Anatomy of a crisis: The causes and consequences of surging food prices

dc.creatorHeadey, Derek D.
dc.creatorFan, Shenggen
dc.date2008
dc.date2024-11-21T09:55:24Z
dc.date2024-11-21T09:55:24Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:33:12Z
dc.descriptionAlthough the potential causes and consequences of recent increases in international food prices have attracted widespread attention, many existing appraisals are superficial and/or piecemeal. This paper attempts to provide a more comprehensive review of these issues based on the best and most recent research, and includes fresh theoretical and empirical analysis. We first analyze the causes of the current crisis by considering how well standard explanations hold up against relevant economic theory and important stylized facts. Some explanations, especially rising oil prices, the depreciation of the US dollar, biofuel demand, and some commodity-specific explanations, hold up much better than some others. We then provide an appraisal of the likely macro- and microeconomic impacts of the crisis in developing countries. We observe a large gap in the effects of macro and micro factors, and note that when these factors are used to identify the most vulnerable countries, the results often point in different directions. We conclude with a brief discussion of what ought to be learned from this crisis.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/161394
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/107606
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://doi.org/10.2499/9780896291782RM165
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/152604
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceHeadey, Derek D.; Fan, Shenggen. 2008. Anatomy of a crisis: The causes and consequences of surging food prices. IFPRI Discussion Paper 831. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161394
dc.subjectfood prices
dc.subjectoil and gas production
dc.subjectprices
dc.subjectbiofuels
dc.subjectpoverty
dc.subjectimpact
dc.subjectmacroeconomic analysis
dc.titleAnatomy of a crisis: The causes and consequences of surging food prices
dc.typeWorking Paper

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