Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This article examines distributional implications of the restructuring of international coffee markets that has occurred since the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989 and market liberalization in coffee producing countries under structural adjustment programs. It is argued that increased financial investment on international commodity exchanges, together with market liberalization, have given rise to opportunities and challenges for actors in the coffee industry. Given the heterogeneity of market actors, these tend to exacerbate inequalities already present in the structure of production and marketing of coffee.

JEL classification: L11, O13, G19

Keywords

speculation commodity markets financialization commodity price behavior accumulation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arrighi, G. 1994. The long twentieth century: Money, power, and the origins of our times. London: Verso .

Baffes, J. , and M.I. Ajwad. 2001. Identifying price linkages: A review of the literature and an application to the world market of cotton. Applied Economics 33 (15): 1927.

Bank for International Settlements. 2007 Semiannual OTC derivatives statistics at end-June 2007.

Blackburn, R. 2006. Finance and the fourth dimension. New Left Review 39.

Boyer, R. 2000. Is a finance-led growth regime a viable alternative to Fordism? A preliminary analysis. Economy & Society 29 (1): 111-45.

Crotty, J. 2003. The neolibral paradox: The impact of destructive product market competition and impatient finance on nonfinancial corporations in the neoliberal era. Review of Radical Political Economy 35 (3): 271-79.

Daviron, B. , and S. Ponte. 2006. The coffee paradox. London and New York: ZED Books .

Domanski, D. , and A. Heath. 2007. Finanical investors and commodity markets . BIS Quaterly Review (March).

Doyle, E. , J. Hill , and I. Jack. Growth in commodity investment: Risks and challenges for commodity market participants. In FSA Markets Infrastructure Department. London, UK: Financial Services Authority.

10.

Epstein, G.A. 2005. Financialization and the world economy. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar .

11.

Fafchamps, M. , R. Vargas Hill , and A. Kaudha. 2003. The transmission of international commodity prices to comestic producers. The Centre for the Study of African Economies Working Paper Series, no. 197.

12.

Fine, B. 2007. Financialisation, poverty, and Marxist political economy . Paper presented at the Poverty and Capital Conference , University of Manchester, 2-4 July.

13.

Garrett, I. , and N. Taylor. 2001. Portfolio diversification and excess comovement in commodity prices. The Manchester School 69 (4): 351-68.

14.

Gilbert, C.L. 1996. International commodity agreements: An obituary notice . World Development 24 (1): 591-616.

15.

Gorton, G. , and K.G. Rouwenhorst . 2004. Facts and fantasies about commodity futures. Tale ICF Working Paper, no. 04-20.

16.

Gray, R.W. 1960. The characteristic bias in some thin futures markets . Food Research Institute Studies 1.

17.

Helleiner, E. 1994. States and the reemergence of global finance: From Bretton Woods to the 1990s. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

18.

Lapavitsas, C. 2008. Financialised capitalism: Instability and financial expropriation. Research on Money and Finance (RMF) Discussion Paper.

19.

Levin, C. 2008. Senate floor speech on the introduction of the Over-the-counter Speculation Act, S. 3255. In Senate Floor Statement.

20.

Leyshon, A. , and N. Thrift. 2007. The capitalization of almost everything: The future of finance and capitalsm. Theory, Culture & Society 24: 97-115.

21.

Lieberman, J.I. 2008. Stop Excessive Energy Speculation Act: Floor Statement of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman. Congressional Record.

22.

Maizels, A. 1994. The continuing commodity crisis of developing countries . World Development 22 (11): 1685-95.

23.

Newman, S.A. 2008. The new price makers: An investigation into the impact of portfolio investment on coffee price behavior. Paper presented at the Challenges and Prospects for Commodity Markets in the Global Economy: A Workshop in Memory of Alfred Maizels, London.

24.

Ponte, S. 2001. Coffee markets in East Africa: Local responses to global challenges or global responses to local challenges. Centre for Development Research Working Paper.

25.

Stockhammer, E. 2004. Financialisation and the slowdown of accumulation . Cambridge Journal of Economics 28 (5): 719-41.

26.

---. 2007. Some stylized facts on the finance-dominated accumulation regime. Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Working Paper Series, no. 142.

27.

Strange, S. 1997. Casino capitalism. Manchester : Manchester University Press.

28.

Wray, R. 2008. The commodities market bubble: Money manager capitalism and the financialization of commodities. The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College: Public Policy Brief , no. 96.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

21.82 MB