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on Development |
| By: | Zezza, Alberto; Carletto, Gero; Fiedler, John L; Gennari, Pietro; Jolliffe, Dean M |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the results of an international multi-disciplinary research project on the measurement of food consumption in national household surveys. Food consumption data from household surveys are possibly the single most important source of information on poverty, food security, and nutrition outcomes at national, sub-national and household level, and contribute building blocks to global efforts to monitor progress towards the major international development goals. The paper synthesizes case studies from a diverse set of developing and OECD countries, looking at some of the main outstanding research issues as identified by a recent international assessment of 100 existing national household surveys (Smith et al., 2014). The project mobilized expertise from different disciplines (statistics, economics, food security, nutrition) to work towards enhancing our understanding of how to improve the quality and availability of food consumption and expenditure data, while making them more valuable for a diverse set of users. The individual studies summarized in this paper analyze, both theoretically and empirically, how different surveys design options affect the quality of the data being collected and, in turn, the implications for statistical inference and policy analysis. The individual studies and a synthesis chapter (on which this paper is based) are forthcoming in a special issue of Food Policy. The conclusions and recommendations derived from this collection of studies will be instrumental in advancing the methodological agenda for the collection of household level food data, and will provide national statistical offices and survey practitioners worldwide with practical insights for survey design, while providing poverty, food and nutrition policymakers with greater understanding of these issues, as well as improved tools for and better guidance in policy formulation. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2017–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:260886&r=dev |
| By: | Anja Tolonen |
| Abstract: | Does industrial development change gender norms? This is the first paper to causally Anja Texplore the local effects of a continent-wide exogenous expansion of a modern industry on gender norms. The identification strategy relies on plausibly exogenous temporal and spatial variation in gold mining in Africa. The establishment of an industrial-scale mine changes local gender norms: justification of domestic violence decreases by 19%, women have better access to healthcare, and are 31% more likely to work in the service sector. The effects happen alongside rapid economic growth. The findings are robust to assumptions about trends, distance, and migration, and withstand a spatial randomization test. The results show that entrenched gender norms can change rapidly in the presence of economic development. |
| Keywords: | gender norms, female empowerment, local industrial development, gold minig=ng |
| JEL: | O12 O13 J16 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:209&r=dev |
| By: | Furtado, Isabela Brandão; Mattos, Enlinson |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effects of birth weight on health and educational outcomes for Brazil using a twin fixed effect approach. The recent literature, mainly based on data from developed countries, has provided evidence that health at birth is a critical factor for outcomes related to health and to cognition. Using a matching of administrative records of birth and school enrollment we aim to provide this type of evidence for Brazil. The main finding is that birth weight matters. For instance, there is evidence that a 10% increase in weight is associated with a 0.6% increase in Apgar, a score for health at birth. In the educational dimension, the findings suggest that a 10% increase in birth weight is associated with a 6% increase in the chances of completing high school by the age of 17 and with a 3.6% decrease in the probability of repeating a grade. Furthermore, estimates provide evidence that parents tend to reinforce, rather than compensate, the negative effects of adverse initial health conditions. Larger effects are found for the infants with low birth weight, limited access to basic health care services, lower maternal education and enrolled at schools of lower socioeconomic status. |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:eesptd:482&r=dev |
| By: | Ogutu, Sylvester Ochieng; Goedecke, Theda; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | Commercialization of smallholder agriculture is widely seen as an essential pathway towards rural economic growth. While previous studies have analyzed effects of commercialization on productivity and income, implications for farm household nutrition have received much less attention. We evaluate the impact of commercialization on household food security and dietary quality, with a special focus on calorie and micronutrient consumption. We also examine transmission channels by looking at the role of income, gender, and possible substitution between the consumption of own-produced and purchased foods. The analysis builds on survey data from 805 farm households in Western Kenya. A control function approach is used to address issues of endogeneity. Generalized propensity scores are employed to estimate continuous treatment effects. Commercialization significantly improves food security and dietary quality in terms of calorie, zinc, and iron consumption. For vitamin A, effects are positive but statistically insignificant. Commercialization contributes to higher incomes and added nutrients from purchased foods. It does not reduce the consumption of nutrients from own-produced foods, even after controlling for farm size, which can be explained by higher productivity on more commercialized farms. Enhancing market access is important not only for rural economic growth, but also for making smallholder agriculture more nutrition-sensitive. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261285&r=dev |
