Financialization and changes in the social relations along commodity chains: The case of coffee

Newman, Susan

Abstract

This article examines distributional implications of the restructuring of international coffee markets that has occurred since the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989 and market liberalization in coffee producing countries under structural adjustment programs. It is argued that increased financial investment on international commodity exchanges, together with market liberalization, have given rise to opportunities and challenges for actors in the coffee industry. Given the heterogeneity of market actors, these tend to exacerbate inequalities already present in the structure of production and marketing of coffee. © 2009 Union for Radical Political Economics.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Nov 27, 2009
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2015
• Journal: Review of Radical Political Economics
• Print ISSN: 0486-6134
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-8502
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 539-559
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0486613409341454
• Keywords: speculation, commodity markets, financialization, commodity price behavior, accumulation
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/990168
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0486613409341454
• Contract Date: Nov 15, 2016