Countries that specialize in commodity exports often exhibit a correlation between the relevant commodity price and the value of their currency. We explore a natural but little-studied explanation for this correlation. An increase in the commodity price leads to increases in the future values of...

We provide evidence on the dynamic effects of aggregate commodity demand shocks, commoditysupply shocks, and storage or other commodity-specific demand shocks on real commodity prices. We analyze a new dataset of price and production levels from 1870 to 2015 for 15 grains, metals, and soft...

Commodities have begun to function as an asset class during the past decade, as trading in commodity derivatives has increased massively since the 2000s. This paper studies the role of commodities as an asset class in accounting for the recently lessened impacts of commodity price shocks on the...

I study the consumption-saving problem with non-separable utility under ambiguity. Using smooth ambiguity aversion, I show that the introduction of ambiguity and greater ambiguity aversion raise optimal saving. When relative prudence in ambiguity preferences is bounded by 2, also greater...

How do commodity shocks impact the privatization of public lands? This paper examines this question through the lens of the establishment of private property rights over public lands in Colombia, which has had one of the Western Hemisphere's largest public land distribution programs during the...

Money is a scarce resource for most people. For that reason, the decision whether to spend more today and less in the future or vice versa is a recurrent question to many of us. Pension systems provide incentives for saving for future consumption and mortgage markets allow us to increase...