| By: | María Padilla-Romo (Department of Economics, University of Tennessee); Francisco Cabrera-Hernández (Centro de Cooperación Regional para la Educación de Adultos en América Latina y el Caribe (CREFAL)) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of the time children spend in school on female labor supply. In particular, we investigate the degree to which extending the school day by three and a half hours, in elementary schools, affects labor force participation, the number of weekly hours worked, and the monthly earnings of females with elementary-school-age children. To do so, we exploit within-individual variation in access to full-time schools and a rotating panel of households that contains individual-level data on labor outcomes and sociodemographic characteristics. Results from long-difference models show that extending the school day increases mothers' labor supply, increasing mothers' labor force participation by 5.5 percentage points and the number of weekly hours worked by 1.8. |
| Keywords: | Female labor; Education; Childcare; Childrearing |
| JEL: | I25 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ten:wpaper:2018-04&r=dev |
| By: | Kassie, M. |
| Abstract: | Using household and individual survey data in rural Kenya, this paper assesses the impacts of women’s empowerment in agriculture individually as well as in combination with push–pull technology (PPT) on women’s and households’ nutritional status. We adopt a multiple treatment endogenous switching regression framework to control for potential endogeneity of women’s empowerment. The analysis shows that women’s empowerment has a positive and significant effect on women’s and households’ dietary diversity scores. The impact is significantly higher for empowered women belonging to PPT-adopting households than for their counterparts who have not adopted PPT. Similarly, disempowered women from PPT-adopting households have higher dietary diversity scores compared with disempowered women from non-adopting households. These results imply that individual and household welfare could be enhanced to a greater degree by combining women’s empowerment with technology adoption than by treating the two elements as separate development issues. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276003&r=dev |
| By: | Meemken, Eva-Marie; Spielman, David J.; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | Millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries participate in different types of sustainability standards. A growing body of literature has analyzed the welfare effects of such participation, with mixed results. Yet, there are important knowledge gaps. First, most existing studies look at the effects of one standard in one country. When comparing between studies it is not clear whether dissimilar outcomes are driven by differences in standards or local conditions. Second, most studies use cross-section, observational data, so that selectivity issues remain a challenge. Third, the existing work has primarily analyzed effects in terms of purely economic indicators, such as income, ignoring other dimensions of household welfare. We address these shortcomings using panel data from small-scale coffee producers in Uganda and comparing the effects of two of the most popular sustainability standards, namely Organic and Fairtrade. Welfare effects are analyzed in terms of household expenditures, child education, and nutrition. Results show that Organic and Fairtrade both have positive effects on total consumption expenditures. However, notable differences are observed in terms of the other outcomes. Organic contributes to improved nutrition but has no effect on education. For Fairtrade it is exactly the other way around. We explore the mechanisms behind these differences. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261267&r=dev |
| By: | Thiemo Fetzer; Stephan Kyburz |
| Abstract: | Can institutionalized transfers of resource rents be a source of civil conflict? Are cohesive institutions better in managing distributive conflicts? We study these questions exploiting exogenous variation in revenue disbursements to local governments together with new data on local democratic institutions in Nigeria. We make three contributions. First, we document the existence of a strong link between rents and conflict far away from the location of the actual resource. Second, we show that distributive conflict is highly organized involving political militias and concentrated in the extent to which local governments are non-cohesive. Third, we show that democratic practice in form having elected local governments significantly weakens the causal link between rents and political violence. We document that elections (vis-a-vis appointments), by producing more cohesive institutions, vastly limit the extent to which distributional conflict between groups breaks out following shocks to the available rents. Throughout, we confirm these findings using individual level survey data. |
| Keywords: | conflict, ethnicity, natural resources, political economy, commodity prices |
| JEL: | Q33 O13 N52 R11 L71 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:210&r=dev |
