| Abstract: |
Between 2006 and 2011, in a global context of rising food prices, many
countries applied price-isolating policies. Export restrictions were among the
measures most frequently applied. However, as countries are not obliged to
notify WTO about the imposition of export restrictions, there is not good
information about the measures applied. We fill this void by building a
comprehensive database on export restrictions applied in the agricultural
sector worldwide between 2005 and 2014. We name it the Export Restriction in
Agriculture (ERA) database, and we use it to analyze the incidence of export
restrictions by country, type of product, type of measure, and time span.
Using the ERA database, we assess the effects of export restrictions on
agricultural trade and global food prices in the period 2005-2013. To do so,
we estimate a disaggregated gravity model of trade where the effects of export
restrictions and import tariffs on traded values and volumes allowed us to
infer the existence of an effect on prices. Clear evidence of export
restrictions affecting world prices is limited to a handful of sectors, and
weak evidence suggests that it may exist in some other sectors. We also find
weak evidence of an impact of import promoting policies on agricultural
prices. These results highlights the idea that export restrictions should be
addressed at the multilateral level, but negotiations on export restrictions
should not be disassociated from talks on other price-insulating policies. |