|
on Development |
| By: | Gori Maia, Alexandre; Eusebio, Gabriela S.; Silveira, Rodrigo L. F. |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of PRONAF credit program on small-farm agricultural production in Brazil. The study compares farmers’ production value considering the obtainment of PRONAF credit, controlling for farm, farms and production system characteristics. The data set consists of the 2006 Agricultural Census, which considers 5.2 million of small farmers in Brazil. In addition to using multiple linear regression model to estimate the net impact of PRONAF on total production value, we applied a propensity score matching method in order to identify pairs of family farms relatively homogeneous, one that accessed the credit and other that did not, estimating the average difference between their production values. Regression analysis showed that the access to PRONAF had a positive and significant net effect on production value of around 18%. In addition, propensity score matching results seemed to exhibit similar evidence to those obtained by regression model. Farmers that obtained PRONAF microcredit presented a production value higher than others, with the difference ranging from 6% to 20%. The impact is lower in the less developed regions, which is characterized by forestry, subsistence agriculture and low technology adoption. For more developed regions, where farmers are more specialized and integrated in the market, the PRONAF has shown relevant net impacts on the production value. |
| Keywords: | agricultural production, agricultural microcredit, small farms, propensity score, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Financial Economics, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235682&r=dev |
| By: | Bhagowalia, Priya; Chandna, Arjita |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to assess if provision of subsidized food via India’s largest safety net, the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), has improved calorie availability in dry land areas of India. Changes in relative prices may increase calorie intakes from the subsidized commodities, or induce a substitution away from inexpensive and calorie rich foods to more expensive foods. We use ICRISAT data from 2010-2012 to examine the impact of rice & wheat subsidies on calorie availability and compare it with equivalent increases in income from any other source. Our results suggest that food subsidies have a modest but positive impact on calorie intakes of households, but these differ by income group. Due to the subsidy, households increase calories from both subsidized and expensive sources of calories viz. meat, sugar and oils. Crop production affects calorie availability. We also find that that the in-kind transfer seems to be less effective than equivalent increases in income |
| Keywords: | Food Subsidy, nutrition, calorie, ICRISAT, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235760&r=dev |
| By: | Tsusaka, Takuji W.; Orr, Alastair; Msere, Harry W.; Homann-KeeTui, Sabine; Maimisa, Penias; Twanje, Gift H.; Botha, Rosemary |
| Abstract: | It is widely believed that commercialization and mechanization of food crops lead to disempowering women as men take over control from women. We argue that women are not necessarily discontent in the face of the agrarian transformation. By collecting sex-disaggregated panel data and applying a ‘women’s crop tool’, we analyze and rethink the implication of agricultural commercialization for intra-household gender relation among smallholder farmers through research on groundnut producers in southern Africa, where groundnut is largely regarded as a ‘women’s crop’. In addition to examining the effect of commercialization in Zambia and Malawi, small-scale post-harvest mechanization was provided experimentally to selected farmers in Zambia. The panel regression results show that commercialization did not lead to disempowering women in either country, which is consistent with the qualitative discussions with farmers held before the baseline surveys. Furthermore, by combining PSM and DID methods, it was found that machine shelling did not disempower women farmers either. The finding provides insights into how gender relation among smallholders is affected at the initial stage of commercialization and mechanization of ‘women’s crops’. |
| Keywords: | gender, women, commercialization, mechanization, groundnut, Zambia, Malawi, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, J16, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235885&r=dev |
| By: | Ogundari, Kolawole; Awokuse, Titus |
| Abstract: | The study investigates the effect of agricultural productivity on different food security measures in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We identify food security indicators with per capita total food available in tonnes and per capita nutrient supply (e.g., calories and proteins), while agricultural–value-added per hectare and cereal production per hectare are taken as measures of agricultural productivity in the study. Using a panel data covering 41 countries from 1980-2009, we employ both the dynamic and linear models. The empirical results from both models show that an increase in agricultural productivity contributes positively and significantly to all measures of food security considered in the study. Thus suggesting that the key to improving food security is by boosting the current level of agricultural productivity growth in SSA. Accordingly, we contend that policies geared toward increasing government investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) would likely raise agricultural productivity and subsequently food security levels in the region. |
| Keywords: | agricultural productivity, food security, cross-country, sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, C01, C23, O11, O13, O4, O55, |
| Date: | 2016–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235730&r=dev |
