Consensus, Institutions, and Supply Response : The Political Economy of Agricultural Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa

During the late 1980s and the 1990s, most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa implemented agricultural policy reforms, along with national political and economic reforms. The agricultural reforms focused on opening up processing and marketing activitie...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Aksoy, Ataman, Onal, Anil
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AGRICULTURAL MARKETS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE AVERAGE PRODUCTIVITY BINDING CONSTRAINTS CGIAR CIVIL WAR COFFEE COFFEE GROWERS COFFEE MARKET COFFEE PRODUCERS COFFEE PRODUCTION COFFEE SECTOR COLLECTIVE ACTION COMMODITY COMMODITY PRICES CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT CONTRACT FARMING CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS COOPERATIVES COTTON COTTON PRODUCTION COTTON SECTOR CRISES CROP CROP DISEASES CURRENCY DEBT DEMOCRACY DEVALUATION DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCY DEVELOPMENT POLICY DIRECT MARKETING DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES DOMESTIC EXCHANGE DOMESTIC MARKETS DRAINAGE ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OUTCOMES ECONOMIC REFORMS ECONOMIC SYSTEMS ECONOMICS EXCHANGE RATES EXPORT CROPS EXPORT SECTORS EXPORTS FAO FARM FARM MANAGEMENT FARMER FARMERS FARMING FARMING SYSTEMS FINANCIAL CRISIS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOREIGN EXCHANGE GDP GINNERIES GLOBALIZATION GROWTH RATES HOLDING COMPANIES HOLDING COMPANY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL MARKET INTERNATIONAL MARKETS INTERNATIONAL TRADE LEGAL FRAMEWORK LIBERALIZATION LIBERALIZATIONS LOCAL CURRENCIES MARKET REFORM MARKET REFORMS MARKETING MARKETPLACES MISMANAGEMENT MONOPOLY MONOPSONY ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES OUTPUT OUTPUTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL POWER POLITICAL SYSTEM POSITIVE EFFECTS PRICE DECLINES PRICE INCREASE PRICE INCREASES PRICE SUPPORT PRICE SUPPORTS PRICE VOLATILITY PRIVATIZATION PRIVATIZATIONS PRODUCER INCENTIVES PRODUCER PRICE PRODUCER PRICE INCREASES PRODUCER PRICES PRODUCTION OF COTTON PRODUCTIVITY PUBLIC POLICY PURCHASING REAL EXCHANGE RATES REDISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS REFORM PROGRAM REFORM PROGRAMS RENT SEEKING RENTS REPLANTING SALE SEEDLINGS SEEDS SOCIAL CONFLICT SPECIALTY COFFEE SUPPLIER SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABLE GROWTH TAKEOVER TAXATION TEA TEA SECTOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TOBACCO TRADES VALUE OF OUTPUT VOLATILITY WAREHOUSE WILT YIELDS
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110829111738 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3546

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Summary:	During the late 1980s and the 1990s, most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa implemented agricultural policy reforms, along with national political and economic reforms. The agricultural reforms focused on opening up processing and marketing activities to increased competition and eliminating export taxes and restrictions to improve producer incentives. In eight of nine country/commodity case studies analyzed in this paper, output responded positively in the short run to the reforms. In many cases, however, the initial supply response was not sustained in the face of subsequent shocks. The studies suggest that stakeholder consensus on the distribution of sector-specific rents is a key variable affecting the sustainability of supply responses. Agricultural sector reforms lead to large changes in income distribution. The greater the acceptance of the distribution of rents following the reforms, the better sectors are able to accommodate subsequent shocks. In cases where the initial consensus on the distribution of rents is weak, shocks lead to reform reversals in some cases or an inability to design necessary support institutions in others. The diversity in outcomes across similar products and countries suggests it is possible to achieve sector and local level results that differ from national ones.

Consensus, Institutions, and Supply Response : The Political Economy of Agricultural Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa

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