Price stability in an age of emergencies: Revisiting the case for buffer stocks

Isabella M. Weber, associate professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, revisits the case for buffer stocks for essential commodities like food staples and energy in a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). Since the economist John Maynard Keynes's interventions at Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, the destabilizing effects of commodity price volatility have been a recurring concern for international economic governance. Weber argues that, similar to central bank policies, virtual and physical buffer stocks could be used to conduct open market operations on commodity markets and pursue price stabilization while also fostering climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Following Weber's presentation, PIIE president Adam S. Posen moderates a discussion with Maurice Obstfeld, C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow at PIIE, and a Q&A session with the audience.
MODERATOR
Adam S. Posen
President, PIIE
SPEAKERS
Maurice Obstfeld
C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow, PIIE
Isabella M. Weber
Associate Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Thumbnail credit: Sarah Tew/PIIE via adobestock.com; Isabel Estevez via www.isabellawe...