| By: | Sauer, Christine M.; Mason, Nicole M.; Maredia, Mywish K.; Mofya-Mukaka, Rhoda |
| Abstract: | Despite the many potential benefits of legume cultivation, there is scarce empirical evidence on whether and how producing legumes affects smallholder farm households’ food security. We use nationally representative household panel survey data from Zambia to estimate the differential effects on cereal-growing households of incorporating legumes into their farms via cereal-legume intercropping, cereal-legume rotation, and other means. Results suggest that cereal-legume rotation is positively and significantly associated with households’ months of adequate food provisions, and calorie and protein production. In contrast, cereal-legume intercropping generally has no statistically significant effect on the indicators of food security of Zambian smallholders. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:251853&r=dev |
| By: | Geruso, Michael (University of Texas at Austin); Spears, Dean (University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: | We study how extreme weather exposure impacts infant survival in the developing world. Our analysis overcomes the absence of vital registration systems in many poor countries by extracting birth histories from household surveys. Studying 53 developing countries that span five continents, we find impacts of hot days on infant morality that are an order of magnitude larger than corresponding estimates from rich country studies, with humidity playing an important role. The size and implied geographic distribution of harms documented here have the potential to significantly alter assessments of optimal climate policy. |
| Keywords: | heat, humidity, mortality, neonatal mortality, development, climate damages |
| JEL: | J1 J13 I15 Q54 Q56 O15 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11717&r=dev |
| By: | Mason, Nicole M.; Wineman, Ayala; Kirimi, Lilian; Mather, David |
| Abstract: | Kenya joined the ranks of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries implementing targeted input subsidy programs (ISPs) for inorganic fertilizer and improved seed in 2007 with the establishment of the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Program (NAAIAP). While several features of NAAIAP were ‘smarter’ than other ISPs in the region, some aspects were less ‘smart’. However, the efficacy of this program, and the relationship between its design and effectiveness, have been little studied. This article uses nationwide survey data to estimate the effects of NAAIAP participation on Kenyan smallholders’ cropping patterns, incomes, and poverty status. Unlike most previous studies of ISPs, a range of panel data- and propensity score-based methods are used to estimate the effects of NAAIAP. The article then compares these estimated effects across estimators and to the effects of other ISPs in SSA, and discusses the likely links between differences in program designs and impacts. The results are robust to the choice of estimator and suggest that, despite substantial crowding out of commercial fertilizer demand, NAAIAP had sizable impacts on maize production and poverty severity. NAAIAP’s success in targeting resource-poor farmers and implementation through vouchers redeemable at private agro-dealer shops likely contributed to its more favorable impacts than those of ISPs in Malawi and Zambia. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:259532&r=dev |
| By: | Mark E. McGovern |
| Abstract: | 200 million children globally are not meeting their growth potential, and as a result will suffer the consequences in terms of future outcomes. I examine the effects of birth weight on child health and growth using information from 66 countries. I account for missing data and measurement error using instrumental variables, and adopt an identification strategy based on siblings and twins. I find a consistent effect of birth weight on mortality risk, stunting, wasting, and coughing, with some evidence for fever, diarrhoea and anaemia. Bounds analysis indicates that coefficients may be substantially underestimated due to mortality selection. Improving the pre-natal environment is likely to be important for helping children reach their full potential. |
| Keywords: | Birth Weight; Child Health; Mortality Selection |
| JEL: | I12 O15 J13 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qub:charms:1804&r=dev |
| By: | Bharadwaj, Prashant (University of California San Diego); Fenske, James (University of Warwick.); Mirza, Rinchan Ali (University of Namur); Namrata Kala, (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | We use a difference in differences approach to show that the adoption of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) reduced infant mortality in India. This holds even comparing children of the same mother. Children of mothers whose characteristics predict higher child mortality, rural children, boys, and low-caste children benefit more from HYV adoption. We find no obvious evidence that parental investments respond to HYV adoption. We find little evidence of selection into child bearing in response to HYV adoption. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1175&r=dev |
| By: | Fernando Borraz (Banco Central del Uruguay; Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República; Universidad de Montevideo); Nicolás González Pampillón (Universitat de Barcelona; IEB) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the role of Uruguay’s sharp minimum wage increases after 2004 amidst the country’s slight wage inequality decrease. We found that the minimum wage increase has contributed to the reduction of wage inequality for formal workers mainly. However, we also found a negative impact on employment outside the capital city, Montevideo, and observed a reduction in working hours. These results raise doubts about the effectiveness of minimum wage as a redistribution instrument in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, wage inequality, instrumental variables, employment effect, difference in difference |