| By: | Upton, Joanna B.; Lentz, Erin C. |
| Abstract: | During the past two decades food assistance policy has shifted toward local or regional food purchases for in-kind delivery and away from purchases from donor countries. While recent research and policy interest has focused on whether and when local purchases can have positive impacts in developing countries and, in particular, on smallholder farmer suppliers, the primary mandate of food assistance remains the predictable, safe, and cost effective acquisition of food for needy populations. Yet, to date, little is known about what drives successful contracting with farmers’ organizations (FOs). We utilize data from the World Food Programme Purchase for Progress pilot in three East African countries to examine what features of organizations, contracts, and contexts best predict successful purchases. Drawing on related literature, we examine four possible explanations: FO characteristics, repeated experience or relationships, contract modalities and how they relate to local market price dynamics, and country contexts, We find that, across countries, local price dynamics and contracting experience are consistently important; an increase in market price between contract approval and delivery is associated with a greater likelihood of default, and the more that FOs engage in contracts the less likely they are to default. The relative importance of these features varies across countries, however, and within certain contexts some FO characteristics also play a role. Our investigation hence yields both generalizable and context-specific insights, informing an ongoing debate in the food assistance community about whether – and when - procuring from smallholder farmers results in tradeoffs or synergies. |
| Keywords: | food assistance, farmer organizations, supply-chain innovation, contracts, sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Q18, L14, O19, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235656&r=dev |
| By: | Nakano, Yuko; Tanaka, Tuki; Otsuka, Keijiro |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of modified System of Rice Intensification (SRI) training provided by a large-scale private farm on the performance of surrounding small-scale rice farmers in a rain-fed area in Tanzania. We found that the training effectively increases the adoption of improved rice cultivation practices, paddy yield, and profit of rice cultivation by small-holder farmers. In fact, the trainees achieve paddy yield of 5 tons per hectare on average, which is remarkably high in rain-fed rice cultivation by any standard. Our results suggest high potential for achieving a rice Green Revolution in rain-fed areas and the importance of extension services by large-scale farms. |
| Keywords: | Green Revolution, Sub-Saharan Africa, Technology Adoption, Lowland Rice, Modified System of Rice Intensification, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O12, O13, O33, O55, Q12, Q16, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212521&r=dev |
| By: | Fishman, Ram; Kishore, Avinash; Rothler, Yoav; Ward, Patrick |
| Abstract: | The imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers in India is widely blamed for low yields, poor soil health, pollution of water resources, and large public expenditures on subsidies, amounting to about 1 percent of India’s gross domestic product. To address the issue, the government of India is investing in a large-scale, expensive program of individualized soil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations, with the hope that scientific information will lead farmers to optimize the fertilizer mix. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the Indian state of Bihar in what we believe to be the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the program as currently implemented. We did not find evidence of a statistically significant impact of customized fertilizer recommendations on fertilizer use. The lack of impact can be attributed to several factors, including a lack of understanding, lack of confidence in the information’s reliability, or other factors such as fertilizer costs that inhibit farmers from optimizing fertilizer application ratios even if the information shifts their underlying preferences. We provide evidence that suggests lack of confidence is the main factor inhibiting farmers’ response. |
| Keywords: | soil testing, fertilizers, India, randomized controlled trial, Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235705&r=dev |
| By: | Alan de Brauw, Gashaw Tadesse Abate; Nicholas Minot |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of the Wheat Initiative technology package promoted by the research and extension systems in Ethiopia on wheat growers in the highlands of the country. The package includes improved wheat seed, a lower seeding density, row planting, fertilizer recommendations, and marketing assistance. A sample of 490 wheat growers was randomly assigned to one of three groups: the full-package intervention group, a marketing-assistance-only group, and a control group. The results suggest that the full-package farmers had around 14 percent higher yields after controlling for the type of farmer and household characteristics. Implementation of the Wheat Initiative was successful in terms of the distribution of improved seed and fertilizer, though only 61 percent of the intervention group adopted row planting and few farmers received marketing assistance. The measured yield difference may underestimate the true yield difference associated with the technology because of incomplete adoption of the recommended practices by intervention farmers and adoption of some practices by control farmers. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural practices, yield, randomized controlled trial, Ethiopia, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, O1, Q1, |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235651&r=dev |
