Giuseppina Gianfreda

Market Access, Organic Farming and Productivity: The Effects of Fair Trade Affiliation on Thai Farmer Producer Groups

The study analyses the impact of Fair Trade (FT) and organic farming on a sample of FT rice producers in Thailand. It finds that per capita income from agriculture is positively and significantly affected by years of organic certification and FT affiliation. The estimated FT and organic certification contributions to producers’ economic well-being are higher when account is taken of the relatively higher proportion of selfconsumption among affiliated farmers. But the per capita income effect does not translate into higher productivity owing to a concurrent increase in hours worked.

Contagious “Social Market Enterprises”: The Role of Fair Traders

In the traditional welfare economics approach problems of negative externalities generated by productive units, inequality of opportunities and underprovision of public goods where tackled by the action of “enlightened” domestic institutions. This framework adequately represents the reality of the pre-globalisation economic system. In such system checks and balances among corporations, domestic institutions and trade unions ensured the joint pursuit of economic development and social cohesion, thereby avoiding socially disruptive levels of inequality. The global integration of labour and product markets has significantly weakened the bargaining power of domestic institutions and trade unions. Corporations can now operate globally, with the risk of generating a “race to the bottom” among domestic fiscal authorities and workers’ representatives in order to attract job opportunities and direct investment.

Quando il consumo cura il produttore: gli effetti del commercio equo e solidale sui produttori marginalizzati

Quando il consumo cura il produttore: gli effetti del commercio equo e solidale sui produttori marginalizzati La disponibilita da parte dei consumatori a pagare un premio etico per il valore sociale e ambientale dei prodotti distribuiti dai canali del commercio equo e solidale (Ces) rappresenta un fenomeno in crescita. Uno dei criteri del Ces riguarda la salute dei produttori e la creazione di condizioni di lavoro compatibili con tale obiettivo. Nell’articolo valutiamo il significato di tale criterio, paragonando il numero di giorni persi per malattia da lavoratori affiliati e non al Ces in Kenya. Gli anni di affiliazione al Ces risultano avere l’effetto previsto sulla salute degli affiliati; anche controllando per gli effetti di selection bias.