Producers’ Preference for Price Instability?

Abstract

The debate over whether producers prefer price instability to price stability continues, especially where policies are often endorsed that aim at generating stability. Such policies include the holding of agriculture commodity stocks by government to bring about price stability. But why would producers support such a policy given that producers prefer price instability, or do they? Oi argues that producers prefer price instability, which is opposite to the conclusion reached by Massell. In this paper, we take up the issue as to producers’ preference for price instability using the classic welfare economic framework used by Massell and Just et al. We develop a producer price expectation model that brings about price stability, which is possible without storage. We use this as the basis upon which to compare price stability to price instability. Our conclusion is that producers prefer price instability regardless of whether it is due to demand or supply shocks.