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on Development |
| By: | Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Ingabire, Chantal |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the current levels and participation of crop commercialization by Rwandan smallholder farmers. Our basic unit of analysis is total crop sales divided by the total value of crop production, either at the household or specific crop level. Overall, our findings suggest that approximately 80 percent of farmers participate in crop market sales and sell an average of 33 percent of their total production. However, there is a wide variety of percentage sales by crop and, in general, higher-valued crops are sold by more commercialized farm households. We also find that value of crop production per hectare rises with greater commercialization, suggesting that developing greater market commercialization, particularly with more valuable crops, may increase household incomes and aid in the economic transformation. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; income; surpluses; food crops; cash crops; food security; markets; commercialization; Rwanda; Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2024–05–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:poshad:141718 |
| By: | Ioana Botea (World Bank); Markus Goldstein (Center for Global Development); Kenneth Houngbedji (DIAL, LEDa, CNRS, IRD, Universite Paris-Dauphine, Universite PSL); Florence Kondylis (World Bank); Michael O’Sullivan (World Bank); Harris Selod (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | In many parts of the world, women’s land rights remain informal, leaving widows—especially those without a male heir—at high risk of losing access to their land and homes when their husbands die. We study whether large-scale land formalization programs can improve widows’ tenure security, using data from a randomized controlled trial in rural Benin. Four years after the intervention, widows in villages with land formalization were significantly more likely to remain in their homes, with the strongest effects among those without a male heir. We identify two key mechanisms: increased community recognition of women’s land rights and greater decision-making power over land resources. These findings highlight the potential of land formalization to strengthen women’s tenure security and promote their long-term economic stability in similar settings. |
| Keywords: | property rights, land administration, gender, widowhood, intra-household insurance |
| JEL: | D23 I31 J12 J16 O17 |
| Date: | 2025–05–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:718 |
| By: | Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie |
| Abstract: | The Government of Rwanda continues to work to accelerate structural transformation to expand and diversify the country’s economy. High rural population density and small agricultural landholdings are driving workers from agricultural households to seek employment outside of farming. Using representative data on agricultural production and employment for rural households in Rwanda from 2022, this research evaluates the opportunities rural households have to diversify their labor portfolios. We find that, rather than nonfarm household enterprises developing to meet greater rural service and goods demand, agriculture wage labor is the dominant source of off-own-farm employment. However, such informal agricultural wage labor is seen as low-productivity work and is among the lowest paid. Among nonfarm employment options, nonfarm businesses generate less income than nonagricultural wage labor, likely reflecting high barriers to entrepreneurship and low demand for off-farm services in rural areas. In contrast to employment profiles from other low-income countries, we find that the probability of a worker from an agricultural household in Rwanda engaging in rural, off-farm wage labor decreases as household welfare increases. Agricultural households that have workers seeking to hire out their labor tend to have the smallest landholdings, while households that hire in labor have the largest landholdings. Additionally, households with a higher share of members who completed primary education are less likely to hire out their labor, especially for agriculture wage work. These results suggest that programs that offer support services to agricultural households, such as financial services and affordable and relevant education, may be important in incentivizing these households to engage in entrepreneurship and form their own businesses or to seek wage employment in more remunerative sectors than agriculture. |
| Keywords: | agricultural production; economic aspects; employment; welfare; education; land ownership; Rwanda; Africa; Eastern Africa |
| Date: | 2024–06–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:poshad:145326 |
| By: | Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Warner, James; Mugabo, Serge |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the broad spectrum of commercial engagement by Rwandan farmers by grouping farmers according to characteristics of the head of household, the degree of commercialization of their farms, size of livestock holdings and other factors. We use statistical methodologies, including factor and cluster analysis, combined with existing knowledge of the agricultural sector to define five types of Rwandan farmers, separated into two broad groups. The first group (Group A) includes three types broadly classified as less wealthy, less commercialized, with a net negative gross margin. Within this group the three types of farmers include: Type 1—Less commercialized older male headed households with larger families, Type 2—Better educated, youth headed households, who are more market oriented but have smaller land holdings, Type 3—Older female headed households who produce relatively lower agricultural production value relative to their assets owned. The second group (Group B) comprises two types of farmers. This group are wealthier, sell more crops with positive gross margins and larger landholdings. More specifically, farm type 4 is commercialized with higher access to agricultural extension services and inputs and farm type 5, also highly commercialized, but has significant livestock holdings as well. Taken together, these two groups, and five farm types, provide a framework to aid in understanding how commercialization takes place in smallholder Rwandan agriculture. This framework may also help in understanding how potential interventions would be received by various types of Rwanda farmers, thereby facilitating more efficient targeting of agricultural interventions. |
