An international agreement intended to raise or stabilize the price of a primary product. This has been thought desirable since fluctuations in primary product prices lead to very unstable incomes for their producers, and corresponding fluctuations in the balance of payments of countries which export mainly primary products. Stabilization may be attempted by creating a buffer stock, to be increased at times of low prices, thereby limiting their fall, and run down at times of high prices, thereby limiting their rise. Where variations in supply rather than demand are the cause of price fluctuations, a buffer stock may not greatly restrict variations in producer incomes. Increases in primary product prices may be brought about by restrictions on output, or in the case of agricultural products, restrictions on acreage planted or the number of livestock kept. Commodity agreements for various commodities including coffee, wheat, and tin have had a very chequered history, and there are currently no survivors. It has proved very difficult to get agreement on the financing of buffer stocks, or the allocation of quotas between different countries. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is not exactly a commodity agreement, as it represents only producers; it does however, illustrate the difficulties facing such schemes.

• actuary
• adaptive expectations
• adequacy, capital
• adjustable peg
• adjustment
• adjustment costs
• adjustment, price and quantity
• adjustment programme
• adjustment to factor cost
• administered price
• administration
• ad valorem tax
• Advance Corporation Tax
• advances
• advantage
• adverse selection
• adverse supply shock
• advertising
• Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
• AFDC
• AFL-CIO
• after-sales service
• after-tax income
• age-earnings profile
• agency