| JEL: | J20 J31 J38 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bku:doctra:2017002&r=dev |
| By: | Varma, P. |
| Abstract: | Abstract The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is recognized as a promising systemic approach to enhance rice production at affordable costs without harming the environment. Yet there is no consensus in the literature with respect to the factors influencing the adoption as well as the welfare outcomes of adoption. This paper identifies the factors that affect farmers’ decisions to adopt SRI in major rice producing States of India and its impact on rice yield and household income. The multinomial endogenous treatment effects model adopted in the present study analyses the factors influencing the adoption and the impact of adoption in a joint framework. Results suggest that household assets, irrigation, access to information etc. increased the likelihood of household adopting SRI whereas the size of landholding, the number of years household stayed in rice cultivation, fear of poor yield, etc. decreased the likelihood of adopting SRI. The welfare impacts of SRI adoption revealed that all combinations of SRI individually and as a group (plant management, water management and soil management) had an impact on yield. However, the impact of SRI adoption on household income was quite mixed. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:275986&r=dev |
| By: | Kubitza, Christoph; Krishna, Vijesh; Urban, Kira; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | The expansion of agricultural land remains one of the main drivers of deforestation in tropical regions, with severe negative environmental consequences. Stronger land property rights could possibly enable farmers to increase input intensity and productivity on the already cultivated land, thus reducing incentives to expand their farms by deforesting additional land. This hypothesis is tested with data from a panel survey of farm households in Sumatra, Indonesia, one of the hotspots of recent rainforest loss due to agricultural area expansion. The survey data are combined with satellite imageries to account for spatial patterns, such as historical forest locations. Results show that plots for which farmers hold formal land titles are cultivated more intensively than untitled plots, even after controlling for other relevant factors. Land titles also contribute to higher crop yields, hence confirming expectations. However, due to land policy restrictions, farmers located at the historic forest margins often do not hold formal titles for the land they cultivate. Without land titles, these farmers are less able to intensify and more likely to expand into the surrounding forest land to increase agricultural output. Indeed, forest closeness and past deforestation activities by households are found to be positively associated with current farm size. The findings suggest that the observed land policy restrictions are not conducive for forest conservation. In addition to improving farmer’s access to land titles for non-forest land, better recognition of customary land rights and moreeffective protection of forest land without recognized claims could be useful policy responses. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261166&r=dev |
| By: | Denni Tommasi |
| Abstract: | I use a structural model of households to recover how much resources each individual controls in the context of the Mexican PROGRESA program. I find that the eligibility to receive the cash transfers induces a redistribution of resources from the father to both the mother and children, although the mother is the one benefiting the most. With these information I compute individual poverty rates and quantify to what extent the program reduces within-household inequality. I also combine these measures to construct a proxy for women’s bargaining power and, using causal identification techniques, I estimate its direct effects on household demand for food. Exploiting random assignment of the cash transfers as an instrumental variable for the treatment of interest, I show that mothers having majority control of household resources relative to fathers increase food consumption as a share of the household budget by 6.5-8.3 percent. I use these estimates to argue that, by knowing (i) The distribution of pre-program resources inside the household, and (ii) How much influence each decision maker can have on the desired policy outcome, a policymaker can improve the cost-effectiveness of a cash transfer program by targeting the cash to resource shares in addition to gender. |
| Keywords: | cash transfers, PROGRESA, structural model, collective model, resource shares, poverty, causality, LATE, engel curves, food |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/276472&r=dev |
| By: | Joël CARIOLLE (Ferdi) |
| Abstract: | This paper re-examines the contribution of five major corruption determinants emphasized by the literature, through an empirical analysis based on a hierarchical modelling of firm-level corruption data. Exploiting a baseline sample of 34,358 bribe reports of firms from 71 developing and transition countries, I use a three-level estimation framework to study the contribution of the economic and human development levels, the size of governments, trade openness, and democracy. Multi-level estimations stress that the negative effect of income per capita on bribery is found to be mostly driven by improvement in human capital, more particularly by the decline in fertility rates. They also allow the reconciling of some contrasting findings of the literature on other corruption determinants, but point that the contribution of corruption determinants is context-dependent. |
