World Perspectives

Misdiagnosed; Potemkin Trade Policy

Misdiagnosed U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that, “Higher food and energy prices are having stagflationary effects, namely depressing output and spending and raising inflation all around the world.” She pushed for increased international food aid and advised international financial institutions to address acute food shortages. Stagflation is not depressing food output – war and weather are the culprits. It also is not to blame in energy markets, where war, monopolistic OPEC practices, and Western discouragement of fossil fuels are to blame. Such misdiagnoses risk the wrong policy responses to address the root causes.   Potemkin Trade Policy In a few days, President Biden will announce the...

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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