Cotton in a globalizing economy: a look at the major economic drivers for cotton in the 20th century -- and the 21st

摘要

While the last 40 years have seen extraordinary changes in the production, consumption, and trade of cotton, perhaps what is most extraordinary has been the absence of the global upheavals that defined the first half of the 20th century. During a time of relative peace and growing prosperity for many, the world has been transformed by technology, globalization, and the evolving role of governments -- forces which continue to shape the outlook for cotton. As the century draws to a close, world tradehas become the engine of growth, as it was in the early 1900s; the integration of the world economy has come full circle from the damage done by global wars, depression, and the resulting constraints on trade during the first half of the century. Here isa look at the major economic drivers for global cotton in the past 40 years.