Development of Commodity Exchange Markets as an Avenue to Foster Economic Development in Africa PDF Download

Author: Sostine Ngabirano
Publisher:
ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages : 17

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Book Description
African economies underwent a series of economic reforms in the 1980s which were largely premised on the change in the economic thinking of the time. These reforms were intended to correct the inefficiencies of the central planned economy and bring about an efficient system where prices would be determined by the market forces. The result of this was the liberalization of almost all sectors of the economy. It was generally agreed that agricultural marketing systems should be liberalized to allow the private sector to unleash the power of the market, gain efficiency in the sector, and stimulate higher production volumes and standards. Unfortunately, the market reforms secluded the farmers from the market system and this has come with far reaching impacts. The market system has exposed farmers to unimaginable market risks and has failed to address information asymmetries. Because there is no established system of market regulation and information, small farmers in Africa today live at the mercy of the shrewd market merchants. This paper explores the concept of developing commodity exchange markets in Africa as an avenue to foster human and economic development through the mirror of creative capitalism. The argument of this paper is that meaningful economic development will be achieved through developing well regulated and functioning commodity markets. The paper will further argue that despite the ongoing efforts to fight poverty, sustainable development will not be achieved without approaches geared towards the inclusion of the majority population into the market system. The paper proposes commodity market development as one of the approaches which seek to include the world's “bottom billion” into the market system.