Boom or Bust: How commodity price volatility impedes poverty reduction, and what to do about it

The document argues that commodity price volatility creates unstable national and individual incomes, which hinders long-term planning and drives environmental degradation. It concludes that while no single policy can solve the issue, a combination of supply management, revenue management, and other economic tools can mitigate risks if implemented with complementary policies and stakeholder engagement.

• Commodity price volatility significantly hinders fiscal planning and poverty reduction in 95 developing countries that earn at least half of their export revenues from commodities, with prices sometimes fluctuating by 50 per cent annually.
• The primary issue is not price volatility itself, but the resulting volatility of individual and national incomes, which leads to increased inequality, environmental degradation, and a cycle of commodity dependence.
• Effective mitigation requires a multifaceted approach because no single 'silver bullet' policy exists; interventions must account for market distortions, moral hazards, and enduring supply-side constraints like poor infrastructure.

APA

Gibson,, A. C. B. (2008). Boom or Bust: How commodity price volatility impedes poverty reduction, and what to do about it. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/commodity-price-poverty-reduction

Chicago

Gibson,, Alec Crawford,Oli Brown,Jason. Boom or Bust: How commodity price volatility impedes poverty reduction, and what to do about it. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2008. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/commodity-price-poverty-reduction.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gibson, |first1=Alec Crawford,Oli Brown,Jason |title=Boom or Bust: How commodity price volatility impedes poverty reduction, and what to do about it |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=8 January 2008 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/commodity-price-poverty-reduction |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gibson2008boom, author = {Gibson,, Alec Crawford,Oli Brown,Jason}, title = {{Boom or Bust: How commodity price volatility impedes poverty reduction, and what to do about it}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2008}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/commodity-price-poverty-reduction}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }