World Trade In Commodities

This paper presents a comprehensive database of country-specific commodity price indices for 182 economies covering the period 1962-2018. For each country, the change in the international price of up to 45 individual commodities is weighted using commodity-level trade data. The database includes a commodity terms-of-trade index—which proxies the windfall gains and losses of income associated with changes in world prices—as well as additional country-specific series, including commodity export and import price indices. We provide indices that are constructed using, alternatively, fixed weights (based on average trade flows over several decades) and time-varying weights (which can account for time variation in the mix of commodities traded and the overall importance of commodities in economic activity). The paper also discusses the dynamics of commodity terms of trade across country groups and their influence on key macroeconomic aggregates.

This book deals with commodity price stabilization. It explores the contemporary changes in global trade agreements and their relationship to the ongoing changes in international and regional trade structures and economic integration. It takes a wholistic, interdisciplinary approach, including economic, legal and political aspects; examines the EC and NAFTA as important trade blocs, and their impact on global economies. Investigates the Chinese approach to trade management, the oil price stabilization policies, and seabed minerals; discusses discrimination in international trade. The interdisciplinary nature of the book is given prominence through the layout of the various parts. Part I examines the legal issues of commodity trade, investigating the debate over whether international trade agreements create hard law or soft law. Part II discusses the political economy of contemporary global trade issues, including the rise of intraindustry trade and discrimination in international trade. Part III addresses the recent trend towards regionalism and trade blocs, focusing on the EC and NAFTA, and their economic implications. Finally, Part IV presents the issues of commodity trade stabilization for minerals and oil, including both land-based and seabed commodities.

This book argues that the viability of many observed market and non-market interventions in agricultural products worldwide depends considerably on the underlying behaviour of the relevant commodity markets. Many of these policies have had distortive impacts, resulting in much discussion and controversy in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of trade negotiations.