| Keywords: | corruption, bribery, firm, multi-level model, hierarchical model |
| JEL: | D73 D02 D22 P48 O57 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:4391&r=dev |
| By: | Kim, Jongwoo; Mason, Nicole M.; Snapp ,Sieglinde |
| Abstract: | Food insecurity, child malnutrition, and land degradation remain persistent problems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural sustainable intensification (SI) has been proposed as a possible solution to simultaneously address these challenges. Narrowly defined, SI entails raising agricultural productivity while preserving or improving the natural resource base, but broader definitions of SI require that it also maintain or enhance human well-being, including child nutrition. Yet there is little empirical evidence on if adoption of practices that contribute to SI from an environmental standpoint do indeed improve child nutrition. To begin to fill this gap, this study uses nationally representative household panel survey data from Tanzania to analyze the child nutrition effects of rural households’ adoption of farming practices that contribute to the SI of maize production, an important staple. We consider three soil fertility management practices and group households into four categories based on their use of the practices on their maize plots: Non-adoption; Intensification (use of inorganic fertilizer); Sustainable (use of organic fertilizer, maize-legume intercropping, or both); and SI (joint use of inorganic fertilizer with organic fertilizer and/or maize-legume intercropping). |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:265406&r=dev |
| By: | Arinze Nwokolo |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of international oil prices on civil conflict in Nigeria. Our analysis uses time variation in global oil prices and cross-sectional variation based on the initial distribution of oil production across Nigerian districts. According to our estimates, an increase in oil price increases the risk of civil conflicts in districts that produce oil by at least 63 percent. Using data on intergovernmental transfers, labor outcomes and firm characteristics, the study tests for popular theoretical mechanisms of the resource curse and shows that positive oil price shocks magnify conflict through rising competition for resource rents and grievance against foreign firms. No evidence is found in favor of mechanisms related to changes in the opportunity cost of engaging in conflict. |
| Keywords: | Natural resource, Conflict, Firms |
| JEL: | C23 D74 J30 L70 Q34 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nva:unnvaa:wp04-2018&r=dev |
| By: | Wineman, Ayala; Jayne, Thomas S. |
| Abstract: | Migration between rural locations is prevalent in developing countries and has been found to improve economic well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article explores the pathways through which intra-rural migration affects well-being 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 well-being. 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 or, generally, from more productive farmland. However, across all destinations, migrants are more likely to draw from off-farm or nonfarm income sources, suggesting that even intra-rural migration represents a shift away from a reliance on farm production, 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: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:261669&r=dev |
| By: | Kinuthia, Emmanuel Karanja; Omondi, Immaculate; Baltenweck, Isabelle |
| Abstract: | This survey used data from the East Africa Dairy Development project which utilizes farmer based organizations to evaluate whether producer organizations have been efficiently used by the project to impact on inputs use and income. Propensity score matching results show that project participants generated higher dairy revenues than non-participants. They also spent more on hired labour and animal breeding and had a higher probability of having improved breeds. The findings have important implications for development agents and policy makers seeking productivity improvement and increased market participation of poor smallholder dairy farmers as establishment and growth of producer organizations. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness |
| Date: | 2017–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:260909&r=dev |
| By: | Abadi Mistru, N. |
| Abstract: | The evidence to date on the links between nutrition –sensitive agricultural interventions and dietary diversity has been scant and inconclusive. This study contributes to the debate by analyzing the impacts of sweet potato production on dietary diversity of farm households in northern Ethiopia. Survey data collected in 2014 from 524 sample households was used in the analysis. Endogenous switching regression model supported by binary propensity score matching methods were used to empirically assess the impact of adopting sweet potato on food consumption score or dietary diversity of farm households. Results show that education of household head, farm size, access to information, extension visit, and institutional services are the major determinants of household decisions to adopt sweet potato. The average treatment effect results also show that the food consumption score or dietary diversity is high for adopters as compared to the non-adopter counterparts. The results are robust and consistent in both methods. Thus, policies and development strategies encouraging further adoption of nutrition sensitive agricultural technologies could enhance dietary diversity of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:275992&r=dev |