| By: | Wineman, Ayala; Jayne, Thomas S. |
| Abstract: | Migration between rural locations is prevalent in many developing countries and has been found to improve economic well-being in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the pathways through which intra-rural migration affects welfare in rural Tanzania. Specifically, we investigate whether such migration enables migrants to access more land, higher quality land, or greater off-farm income generating opportunities that may, in turn, translate into improved welfare. Drawing on a longitudinal data set that tracks migrants to their destinations, we employ a difference-in-differences approach, validated with a multinomial treatment effects model, and find that migration confers a benefit in consumption to migrants. Results do not indicate that this advantage is derived from larger farms, though intra-rural migrants to more densely populated areas do seem to achieve more productive farmland at their destinations. Across all destinations, migrants are more likely to draw from off-farm and non-farm income sources, suggesting that even intra-rural migration represents a shift away from agriculture, and this is likely the dominant channel through which migrants benefit. We conclude that intra-rural migration merits greater attention in the discourse on rural development and structural transformation. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, land access, poverty, rural nonfarm economy, Tanzania, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, G61, I32, O15, Q15, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235957&r=dev |
| By: | Rusiana, Hofner D.; Escalante, Cesar L. |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to analyse the issue of loan repayment in microfinance institutions and examine the factors that affect the exit of borrowers from microfinance borrowing networks. This paper presents the analysis of the borrower-level data of agricultural microfinance household borrowers in the Philippines from 2000 to 2010. Results show varied set of reasons to explain both the continued, sustained relationship of MFI borrowers with their lenders as well as the strained relationship with some borrowers who were inevitably evicted from the MFI system or had voluntarily exited the system. The study also indicates that MFI borrowers’ poor repayment records and eventual exit from the MFI system are attributed to borrowers’ weaknesses and uncontrollable circumstances. |
| Keywords: | microfinance, MFI, loans, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235472&r=dev |
| By: | Sauer, Christine M.; Mason, Nicole M.; Maredia, Mywish K.; Mofya-Mukukua, Rhoda |
| Abstract: | Despite the many potential benefits of legume cultivation, there is scarce empirical evidence on the effects of improved legume technologies on household food security and nutrition. This paper begins to fill that knowledge gap by empirically estimating the effects of adoption of cereal-legume intercropping and cereal-legume rotation on indicators of food security and nutrition for smallholder farm households in Zambia. The results indicate that cereal-legume rotation is positively and statistically significantly associated with household dietary diversity, months of adequate household food provisioning, and calorie and protein production, but is significantly negatively correlated with net crop income. In contrast, we find little evidence of statistically significant cereal-legume intercropping effects on the food security and nutrition status of Zambian smallholder farm households. |
| Keywords: | legume intercropping, legume rotation, nutrition, food security, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236062&r=dev |
| By: | Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Mason, Nicole; Chamberlin, Jordan |
| Abstract: | Informal land markets, particularly land rental markets, are emerging rapidly in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Land rental markets have the potential to contribute to structural transformation if, for example, such markets facilitate the transfer of land from less productive to more productive farming households. Although there is a growing literature on the determinants of smallholder farm households’ decisions to participate in land rental markets, relatively little is known about the factors driving land rental prices in SSA. This study aims to fill that gap using panel data from Malawi to estimate the effects of various plot-level characteristics and economic variables on plot-level land rental prices. Of particular interest is the effect of Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) on land rental prices, as evidence from the US suggests that part of the value of agricultural subsidies is often capitalized in land rental prices. Our results suggest that FISP has no substantive effect on land rental prices, perhaps because FISP’s effects on maize productivity have been modest. Expected crop prices, soil quality, and market access are more important determinants of land rental prices in Malawi; increases in these variables are associated with higher average rental prices, ceteris paribus. |
| Keywords: | land rental markets, rental prices, structural transformation, input subsidy programs, Malawi, sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Land Economics/Use, D63, O12, Q15, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235819&r=dev |
