A Handbook of Primary Commodities in the Global Economy

The 2010s have been a dramatic period for most primary commodity markets. Producers suffered heavily as prices fell in response to new supply facilities going into production, juxtaposed against disappointing demand evolution from China in particular, marking the end of the most powerful and enduring commodity boom since the Second World War. This book is a guide to the primary commodity universe, an increasingly crucial part of the world economy. In this updated edition, Marian Radetzki and Linda Wårell introduce and explain pertinent issues surrounding international commodity markets, including the importance of fossil markets among commodities, price formation, price trends, the shift in primary commodity consumption towards Asia, the increasing reliance on commodity exchanges, new relaxed attitude towards depletion, cartel action, and the revival of nationalism and state ownership. This is an accessible read for graduates, academic researchers, and professionals in the mineral and energy sectors.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The historical framework; 2. The geography of commodity production and trade; 3. Comparative advantage and the trade policy distortions; 4. The fossil fuels; 5. Price formation and price trends in commodities; 6. Commodity booms; 7. The commodity exchanges, commodity investments and speculation; 8. Sustainability and the threats of resource depletion; 9. Fears of and measures to assure supply security; 10. Producer cartels in international commodity markets; 11. Public ownership in primary commodity production; 12. The monoeconomies: issues raised by heavy dependence on commodity production and exports; References; Index.

About the Author :
Marian Radetzki is Professor of Economics at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. He has authored more than two dozen books, the most recent being The Price of Oil (Cambridge, 2015), and has undertaken consulting assignments for industry, governments, and international organisations, such as the World Bank and the UNDP. Linda Wårell is Associate Professor of Economics at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Mineral Economics, a multidisciplinary journal focussing on economic and policy issues in the mineral industries, and has published numerous studies on competition and public policy issues in the minerals industry.

Review :
'The great China-led boom in commodities may have passed but it has left an indelible mark on commodity producers and consumers and on relations between them. This updating of the Handbook captures these changes, as well as providing, like its predecessor, a clear and incisive education in the production and trade of the materials which continue to form the bedrock of our industrial civilisation.' David Humphreys, author of The Remaking of the Mining Industry 'Marian Radetzki is one of the world's most informed economists focusing on minerals and energy raw material markets and policies. On this occasion he is joined by Linda Wårell to update his Handbook of Primary Commodities, just as their prices begin to come back from the stratospheric levels of recent years. This Handbook is accessible to a wide range of interested readers including commodity and finance market players, business and applied economics students and analysts, and the policy community.' Kymn Anderson, University of Adelaide, Australian National University, and Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research 'Commodities have returned to become a focus of discussion and research on the world economy. A number of specialized texts are available but Marian Radetzki's Handbook remains the best general discussion for professional economists, political scientists and the general reader. Importantly, Radetzki provides an integrated discussion of energy and metals. This updated edition has allowed Radetzki and Wårell draw the lessons from the recent commodity boom for the issues currently facing producing companies and the governments of producing and consuming countries.' Christopher Gilbert, Bologna Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies