West African Trade

This groundbreaking work from the hugely influential economist P. T. Bauer, first published in 1954 and reissued with a new introduction in 1963, is a thorough and detailed analysis of the findings of the Colonial Economic Research Committee, from their investigation into the structure of West African Trade and especially the monopolistic tendencies inherent within it. Materials for the study were collected and analysed between 1949 and 1952, offering an invaluable insight into dominant features of contemporary West African Economies and an analysis of their implications.

P. T. Bauer

Part I: General Aspects of the West African Economies and the Role of Trade 1. Underlying Forces and Influences 2. The Multiplicity of Traders and the Productivity of Trade 3. The Growth of Restrictive Tendencies Part II: The Import Trade 4. Outline of the Composition of Imports and of their Method of Distribution 5. Shares of Racial Groups and of Firms in the Import Trade 6. Some Topics in the Recent History of the Import Trade Part III: Monopolistic and Competitive Influences in West African External Trade 7. Criteria, Characteristics and Bases of Monopoly 8. The Advantages of Capital and Size 9. Concentration, Marketing Arrangements and Competition (I) 10. Concentration, Marketing Arrangements and Competition (II) 11. Official Policies and Attitudes of Economic Concentration 12. Effects of the Immigration Policy on Monopoly and Competition 13. Further Influences of Official Policy on the Trading Situation 14. The Supply of Ancillary Services Part IV: The Export Trade 15. Outline of the Growth, Composition and Recent History of the Export Trade 16. The Buying Organisations and Methods of the Merchants and other Intermediaries of the Export Trade 17. The Shares of Firms in the Trade in Export Produce 18. Aspects of Competition in Produce Buying 19. Wartime Arrangements in the West African Export Trade and their Results Part V: The Statutory Marketing Boards and their Policies 20. The Genesis of the Marketing Boards 21. The Scope and Powers of the Marketing Boards 22. The Price Policies of the Marketing Boards (I) 23. The Price Policies of the Marketing Boards (II) 24. The Arguments in Favour of the Price Policies of the Marketing Boards Part VI: The Economics of Marketing Reform 25. The Economics of Marketing Reform : Measures and Proposals (I) 26. The Economics of Marketing Reform : Measures and Proposals (II) Part VII: Internal Trade 27. Principal Features of Internal Trade