Is Oligopoly a Condition of Successful Privatization? The Case of Cotton in Zimbabwe

Bibliographic Data

ID21158355
AuthorsM N Larsen (0000-0003-4423-4784, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume2
Issue2
Pages185-205
Publication date2002-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Agrarian Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1471-0358 • E-ISSN: 1471-0366
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1471-0366.00030
OpenAlexW2074718791
LanguageEN
Citations received10

Zimbabwe embarked on market liberalization in the early 1990s, leading towards increasing participation of private capital in the agricultural sector. This paper examines the emergent shape of the private marketing chain for cotton in Zimbabwe, based on fieldwork conducted in the 1999‐2001 cotton marketing seasons. The privatization of the cotton marketing board replaced state monopoly with private oligopoly and competition is still seriously underdeveloped, especially on price. However, because of a concentrated market and collective private action, important aspects of earlier systems of coordination have been maintained, preventing downgrading of Zimbabwean cotton lint after liberalization. The paper concludes with a discussion about (absence of) competition and commodity system sustainability in liberalized markets

Business · Commodity · Economic growth · Economics · Liberalization · Market economy · Monopoly · Oligopoly · Private sector · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub