Overcoming the Egyptian cotton crisis in the interwar period: the role of irrigation, drainage, new seeds and access to credit

Karakoc, Ulas; Panza, Laura

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3390384

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Overcoming the Egyptian cotton crisis in the interwar period: the role of irrigation, drainage, new seeds and access to credit

50 Pages Posted: 6 Jun 2019 Last revised: 22 Apr 2020

See all articles by Ulas Karakoc

Ulas Karakoc

TOBB University of Economics and Technology

Laura Panza

The University of Melbourne

Date Written: April 22, 2020

Abstract

After experiencing a period of spectacular growth during the late nineteenth century, the Egyptian cotton sector underwent a phase of stagnation between 1900 and 1914, which was followed by a gradual and steady increase in output during the interwar period. Drawing on a new panel dataset at the province-year level, we explore the determinants of the upturn in cotton output. First, we provide supporting evidence that peasants switched to lower-yielding cotton variety as a response to changes in relative prices. Second, our production function estimates show that two key factors had a positive impact on output growth: credit availability and intra-cotton shifts.

Keywords: Egypt's cotton sector during the interwar era; Egypt's economic history; Farmers crop choices

JEL Classification: N55

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Karakoc, Ulas and Panza, Laura, Overcoming the Egyptian cotton crisis in the interwar period: the role of irrigation, drainage, new seeds and access to credit (April 22, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3390384 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3390384