[1] [2]
Do the rural poor gain or lose from globalization? If global markets "worked" as theory suggests, then the answer would be yes they would gain. But in practice, they do not, and in the first section of this paper we discuss six reasons why, in our opinion, this is the case. The reasons are: (1) the prevalence of trade manipulation; (2) the nature of markets in poor countries; (3) exceptions to neoclassical efficient market theory; (4) theoretical and empirical inconclusiveness regarding the relation between open trade policies and growth; (5) income inequality; and (6) the institutional framework of global trade. The second section uses the example of trade in food and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for food security and poverty reduction to substantiate the arguments advanced in the first section. The third section offers some conclusions and policy recommendations to address the problems and issues considered in this chapter.
Our primary objective is to explore the impacts of globalization on markets, trade and rural communities. From this perspective there is no singular answer to the question: Do the rural poor gain or lose from globalization? The term "globalization" has different meanings to different people as pointed out by Davis, Thomas and Amponsah in a recent article. To avoid a long discourse on the meaning of the term globalization, we adopt the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 1997 (p. 82) definition that:...
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
