ABSTRACT
The failure of cartels to solve the problem of commodity price instability indicates that some other means must be found to manage the markets for key raw materials. Although futures markets provide a significant degree of price certainty, the 1970s demonstrated that prices can still become fundamentally unstable during periods of high and variable inflation rates. Despite UNCTAD’s concerted efforts to promote collusive arrangements, the organization’s effectiveness was undermined by the economic forces working against the cartelization process. It is in the interests of both developing and developed nations to work toward creating mechanisms that will stabilize the world’s commodity markets.
