International Commodity Policy

"International Commodity Policy" strives to provide a wide-ranging and comprehensive analysis of current commodity policies internationally. It discusses two major methods of market regulation: price stablization and compensatory finance. The authors analyze whether major commodity policies have reached their primary objectives and to what extent they have had economic side effects. Discussion of more general policy issues centres around three international commodity agreements for coffee, rubber, and cocoa. The authors also look at the policies adopted by individual nations to regulate commodity trading and assess to what extent they have reached their objectives. Finally, a discussion of the intervention of the IMF and Stabex assesses the degree of stability they can provide in a highly volatile and variable environment.