Agricultural value chains: towards a marriage of development economics and industrial organisation?*

In the last half-century, development economics has gone from being a fringe field of to at very centre discipline, and field’s foremost proponents have been elevated highest levels discipline. At same time, economists who study situations wherein multiple market failures lead persistent poverty ‘development-and-x’ economists, where x is any agricultural, demographic, environmental, health, labour, etc. Yet few if any, would label themselves development-and-industrial organisation (IO) economists. this keynote, I first speculate as why that is. then explain how time ripe celebrate marriage IO, agricultural value chains provides ideal inception point for be consummated.