West African Trade

Based on information collected and processed by the Colonial Economic Research Committee between 1949 and 1952, and originally published in 1954, this book examines the key features of the economies of colonial Nigeria and the Gold Coast. Influential economist Peter Bauer assesses the monopolistic tendencies inherent in West African trade structures as well as the repercussions of the colonial government's own, sometimes biased, preferences. This book will be of use to anyone interested in the economic history of West Africa and the economic effects of colonialism.

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List of tables; List of charts; Preface; Introduction. Scope and method of the study; Part I. General Aspects of the West African Economies and of 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 and 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 organizations and methods of the merchants and of other intermediaries in 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 support 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; Appendix 1. Statistics of statutory marketing of West African exports; Appendix 2. The terms of trade of producers of export crops; Appendix 3. The responsiveness of supply to the prices received by producers; Appendix 4. The effects of statutory marketing on the processors of export products; Appendix 5. A note on conditional sales; Appendix 6. The stockfish agreement; Index.