Why Haven't Pulp Futures Contracts Succeeded? A Case Study

Abstract

Why have some seemingly promising futures contracts not succeeded in the recent past? In this paper, we will examine one such example, the pulp market. In two companion working papers, we will also analyze two other futures market failures: namely, in the uranium market and in weather derivatives.The structure of this paper is as follows. First we summarize the individual attempts at launching pulp futures contracts, and then we note how the pulp markets match up (or not) against the various criteria for the successful launch of a futures contract.