Where does your coffee dollar go?: The division of income and surplus along the coffee commodity chain

This article analyzes the division of the total income and surplus generated along the coffee commodity chain during the period 1971–1995. Until the late 1980s, coffee growers and producing states retained over a third of the total income and about half of the total surplus that was available. This was due in part to the collective actions of coffee-producing states, which led to the imposition of a regulatory regime involving export quotas, creating rents for the producing countries. By the late 1980s, coffee TNCs had consolidated their control over core markets, and began to use their market power to increase their shares of both income and surplus. This shift was greatly accelerated by the breakdown of the export quota regime in 1989. The article concludes that these results necessitate a reformulation of commodity chain analysis. John M. Talbot received his doctorate in sociology from UC, Berkeley, this year. His dissertation is titled “Grounds for Agreement: The Political Economy of the Coffee Commodity Chain.” This is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington, D.C., August 19–23, 1995. Portions of this analysis were also presented at the annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, San Francisco, April 6–8, 1995.     

日本走向何方

今年以来,日本相继出现了一系列事关其国家发展方向的重要事态,引起世界各国的密切关注.2004年的第一天,日本首相小泉不顾国内外的强烈反对,迫不急待地第四次参拜靖国神社.随后自民党代表大会将参拜靖国神社写入行动计划,将其升至政党行为的高端位置.