Gilbert, Christopher L.Christiaensen, LucKaminski, Jonathan2016-02-022016-02-022016-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23714Everyone knows about seasonality. But what exactly do we know? This study systematically measures seasonal price gaps at 193 markets for 13 food commodities in seven African countries. It shows that the commonly used dummy variable or moving average deviation methods to estimate the seasonal gap can yield substantial upward bias. This can be partially circumvented using trigonometric and sawtooth models, which are more parsimonious. Among staple crops, seasonality is highest for maize (33 percent on average) and lowest for rice (16½ percent). This is two and a half to three times larger than in the international reference markets. Seasonality varies substantially across market places, but maize is the only crop in which there are important systematic country effects. Malawi, where maize is the main staple, emerges as exhibiting the most acute seasonal differences. Reaching the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger requires renewed policy attention to seasonality in food prices and consumption.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOSPOT PRICERETAILINGSEASONAL FACTORRETAIL PRICECOUNTRY MARKETSTOCKFUTURESSEARCHCOUNTRY FIXED EFFECTSDEFLATIONINCOMEINTERESTFUTURE EARNINGSEXCHANGEINFORMATIONLIQUIDITYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESPRICE VARIATIONFOOD PRICESCASSAVAFOOD POLICYFOOD POLICY RESEARCHIFPRITRANSMISSIONTOMATOESWORLD MARKETSSTORAGE FACILITIESAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICSPRICEPRICE TRENDFOOD POLICYSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTINFLATIONSOFTWARE PROGRAMDEVELOPING COUNTRYRETAILINTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTEOPEN ACCESSPRICE VARIATIONMAIZELINKDATAFOOD MARKETSCEREALSWHOLESALE MARKETSINTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTECURRENCYFOOD POLICY RESEARCHDATESSILOSFOOD PRICEPRICE VOLATILITYPRODUCTSMARKET PLACESEASONAL FACTORSBUYERSMARKETINGMARKETSFRUITSVEGETABLESAGRICULTURAL PRICESWEBMATERIALPRICE SERIESPRODUCTFAMINEGRAINSFOOD PRODUCTSCOMMODITY PRICEMARKETPLACESEXPENDITURETRANSACTIONSSTAPLE FOODSDATA AVAILABILITYFOOD SECURITYPRICE TRENDSWHOLESALE PRICESDOMESTIC MARKETSHOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITYVOLATILITYSOFTWARERESULTSFUTUREVALUESEASONAL FACTORSTHIRD WORLDRAW DATAPURCHASING POWERDEMANDFRUITCOUNTRY DUMMIESPRICE RISKRETAIL MARKETSPRICE CHANGESTRAINING MANUALEXPENDITURESAGRICULTUREPRICE FLUCTUATIONSFOOD SHORTAGEAVERAGE PRICEPRICE INFORMATIONSPOT MARKETEGGSMARKETLOCAL CURRENCYRETAIL PRICESFOODPRICE INSTABILITYRESULTGOVERNMENT POLICIESTRADESECURITYINTERNATIONAL MARKETPRICE BANDSTOCK EXCHANGEBUSINESSFOOD CROPSSHAREFINANCIAL MARKETSBANANASPERFORMANCESUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTPURCHASINGMARKET POWERADVERSE EFFECTMARKET PLACESRICEMISSING VALUESCOMMODITIESORANGESFOOD PRICESARBITRAGEFINANCIAL MARKETSPRICE INDEXFOODSCOMMODITYINTERNATIONAL MARKETSPRICESUSESMISSING DATASUGARSTORAGEWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7539