Course:FRE501
S
| Strategic Economic Analysis of Agri-Food Markets | |
|---|---|
 | |
| FRE 501 | |
| Section: | |
| Instructor: | James (Jim) Vercammen, PhD |
| Email: | james.vercammen@ubc.ca |
| Office: | Henry Angus Room 264 |
| Office Hours: | Mon 3:30 - 4:30,
Wednesday 2:30 - 3:30 |
| Class Schedule: | Class: Tues/Thurs 2:30 – 4:00 pm |
| Classroom: | MCML 154 |
| Important Course Pages | |
| Syllabus | |
| Lecture Notes | |
| Assignments | |
| Course Discussion | |
COURSE INFORMATION
Session and term: [2024W1] Class location: [MacMillan 154]
Class times: [Tuesday, Thursday 2:30-4:00 pm]
Lab times: [Occasional, Tuesday 4:30-6 pm]
Course duration: [September 3 to December 6] Credits: [3]
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course uses theoretical and empirical methods to examine agricultural and energy commodity prices. The analysis includes pricing relationships across geographical regions, within vertical supply chains and over time. Commodity futures and spot prices, analyzed with R, Python and Excel, are featured throughout the course. Environmental topics include the trade in palm oil, the weather determinants of electricity demand and the pricing of weather derivatives.
INSTRUCTOR
Instructor: [James (Jim) Vercammen, PhD]
Phone: [(604) 827 - 3844]
Office location: [Henry Angus Room 264.]
Email: [james.vercammen@ubc.ca]
Office hours: [Monday 3:30 - 4:30, Wednesday 2:30 - 3:30]
COURSE ASSISTANT
Riya Eliza Shaju(applicationriyaeliza@gmail.com) will provide technical support for this course. This includes delivering a series of labs and holding office hours for questions relating to R and Python coding, which includes assignment questions and some in-class activities.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students will have highly-improved coding skills in R and Python, and will be able to:
- Explain how commodity futures markets function and the key characteristics of commodity futures prices.
- Identify the key theoretical pricing relationships across space, over time and within vertical supply chains.
- Describe the connection between decentralized spot markets and the centralized futures market.
- Explain and estimate the key pricing relationships within western Canada’s canola market
- Assess the effectiveness of hedging strategies for firms which operate in agricultural commodity markets.
- Describe the unique features of electricity markets.
- Estimate the economic value of a weather derivative.
- Construct a pricing heat map with pricing hot and cold spots identified
ASSESSMENTS
| Activity | Percent of Grade |
|---|---|
| Assignments: | |
| Assignment 1 (released September 3, due September 13) | 6% |
| Assignment 2 (released September 17, due September 27) | 6% |
| Assignment 3 (released October 17, due October 27) | 6% |
| Canvas MC questions (several each lecture) | 12% |
| Midterm exam (October 10th) | 30% |
| Final exam | 40% |
| Total: | 100% |
READINGS
There is no assigned textbook for this course. On-line readings are posted in the schedule below.
COURSE SPECIFIC POLICIES
Writing Exams
All exams will be in-person and will follow MFRE exam protocol (See Student Portal). Exams will be online, e.g., in Canvas, but students must be physically present, use the lock-down browser, and invigilated. If a student is unable to write an exam, they must have a verifiable doctor’s note and must contact the Course Instructor, Course Assistant, and MFRE Program Manager before the scheduled exam date/time. If the documentation is considered legitimate, the student will be informed regarding how to proceed.
Late Assignments Penalties and Missed Exam Policies
Assignments which are submitted late but within 24 hours of the due date will have 50 percent of the total points deducted. Assignments submitted more than 24 hours late will not be accepted. If a student misses the midterm exam with a legitimate reason, the weight of the midterm will be shifted to the final exam. If the student misses a final exam, the MFRE Director will be consulted to determine an appropriate course of action. A makeup for a missed final exam is not normally an option.
Plagiarism: You are encouraged to work on the three assignments with a classmate. Having said this, be mindful of MFRE course policy: "Submitting only original work done by you and acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and attributing them to others as required. This also means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead others about what is your work." Minor plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the assignment. Major plagiarism will result in disciplinary action as determined by the Director of the MFRE program (in the past this has typically result in a minimum of a failing grade for the course). See the last page of this course outline for more details.
ChatGPT: Feel free to use ChatGPT when completing your assignments. Be sure to indicated if and how it was used.
