The Coffee Paradox

Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development

Benoit Daviron, Stefano Ponte

Can developing countries trade their way out of poverty? International trade has grown dramatically in the last two decades in the global economy, and trade is an important source of revenue in developing countries. Yet, many low-income countries have been producing and exporting tropical commodities for a long time. They are still poor. This book is a major analytical contribution to understanding commodity production and trade, as well as putting forward policy-relevant suggestions for ‘solving’ the commodity problem. Through the study of the global value chain for coffee, the authors recast the ‘development problem’ for countries relying on commodity exports in entirely new ways. They do so by analysing the so-called coffee paradox – the coexistence of a ‘coffee boom’ in consuming countries and of a ‘coffee crisis’ in producing countries. New consumption patterns have emerged with the growing importance of specialty, fair trade and other ‘sustainable’ coffees. In consuming countries, coffee has become a fashionable drink and coffee bar chains have expanded rapidly. At the same time, international coffee prices have fallen dramatically and producers receive the lowest prices in decades. This book shows that the coffee paradox exists because what farmers sell and what consumers buy are becoming increasingly ‘different’ coffees. It is not material quality that contemporary coffee consumers pay for, but mostly symbolic quality and in-person services. As long as coffee farmers and their organizations do not control at least parts of this ‘immaterial’ production, they will keep receiving low prices. The Coffee Paradox seeks ways out from this situation by addressing some key questions: What kinds of quality attributes are combined in a coffee cup or coffee package? Who is producing these attributes? How can part of these attributes be produced by developing country farmers? To what extent are specialty and sustainable coffees achieving these objectives?

Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures

A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World

Marcy Norton

Focusing on the Spanish Empire, Marcy Norton investigates how tobacco and chocolate became material and symbolic links to the pre-Hispanic past for colonized Indians and colonizing Europeans alike. Botanical ambassadors of the American continent, they also profoundly affected Europe. Tobacco, once condemned as proof of Indian diabolism, became the constant companion of clergymen and the single largest source of state revenue in Spain. Before coffee or tea became popular in Europe, chocolate was the drink that energized the fatigued and uplifted the depressed. However, no one could quite forget the pagan past of tobacco and chocolate, despite their apparent Europeanization: physicians relied on Mesoamerican medical systems for their understanding of tobacco; theologians looked to Aztec precedent to decide whether chocolate drinking violated Lenten fasts.

Trade, Commodities and Shipping in the Medieval Mediterranean

David Jacoby

The studies in this volume focus on various aspects of western economic expansion within the Eastern Mediterranean from the 11th-15th-century. Attention is devoted to the relations of the Italian maritime powers with Byzantium, the crusader states and the Levant and Egypt, the presence of the powers and their subjects in these regions, and industrial competition between Venice and the cities of the Italian mainland. In addition, this text covers the mobility of merchants and craftsmen, trade in raw materials and finished products, banking investments, manufacturing processes and technological transfers, and the impact of trade, shipping and Italian commercial outposts and communities on the evolution of urban centres of the regions concerned.

Persistence of the Gift

Tongan Tradition in Transnational Context

Mike Evans

A detailed ethnographic and historical analysis of how traditional Tongan values continue to play key roles in the way that Tongans make their way in the modern world.

Argonauts of the Western Pacific

An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea

Bronislaw Malinowski

MY esteemed friend, Dr. B.Malinowski has asked me to write a preface to hisbook, and I willingly comply with his request, though I can hardly think that anywords of mine will add to the value of the remarkable record of anthropologicalresearch which he has given us in this volume. My observations, such as they are,will deal partly with the writer's method and partly with the matter of his book.

The International Cotton Trade

Julian Roche

This book includes every aspect of the cotton trade, starting with the history and background, its growth and production patterns. It goes on to examine the international trade itself, the key players, recent trends, and a look at cotton prices, forecasting, and the factors that affect the cotton price. The author looks at end uses for cotton by analysing the garment industry as a whole and the competition for cotton. This is related to cotton consumption and the global economics of this commodity. The final chapter looks to the future and attempts to forecast trends for the industry over the coming years.

Rome's Eastern Trade

International Commerce and Imperial Policy 31 BC - AD 305

Gary K. Young

Utilising new archaeological research the author questions the traditionally held view that the imperial government had a strong political interest in eastern trade. Instead, he argues that their primary motivation was the tax income.

The Living Rock

The Story of Metals Since Earliest Times and Their Impact on Developing Civilization

Arthur Wilson

This book concentrates on the social and economic effects that metals have had on community life and on wider historical developments. It gives a fascinating perspective proclaiming that the history of metals is the history of civilization; basing the text on the results of archeometallurgists and materials scientists and looking at the advancement of societies as a direct result of their new-found technology. The author's clear and lucid style prevents the book becoming aridly academic while he maps the course of ancient history through to medieval times and beyond, showing metal to be, ultimately, the key to history.

Option Volatility & Pricing: Advanced Trading Strategies and Techniques

Sheldon Natenberg

Provides a thorough discussion of volatility, the most important aspect of options trading. Shows how to identify mispriced options and to construct volatility and "delta neutral" spreads.

