@article{Kornher:211824,
      recid = {211824},
      author = {Kornher, Lukas and Kalkuhl, Matthias},
      title = {Cost and benefits from regional cooperation on grain  reserves: The case of ECOWAS},
      address = {2015},
      number = {1008-2016-80120},
      pages = {42},
      year = {2015},
      abstract = {In the wake of the 2007/2008 international food crisis,  public food reserve re-gained the attention of policy  makers. However, they come at high economic and fiscal  costs. On the other hand, the imperfect correlation of  supply shocks across neighboring countries entails the  potential to reduce regional market volatility through  intra-regional trade integration and storage cooperation.  In this chapter, optimal reserve levels are theoretical  derived in order to assess costs and benefits from regional  storage cooperation. The model is then applied to the West  African region which is in the process of establishing a  region-wide reserve. Accordingly, regional stocks under  cooperation in an emergency reserve can be 40 percent less  than without cooperation. Limited intra-regional trade  reduces the need for stock releases significantly. Full  market integration would diminish regional consumption  variability to 3.4 percent, less than for every other  individual West African country, but is not effective in  dampening severe supply shortfalls. Cooperation in a  stabilization reserve in addition to trade integration has  only limited impact on consumption stability, and thus  storage cooperation shall be restricted to an emergency  reserve.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/211824},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.211824},
}