| By: | Ahmed, Mansur; Goodwin, Barry |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of adoption of agricultural mechanization on the non-farm labor supply behavior of farm households using a longitudinal data set from Bangladesh. The paper uses an agricultural household model to establish the link between the labor-saving technology adoption decision and the non-farm labor supply behavior. To control for potential endogeneity between the farm mechanization and the non-farm labor supply behavior; we use bivariate probit model (BPM), endogenous switching probit model (SPM) and endogenous treatment effects (ETE) model. The results confirm that labor-saving technology adoption raises both the probability of participation in the rural non-farm sector and the labor-supply to the rural non-farm sector. The average treatment effects (ATE) on the probability of participation in the rural non-farm sector are 0.30 in the BPM and 0.21 in the SPM. The results from the ETE model also confirm that the farm households double their labor supply in the rural non-farm sector, given the adoption of labor-saving technology. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Mechanization, Farm Households, Non-Farm Labor Supply, Farm Management, International Development, Labor and Human Capital, J22, Q12, Q16, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236131&r=dev |
| By: | Kibriya, Shahriar; Zhang, Yu; Bessler, David; Price, Edwin |
| Abstract: | By using panel VAR model and directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), we explore the dynamic interdependences among aid, development, and conflict. We construct a worldwide panel dataset of 79 countries over the period 1995-2010. Although foreign aid is sensitively responsive to the conflict or development shock, its effects on reducing conflict and improving development are largely relied on the wealth level and conflict proneness of the recipient country. We find that foreign aid only mitigates conflict in middle income developing countries, and enhances the development of the poor and conflict-prone countries. |
| Keywords: | Foreign aid, GDP, Infant mortality, Conflict, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235859&r=dev |
| By: | Chakrabarti, Suman; Avinash, Kishore; Devesh, Roy |
| Abstract: | Abstract There is an increasing demand to add pulses to the basket of subsidized goods in the public distribution system (PDS) of India—the world’s largest food-based social safety-net program. Would subsidizing pulses through PDS lead to a significant increase in its consumption? We study the case of subsidy on pulses in select Indian states and its impact on consumption and ultimately nutrition (in terms of protein intake) by exploiting an exogenous variation in prices to answer this question. Between 2004–2005 and 2009/2010, four Indian states introduced subsidized pulses through the country’s food-based social safety-net program, the Public Distribution System (PDS), while other states did not. We exploit exogenous price variations to examine whether the price subsidy on pulses achieves its goal of increasing pulse consumption, and by extension protein intake, among India’s poor. Using several rounds of consumption expenditure survey data and difference-in-difference estimation, we find that the change in consumption of pulses due to the PDS subsidy, though statistically significant, is of a small order, and not large enough to meet the goal of enhancing the nutrition of beneficiaries. |
| Keywords: | Food Subsidy, Pulses, Public Distribution System, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235649&r=dev |
| By: | Ayako Wakano (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | Do locally hired teachers benefit pupils f school achievements more than governmental employed teachers? In Republic of Kenya (below referred as Kenya), there are two types of teachers in public primary schools. One is those employed by the government and the other is those hired by the local school community, named gPTA teacher h. Though locally hired teachers are in general less qualified in terms of educational background and paid substantially lower than that of governmentally employed teachers, past randomized experiment results show that the marginal product in terms of test score is positive and significant when pupils are taught by PTA teachers (Duflo et al. 2012, and Bold et al., 2013). By using a nationally representative rich data set, with the Generalized propensity score matching method, the present study examines the effect of PTA teacher ratio (ratio of PTA teachers out of total number of teachers) on education outcome. The question of this study is gif PTA teachers have superior performance, proved by the Randomized Controlled trial in Kenya, should higher PTA teacher ratio in one school bring better educational outputs? h. With the nationally representative dataset containing rich educational school inputs as well as individual pupils f background and household information, this paper estimates the dose response function of school average outcomes. Provided that government teachers f allocation and school selection by the parents can be an endogenous to pupils f school outcomes, this paper utilizes the generalized propensity score method by Hirano and Imbens (2004) which enable us to estimate the function of the continuous treatment effect, PTA teacher ratio. The result consistently shows that the PTA teacher ratio affects school outcomes nonlinearly. |
| Keywords: | Continuous treatment, Generalized propensity score, Program evaluation |
| JEL: | C30 C32 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1615&r=dev |
| By: | Wood, Benjamin DK; Nelson, Carl N; Garduno, Rafael |
| Abstract: | With the continued instability in consumer food prices, questions abound regarding how food price shocks affect poverty in the developing world. Following up on Wood et al. (2012), this research uses repeated cross sectional Government of Mexico household surveys to test the longer term effects of food price shocks on household poverty status. Summary statistics for biennial surveys conducted in 2008 and 2010 provide an initial understanding of how households react to food price spikes. After calculating food demand systems for these years, we compare the importance of accounting for second order welfare effects during time of high and low food price increases. Assessing the accuracy of different measurement options will allow researchers to know which technique to use when assess the effect of future food price changes. |
