The price debate: do free markets provide the right signals

Journal article

The 2008 oil price spike, which was accompanied by similar sharp price rises in coal, iron ore, food, and many other commodities, sparked a debate which still resonates five years later. Countless articles, commentaries, conferences, and much learned debate has occurred over whether the market was working well and providing the ‘right’ price signals or whether it was dysfunctional or, worse yet, wilfully distorted. All these analyses seem to have been asking whether (a) the price rise was driven by fundamentals, (b) what factors were behind the price spike, and (c) what could be done about it. In some cases, it seems, solutions were devised before the nature of the problem was fully determined.

Authors: Montepeque, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
• Journal: Oxford Energy Forum
• Volume: 94
• Pages: 25-30
• Publication date: 2013-11-01
• Edition: Publisher's version
• ISSN: 0959-7727
• Language: English
• Keywords: OIES