Stretching the Inelastic Rubber: Taxation, Welfare and Lobbies in Amazonia, 1870-1910

This paper examines the effect of government intervention via taxation on domestic welfare. A case-study of Brazilian market power on rubber markets during the boom years of 1870-1910 shows that the government generated 1.3% of GDP through an export tax on rubber but that it could have generated 4.7% in total, had the government set the tariff at the optimal level. National, regional and local constraints prevented the government from maximizing regional welfare. In a context of lobbies, government budget maximization may have differed from regional welfare maximization.Rubber, Commodities, Market Power, Optimal Tariff, Welfare, Trade and Brazil.

Impact of WTO on Potato Export from India

Attempts are being made to export potatoes from India since 1970s but the quantities exported have been negligible and variable in spite of the fact that Indian potatoes are technically excellent and moderately export competitive. With the liberalization of Indian economy and establishment of WTO it was expected that the WTO regime would increase the price level in the international market due to implementation of proposed heavy cut in agricultural subsidies by the developed countries and hence the export of potatoes from India may get a boost. Under this backdrop, the study has ascertained the effect of establishment of WTO on export of potatoes from India. The study has indicated a declining export competitiveness of Indian potatoes in the post-WTO era, which requires immediate attention of policymakers as well as researchers in India to improve the export competitiveness by increasing the productivity and decreasing the cost of production. A need has been emphasized on giving some export incentives and easing some of the major infrastructural bottlenecks. Frozen-potatoes export from India had depicted competitiveness in the post-WTO era which can be encouraged to capture the fast expanding market of the product. The potato export from India can be made stable by either encouraging big export houses in the potato export or establishing a “Potato Board†to look into various aspects of potato export from the country.Agricultural and Food Policy,

SERVING CURRENT AND EMERGING BUSINESS STRATEGIES: PORT OF HOUSTON

Agribusiness,

Trade finance in historical perspective: The role of German banks in the rise of Germany as international trade power, 1875-1913

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorPrograma Oficial de Doctorado en Historia EconómicaPresidente: Christopher Michael Meissner; Secretario: Juan H. Flores Zendejas; Vocal: Carsten Burho

Commodity Chains: what can we learn from a business history of the rubber chain? (1870-1910)

The literature on the rubber boom applied a Dependendist view of rubber production in the Brazilian Amazon. Even though a sizable surplus was generated in the rubber chain, it was mostly appropriated by foreigners. This view is in tune with the Global Commodity Chain approach that argues that manufacturing/core economies absorb the bulk of surplus generated in the commodity chain. This paper challenges both frameworks and asks for a more careful examination of the business history of commodity chains: it is a first step in this direction through an analysis of the relationship between two nodes of the rubber chain.Rubber, Commodities, Commodity Chains, Business History, Amazon Region, Brazil.

Performance, Competitiveness and Determinants of Tomato Export from India

The performance and competitiveness of export of tomato and its products from India have been analyzed to find (i) production and export performance of tomatoes in India, (ii) impact of trade liberalization on export of tomato and its products, (iii) major destinations of Indian tomato and tomato products, and (iv) determinants of tomato export. The export performance ratio (EPR) has been estimated to examine the export competitiveness of India in tomato and tomato products. Annual compound growth rate and coefficient of variation for two periods, before (1985-1994) and after (1995- 2004) the commencement of WTO have been estimated to study the impact of trade liberalization on the export performance of India in tomato and its products. Export demand function has been estimated using OLS technique and the factors affecting the export of tomato and its products from India have been identified. The study has revealed that the existence of high instability in export of tomato and its products require the attention of policymakers to retain hold on the international market.Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,