| Keywords: | Mexico, food price, demand system, economic welfare, poverty, substitution, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235989&r=dev |
| By: | Stoeffler, Quentin; Wouter, Gelade; Catherine, Guirkinger; Michael, Carter |
| Abstract: | While risk is known to harm farmers’ production investments, there is still limited evidence of index-insurance impact on household ex-ante behavior. This paper studies a pilot area-yield index insurance project sold to cotton farmer groups in Burkina Faso. Insurance sales were randomized, and in the treatment area, an encouragement design was generated by providing premium subsidies (between 25% and 75%) randomly distributed to farmer groups. No impact was found on cotton production, most likely in reason of the late sale period (during the sowing period). However, substantial and significant impacts were found on several activities and assets such as field investments, sesame cultivation and livestock herding. The mechanisms behind these indirect effects are discussed. Overall, the findings suggest a promising role of index insurance for stimulating ex-ante investments, but also draws attention on implementation gaps which currently threaten this type of intervention. |
| Keywords: | Index insurance, cotton, Burkina Faso, risk, indirect impact, productive investments, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty, D91, G22, I38, O12, O13, O22, O33, Q12, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235980&r=dev |
| By: | Mbate, Michael |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically examines how an individual’s economic, social and political capital affects the propensity to make bribe payments in exchange for public services. Using an individual-level survey on bribes, the econometric results suggest that the burden of bribery is borne by the poor, but substantially decreases when institutions that constrain bureaucratic corruption are strong and effective. The results also show that bribery incidences decrease when social capital is high but increase when political networks are prevalent. These findings support the need to combine anti-corruption reforms with poverty reduction strategies in order to foster equity in public services provision in Kenya. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Bribery, Institutions |
| JEL: | H41 O55 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:71654&r=dev |
| By: | Kentaro Shimada (Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University); Zeba Khan (Faculty of Social Science, Chinese University of Hong Kong); Suguru Mizunoya (Faculty of Social Science (Global Studies), Chinese University of Hong Kong); Ayako Wakano (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | The study is latest to estimate returns to education after the introduction of free primary education in 2003 in Kenya, simultaneously addressing two sources of biases due to endogeneity of schooling and earnings, and sample selection. Using the 2005-2006 Kenya Integrated Household and Budget Survey, the paper finds that (a) returns to additional year of schooling are 14.9% for males and 13.5% for females with a continuous education variable, but the returns to females are consistently higher than males when returns are estimated by level of education, (b) returns to education increases for higher levels of education i.e., the classical pattern of diminishing return to schooling does not hold true for both males and females in Kenya, and (c) the use of joint IV-Heckman method adjust the endogeneity and sample selection biases introduced by OLS and IV. |
| Keywords: | Returns to Education; Education Policy; Human Capital; Gender; Kenya |
| JEL: | I26 I25 O55 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1618&r=dev |
| By: | Arimoto, Yutaka; Hori, Narumi; Ito, Seiro; Kudo, Yuya; Tsukada, Kazunari |
| Abstract: | We have run experimental interventions to promote HIV tests in a large firm in South Africa. We combined HIV tests with existing medical check programs to increase the uptake. In the foregoing survey we undertook previously, it was suggested that fears and stigma of HIV/AIDS were the primary reasons given by the employees for not taking the test. To counter these, we implemented randomized interventions. We find substantial heterogeneity in responses by ethnicity. Africans and Colored rejected the tests most often. Supportive information increased the uptake by 6 to 16% points. A tradeoff in targeting resulting in stigmatizing the targeted and a reduction of exclusion error is discussed. |
| Keywords: | Diseases, Public health, Labor conditions, HIV, Stigma, RCT, Testing, Corporate setting |
| JEL: | I19 J16 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper597&r=dev |
| By: | Yashodhan Ghorpade (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK.) |
| Abstract: | State presence and longevity have long been associated with growth and development, and yet analyzing their relationship remains challenging as both the length of state rule and geographical boundaries change over time. After addressing conceptual and practical concerns on its construction, we present a measure of the mean duration of state rule that is aimed at resolving some of these issues. We then present our findings on the relationship between our measure and local development, drawing from observations in Europe spanning from 0 AD to 2000 AD. We find that during this period, the mean duration of state rule and the local income level have a nonlinear, inverse U-shaped relationship, controlling for a set of historical, geographic and socioeconomic factors. Regions that have historically experienced short or long duration of state rule on average lag behind in their local wealth today, while those that have experienced medium-duration state rule on average fare better. |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:223&r=dev |
