Volume I: Africa: Volume 1: Africa: 01 (Trade Shocks in Developing Countries) - Hardcover

Collier, Paul; Gunning, Jan; Associates

 
9780198293385: Volume I: Africa: Volume 1: Africa: 01 (Trade Shocks in Developing Countries)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0198293380 ISBN 13: 9780198293385
Publisher: OUP Oxford, 1999

Synopsis

Developing countries frequently experience trade shocks and the policy implications of this have been debated for decades.This important book is Volume 1 of a comparative study covering 23 countries, using a common methodology to estimate the effects of shocks. The conventional wisdom has been that private agents, in particular peasant farmers, could not be trusted to use windfalls wisely. This was, and continues to be, the main rationale for stabilising taxation of export crops. The convention was also that windfalls accruing to the public sector were a bane since governments had low savings rates. The evidence in this definitive study supports neither generalisation. Trade shocks typically lead to high savings rates, irrespective of whether they accrue to private producers or to the government. However, the case studies find substantial policy errors so that windfalls are often not translated efficiently into permanent income increases and indeed often lead to a reduction in output. The studies argue for a drastic revision of the case for government action in response to trade shocks.

Volume 1 deals with Africa, Volume 2 with Asia and Latin America.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review

This is a work that should be read by those working on the macroeconomics of developing countries, whether as researchers or policy analysts (Journal of International Development)

The absence of formality makes the book accessible to the non-specialist. However, this surface accessibility masks highly sophisticated reasoning and the application of complicated empirical accounting exercises (Journal of International Development)

Synopsis

Developing countries frequently experience trade shocks and the policy implications of this have been debated for decades.This important book is Volume 1 of a comparative study covering 23 countries, using a common methodology to estimate the effects of shocks. The conventional wisdom has been that private agents, in particular peasant farmers, could not be trusted to use windfalls wisely. This was, and continues to be, the main rationale for stabilising taxation of export crops. The convention was also that windfalls accruing to the public sector were a bane since governments had low savings rates. The evidence in this definitive study supports neither generalisation. Trade shocks typically lead to high savings rates, irrespective of whether they accrue to private producers or to the government. However, the case studies find substantial policy errors so that windfalls are often not translated efficiently into permanent income increases and indeed often lead to a reduction in output. The studies argue for a drastic revision of the case for government action in response to trade shocks. Volume 1 deals with Africa, Volume 2 with Asia and Latin America.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
OUP Oxford
Publication date
1999
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0198293380
ISBN 13 
9780198293385
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
502