Applying John R. Commons institutional economic framework, this paper analyzes the evolution of the key institutions in the Malian cotton sector starting with the CFDT contract following the country‘s Independence in 1960; the nationalization of the cotton gin company, CMDT, in 1974; the completion of...

Food and social safety nets have a history as long as human civilization. In hunter gatherer societies, food sharing is pervasive. Group members who prove unlucky in the short run, hunting or foraging, receive food from other households in anticipation of reciprocal consideration at a later time...

The surge in basic food commodity prices in 2007/08 and again in 2011, have led to a renewed focus among governments and donors on agricultural growth, especially in staple food production in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is widely agreed that smallholder-led agricultural growth would contribute most...

Cotton is among the most internationally traded agricultural commodities. As a result, cotton prices are often described in terms of a world price. This world price, called the A Index, has been published by the trade group Cotlook since the mid-1960’s and is generally accepted as...

Applying John R. Commons's institutional economic framework, this paper analyzes the evolution of key institutions in the Malian cotton sector, starting with Mali's independence in 1960 to the ongoing market-oriented reforms in the 2000s. In accordance with Commons's economic theory,...

This paper examines the role of institutional environments on cotton farmer technical efficiency scores in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali using a stochastic frontier production approach. First, the key institutional changes that have occurred with the recent market-oriented reforms are discussed....

type="main" xml:id="jage12049-abs-0001" <title type="main">Abstract</title> <p>This paper examines the effects of the institutional environment on West African cotton farmers’ technical efficiency (TE). First, key aspects of the cotton sector institutional environment are discussed, including input and credit access, and...</p>