Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Agrar- und Ernährungspolitik

A new article by Nicolai Goritz (né Schulz) was published in the Journal of Comparative Politics on 24 August 2024. The article challenges the common notion that smallholder farmers in low-income countries lack the capacity to collectively resist adverse policies. It argues that smallholders can collectivize if they are able to attribute price distortions to government policies. However, apart from direct taxes, this is only likely to happen if traders inform smallholders of unfavourable policies. If traders are also significantly harmed by a price-distorting policy (e.g. by an export ban), they will be motivated to use their networks and financial resources to inform farmers about protests. If traders can pass on price distortions to farmers (as in the case of low export taxes), they will not do so. The article probes this argument through a controlled comparative case analysis of export bans and taxes on raw cashew nuts in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

Nicolai Schulz (2024) ‘Prompting Peasant Power: Cashews, Coalitions, and Collective Action in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire’. Comparative Politics