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Can inflation expectations be measured using commodity futures prices?

Salueddin, R; Coffman, D; (2018) Can inflation expectations be measured using commodity futures prices? Structural Change and Economic Dynamics , 45 pp. 37-48. 10.1016/j.strueco.2018.01.002. Green open access

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Abstract

This paper reexamines the use of US commodity futures price data to show that the US deflation of 1929–1932 was at best no more than partially anticipated by economic actors. By focusing on the expected real interest rate, previous studies provide some empirical support for explanations of the Great Depression that are not exclusively monetary in nature. However, these studies did not consider the context and the market microstructures from which the data was sourced. Our analysis suggests that it is more likely that agricultural commodity markets adjusted to deflationary expectations by the end of 1930. Evidence from commodities futures markets, such as the Chicago Board of Trade, therefore should not be used to critique the Keynesian challenge to the classical monetarist explanation of the Great Depression.

Type: Article
Title: Can inflation expectations be measured using commodity futures prices?
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2018.01.002
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2018.01.002
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Commodity futures, Inflation expectations, Normal backwardation
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett Sch of Const and Proj Mgt
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10041457
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