Understanding better the relationship between financial markets and food price volatility is the motivation for this paper. The questions to be considered are as follows:
How has the relationship between financial actors and food commodity markets – particularly futures markets – changed in the last ten years? What have been the benefits and costs of the increased role of financial sector actors in these markets? How might the balance between benefits and costs change in the future? What reforms, if any, are needed to ensure that benefits exceed costs?
