Cotton's Renaissance: A Study in Market Innovation
本书回顾美国棉花生产历史，分析合成纤维冲击下棉花公司的研究与推广活动，探讨其作为行业推广机构的作用与局限，适合对棉花产业或行业推广感兴趣的读者。
Jacobson, T., and G. Smith. Cotton's Renaissance: A Study in Market Innovation. Cambridge University Press, New York, 361 pp., 2001, price unknown. When first asked to review Cotton's Renaissance, I read the Preface and was encouraged as to the book's potential value. The book promised to tell the reader about Cotton Incorporated, the generic promotion arm of the cotton industry. Given the controversy and research that has gone into generic promotion, I was excited that this might be a comprehensive case study. The Preface also promised that the book would be an endeavor in economic and agricultural history. The book begins with a historical overview of cotton production in the United States. In the introduction, the authors cleverly utilize both past history through referenced sources and personal interviews of present-day producers to capture the difficulties and successes in cotton farming. The personal stories were a bit sentimental but accurate enough for those of us who have lived in the regions discussed in the book. If you are looking for a detailed history of cotton production, this is not the book. The swath the authors take is large and the details are sketchy, but it is sufficient to get the flavor of cotton production over the last 100 years. The second part of the book focuses on the supply of cotton. The authors lay groundwork in this section for the role of cotton in economic development during the industrial revolution. This intertwining of economic development and cotton is likely the reason that cotton historically garners so much attention in industrial and agricultural policy. The authors then turn their attention to the many technological advances that have occurred in cotton production and processing. Finally, Jacobson and Smith address the issue of supply management via government policy in a chapter entitled “Acts of God and Government.” The third part of this book is devoted to examining the influence and impact of synthetic fibers on the cotton industry. The authors correctly establish the influx of synthetic fibers into the consumers' purchases as the impetus for the establishment of Cotton Incorporated. The final section of this book describes the research and promotional activities of Cotton Incorporated, which becomes the meat of their “study of market innovation.” This book has two primary strengths. First, it is a well-written overview of the history of cotton production. It is, by no means, complete, but is highly accessible and of sufficient detail for anyone wishing an introduction to the industry. I was particularly impressed with the chapter on technological innovation. Cotton production is highly complex and the machinery and technology are highly advanced. Anyone wishing to do research on cotton production or processing should read this chapter first for perspective. Second, the authors provide a detailed historical overview and modern-day perspective on the inner workings of a generic promotion entity. This perspective is useful in understanding what the strengths and weaknesses of the generic promotion system are and should be useful reading for students of the subject. The most important lesson learned from the book is that Cotton Incorporated is unique among its generic promotion peers. A quasi-public organization called the Cotton Board is the collector of the mandatory assessments (more popularly known in other commodities as “check-off” funds), but has very little in the way of research and promotion capabilities. Cotton Incorporated is a corporation that contracts with the Cotton Board to conduct all of the research and promotion activities. This public-private relationship, according to the authors, has likely been the cause for many successes on the part of Cotton Incorporated relative to its peers (and probably many of the failures and debacles that are not mentioned in the book). The book has three primary weaknesses. First, the authors are consultants who were hired by Cotton Incorporated to demonstrate Cotton Incorporated's relevance to the industry. The authors are quite honest about this, but it raises some questions about credibility. This relationship between author and subject may have led to the second weakness, which is that the book, at times, appears as an advertisement for Cotton Incorporated. For example, the authors state (p. 8), “ … Cotton Incorporated, which has been remarkably successful in increasing demand for cotton over the past thirty years ….” Given that this statement was in the introduction, the conclusion offered was premature at best. Finally, and related to the above, the book falls woefully short of providing evidence that Cotton Incorporated had any role in reviving demand for cotton products. On the contrary, they assume this to be the case in the beginning and give the reader no further evidence to support the hypothesis. I am sympathetic to their plight. Having been intimately involved in the industry for some time, it is apparent to me that Cotton Incorporated (probably more through research than promotion) has had an impact on cotton markets. Demonstrating that statistically is another story. Hardcore cotton researchers will be somewhat disappointed by missing information, advertising, and loose interpretation of some facts. Hardcore economists will be disappointed by the lack of analysis and evidence of generic promotion effects. Nevertheless, despite the weaknesses of the book, it still is a valuable, accessible source for anyone interested in the history of the cotton industry and the history of a generic promotion entity. Just do not let it be your only source.