Choices Webinar: The Low-Down on Local Foods

C-FARE has partnered with the International Food Information Council Foundation to host a free webinar in two weeks discussing the definition of "local" foods; the nutritional, economic and social tradeoffs of local versus other foods; and consumer insights regarding local foods.

News Roundup - 3/29

Below is a collection of various news items of interest to AAEA members. Have something you would like included? Either mention it in the comments below, or e-mail Adam@aaea.org and we'll include it in a future News Roundup.

Member Profiles: Marc F. Bellemare

Marc F. Bellemare
Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

AAEA Activities:
Selected Presentations Topic Leader, Industrial Organization and Supply Chain Management, 2010-2012
Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2007 

AgEcon Search Receives Innovation Award

The American Library Association has announced that AgEcon Search has received an award recognizing innovation in science and technology librarianship. "AgEcon Search is the trusted national and international repository for open access to agricultural economic research valued by disciplinary researchers the world over," said award co-chairs, Marianne Stowell Bracke of Purdue University and Lutishoor Salisbury at the University of Arkansas.

farmdoc Launches New Daily Report

farmdoc has lunched a new blog called farmdoc Daily, which will feature one post a day on the topic of "Corn Belt farm economics, with an emphasis on management, marketing, finance, policy, law, and taxation issues."

AEPP Podcast: Index Funds, Financialization, and Commodity Futures Markets

One of the hot topics in the media currently is the rise of food prices and the effect its having around the world. But what's causing those rising prices? A new article in AEPP finds that the recent rise of prices in commodities, including food prices, was not caused by an increase in speculative investments, as some have suggested.

"There simply isn’t compelling evidence" that the rise in prices was caused by index fund investment, says Scott Irwin of University of Illinois, lead author on the article. "It is not surprising that a debate has ensued about the role of index funds in commodity futures markets," he says. "Very limited traces of linkage between the two are visible, however. To date, no ‘smoking gun’ has been found."

In the latest AEPP podcast, you can hear Irwin discuss these findings, including the possible policy implications, as new limits on speculation in these markets are being discussed. If you'd like to read the full text of the article, AAEA members can login to the My Account section and click on the link for AEPP.