Agricultural Markets Beyond Liberalization

Agricultural markets have entered a long-term process of liberalization, with the aim of reducing imposed market imperfections such as monopolistic public trade, entry barriers and subsidies. The experience of more than a decade of agriculture liberalization offers a good opportunity to review and analyze the outcome of this process and to draw lessons for the future. The central topic in Agricultural Markets Beyond Liberalization is the relationship between market structure and how markets perform in a dynamic context during a liberalization process. The topic is studied from both a micro and macro viewpoint and refers to different types of agricultural markets. This volume brings together the dynamics of agricultural markets in several parts of the world, with a special focus on transition economics and Africa. The different studies cover geographical areas as wide as a district as well as a group of countries, and institutions from individual contracts to multi-national organizations. The analysis of liberalization under different circumstances, and the different methods of analysis used by the authors provide a valuable foundation for the assessment of liberalization.

1 Introduction.- 1 Agricultural markets beyond liberalization: Issues, Analysis and Findings.- 2 Agricultural markets beyond liberalization: The role of the State.- 2 Agricultural Markets in Transition Economies.- 3 ‘White gold’ versus ‘Food Self-sufficiency’ in former Soviet Central Asia.- 4 Russian grain markets 1991–1998: Transition without a functioning domestic market?.- 5 Rural land markets and economic reform in mainland China.- 6 Performance of markets in a context of liberalisation: The hog industry in Northern Vietnam.- 3 Market Liberalization in Africa.- 7 The effects of liberalization on food markets in Africa.- 8 Price setting power among wholesalers and retailers: Maize in Benin and sorghum in Burkina Faso.- 9 Comparing liberalisation in agricultural input and draught animal markets in Benin.- 10 The puzzle of the absent rural formal financial institutions.- 4 Liberalization: Institutions and approaches.- 11 Voluntary marketing institutions in food marketing systems.- 12 Taking gender: Social institutions as regulators of markets.- 13 Rice and corn, and the ASEAN Free Trade Area Agreement.- 14 Modeling public goods provision in agriculture.- About the contributors.- Author index.