figshare
Browse

Distributional impact of commodity price shocks: Australia over a century

Download (467.83 kB)
report
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:28 authored by Sambit BhattacharyyaSambit Bhattacharyya, Jeffrey G Williamson
This paper explores the distributional impact of commodity price shocks over the both the short and very long run. Using a GARCH model, we find that Australia experienced more volatility than many commodity exporting poor countries between 1865 and 2007. A single equation error correction model suggests that commodity price shocks increase the income share of the top 1, 0.05, and 0.01 percent in the short run. The very top end of the income distribution benefits from commodity booms disproportionately more than the rest of society. The short run effect is mainly driven by wool and mining and not agricultural commodities. A sustained increase in the price of renewables (wool) reduces inequality whereas the same for non-renewable resources (minerals) increases inequality. We expect that the initial distribution of land and mineral resources explains the asymmetric result.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

CEPR

Pages

35.0

Place of publication

London UK

Department affiliated with

  • Economics Publications

Institution

University of Sussex

Full text available

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-08-06

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC