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Climate, conflicts, and variations in prices on pre-colonial West African markets for staple crops

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  • Klas Rönnbäck

Abstract

type="main"> Very little is known about the dynamics of pre-colonial markets in Africa. This article presents a new set of data series on the pre-colonial price of staple crops on the Gold Coast. Six hypotheses for the behaviour of market prices, found in the previous literature, are tested in this article. The results show conclusively that market prices did respond to shifts in demand and supply, for example, from climate-induced scarcity, or to external shocks such as war. It is argued that the markets studied seem to have functioned remarkably well, given the socio-economic and political context in which they were operating.

Suggested Citation

  • Klas Rönnbäck, 2014. "Climate, conflicts, and variations in prices on pre-colonial West African markets for staple crops," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(4), pages 1065-1088, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:67:y:2014:i:4:p:1065-1088
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata, 2012. "Climate, ecosystem resilience and the slave trade," MPRA Paper 38398, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Nathan Nunn, 2008. "The Long-term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(1), pages 139-176.
    3. Nathan Nunn & Leonard Wantchekon, 2011. "The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3221-3252, December.
    4. Kurukulasuriya, Pradeep & Mendelsohn, Robert, 2008. "A Ricardian analysis of the impact of climate change on African cropland," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 2(01), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Leonard Wantchekon & Nathan Nunn, 2009. "Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa," 2009 Meeting Papers 34, Society for Economic Dynamics.
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