Agricultural Markets from Theory to Practice - (Field Experience in Developing Countries) by Barbara Harriss-White (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In an era of globalization, private markets are expected to dominate the distribution of goods worldwide. Yet surprisingly little empirical work is conducted on them. The sensitive and secret nature of trading information, the complexity of real markets and the lack of official data other than that on price can all cause problems. This book seeks to overcome these in examining arguably the most difficult markets of all - agricultural markets under conditions of underdevelopment. Case-studies from nine countries covering all three underdeveloped continents offer a comprehensive overview of the lessons to be learnt from field experience.

Review Quotes

'The book explores real rural lives and economies beyond the usual reductions of economists. It is both steadfastly empirical and substantively analytical in exploring the impact of markets in developing rural economies.' - Teodor Shanin, Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester and Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences

'This is a most unusual book for the empirical study of marketing systems in that it consistently emphasises the importance of the institutions through which market transactions are conducted. The book is a must for all those who are interested in the study of real markets, either for reasons of methodology or for policy purposes. The book contains a wealth of information for the fieldwork study of food marketing systems in developing countries, and will prove an invaluable reference work for social Scientists conducting work in this area.' - Frank Ellis, Professor of Development Studies, University of East Anglia

'The book is a must for both inexperienced and experienced researchers who want to do fieldwork in other cultures - in order to avoid learning these lessons from their own mistakes. The many potential pitfalls of collecting information on exchange processes and the functioning of markets usually belong to the 'hidden' part of research projects - with very few details in the final publication. This book is refreshingly honest in discussing the problems field researchers often encounter. It also demonstrates the consequences when theory as point of departure for research is absent or wrongly used.' - Aad van Tilburg, Associate Professor of Agricultural Marketing, Wageningen Agricultural University

About the Author

LUCY ADRIAN Emeritus Fellow and Director of Studies, Newnham College, Cambridge, UK DEBORAH FAHY BRYCESON Africa Studies Centre, Leiden, Netherlands BERND CHRISTIANSEN Institute for Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, the Tropics University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany PAUL CLOUGH Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta, Malta BEN CROW Food Research Institute, University of Stanford, California, USA GEORGE JONES Emeritus Research Fellow, Agricultural Economics Unit, Oxford University, UK PRISCILLA MAGRATH Natural Resources Institute, UK JOS MOOIJ Department of Agrarian Law, Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands WENDY OLSEN Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK MATTHIAS VON OPPEN Institute for Agricultural Economics and Social in the Tropics University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany THEODOSIOS PALASKAS Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, UK LUZ ALICIA JIMENEZ PORTUGAL Institute for Agricultural Economics and Social in the Tropics University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany ELSBETH ROBSON Department of Geography, Keele University, UK