Causality and predictability in distribution: The ethanol–food price relation revisited

A-Tier
Journal: Energy Economics
Year: 2014
Volume: 42
Issue: C
Pages: 152-160

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between biofuels, field crops and cattle prices in the U.S. from a new perspective. We focus on predictability in distribution by asking whether ethanol returns can be used to forecast different parts of field crops and cattle returns distribution, or vice versa. Density forecasts are constructed using Conditional Autoregressive Expectile models estimated with Asymmetric Least Squares. Forecast evaluation relies on quantile-weighed scoring rules, which identify regions of the distribution of interest to the analyst. Results show that both the centre and the left tail of the ethanol returns distribution can be predicted by using field crops returns. On the contrary, there is no evidence that ethanol can be used to forecast any region of the field crops or cattle returns distributions.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:eneeco:v:42:y:2014:i:c:p:152-160
Journal Field
Energy
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24