IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v59y2014icp408-421.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Capturing the Margins: World Market Prices and Cotton Farmer Incomes in West Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Bassett, Thomas J.

Abstract

World cotton prices soared to record levels in March 2011, reaching $2.20 a pound in contrast to 40–80¢/pound between 2000 and 2010. The price spike serves as a natural experiment that offers insights into the relationship between world cotton prices and producer prices in West Africa. A comparative study of Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire shows that national and regional level processes such as price setting mechanisms, inequalities in knowledge and power, and the oligopsonistic structure of West Africa’s cotton economies exert a strong influence on the share of world market prices that producers ultimately receive.

Suggested Citation

  • Bassett, Thomas J., 2014. "Capturing the Margins: World Market Prices and Cotton Farmer Incomes in West Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 408-421.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:59:y:2014:i:c:p:408-421
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14000424
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claire Delpeuch & Antoine Leblois, 2013. "Sub-Saharan African Cotton Policies in Retrospect," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31(5), pages 617-642, September.
    2. Kaminski, Jonathan & Headey, Derek & Bernard, Tanguy, 2011. "The Burkinabè Cotton Story 1992-2007: Sustainable Success or Sub-Saharan Mirage?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1460-1475, August.
    3. Delpeuch, Claire & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2013. "Revisiting the “Cotton Problem”—A Comparative Analysis of Cotton Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 209-221.
    4. Delpeuch, Claire, 2011. "African cotton markets at crossroads : will the price spike turn into a new kick-start ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5847, The World Bank.
    5. Michel Fok, 2005. "Coton africain et marché mondial : une distorsion peut en cacher une autre plus importante," Working Papers halshs-00008938, HAL.
    6. John Baffes, 2011. "Cotton Subsidies, the WTO, and the ‘Cotton Problem’," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(9), pages 1534-1556, September.
    7. John Baffes, 2005. "The "Cotton Problem"," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 20(1), pages 109-144.
    8. David Tschirley & Colin Poulton & Patrick Labaste, 2009. "Organization and Performance of Cotton Sectors in Africa : Learning from Reform Experience," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2604, December.
    9. World Bank, 2010. "Burkina Faso - Promoting Growth, Competitiveness and Diversification : Country Economic Memorandum, Volume 1. Main Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 12325, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Luna, Jessie K. & Dowd-Uribe, Brian, 2020. "Knowledge politics and the Bt cotton success narrative in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    2. Jessie K. Luna, 2020. "‘Pesticides are our children now’: cultural change and the technological treadmill in the Burkina Faso cotton sector," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(2), pages 449-462, June.
    3. Gerard, Andrew & Lopez, Maria Claudia & Mason, Nicole M. & Bizoza, Alfred R., 2022. "Do government zoning policies improve buyer-farmer relationships? Evidence from Rwanda’s coffee sector," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    4. Matthew D. Turner & Molly Teague & Augustine Ayantunde, 2021. "Livelihood, culture and patterns of food consumption in rural Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1193-1213, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Delpeuch, Claire & Leblois, Antoine, 2014. "The Elusive Quest for Supply Response to Cash-Crop Market Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Cotton," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 521-537.
    2. Delpeuch, Claire & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2013. "Revisiting the “Cotton Problem”—A Comparative Analysis of Cotton Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 209-221.
    3. Delpeuch, Claire, 2011. "African cotton markets at crossroads : will the price spike turn into a new kick-start ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5847, The World Bank.
    4. Cornelia Staritz & Susan Newman & Bernhard Tröster & Leonhard Plank, 2018. "Financialization and Global Commodity Chains: Distributional Implications for Cotton in Sub†Saharan Africa," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 815-842, May.
    5. Claire Delpeuch & Antoine Leblois, 2013. "Sub-Saharan African Cotton Policies in Retrospect," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31(5), pages 617-642, September.
    6. Staritz, Cornelia & Newman, Susan & Tröster, Bernhard & Plank, Leonhard, 2015. "Financialization, price risks, and global commodity chains: Distributional implications on cotton sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 55, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    7. Theriault, Veronique & Tschirley, David L., 2014. "How Institutions Mediate the Impact of Cash Cropping on Food Crop Intensification: An Application to Cotton in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 298-310.
    8. John Baffes, 2011. "Cotton Subsidies, the WTO, and the ‘Cotton Problem’," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(9), pages 1534-1556, September.
    9. Cornelia Staritz & Susan Newman & Bernhard Tröster & Leonhard Plank, 2015. "Financialisation, price risks, and global commodity chains: Distributional implications on Cotton Sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2015/04, Maastricht School of Management.
    10. Yankou Diasso, 2014. "Dynamique du prix international du coton : aléas, aversion au risque et chaos," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 80(4), pages 53-86.
    11. Pitoro, Raul & Walker, Thomas S. & Tschirley, David L. & Swinton, Scott M. & Boughton, Duncan & de Marrule, Higino Francisco, 2009. "Can Bt Technology Reduce Poverty Among African Cotton Growers? An Ex Ante Analysis of the Private and Social Profitability of Bt Cotton Seed in Mozambique," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51633, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Emmanuel Tumusiime & B. Wade Brorsen & Jeffrey D. Vitale, 2014. "Vertical integration in West Africa's cotton industry: are parastatals a second best solution?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 129-143, November.
    13. Marcin Pawel Jarzebski & Abubakari Ahmed & Yaw Agyeman Boafo & Boubacar Siddighi Balde & Linda Chinangwa & Osamu Saito & Graham Maltitz & Alexandros Gasparatos, 2020. "Food security impacts of industrial crop production in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the impact mechanisms," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 105-135, February.
    14. Kym Anderson & Ernesto Valenzuela & Lee Ann Jackson, 2008. "Recent and Prospective Adoption of Genetically Modified Cotton: A Global Computable General Equilibrium Analysis of Economic Impacts," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 265-296, January.
    15. Chad E. Hart & John C. Beghin, 2004. "Rethinking Agricultural Domestic Support under the World Trade Organization," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 04-bp43, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    16. Bartels Lorand, 2013. "Making WTO Dispute Settlement Work for African Countries: An Evaluation of Current Proposals for Reforming the DSU," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 47-66, August.
    17. Hoekman, Bernard & Martin, Will & Mattoo, Aaditya, 2010. "Conclude Doha: it matters!," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(3), pages 505-530, July.
    18. Depetris Chauvin, Nicolas & Porto, Guido G., 2011. "Market Competition in Export Cash Crops and Farm Income," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126159, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Kym Anderson & Will Martin & Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, 2006. "Doha Merchandise Trade Reform: What Is at Stake for Developing Countries?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 20(2), pages 169-195.
    20. Kohnert, Dirk, 2008. "EU-African Economic Relations: Continuing Dominance, Traded for Aid?," GIGA Working Papers 82, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:59:y:2014:i:c:p:408-421. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.