An Economic Analysis of the Impact of Biofuel Production on Food Prices in the United States of America

Bc. Ghaith Hasan

Master's thesis

Abstract:

The production of ethanol as a source of renewable energy has increased rapidly over the last ten years. In the United States of America, a growing movement has emerged to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel due to the decline in energy resources expected to occur. In addition to the harmful gas emissions which affect the global climate significantly and contribute the global warming. However, this increase of ethanol production as a source of energy has few pros and cons. On the one hand, the percentage of greenhouse gases resulting from the ethanol is 60% less when it is compared to gasoline. On the other hand, Ethanol production from crops poses an economic problem as agricultural products are often directed to food rather than to energy. This will lead to a negative impact on the agricultural markets and to a conflict between fuel and food. To analyze the relationship between ethanol production and food prices in U.S. market, a regression modeling will be used. In this econometric model, the relation between rising ethanol production and agricultural commodity prices (corn and wheat) will be examined in the period 1995-2017.

Keywords

ethanol, renewable energy, energy, agricultural products, food prices, econometrics, United States of America

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 28. 3. 2018

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedúci: doc. Ing. Mansoor Maitah, Ph.D. Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Economics and Management

Master programme / odbor:
Economics and Management / Economics and Management