The Political Economy of Food and Finance / Edition 1

by Ted P. Schmidt

Overview

This book describes the financialization process in commodity futures markets which transformed commodities into an asset class. Incorporated into the portfolio decisions of investors, commodity prices now behave like all asset prices, becoming more volatile and subject to periodic bubbles. As commodity prices were driven higher in the 2000s, farmland became more valuable, setting off a global land grab by investors, nations, and corporations. More recently, under the financialization food regime, slow growth and low returns encouraged merger activity driven by private equity firms, with food industry corporations as prime targets, leading to increased industry concentration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138299375
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/16/2017
Series:	Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ted P. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Economics & Finance at SUNY Buffalo State, New York, USA.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Food and Finance 2. Financialization: There and Back Again 3. Setting the Table 4. The Financialization Process in Commodity Futures Markets 5. The Speculation Debate 6. Private Equity Bought the Farm: The Impact of Financialization 7. Food and Finance Policy 8. The Global Food Chain Reaction