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Bubble Troubles? Rational Storage, Mean Reversion and Runs in Commodity Prices

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  • Eugenio S. A. Bobenrieth
  • Juan R. A. Bobenrieth
  • Brian D. Wright

Abstract

High and volatile prices of major commodities have generated a wide array of analyses and policy prescriptions, including influential studies identifying price bubbles in periods of high volatility. Here we consider a model of the market for a storable commodity in which price expectations are unbounded. We derive its implications for price time series and empirical tests of price behavior. In this model commodity price is equal to marginal consumption value, and hence bubbles as defined in financial economics cannot occur. However the model generates episodes of price runs that could be characterized as "explosive" and might seem to be bubble-like. At sufficiently long holding periods, a price path can yield average returns consistent with mean reversion, even though the long run expectation of price is infinite.

Suggested Citation

  • Eugenio S. A. Bobenrieth & Juan R. A. Bobenrieth & Brian D. Wright, 2013. "Bubble Troubles? Rational Storage, Mean Reversion and Runs in Commodity Prices," NBER Working Papers 19037, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19037
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    1. Angus Deaton & Guy Laroque, 1992. "On the Behaviour of Commodity Prices," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(1), pages 1-23.
    2. José A. Scheinkman & Jack Schechtman, 1983. "A Simple Competitive Model with Production and Storage," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 50(3), pages 427-441.
    3. Piesse, Jenifer & Thirtle, Colin, 2009. "Three bubbles and a panic: An explanatory review of recent food commodity price events," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 119-129, April.
    4. Peter C. B. Phillips & Yangru Wu & Jun Yu, 2011. "EXPLOSIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE 1990s NASDAQ: WHEN DID EXUBERANCE ESCALATE ASSET VALUES?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 52(1), pages 201-226, February.
    5. Eugenio S. A. Bobenrieth H. & Juan R. A. Bobenrieth H. & Brian D. Wright, 2002. "A Commodity Price Process with a Unique Continuous Invariant Distribution Having Infinite Mean," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(3), pages 1213-1219, May.
    6. Futia, Carl A, 1982. "Invariant Distributions and the Limiting Behavior of Markovian Economic Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(2), pages 377-408, March.
    7. Deaton, Angus & Laroque, Guy, 1996. "Competitive Storage and Commodity Price Dynamics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 896-923, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Guerra Vallejos, Ernesto & Bobenrieth Hochfarber, Eugenio & Bobenrieth Hochfarber, Juan & Wright, Brian D., 2021. "Solving dynamic stochastic models with multiple occasionally binding constraints," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    2. De Lipsis, Vincenzo & Agnolucci, Paolo, 2024. "Climate change and the US wheat commodity market," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Esposti, Roberto, 2021. "On the long-term common movement of resource and commodity prices.A methodological proposal," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Etienne, Xiaoli L. & Irwin, Scott H. & Garcia, Philip, 2014. "Bubbles in food commodity markets: Four decades of evidence," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 129-155.
    5. Eugenio S.A. Bobenrieth & Juan R.A. Bobenrieth & Ernesto A. Guerra & Brian D. Wright & Di Zeng, 2021. "Putting the Empirical Commodity Storage Model Back on Track: Crucial Implications of a “Negligible” Trend," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 1034-1057, May.
    6. Juan R. A. Bobenrieth & Eugenio S. A. Bobenrieth & Andrés F. Villegas & Brian D. Wright, 2022. "Estimation of Endogenous Volatility Models with Exponential Trends," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(15), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Esposti, Roberto, 2017. "What Makes Commodity Prices Move Together? An Answer From A Dynamic Factor Model," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 260889, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Ehsan Ahmed & J. Rosser & Jamshed Uppal, 2014. "Are there nonlinear speculative bubbles in commodities prices?," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 415-438.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices

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