The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held a conference on the economic impacts of volatile agricultural costs and food price inflation. This conference brought together experts from industry, academia and policy institutions to discuss agricultural and food policy, including their intersection with the macroeconomy through food price inflation. The goals of the conference included examining the roots of increases in agricultural prices, particularly underlying global factors; exploring the implications of these increases for the food industry; and discussing the potential implications of persistent changes in food prices on price stability at the macroeconomic level.
Agricultural Markets and Food Price Inflation
8:00 AM
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
David B. Oppedahl, Business Economist, Business Economist
9:15 AM
Session I: Sources of Agricultural Cost Increases
Speakers
John Miranowski, Professor, Department of Economics, Iowa State University
Gary Schnitkey, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
10:30 AM
Break
10:45 AM
Session II: Changing World Food Demand and Supply
Speakers
Ronald Trostle, Economic Research Service, USDA
Patrick Westhoff, Research Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri, and Co-Director, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute
12:00 PM
Lunch
Introduction
Representative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Keynote
Mark Cackler, Manager, Agriculture and Rural Development Department, The World Bank
1:30 PM
Session III: Impacts of Food Price Changes
Speakers
Leslie McGranahan, Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Robert L. Thompson, Gardner Chair in Agricultural Policy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2:45 PM
Session IV: Panel Discussion: What Role Should Food Price Inflation Play in Price Stability and Macroeconomic Policies?
Moderator
Alan D. Barkema, Senior Vice President, Regional, Public, and Community Affairs Division, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Panelists
Daniel G. Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Joseph W. Glauber, Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Dermot J. Hayes, Professor and Pioneer Chair in Agribusiness, Department of Economics, Iowa State University
4:00 PM
