Relationship between financial speculation and food prices or price volatility: applying the principles of evidence-based medicine to current debates in Germany

Globalization and Health

Oliver Razum³  Michael Knipper⁵  Irmgard Jordan⁴  Florian Neuhann²  Olaf Müller²  Sabine Gabrysch²  Kayvan Bozorgmehr¹ 

[1] Department of General Practice & Health Services Research, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;Institute of Public Health, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;Department of Epidemiology & International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany;Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany;Institute of the History of Medicine, University Giessen, Giessen, Germany

关键词: Global health;    Critical appraisal;    Systematic review;    Food security;    Price volatility;    Food prices;    Financial speculation;   

Others  :  805378
DOI  :  10.1186/1744-8603-9-44

 received in 2013-05-01, accepted in 2013-10-02,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

There is an unresolved debate about the potential effects of financial speculation on food prices and price volatility. Germany’s largest financial institution and leading global investment bank recently decided to continue investing in agricultural commodities, stating that there is little empirical evidence to support the notion that the growth of agricultural-based financial products has caused price increases or volatility. The statement is supported by a recently published literature review, which concludes that financial speculation does not have an adverse effect on the functioning of the agricultural commodities market. As public health professionals concerned with global food insecurity, we have appraised the methodological quality of the review using a validated and reliable appraisal tool. The appraisal revealed major shortcomings in the methodological quality of the review. These were particularly related to intransparencies in the search strategy and in the selection/presentation of studies and findings; the neglect of the possibility of publication bias; a lack of objective or rigorous criteria for assessing the scientific quality of included studies and for the formulation of conclusions. Based on the results of our appraisal, we conclude that it is not justified to reject the hypothesis that financial speculation might have adverse effects on food prices/price volatility. We hope to initiate reflections about scientific standards beyond the boundaries of disciplines and call for high quality, rigorous systematic reviews on the effects of financial speculation on food prices or price volatility.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Bozorgmehr et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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