On the Structure of Input and Product Markets in Cotton Weaving Industry of Bangladesh : A Case Study Using Firm Level Data
Nuimuddin Chowdhury
Abstract
This paper formulates and, to an extent, practises an extended empirical framework for meaningfully examining certain structural aspects of input and product markets in cotton weaving industry of Bangladesh, using firm-level data. The study finds, inter alia, that input markets are imperfect with significant price variations arrayed against small-scale producers, but that the presence of merchants who seek to maintain the status quo leads to a partial neutralisation of the adverse price variation effects. The study further finds the cloth market to be product-differentiated.