Comptes Rendus Book Reviews

This article follows the efforts of white settlers to impose cotton as an export crop in Natal and Zululand. Touted as a commodity capable of remaking land and life in the region in the 1850s, the 1860s, and again in the 1910s and 1920s, cotton never achieved more than marginal status in the region's agricultural economy. Its story is one of historical amnesia: although faith in the region's cotton prospects dipped following each spectacular failure, it was routinely resurrected once previous failures had been accounted for, or memories of them had faded.

Two crucial issues are at the centre of this episodic history. First, I explore the logistics of planned expansion, and the reasons for the repeated collapse of cotton-growing schemes. Second, I unravel the side effects of these difficult and disappointing efforts and argue that, despite repeated failure, cotton facilitated important structural changes to the region's agricultural, political and economic landscape.     

Book Reviews

Using a sample of full-time employees of a public sector organisation in South Korea, this study examines whether transformational leadership (TL) has a significant positive effect on affective commitment (AC) and organisational citizenship behavior (OCB), and whether AC is positively related to OCB. The study also examines whether AC mediates the effects of TL on OCB. The results of higher-order structural equation modeling indicate a positive relationship between TL and AC; no significant relationship between TL and OCB; and a significant positive relationship between AC and OCB. Thus, the results clearly demonstrate that AC fully mediates the relationship between TL and OCB. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, and proposals for future research are made.     

Book Reviews and Books Received

Author: MASKUS, KEITH; Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy; Reviewer: Donald G. Richards; Author: SVEDBERG, PETER; Poverty and Undernutrition: Theory, Measurement and Policy; Reviewer: Stephen Devereux; Editors: JALILAN, HOSSEIN, TRIBE, MICHAEL and WEISS, JOHN; Industrial Development and Policy in Africa: Issues of De-industrialisation and Development Strategy; Reviewer: Peter Lawrence; Editors: WISE, CAROL and ROETT, RIORDAN; Exchange Rate Politics in Latin America; Reviewer: Omar Sanchez; Author: THE WORLD BANK; India: Reducing Poverty, Accelerating Development; Reviewer: John Farrington