Baffes, John2013-12-192013-12-192005-03-01World Bank Research Observerdoi:10.1093/wbro/lki004https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16408Cotton is an important cash crop in many developing economies, supporting the livelihoods of millions of poor households. In some countries it contributes as much as 40 percent of merchandise exports and more than 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The global cotton market, however, has been subject to numerous policy interventions, to the detriment of nonsubsidized producers. This examination of the global cotton market and trade policies reaches four main conclusions. First, rich cotton-producing countries should stop supporting their cotton sectors; as an interim step, transfers to the cotton sector should be fully decoupled from current production decisions. Second, many cotton-producing (and often cotton-dependent) developing economies need to complete their unfinished reform agenda. Third, new technologies, especially genetically modified seed varieties, should be embraced by developing economies; this will entail extensive research to identify varieties appropriate to local growing conditions and the establishment of the proper legislative and regulatory framework. Finally, cotton promotion is needed to reverse or at least arrest cotton s decline as a share of total fiber consumption.en-USCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGOACREAGEADVERSE EFFECTSADVERTISINGAGREEMENT ON AGRICULTUREAGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGYAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICSAGRICULTURAL MARKETSAGRICULTURAL POLICIESAGRICULTURAL POLICYAGRICULTURAL POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTEAGRICULTURAL PRICINGAGRICULTURAL REFORMAGRICULTURAL RESEARCHAGRICULTURAL TRADEAGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE ORGANIZATIONAGRICULTURE POLICYBANKRUPTCYBARTERBASE YEARBORDER MEASURESBORDER PRICESBRANDCAPITA CONSUMPTIONCENTRAL PLANNINGCHEMICAL FERTILIZERSCLOTHINGCLOTHING INDUSTRYCOCOACOFFEECOFFEE PRICESCOMMERCIAL ENTERPRISESCOMMODITIESCOMMODITYCOMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATIONCOMMODITY MARKETINGCOMMODITY PRICECOMMODITY PRICESCOMMODITY PROGRAMSCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITIVENESSCONSUMER AWARENESSCONSUMERSCOOPERATIVESCORNCOTTONCOTTON GROWINGCOTTON INDUSTRYCOTTON MARKETINGCOTTON PRICECOTTON PRICESCOTTON PRODUCTIONCOTTON SECTORCROPCROP INSURANCEDAMAGESDEBTDEFICIENCY PAYMENTSDEMAND GROWTHDEVELOPMENT POLICYDIRECT PAYMENTSDOMESTIC MARKETSDRYINGECONOMIC OBJECTIVESECONOMIC RELATIONSECONOMIC SYSTEMSECONOMICS RESEARCHEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPORTEXPORT CREDITEXPORT SUBSIDIESEXPORTSEXTENSION SERVICESFAOFARMFARM INCOMEFARM INPUTSFARM SERVICE AGENCYFARMERSFARMINGFERTILIZERFERTILIZERSFIBERFIBERSFIBRESFIBRES TEXTILESFIELD TRIALSFINANCIAL CRISISFUTURES CONTRACTSGDPGENETIC MATERIALGINNERIESGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH RATEHOUSEHOLDSIMPORT QUOTAIMPORT TARIFFIMPORT TARIFFSIMPORTSINCIDENCE OF POVERTYINDUSTRIALIZATIONINNOVATIONINTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTEINTERNATIONAL TRADEINVENTORIESJUTELIQUIDITYMAIZEMARKET CONDITIONSMARKET DISTORTIONSMARKET FORCESMARKET INNOVATIONMARKET LIBERALIZATIONMARKET MECHANISMSMARKET NICHEMARKET PRICEMARKET REFORMMARKET REFORMSMARKET SHAREMARKET SYSTEMSMARKETING COOPERATIVESMARKETING LOANMERCHANDISEMERCHANDISE EXPORTSMILLSMINIMUM PRICEMONOPOLYMULTILATERAL TRADENATURAL RESOURCESOLIGOPOLYOLIVE OILPER CAPITA INCOMEPEST POPULATIONSPESTICIDEPLANTINGPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLYESTERPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPREMIUMPRICE CHANGESPRICE INDEXPRICE INDICESPRICE PROSPECTSPRICE SETTINGPRICE STABILIZATIONPRICE SUPPORTPRICE SUPPORTSPRICE TRENDSPRICE VOLATILITYPRICING POLICYPRODUCEPRODUCER GROUPSPRODUCER ORGANIZATIONSPRODUCER PRICESPRODUCTION COSTSPRODUCTION SYSTEMPURCHASINGQUALITY STANDARDREGULATORY FRAMEWORKSALESSEEDSEED COMPANIESSEED TECHNOLOGYSEED VARIETIESSEEDSSISALSMALL GROWERSSPOT PRICESSPRINGSTOCKSSUGARSUPPLIERSSURPLUSSYNTHETIC FIBERSSYNTHETICSTARGET PRICETARIFF RATETARIFF RATESTARIFF-RATE QUOTASTAXATIONTEATEXTILETEXTILE INDUSTRIESTEXTILE INDUSTRYTEXTILE MILLSTEXTILE PRODUCTSTOBACCOTRADE BARRIERSTRADE LIBERALIZATIONTRADE NEGOTIATIONSTRADE POLICIESTRADE POLICYTRADE REPRESENTATIVETRANSACTIONTRANSITION ECONOMIESWEEDSWHEATWORLD MARKETWORLD MARKET PRICEWORLD MARKETSWORLD PRICEWORLD PRICESWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATIONWTOYIELDSJournal ArticleWorld Bank10.1596/16408