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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The 1937-1938 Gold Coast Cocoa Crisis: The Political Economy of Commercial Stalemate
Author:Alence, Rod
Year:1990
Periodical:African Economic History
Volume:19
Pages:77-104
Language:English
Geographic terms:Ghana
Great Britain
Subjects:colonialism
trade
cocoa
History and Exploration
Economics and Trade
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601893
Abstract:A coalition of Gold Coast (Ghana) farmers, brokers, and chiefs disrupted cocoa export trade during the 1937-1938 season by refusing to sell their produce to the major expatriate trading firms. The cocoa 'hold up', which was accompanied by a boycott of many European goods, was a response to news that the firms had reached a collusive buying agreement aimed at manipulating producer prices and fixing market shares. Word of the agreement arrived at a time when producer prices were plummeting. This paper uses a conceptual model derived from theories of bargaining impasse and State rule to illuminate an analysis of the 1937-1938 cocoa crisis. This 'strategic political economy' approach provides the counterintuitive proposition that, other things being equal, the economic sectors on which a politically weak State is more dependent are more prone to economic stalemate. It suggests that incentives for bargainers to commit themselves to positions from which it is subsequently costly to back down often lead to impasse. The role of the State is incorporated by recognizing first, its unique capacity to effect and implement bargaining outcomes due to its comparative advantage in physical violence, and second, rulers' interests in maintaining the fiscal base necessary to finance the State apparatus. Notes, ref.
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