A Tale of Two Cotton-Pickin' Farmers and Other Papers

This is a compilation of articles and short papers, written in a variety of formats, that aim to educate a wide audience-from 10th graders to other persons with little or no background in economics-on current issues related to international trade. In particular, I wrote on issues related to trade in agricultural products because liberalization of trade in these goods has the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty. I thought that if more people understood the issues better, they would be more likely to support reforms that are needed to reduce poverty in the world.

The first article, "A Tale of Two Cotton-Pickin' Farmers," compares the way of life of two farmers: one in Texas and the other in Mali. This article was written for 10th graders and includes questions for further research and discussion ("Food for Thought"). I interviewed the farmer from Texas, Terry Pepper, by telephone. The story on the farmer from Mali is based on articles and Web sites I found on the Internet. I also included information on the history of the cotton trade, which came from my interview with Carlos Valderrama, economist of the International Cotton Advisory Council.

The second article, "The Effects of the U.S. Sugar Policy," relates how the U.S. Sugar Act of 1934-which was enacted to help farmers during the Depression Era-has persisted and leads to the continued impoverishment of people in the developing countries. The analysis includes "Not- so-fun facts on the American sugar lobby," which shows how the powerful lobby has protected the industry to the detriment of many groups and individuals.

An accompanying piece, "Effects of the U.S. Sugar Policy on Developing Countries," is a straightforward and more formal briefing paper full of current facts from World Bank papers and other sources. It includes notes on the decline of the Chicago candy-manufacturing industry.

These articles are followed by an editorial, "In Search of a Benevolent World Leader for Free and Fair Trade." This talks about the WTO meeting in Cancún and related events and touches on the need for leadership to carry trade liberalization in agriculture forward.

The final piece in this compilation is a briefing paper on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, which summarizes the basic WTO document and points out some key issues.

This compilation is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of an Independent Study and Research Course under Dr. Steve Suranovic.

Gillian Virata
MIPP, Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
Spring 2004

Last Updated on 3/6/07