PSCI 152 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Price Ceiling, Global Governance, Starbucks
12 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Economists skeptical of efforts to make international trade fair : emphasis on higher labor and environmental standards = stalking horses for restriction on trade designed to make foreign goods uncompetitive. Growth in fair trade in exchange for meeting certain requirements dictated by the certifier, such farmers (e. g. coffee and cocoa) have a premium for their wares. Conscientious consumers willing to pay more for goods produced in what"s viewed as a less exploitive manner. Inconsistencies: fair trade products often sell at markup in retail stores. Theory based on principle that consumers pay more opaqueness in what the transaction is really about: the way in which fair-trade products enable coffee bars to price discriminate. Ex: cafedirect (leading fair trade brand) promises to offer good prices to coffee farmers in poor countries but almost none of the extra money goes to the struggling farmers. 90% of extra money didn"t go to farmer.
