Given the tremendous volatility of commodity prices, models used to test the efficiency of futures markets often contain unstable parameter estimates. This instability may cause the results of hypothesis tests to become sensitive to the sample period. As a result, tests based on constant...

Both the Theory of Storage and the Hotelling model play a prominent role in the study of non-renewable resource prices. This paper combines these approaches by modifying the Hotelling model to allow firms to hold inventory in addition to in-ground reserves, contributing three new results. First,...

Recent evidence suggests that transaction costs may prevent arbitrage in the market for crude oil. If these costs are significant, they could have serious implications for the value of the basis as a predictor of movement in the spot price.Given the importance of the basis within the existing...

The net oil price increase is one of the most popular models used to study the relationship between changes in the price of oil and macroeconomic activity. The model postulates that an increase in the price of oil has negative consequences for the economy if the new price exceeds the maximum...

The efficiency of the futures market for crude oil has been the subject of significant study, with the basis regression representing a popular methodology. However, the parameters of this model are subject to a structural break, casting doubt on any conclusion regarding the efficiency of the...

It is well known that parameter estimates obtained from ordinary least squares can be distorted by outliers. Given the dramatic fluctuations observed in the price of crude oil, it is surprising that the robustness of parameter estimates has not been scrutinized more closely. This article...

As healthcare reform evolves and takes shape, comparative effectiveness research (CER) appears to be one of the central topics on the national healthcare agenda. Over the past couple of years, comparative effectiveness has been explicitly incorporated in more than ten bills. For example, the...