The Effects of Commodity Price Stabilization Programs

In this paper, the authors analyze the effects of commodity programs in which the government attempts to support and stabilize price through open market purchases and sales. Specifically, they as sess the effects of such programs on the U.S. soybean market using a rational-expectations model that allows for private storage, expected -price-responsive production, and arbitrary support and release price s. A salient feature of the model is that private storage and product ion behavior adjusts to changes in government policy. Stochastic simu lations of the market model demonstrate that price stabilization prog rams can reduce long-run market price and destabilize producer revenu e. Copyright 1988 by American Economic Association.