THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS AND AGRICULTURAL FINANCIAL MARKETS IMPACTS AND RESPONSES: DISCUSSION

The global financial crisis that exploded in 2008 and the global downturn that followed it are still unfolding. Complex linkages between the agricultural sector and the macroeconomy, through financial, commodity, and currency markets make it difficult to assess the impact of the crisis on the agricultural sector. Forecasting the medium-to-long-term effects is even more difficult since we are experiencing not only the unraveling of the largest shock to the economy since the 1930s but because the crisis is lead-ing to profound structural changes in both real and financial markets. This collection of articles provides us with the best assessment to date of crisis ’ effects o