| By: | Darrouzet-Nardi, Amelia; Miller, Laurie; Joshi, Neena; Mahato, Shubh; Lohani, Mahendra; Drozdowsky, Julia; Beatrice, Rogers |
| Abstract: | Inadequate child dietary quality is a problem of public health significance in rural Nepal. This study explores whether and how dietary patterns within households changed over a four-year time period with the introduction of a randomized community development intervention in rural Nepal. Individual-level dietary data within households is rarely observed over extended periods of time, which limits our understanding of within-household food distribution dynamics, especially in the context of impact evaluations. Six rural communities of Nepal with predominantly agricultural livelihoods were selected to participate in the phased implementation of a long-term community-level development intervention. Households (N=414 at baseline) and children (N=951 at baseline) in each community were surveyed at baseline; and the 116-item follow-up surveys were implemented at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 48 months. Detailed data on food consumption were collected at the household-level and for individual children older than 6 months of age using a 24 hour recall for 17 foods and food groups; parents responded for children. Child-level dietary diversity and consumption of animal sourced foods were the outcomes of interest. Fixed-effects analysis of the resulting panel data indicates that there are disparities in the responsiveness of child dietary quality with respect to household dietary quality, as measured by elasticities. Results indicate that there are no differences in the responsiveness of child dietary quality to household dietary quality between girl and boy children, but there are measurable disparities in dietary quality responsiveness across age groups of children and across regions of Nepal. As the length of time of exposure to the community development intervention increased, so did the responsiveness of child dietary quality to household dietary quality, as measured by elasticities. This pattern holds during both times of household stress and times of household prosperity, as indicated by the household-level dietary diversity differenced from the mean across all six time periods. The long-term, community-level development of rural women’s groups may have increased women’s status in the study sites and resulted in the improved diets for children, but measurement of women’s status over time is necessary to test that hypothesis. These results stress the importance of measuring and addressing intrahousehold dynamics – in particular across age cohorts – during community development projects, and caution against assuming the presence of sex bias in the distribution of foods within households. |
| Keywords: | child dietary diversity, smallholder farms, intrahousehold dynamics, impact evaluation, Nepal, community based interventions, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health, education, and welfare, |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235536&r=dev |
| By: | Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kr; Tripathi, Gaurav; Adhikari, Rajendra Pd |
| Abstract: | This study is undertaken to quantify the benefits of contract farming (CF) on farmers’ income in a case where new market opportunities are emerging for smallholder farmers in Nepal. CF is emerging as an important form of vertical coordination in the agrifood supply chain. The prospect for CF in a country like Nepal with accessibility issues, underdeveloped markets, and lack of amenities remains ambiguous. On the one hand, contractors find it difficult to build links in these cases, particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. On the other hand, lack of other market opportunities makes the contracts more sustainable. The latter happens if there are product-specific quality advantages because of agroecology and, more important, lack of side-selling opportunities. At the same time concerns remain about monoposonistic powers of the buyers when small farmers do not have outside options. Results of this study show that CF is significantly more profitable (81 percent greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher yield and price realization. The positive impact of CF on farmers’ profits can help Nepal in harnessing the growing demand for pulses, especially in neighboring international markets, like India. |
| Keywords: | Contract farming, lentil, income, small farmers, Nepal, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Production Economics, Q12, Q13, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2016–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235848&r=dev |
| By: | Yamauchi, Futoshi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines dynamic patterns of land use, capital investments and wages in agriculture using farm panel data from Indonesia. The empirical analysis shows that with an increase in real wages that prevailed in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors in rural areas, relatively larger farmers increased the size of operational farm land by renting in land. An increase in real wages has induced the substitution of labor by machines among relatively large farmers. Machines and land are complementary and, consistently, the inverse land-productivity relationship is reversed among relatively large holders. |
| Keywords: | Wage growth, farm size, mechanization, Indonesia, Agribusiness, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, J31, Q12, Q15, |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212723&r=dev |
| By: | Kiendrebeogo,Youssouf; Ianchovichina,Elena |
