As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated. I now work mainly on climate issues, especially in Brighton and Hove, and new work can be found on the website of Climate:Change, our independent think-tank on socially inclusive action in the City: www.climatechangebh.org.uk.
Meanwhile, however, this website has over 850 entries, mostly representing my work on international development from 2010-2025. Among much else, there are over 50 book reviews, more than 20 papers and training cases on bridging research and policy and on managing think-tanks, nearly 100 articles on climate change, and many papers on other topics, including aid, food security and nutrition, and the future of international development. See ‘Topics and Themes’ for more details. I can be reached at sm@simonmaxwell.net.
Cash crops in developing countries: The issues, the facts, the policies
The issue of “cash crops” is profoundly controversial. The debate uses different definitions of the term and slides across levels of analysis from the household to the international economy. It also cuts across arguments, crops, countries and time periods. This paper sets out to order the debate. It deals first with definitions and taxonomy and then reviews issues connected with cash crops and (a) growth, (b) distribution, (c) food security, (d) dependency and (e) the environment. The paper concludes that with appropriate policies cash crops can offer a route to equitable growth.