The Relevance of a Rules-Based Maize Marketing Policy: An Experimental Case Study of Zambia

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dc.creatorAbbink, Klaus
dc.creatorJayne, Thomas S.
dc.creatorMoller, Lars C.
dc.date2012-03-30T07:32:14Z
dc.date2012-03-30T07:32:14Z
dc.date2011
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-01T01:25:03Z
dc.descriptionStrategic interaction between public and private actors is increasingly recognised as an important determinant of agricultural market performance in Africa and elsewhere. Trust and consultation tends to positively affect private activity while uncertainty of government behaviour impedes it. This paper reports on a laboratory experiment based on a stylised model of the Zambian maize market. The experiment facilitates a comparison between discretionary interventionism and a rules-based policy in which the government pre-commits itself to a future course of action. A simple precommitment rule can, in theory, overcome the prevailing strategic dilemma by encouraging private sector participation. Although this result is also borne out in the economic experiment, the improvement in private sector activity is surprisingly small and not statistically significant due to irrationally cautious choices by experimental governments. Encouragingly, a rules-based policy promotes a much more stable market outcome thereby substantially reducing the risk of severe food shortages. These results underscore the importance of predictable and transparent rules for the state's involvement in agricultural markets.
dc.identifierJournal of Development Studies
dc.identifier00220388
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/5310
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/417897
dc.languageEN
dc.relationhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
dc.rightsWorld Bank
dc.subjectMarketing M310
dc.subjectEconomic Development: Agriculture
dc.subjectNatural Resources
dc.subjectEnergy
dc.subjectEnvironment
dc.subjectOther Primary Products O130
dc.subjectFormal and Informal Sectors
dc.subjectShadow Economy
dc.subjectInstitutional Arrangements O170
dc.subjectAgricultural Markets and Marketing
dc.subjectCooperatives
dc.subjectAgribusiness Q130
dc.subjectAgricultural Policy
dc.subjectFood Policy Q180
dc.titleThe Relevance of a Rules-Based Maize Marketing Policy: An Experimental Case Study of Zambia
dc.titleJournal of Development Studies
dc.typeJournal Article
dc.typeArticle de journal
dc.typeArtículo de revista

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