The Politics of International Markets

学者们一致认为，政治经济学的两个核心问题是：经济市场如何受到政治调控？而且，一旦受到监管，是什么决定了它们内部的资源配置？迄今为止，针对这些问题的研究还很少。本项目将通过研究国际咖啡市场的案例来解决这些问题。市场受国际协议的管制。这项研究的一个目的是研究是什么导致制定管理这种商品贸易的政治规则。另一个目标是描述这些规则如何影响国际市场上的贸易量和维持的价格水平。对市场的政治调控的研究处于当代社会科学理论关注的前沿。这项研究在政策方面也很重要。咖啡是中南美洲不稳定国家最有价值的出口产品之一。因此，了解这种商品的贸易管理方式具有极大的意义，因为它可能有助于政策制定者调整协定的规则，从而为这些具有重要战略意义的国家带来更大的繁荣。

Scholars agree that two central questions in political economy are: How do economic markets become politically regulated? And, once regulated, what determines the allocation of resources within them? To date, little research has been directed at these questions. This project will address these questions by examining the case of the international coffee market. The market is regulated by international agreement. One objective of this research is to examine what led to the elaboration of political rules to govern trade in this commodity. Another objective is to characterize the way in which these rules influence the quantities traded and the price levels maintained in international markets. The study of the political regulation of markets lies at the forefront of theoretical concerns in contemporary social science. The research is also important for policy reasons. Coffee represents one of the most valuable exports from the unstable countries of Central and Southern America. Understanding the way in which trade in this commoditiy is governed is thus of great interest, for it may help policy makers to restructure the rules of the agreement so as to bring greater prosperity to these strategically important nations.