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Public Interventions in Agricultural Markets in Malaysia: Rice and Palm Oil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

James Pletcher
James Pletcher
Affiliation:
Denison University, Granville, Ohio
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Abstract

This paper explores the goals, nature and results of government interventions into the rice and palm oil markets of Malyasia since independence. Its purpose is to compare the relatively successful way in which the government has promoted the palm oil industry with the failure of interventions in the rice market. The historical comparison of public efforts in these two industries points up the importance of setting consistent goals, of encouraging crops which match the natural resource endowment of the country, of having a private sector which is capable of responding to production incentives, and of letting supply and demand determine prices when designing a strategy of market intervention. Above all, it is important to distinguish programs of intervention based primarily on efficiency criteria from those which seek to perform social welfare (e.g. income support) and political (e.g. food security) functions as well.

Type
Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 1990 , pp. 323 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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References

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