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Coffee is traded in one of the few international markets ever subject to effective political regulation. In Open-Economy Politics, Robert Bates explores the origins, the operations, and the collapse of the International Coffee Organization, an international "government of coffee" that was formed in the 1960s. In so doing, he addresses key issues in international political economy and comparative politics, and analyzes the creation of political institutions and their impact on markets. Drawing upon field work in East Africa, Colombia, and Brazil, Bates explores the domestic sources of international politics within a unique theoretical framework that blends game theoretic and more established approaches to the study of politics.
The book will appeal to those interested in international political economy, comparative politics, and the political economy of development, especially in Latin America and Africa, and to readers wanting to learn more about the economic and political realities that underlie the coffee market. It is also must reading for those interested in "the new institutionalism" and modern political economy.
List of contents
List of Maps and Figures Introduction 2Brazil as Market Maker 3Colombia's Entry 4The Demand for an Institution: The Producers Maneuver 5The Supply of an Institution: United States' Entry 6The Functioning of an Institution: The International Coffee Organization 7Conclusion Appendix Notes Index
About the author
Robert H. Bates is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government in the Department of Government and a Faculty Fellow in the Institute of International Development at Harvard University. His recent books include
Beyond the Miracle of the Market and a volume he coauthored with Avner Greif, Margaret Levi, Jean-Laurent Rosenthal, and Barry Weingast entitled
Analytic Narratives (Princeton).
Summary
Coffee is traded in one of the few international markets ever subject to effective political regulation. This work explores the origins, the operations, and the collapse of the International Coffee Organization, an international "government of coffee" that was formed in the 1960s. It is aimed at those interested in "the new institutionalism".
Additional text
"A no-nonsense academic study of the politics of coffee."---Charles Corn, Los Angeles Times Book Review
