Growth, structural change and plantation tree crops: The case of rubber

The effects of advancing economic growth on plantations are classed in five stages, starting with conditions in a backward subsistence economy and ending under circumstances where manufacturing is dominant and planting tree crops no longer economic. Changes in relative resource prices and other factors and consequent adjustments of estates and smallholdings are taken into account, doing this in light of international experiences with such crops. The case of natural rubber is scrutinized in depth, comparing economic effects and responses at each stage in chief producing countries. The key elements in plantation adjustments of market conditions, technology, institutional arrangements and government interventions are finally addressed, with policies likely to facilitate appropriate modifications being indicated. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.