Middlemen, Non-Profits, and Poverty

Nancy Chau, Hideaki Goto () and Ravi Kanbur
Additional contact information
Hideaki Goto: National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Japan

No 4406, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In many markets in developing countries, especially in remote areas, middlemen are thought to earn excessive profits. Non-profits come in to counter what is seen as middlemen's market power, and rich country consumers pay a "fair-trade" premium for products marketed by such non-profits. This paper provides answers to the following five questions. How exactly do middlemen and non-profits divide up the market? How do the price mark up and price pass-through differ between middleman and non-profits? What is the impact of non-profits entry on the wellbeing of the poor? Should the government subsidize the entry of non-profits, or the entry of middlemen? Should wealthy consumers in the North pay a premium for fair trade products, or should they support fair trade non-profits directly?

Keywords: middlemen; non-profits; poverty; market access (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F15 I32 L3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2009-09
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published - revised version published in: Journal of Economic Inequality, 2016, 14, 81 - 108

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Related works:
Working Paper: Middlemen, Non-Profits, and Poverty (2009)
Working Paper: Middlemen, Non-Profits and Poverty (2009)
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