This publication was produced for review by the U.S. Agency for International Development. It was prepared by the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT, Task Order 1. HIV-related activities of Task Order 1 are supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Unprecedented levels of financial and human resources have been allocated for the prevention, care, and treatment of HIV-infected and -affec...

This research investigates the portfolio diversification benefits of commodities in the backdrop of uncertainty caused by the financial crisis, increased Financialization and speculation in commodity markets. Portfolios are formed out of varied asset classes comprise of equity, bond, infra structure, commodity spot & futures indices and sectoral indices such as agri, metals and energy sectors o...

When a household decides whether the woman participates or not in the labour market, we ask two questions: (i) Is the loss in female leisure made up for a change in consumption?, and (ii) Is this change considered when the household makes the decision? In order to answer such questions, we propose a collective model that takes into account the joint decision on consumption of several commoditie...

This paper investigates variance risk premia in energy commodities, particularly crude oil and natural gas, using a robust model-independent approach. Over a period of 11 years, we find that the average variance risk premia are significantly negative for both energy commodities. However, it is difficult to explain the level and variation in energy variance risk premia with systematic or commodi...

Seventy one samples of different spices sold open as well as packed were collected from different localities of Karachi city to evaluate their purchased. aflatoxin contamination. Thirteen percent of foods sold open were contaminated with aflatoxin while no aflatoxin was detected in foods packed in polythelene bags. (JPMA 36:109,1986).

Aflatoxin-contaminated commodities can be detoxified by a variety of methods based to some extent on economics and the physical and chemical characteristics of the substance being treated. Electronic and hand sorting of peanuts with ammoniation of contaminated oilseed meals and corn currently appears to offer the most promise. Microbiological decontamination appears to be the least feasible met...

In this article we develop a model for the commodity price dynamics under the risk-neutral measure where the spot price switches between two distinct stochastic processes depending on whether or not inventory is being held. Specifically, whenever the drift of the spot price exceeds the cost of carrying inventory (interest rate plus storage costs) the inventory is being held. Conversely, wheneve...