| By: | De los Santos, Luis Alberto; Bravo-Ureta, Boris Eduardo; Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan |
| Abstract: | Understanding the impact of programs designed to improve the management of natural resources in agricultural households is a key task to ensure the adoption of sustainable and profitable practices. In this paper, we analyze the economic impact of natural resource technologies delivered during the implementation of POSAF-II in Nicaragua. Results obtained from propensity score matching (PSM), ordinary least squares (OLS), weighted least squares regression (WLS) based on PSM, and instrumental variables (IV) regression indicate that POSAF-II has had a positive impact on the total value of agricultural production of beneficiary farmers. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261282&r=dev |
| By: | Sekabira, Haruna; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | Mobile phone (MP) technologies have been widely adopted in developing countries. Previous research has shown MP use to enhance market access through information exchange and market price integration. However, the impact of MP use on several smallholder welfare aspects has barely been investigated. In particular, we are not aware of any studies that have analyzed the effects of MP use on gender equity and nutrition – two welfare dimensions of particular importance in the context of United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs). We address the gap by using a two wave balanced panel data from smallholder farm households in Uganda to examine the impact of MP use on household incomes, gender, and nutrition. Using regression models, we find that, MP use is positively and significantly associated with improvements in household income, women empowerment, and dietary diversity. Gender disaggregated analysis shows that female MP use bears stronger associations. Female MP Use’s positively associated influences on dietary diversity are channeled through increased incomes and women empowerment. These effects are due to lower transaction costs and better access to information through MP use. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261271&r=dev |
| By: | Bonjean, Isabelle |
| Abstract: | In conditions of poor soil fertility and increasing importance of global value chain, agricultural extension projects have been one of the main channel to increase farmer’s production and income. In the literature assessing the return to these innovations, prices received by farmers for their production are usually assumed to be homogeneous. We dispute this over-simplification: prices and production levels in developing countries are often jointly determined. The analysis relies on an extension programme in the Peruvian highlands, where the main income source is the dairy sector characterised by a highly segmented market. A simple theoretical model is developed to show how the segmented market conditions, i.e. price levels, induce non-linear return to the investment and affect the incentive to innovate. The econometric analysis confirms the propositions derived from the model: producers that were not included in the formal market at baseline, but close to it, have more intensively innovated. The consequence of this investment is a higher price increase than the rest of the population, creating heterogeneous impact of the programme and social mobility. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:260891&r=dev |
| By: | Yeboah, F. Kwame; Jayne, T.S. |
| Abstract: | Using nationally representative, multi-year survey data for nine African countries, this study documents trends in the sectoral composition of Africa’s work force. The study highlights differences in sectoral employment trends by age category, gender, and rural vs. urban areas. By analyzing sectoral employment shifts over the past decade, we can gain insights about the strength and robustness of economic transformation processes in much of Sub-Saharan Africa. While substantial differences across countries warrant caution against overgeneralization, the last decade has witnessed a sharp increase in the rate at which Africans are exiting farming in favor of off-farm activities. Today, farming accounts for 50 to 70% of the total number of jobs recorded among Africa’s working-age population, down from 70 to 80% just 10 years ago. These employment shifts signify that economic transformation is clearly underway in much of the region. In some countries, however, the labor force is moving out of farming very slowly. Countries experiencing the most rapid labor force exit out of farming over the past decade tend to have achieved relatively strong agricultural productivity growth since 2000. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2016–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:259511&r=dev |
| By: | Adepoju, A. |
