This study is an independent scholarly analysis of the economics of the
grain futures contracts of the Chicago Board of Trade. The study was
made possible by a research grant to the MidAmerica Institute from the
Chicago Board of Trade, and we gratefully acknowledge this financial
support, as well as the information and vast body of experience made
available to us by the Division of Economic Analysis and members of the
Exchange. Several other organizations also provided invaluable help from
the inception of this study through the full process, either in the form
of information, or through discussion: the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Grain and
Feed Association, the American Soybean Association, the Senate Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the House Committee on
Agriculture, the General Accounting Office, and the Center for the Study
of Futures and Options Markets at Virginia Polytechnic and State
University. We express our thanks. The primary authors wish to extend a
special word of apprecia- tion to Michael Brennan, Merton Miller,
Richard Roll, Hans Stoll and Lester Telser, who served as members of the
Resource Panel for the study. While key strengths of the study reflect
their input, ultimate responsibility for the analysis rests with the
primary authors.
