IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v25y2021i4p890-899.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding relative metal prices and availability: Combining physical and economic perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Brett J. Watson
  • Roderick G. Eggert

Abstract

Scientists typically use physical indicators, such as average crustal abundance, and energy requirements in production, as measures of the availability of mineral resources. Economists, on the other hand, typically rely on measures such as prices, and extraction costs. This study investigates the role of crustal abundance, energy requirements, and other physical indicators in determining relative metal prices. The relationship between prices, and physical indicators is estimated statistically for a sample of 22 chemical elements over the period 1970–2013 using an economic market model. The results suggest that energy requirements in production explain 43% of observed variation in metal prices, crustal abundance 21%, and other physical indicators (toxicity, native metal status, and melting point) combine to explain 12% of the observed differences in metal prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Brett J. Watson & Roderick G. Eggert, 2021. "Understanding relative metal prices and availability: Combining physical and economic perspectives," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(4), pages 890-899, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:25:y:2021:i:4:p:890-899
    DOI: 10.1111/jiec.13087
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13087
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jiec.13087?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reynolds, Douglas B., 1999. "The mineral economy: how prices and costs can falsely signal decreasing scarcity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 155-166, October.
    2. Stuermer, Martin, 2018. "150 Years Of Boom And Bust: What Drives Mineral Commodity Prices?," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 702-717, April.
    3. John Boyce, "undated". "Biased Technological Change and the Relative Abundance of Natural Resources," Working Papers 2013-04, Department of Economics, University of Calgary.
    4. Rossen, Anja, 2015. "What are metal prices like? Co-movement, price cycles and long-run trends," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 255-276.
    5. Erten, Bilge & Ocampo, José Antonio, 2013. "Super Cycles of Commodity Prices Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 14-30.
    6. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: A sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 106-118.
    7. Harold Hotelling, 1931. "The Economics of Exhaustible Resources," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39, pages 137-137.
    8. Parente, Paulo M.D.C. & Santos Silva, J.M.C., 2012. "A cautionary note on tests of overidentifying restrictions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 314-317.
    9. Northey, S. & Mohr, S. & Mudd, G.M. & Weng, Z. & Giurco, D., 2014. "Modelling future copper ore grade decline based on a detailed assessment of copper resources and mining," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 190-201.
    10. John T Cuddington & Daniel Jerrett, 2008. "Super Cycles in Real Metals Prices?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 55(4), pages 541-565, December.
    11. Phillips, W. G. B. & Edwards, D. P., 1976. "Metal prices as a function of ore grade," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 167-178, September.
    12. Brunetti, Celso & Gilbert, Christopher L., 1995. "Metals price volatility, 1972-1995," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 237-254, December.
    13. James H. Stock & Motohiro Yogo, 2002. "Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression," NBER Technical Working Papers 0284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Lewis Cecil Gray, 1914. "Rent under the Assumption of Exhaustibility," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 28(3), pages 466-489.
    15. Labys, W. C. & Achouch, A. & Terraza, M., 1999. "Metal prices and the business cycle," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 229-238, December.
    16. Florian Fizaine & Victor Court, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: a sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Post-Print halshs-01227860, HAL.
    17. Kucher, Oleg & McCoskey, Suzanne, 2017. "The long-run relationship between precious metal prices and the business cycle," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 263-275.
    18. Cleveland, Cutler J., 1993. "An exploration of alternative measures of natural resource scarcity: the case of petroleum resources in the U.S," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 123-157, April.
    19. Liu, Zhicen & Koerwer, Joel & Nemoto, Jiro & Imura, Hidefumi, 2008. "Physical energy cost serves as the "invisible hand" governing economic valuation: Direct evidence from biogeochemical data and the U.S. metal market," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 104-108, August.
    20. Jerrett, Daniel & Cuddington, John T., 2008. "Broadening the statistical search for metal price super cycles to steel and related metals," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 188-195, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Baffes, John & Kabundi, Alain, 2023. "Commodity price shocks: Order within chaos?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Rossen, Anja, 2015. "What are metal prices like? Co-movement, price cycles and long-run trends," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 255-276.
    3. Tapia, Carlos & Coulton, Jeff & Saydam, Serkan, 2020. "Using entropy to assess dynamic behaviour of long-term copper price," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Addison, Tony & Ghoshray, Atanu, 2023. "Discerning trends in international metal prices in the presence of nonstationary volatility," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Manuel Landajo & María José Presno, 2022. "The prices of renewable commodities: a robust stationarity analysis," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(2), pages 447-470, April.
    6. John Baffes, 2014. "Global Economic Prospects : Commodity Markets Outlook, October 2014," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 20455.
    7. Vasyl Golosnoy & Anja Rossen, 2018. "Modeling dynamics of metal price series via state space approach with two common factors," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1477-1501, June.
    8. Yves Jégourel, 2018. "Tendances et cyclicité du prix des matières premières (partie 2) : le super-cycle des matières premières en question," Policy notes & Policy briefs 1824, Policy Center for the New South.
    9. Caldara, Dario & Cavallo, Michele & Iacoviello, Matteo, 2019. "Oil price elasticities and oil price fluctuations," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 1-20.
    10. Baffes,John & Kabundi,Alain Ntumba & Nagle,Peter Stephen Oliver & Ohnsorge,Franziska Lieselotte, 2018. "The role of major emerging markets in global commodity demand," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8495, The World Bank.
    11. Jacques, Pierre & Delannoy, Louis & Andrieu, Baptiste & Yilmaz, Devrim & Jeanmart, Hervé & Godin, Antoine, 2023. "Assessing the economic consequences of an energy transition through a biophysical stock-flow consistent model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    12. Jair N. Ojeda-Joya & Oscar Jaulin-Mendez & Juan C. Bustos-Peláez, 2019. "The Interdependence Between Commodity-Price and GDP Cycles: A Frequency-Domain Approach," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 47(3), pages 275-292, September.
    13. Marañon, Matias & Kumral, Mustafa, 2019. "Kondratiev long cycles in metal commodity prices," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 21-28.
    14. Macías, Arturo & Matilla-García, Mariano, 2015. "Net energy analysis in a Ramsey–Hotelling growth model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 562-573.
    15. Gil-Alana, Luis A. & Aye, Goodness C. & Gupta, Rangan, 2015. "Trends and cycles in historical gold and silver prices," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 98-109.
    16. Etoundi Atenga, Eric Martial, 2014. "Asymmetric shocks, persistence in volatility and spillover effects between non ferrous metals on the LME spot market," MPRA Paper 61017, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. David S. Jacks, 2019. "From boom to bust: a typology of real commodity prices in the long run," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(2), pages 201-220, May.
    18. Ehrlich, Lars G., 2018. "What drives nickel prices: A structural VAR approach," HWWI Research Papers 186, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
    19. Antonio RIBBA, 2010. "Sources of Unemployment Fluctuations in the USA and in the Euro Area in the Last Decade," EcoMod2010 259600141, EcoMod.
    20. Stuermer, Martin, 2018. "150 Years Of Boom And Bust: What Drives Mineral Commodity Prices?," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 702-717, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:25:y:2021:i:4:p:890-899. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1088-1980 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.