Savage Money

The Anthropology and Politics of Commodity Exchange

Chris A. Gregory

The deeper philosophical meaning of "value" is examined in this thought-provoking study of the household values that are associated with agricultural land, rural marketing, village money lending, and the use of diverse forms of "money" in Central India. Gregory (anthropology, Australian National U.) uses a comparative approach based on extensive field work in Central India to analyze the values that spring from reciprocally recognized relations of affinity, consanguinity and contiguity, and to contemplate how these relate to western notions of money and value--the "savage money" of free market capitalism. This is a second printing of a 1997 book. c. Book News Inc.

The Illusion of Free Markets

Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order

Bernard E. Harcourt

This work argues that our faith in 'free markets' has severely distorted American politics and punishment practices. Harcourt traces the birth of the idea of natural order to 18th-century economic thought and reveals its gradual evolution through the Chicago School of economics and ultimately into today's myth of the free market.

Organic Coffee

Sustainable Development by Mayan Farmers

Maria Elena Martínez-Torres

Provides a unique and vivid insight into how this coffee is grown, harvested, processed, and marketed to consumers in Mexico and in the north.

The Social Life of Things

Commodities in Cultural Perspective

Arjun Appadurai

The meaning that people attribute to things necessarily derives from human transactions and motivations, particularly from how those things are used and circulated. The contributors to this volume examine how things are sold and traded in a variety of social and cultural settings, both present and past. Focusing on culturally defined aspects of exchange and socially regulated processes of circulation, the essays illuminate the ways in which people find value in things and things give value to social relations. By looking at things as if they lead social lives, the authors provide a new way to understand how value is externalized and sought after. Containing contributions from American and British social anthropologists and historians, the volume bridges the disciplines of social history, cultural anthropology, and economics, and marks a major step in our understanding of the cultural basis of economic life and the sociology of culture. It will appeal to anthropologists, social historians, economists, archaeologists, and historians of art.

The Nature of Value

How to Invest in the Adaptive Economy

Nick Gogerty

Using evolution as the template to understand growth, The Nature of Value takes a first-principles approach to explore the parallels between economic and ecological systems. Not only does Gogerty show how value is born out of tiny sparks of adaptive innovation, but he also explores the full scope of the economy as a complex network. He borrows from an array of disciplines—including anthropology, psychology, ecology, physics, sociology, and ethics—and, most revealing of all, examines how evolution's processes can help investors avoid risk and improve their allocation decisions. Starting with a look at how innovation creates value for firms, Gogerty considers the economic niches where companies compete and explores how they can create defensive moats to enhance their ability to survive. Throughout the book, Gogerty demonstrates how this ecological understanding of the economy can help allocators improve their performance, supporting his arguments with extensive data and years of practitioner experience from scientific, social, and economic disciplines. Gogerty's practical takeaways, couched in vivid explanations and accompanied by intuitive illustrations, help investors of all backgrounds gain fresh insight into the behavior of corporations and the economy in general.

A Complete Guide to the Futures Markets

Fundamental Analysis, Technical Analysis, Trading, Spreads, and Options

Jack D. Schwager

A new edition will be available in January 2017 Focusing on price-forecasting in the commodity futures market, this is the most comprehensive examination of fundamental and technical analysis available. Treats both approaches in depth, with forecasting examined in conjunction with practical trading considerations.

Options, Futures, and Other Derivative Securities

John Hull

Provides a logical, unifying approach to the valuation and hedging of all derivative securities, not just financial futures and stock options.

Coffee

A Dark History

Antony Wild

This is the tale of the wildfire spread of the consumption of a drink which is embedded in our history and our daily cultural life. The coffee industry worldwide employs more people - 30 million - than any other. It is the lifeblood of many third world countries, either earning them invaluable foreign currency or enslaving them to the monster that is modern global capitalism, depending on how you look at it. From obscure beginnings in East Africa a millennia ago and its early days as an aid to religious devotion, coffee became an integral part of the rise of European mercantilism from the 17th-century onwards. As well as being a valued trading commodity, it was the preferred beverage of the merchants who did the trading. The rise of the coffee house and the City of London were inextricably, perhaps even mysteriously linked.

Commodity Derivatives

Markets and Applications

Neil C. Schofield

In Commodity Derivatives: Markets and Applications, Neil Schofield provides a complete and accessible reference for anyone working in, or studying commodity markets and their associated derivatives. Dealing primarily with over the counter structures, the book provides extensive coverage of both hard and soft commodities, including gold, crude oil, electricity, plastics, emissions and agriculturals. Using structures unique to the individual market, each chapter includes an explanation of the commodity and an analysis of its physical market, discussion on the typical patterns of demand and supply and the main factors that will influence the price of the commodity, and the main products. Each chapter focuses on how the products could be used along the physical supply chain and seeks to identify the main market risks and how they can be hedged. The book then brings into perspective how the structuring banks hedge their own resultant exposure and examines the attraction of OTC investment structures for the wholesale market. Commodity Derivatives: Markets and Applications is essential reading for those wishing to learn about the main features of the commodity markets, the mechanics of derivatives, and how they are applied.

The Gold Ring

Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, and Black Friday, 1869

Kenneth D. Ackerman

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Contested Commodities

Margaret Jane Radin

How far should society go in permitting people to buy and sell goods and services? Radin addresses this controversial issue in an exploration of contested commodification. As a philosophical pragmatist, the author argues for an incomplete commodification, in which some contested things can be bought and sold, but only under regulated circumstances.