The future of domestic capital markets in developing countries. Edited by Robert Litan, Michael Pomerleano and V Sundararajan (Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003, pp. 532)

✍ Scribed by Maxwell Opoku-Afari

• Book ID: 102352354
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 34 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0954-1748
• DOI: 10.1002/jid.1149

✦ Synopsis

this (single-instrument but multi-goal) policy created the gaps between large and small farmers in the first place.

They want the EU to curtail production to avoid the damaging levels of exports and want greater use made of quantitative controls. In the '10 principles for small farming', number one calls for a redistribution of output. Unfortunately number seven says the EU should 'aim for maximum autonomy in the way farms are run', yet supply controls and a redistribution of output imply the exact opposite. They also argue that where supply controls are used, prices have 'remained adequate'. This includes milk production, which is unfortunate given that earlier the dairy policy is criticized for the larger than average fall seen in the number of French dairy farmers, production quotas notwithstanding. However, the inconsistencies in some of the arguments should not detract from the validity of the points being made.

The use of direct payments is, on the one hand, supported if the money can be re-directed from large to small farmers, but vilified when sold as 'green liberalism', where agri-industrial interests have 'hoodwinked' environmentalists into supporting free trade and the decoupling of direct payments. That said, they call for payments to be re-directed ('modulated') towards smaller farmers, capped and linked to on-farm employment. On this, their policy recommendations are clearer and more consistent than for price support, which has failed them in the past so abjectly-even if political reality (including the influence of larger farmers, which they despise, quite understandably) means such a re-direction of payments is most unlikely to occur. This is an entertaining and well-written book, with some excellent points and real-world examples that challenge the reader. The policy prescriptions are at times confused and contradictory, but this book really made me think about what I would do to achieve the goals of the Confe ´de ´ration Paysanne, many of which I agree with. This book is a must for all CAP students (in the broadest sense of the term), many of whom will have seen a limited view of the CAP, as well as those with an interest in a sustainable and vibrant rural economy. Even though many will not agree with all the points, it will force you to be clearer on what you do think. The Confe ´de ´ration Paysanne do not have all the answers-but they are, without doubt, a part of the answer.

The book is written from the perspective of small French farmers, and certain arguments will be hard for some in the development community to accept. On the other hand, the Confe ´de ´ration Paysanne recognises a commonality of interest with peasant farmers in developing countries (a link they nurture with deeds as well as words), so there is much here of interest to development studies practitioners and researchers.