Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331393 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
African Economic History Working Paper Series No. 83
Publisher: 
African Economic History Network (AEHN), s.l.
Abstract: 
When agrarian societies urbanize their governments face a policy dilemma: farmers seek fair prices, while urban workers and employers desire cheap food. Drawing on a new dataset of historical food prices in 146 markets, we explore the political economy of maize markets in East Africa (1900-2020). We show that from the 1940s onwards, maize prices soared from far below to well above world market levels. Instead of 'urban bias', we argue that prolonged evasion by late-colonial and early post-colonial governments of the socio-economic trade-offs inherent in the dilemma triggered the 1980s food crises and turned East African maize expensive.
Subjects: 
Corn market
Corn
Food prices
History
East Africa
ISBN: 
978-91-981477-9-7
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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