| Abstract: | Despite recent progress in poverty reduction globally, millions of people are either near or living in severe multidimensional poverty in Nigeria. This study examined multidimensional poverty transitions in rural Nigeria, employing the Alkire and Foster Measure of Multidimensional Poverty, Markov Model of Poverty Transitions and the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model for analysis. Results showed that multidimensional poverty among rural households in Nigeria is mainly chronic (46.5%) while education and assets dimensions contributed most to the incidence and severity of multidimensional poverty among the households. Educational status, household size, number of assets owned, ownership of land influenced transient poverty while marital status, household size, land ownership and number of assets owned influenced chronic poverty. The study recommends the enactment and implementation of relevant laws against marginalization of rural women in ownership of assets and intensification of efforts and incentives aimed at encouraging human capital development in the rural areas |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276027&r=dev |
| By: | Abdelradi, Fadi; Ewiss, Mohamed A. Zaki; Guesmi, Bouali |
| Abstract: | Treated WasteWater (TWW) projects can fail if the factors controlling their implementation are not considered. This paper analyze the findings of a survey (966 participants) conducted to investigate the attitudes of the Egyptian rural public towards TWW use for non-potable applications using a conceptual framework elaborated based on the literature estimated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results indicate that the factors considered in the analysis of the conceptual framework were found to be relevant in explaining the participants’ behavior towards WasteWater Reuse (WWR). Our findings suggest considering these factor when developing new policies and campaigns for WWR prior to implementation. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261113&r=dev |
| By: | Campaña, Juan Carlos (University of Zaragoza); Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio (University of Zaragoza); Molina, José Alberto (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the efficient labor supply of male and female workers in Latin American countries employing the collective model framework (Chiappori et al.,2002). Using data from Time Use Surveys for Mexico (2009) and Colombia (2012), we find evidence of Pareto-efficient labor supply decisions within households, as the collective rationality is not rejected in the two countries. We find that higher female wages are related to more labor market hours of female workers, and male workers show an altruistic behavior towards females with the increase of their labor income. Sex ratio are related to transfers of additional income from male to female workers in Colombia, which sheds light on the relevance of distribution factors in the internal decision process of the couple. Our results suggest that the distribution of bargaining power within the household is an important factor that should be considered when analyzing household decisions. |
| Keywords: | household, collective models, labour supply, Latin America countries |
| JEL: | D10 J22 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11695&r=dev |
| By: | Smale, Melinda; Theriault,Véronique; Haider, Hamza |
| Abstract: | We examine fertilizer use among sorghum growers within Malian households in the Sudan Savanna. Dryland cereals in this region are typically produced by extended family members who are vertically (i.e., unmarried sons, married sons and their families) or horizontally (i.e., brothers; multiple wives) related to the head of the family farm enterprise. The head is usually an elder patriarch, or a work leader he designates. The head guides the organization of production on large plots labored collectively with the goal of meeting the staple food needs of the extended family. Custodian of the family’s land use rights, he also allocates individual plots to household members who cultivate them privately to meet personal needs. We test intrahousehold differences in fertilizer adoption, efficiency and productivity by plot manager’s gender and relationship to head. We apply a well-known econometric approach applied previously by researchers to data collected in Mali and Burkina Faso. In comparison with earlier research, we are able to control for unobserved variation in soil characteristics. We find that fertilizer application per ha on sorghum is on average higher among women than men. When we control for unobserved soil quality, we find little evidence that intrahousehold fertilizer allocation is inefficient, although productivity differentials persist. Further, differences in marginal products of nitrogen between female- and male-managed sorghum plots are not statistically significant. Findings have implications for design of programs to support cereals intensification in Mali. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffrp:261672&r=dev |
| By: | Van den Broeck, Goedele; Van Hoyweghen, Kaat; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | Horticultural exports from developing countries are expanding. While concerns are rising about the consequences of this growth for local food security, there is no empirical evidence that directly measures this impact. We provide such evidence for Senegal, one of the African countries with a sharp growth in horticultural exports. Using secondary data and panel survey data, we analyse the link between horticultural exports and the availability, access, utilization and stability components of food security. Results suggest that horticultural exports contribute to the capacity to import food, and do not jeopardize availability of food at the macroeconomic level. At the micro-economic level, we find that female wage employment in the horticultural export sector reduces the probability of food insecurity, improves the quality of food consumption, and shortens the hunger season. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae17:261437&r=dev |