| Abstract: | What are the common characteristics among radicalized individuals, willing to justify attacks targeting civilians? Drawing on information on attitudes toward extreme violence and other characteristics of 30,787 individuals from 27 developing countries around the world, and employing a variety of econometric techniques, this paper identifies the partial correlates of extremism. The results suggest that the typical extremist who supports attacks against civilians is more likely to be young, unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, relatively uneducated, and not as religious as others, but more willing to sacrifice own life for his or her beliefs. Gender and marital status are not found to explain significantly the individual-level variation in attitudes toward extremism. Although these results may vary in magnitude and significance across countries and geographic regions, they are robust to various sensitivity analyses. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Science Education,Labor Policies,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Rural Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2016–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7691&r=dev |
| By: | Ahsanuzzaman; George, Norton |
| Abstract: | The literature discusses risk aversion as one of the behavioral determinants of technology adoption. However, little attention has been paid to measuring ambiguity aversion of poor people in developing countries or in finding the role of ambiguity aversion in technology adoption. Risk experiments in the previous studies have been designed in such a way that individuals face the risky and/or ambiguous situations alone. Individuals in the real world, especially farmers in developing countries, are likely to get information from peers before making any decision regarding a new innovation that has an ambiguous nature. This paper addresses two broad issues. The first issue is to measure the risk and ambiguity preferences of Bangladeshi rural farmers. The paper investigates whether the attitudes toward uncertainty (risk and ambiguity) differ when farmers face the uncertainty alone versus when they are allowed to communicate with peer groups of 3 or 6. It also investigates whether farmers’ demographic characteristics affect their attitudes toward uncertainty or not. A second issue is to find whether measures of attitudes toward uncertainty is same across different groups of subjects using experimental lotteries. To do so, this paper replicates the same experiments with groups of students in two universities in Bangladesh. Finally, the paper also investigates whether demographic variables affect the attitudes toward risk and ambiguity aversion or not. It finds that risk attitudes of farmers and students are same when deciding alone. However, farmers tend to show higher variation in risk aversion than students sample when deciding in a group of 3. In the latter case, farmers tend to show less risk aversion than students. While disaggregating the measured risk attitudes across gender, female students tend to show more risk aversion as well as higher variation in risk aversion than male students in the sample. The study also finds that The study also finds that students’ and farmers’ demographic characteristics affect both risk and ambiguity aversion. |
| Keywords: | Ellsberg paradox, uncertainty, risk, ambiguity, technology adoption, expected utility theory, prospect theory, experimental economics, social exchange., Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty, C91, C92, C93, D81, O13, O33, Q16, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235876&r=dev |
| By: | Hodde, Whitney; Sesmero, Juan; Gramig, Benjamin; Vyn, Tony; Doering, Otto |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the economics of conservation tillage (chisel till and no till) and examines how climate change will likely affect it. We use data from long-term experimental plots in Indiana to estimate how corn and soybean yields respond to weather patterns under alternative tillage practices. Yield functions are coupled with random draws of weather variables to construct distributions describing the probability that conservation tillage will result in higher profits than more intensive tillage, under current and future climatic regimes. Results suggest that, in our study area, projected climate change will make conservation tillage more attractive. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236090&r=dev |
| By: | Varma, Poornima |
| Abstract: | The study analyses the role of multiple binding constraints such as information, extension services, availability of labourers and irrigation in conditioning System of Rice Intensification (SRI) adoption by rice farmers in selected rice producing districts of India. The multiple thresholds that farmers need to overcome are analysed using a multi-hurdle model which explicitly incorporates the impact of constraints in adoption decisions. The results showed that age of the farmer reduced the access to information whereas the size of the farm increased the access to information. Gender of the head of the household, education, membership in farmer organisations etc. was crucial in getting access to extension services. Age of the household head, full time farming etc. increased the availability of labourers. Type of soil and terrain were found to be important in getting access to irrigation facility. District wise disparities showed that the disparities were the highest in the case of accessing information and followed by extension services. Although factors influencing the intensity (in terms of acres) as well as the depth of adoption (in terms of packages) were slightly different household assets, number of improved rice varieties known, membership in farmer organisations, risk etc. were significant in influencing the adoption decisions. |
| Keywords: | Natural Resource Management, System of Rice Intensification, Multi-Hurdle Model, Conditional Mixed Process, India, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Q10, Q16, Q18, O31, O33., |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235806&r=dev |