许多因素被认为是近年来农产品价格波动加剧(意外变化)的来源。最常见的原因之一是玉米乙醇生产的增加以及新的食品和乙醇联系(Serra, 2013;Balcombe, 2011;赖特,2011;Irwin and Good, 2009)。能源和农产品市场之间联系的增加引发了人们的担忧:新的玉米-乙醇联系是否会导致能源和农产品价格之间的波动溢出效应。食品价格波动加剧及其有害影响对经济产生了深远影响，引起了消费者、生产者和政策制定者的担忧。价格的剧烈波动加剧了穷人对粮食安全的担忧，也加剧了农民收入稳定的问题。它对贫困消费者的收入和购买力产生了不利影响，使他们进一步陷入贫困、营养不良和饥饿。这使得农民很难制定生产计划和投资决策。 The quick and unexpected changes in food prices can interrupt markets, affecting social stability and government policy. Hence, the massive increase in U.S. ethanol production raises the need for a deeper understanding of its effects on price volatility in food crops from which ethanol is produced. de Gorter, Drabik, and Just (2015) argue that studying these effects is important in order to understand changes in the prices of food, such as corn.