outlined using the empirical case of agricultural...

The sugar industry in the island of St. Kitts came to a close in 2005 and so too did a long period of monoculture and possibly a culture and lifestyle of a people that affectionately refer to their country as Sugar City. Sugar was cultivated on approximately 4,500 hectares and there is now a...

Economic theory posits that the removal of impediments to trade should redound to improvement in the overall well-being of all nations. Unfortunately, for many developing countries, this has not been the case; upon significantly reducing their tariffs, they are yet to see any tangible benefits....