In this seminar, Professor Michel Robe from the University of Richmond presented his recent research paper on "The Political Economy of Export Bans and Commodity Price Volatility: Theory and Evidence from Agricultural Markets."

The seminar provided novel insights into the complex relationship between trade policy and commodity market behaviour, with important implications for the work of AMIS and the policy guidance it provides to its members. 

Some of the key questions that were addressed in the seminar included:

• How does grain market volatility change when an export ban is imposed?
• What is the level of commodity market uncertainty before and after the announcement of an export ban?
• How does commodity market uncertainty relate to the perceived probability of an export ban being announced?

The presentation was followed by a lively debate among members of the AMIS Secretariat Steering Committee, with many interventions proposing possible extensions to the anaytical framework of the study and drawing lessons for the policy monitoring work of AMIS.