COURSE SCHEDULE
| Date | Topic |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Overview of Commodity Futures |
| Week 2 | Information and the Forward Curve |
| Week 3 | Basis Theory and the Roll Yield |
| Week 4 | Basis and Grain Marketing Supply Chains |
| Week 5 | Storage and Seasonality |
| Week 6 | Spatial Law of One Price (Part 1) |
| Week 7 | Spatial LOP (Part 2) and Hedonic Pricing |
| Week 8 | Supply Chain Law of One Price (LOP) |
| Week 9 | Commodity Heat Maps and Hot Spots |
| Week 10 | Arbitrage and Pairs Trading |
| Week 11 | Electricity Markets |
| Week 12 | Price Risk Management (Hedging) |
| Week 13 | Weather Derivatives |
| Week 14 | API Methods for Data Access |
MFRE PROGRAM - COURSE PROTOCOL POLICIES
Recordings
There is no required distribution of recordings of class. Recording will be provided based upon on the decision of the course instructor. Classes are designed as and are intended to be in-person.
Copyright
All materials of this course (course handouts, lecture slides, assessments, course readings, etc.) are the intellectual property of the instructor or licensed to be used in this course by the copyright owner. Redistribution of these materials by any means without permission of the copyright holder(s) constitutes a breach of copyright and may lead to academic discipline and could be subject to legal action. Further, audio or video recording of classes are not permitted without the prior consent of the instructor.
Missing Classes/Labs
Students are expected to attend all classes, labs, or workshops. If you cannot make it to a class, lab, or workshop due to a medical or personal emergency, email your Instructor, your Course Assistant, and Olivier Ntwali, MFRE Program Coordinator ahead of time to let them know.
Respectfulness in the Classroom
Students are expected to be respectful of their colleagues at all times, including faculty, staff and peers. This means being attentive and conscious of words and actions and their impact on others, listening to people with an open mind, treating all MFRE community members equally and understanding diversity. Students who act disrespectfully toward others will be asked to leave the class and be marked as absent for the day. They may also be removed from a team, lose credit for in‐class assessments and activities, or be asked to complete a group assignment individually.
Respect for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The MFRE Program strives to promote an intellectual community that is enhanced by diversity along various dimensions including status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, social class, and/or disability. It is critical that students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives be valued in and well‐served by their courses. Furthermore, the diversity that students bring to the classroom should be viewed as a resource, benefit, and source of strength for your learning experience. It is expected that all students and members of our community conduct themselves with empathy and respect for others.
Centre for Accessibility
The Centre for Accessibility (CfA) facilitates disability‐related accommodations and programming initiatives designed to remove barriers for students with disabilities and ongoing medical conditions. If you are registered with the CfA and are eligible for exam accommodations, it is your responsibility to let Olivier Ntwali, Academic Program Coordinator, and each of your Course Instructors know. You should book your exam writing with the CFA using its exam reservation system: for midterm exams or quizzes, at least 7 days in advance; and final exams, 7 days before the start of the formal exam period.
MFRE PROGRAM - ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICIES
Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are taken very seriously in the MFRE program. All incidences of plagiarism will be escalated to the MFRE Academic Director with penalties ranging from a mark of zero on the assignment, exam or course to being required to withdraw from the program. Note: If a student needs to extend his/her program due to a failed course or unsatisfactory progress, they will have to pay the full MFRE tuition fees for that term/s.
Academic misconduct that is subject to disciplinary measures includes, but is not limited, to the following:
- Plagiarism, which is intellectual theft, occurs where an individual submits or presents the oral or written work of another person as his or her own. In many UBC courses, you will be required to submit material in electronic form. The electronic material will be submitted to a service which UBC subscribes, called TurnItIn. This service checks textual material for originality. It is increasingly used in North American universities. For more information, review TurnItIn website online.
- Using Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or other Generative AI models to generate content or conduct analysis for evaluations, without proper citation and or if asked not to use AI, is considered plagiarism and academic misconduct. If students use AI in their submissions, they must cite the AI generator using citations consistent with the UBC Academic Honesty Standards.
- Cheating, which may include, but is not limited to falsification of any material subject to academic evaluation, unauthorized collaborative work; or use of unauthorized means to complete an examination.
- Working with Others on an Assignment, You are encouraged to work with other students, but you must turn in your own individual assignment. If you have an answer that is too close to another student’s answer, this will be considered academic dishonesty and this will be handled according to the MFRE and UBC policies.
- Resubmission of Material, submitting the same, or substantially the same, essay, presentation, or assignment more than once (whether the earlier submission was at this or another institution) unless prior approval has been obtained from the instructor(s) to whom the assignment is to be submitted.
- Use of academic ghostwriting services, including hiring of writing or research services and submitting papers or assignments as his or her own.
Student Responsibility: Students are responsible for informing themselves of the guidelines of acceptable and nonacceptable conduct for examinations and graded assignments as presented via MFRE Code of Conduct; MFRE Turn it in, Course Syllabus, MFRE Instructors; Canvas and UBC academic misconduct policies.
Penalties for Academic Dishonesty: Penalties for academic dishonesty are applied at the discretion of the MFRE program. Incidences of academic misconduct may result in a mark of zero on the assignment, examination, or course, required withdrawal from the program, and/or the matter being is referred to UBC Graduate Studies.