| Keywords: | commercialization; farmers; livestock; farm size; agricultural production; agricultural extension systems; typology; Rwanda; Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2024–05–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:poshad:141717 |
| By: | Kleemann, Linda; Semrau, Finn Ole |
| Abstract: | Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can reduce information asymmetries and thereby promote rural development for smallholder farmers in developing countries. Despite rising adoption rates of ICTs, many smallholders remain information constraint. Using panel data from 12, 456 smallholder households across 12 developing countries, we analyze the role of social ties in determining ICT adoption and access to agricultural extension services. We find that weak social ties significantly reduce ICT adoption and access to agricultural advice, increasing information inequality. Moreover, ICT adoption, strong social ties and extension services positively correlate with agricultural productivity. Our findings highlight that ICTs, while transformative, may reinforce existing inequalities by marginalizing already disadvantaged smallholders. |
| Keywords: | ICT4D, Digital divide, Social ties, Extension services, Agricultural rural development |
| JEL: | O1 O3 Q19 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:318202 |
| By: | Abushama, Hala; Kirui, Oliver K.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Siddig, Khalid; Mohamed, Shima A. H. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the socioeconomic effects of conflict-induced migration in Sudan, focusing on the food security and access to healthcare of displaced households. Triggered by the civil conflict that started in April 2023, the recent widespread displacement of households has intensified vulnerabilities across the country. Using three datasets—the pre conflict 2022 Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey and two surveys conducted during the conflict, the 2023/24 Sudan Rural Household Survey and the 2024 Sudan Urban Household Survey—the research examines the impacts on household food security and healthcare access of migration driven by conflict. The study employs inverse probability weighting to estimate the causal impacts of migration, leveraging data from over 12, 000 households. The key impact indicators at the household level were the Food Insecurity Experience Scale score and, as a measure of healthcare access, any incidence of illness in the household. Analysis shows that migration induced by conflict exacerbates food insecurity, with over 90 percent of rural households and nearly 80 percent of urban households reporting moderate to severe food insecurity. Rural households face additional challenges as displacement disrupts agricultural livelihoods and access to markets. Migration also worsens healthcare access, particularly in rural areas where displaced households experience a higher likelihood of illness. For urban households, migration fails to alleviate their healthcare challenges due to the collapse of urban healthcare systems. The study calls for urgent policy interventions, including targeted food aid and mobile healthcare services. Restoring healthcare infrastructure, expanding social protection mechanisms, and fostering peacebuilding efforts are critical to mitigating future displacement and supporting socioeconomic recovery. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and humanitarian actors to address the immediate and long-term needs of displaced populations in Sudan. |
| Keywords: | conflicts; migration; food security; health; displacement; livelihoods; market access; Sudan; Africa; Northern Africa |
| Date: | 2024–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resain:168432 |
| By: | Ahmed, Mosab O. M.; Kirui, Oliver K.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Raouf, Mariam; Abushama, Hala; Siddig, Khalid |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact in Sudan of conflict on employment and incomes and the effect of remittances and assistance received by a household on its food insecurity and food consumption. The analyses use data from the 2022 Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey (SLMPS), the 2023 Sudan Rural Household Survey (SRHS), and the 2024 Sudan Urban Household Survey (SUHS). Conflict is found to significantly increase the likelihood of employment and income loss, particularly among female-headed and displaced households. Receipt of remittances does not have a significant effect on the food security or food consumption of a household. In contrast, whether a household receives assistance is associated with higher food insecurity and lower food consumption, likely reflecting the targeting of assistance programs toward vulnerable households. However, due to the cross sectional nature of the data, causal relationships cannot be established. The results highlight the need for targeted interventions to support the food security and welfare of households affected by the current conflict in Sudan, particularly through efforts to stabilize employment and incomes. |
| Keywords: | conflicts; employment; income; remittances; food security; food consumption; Sudan; Africa; Northern Africa |
| Date: | 2024–12–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resain:168417 |
| By: | Manabu Nose (Faculty of Economics, Keio University.); Yasuyuki Sawada (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo); Tung Nguyen (Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the nonlinear effects of a large-scale highway construction project in the Greater Mekong Subregion, which connects the historically conflict-affected borderlands of northern Vietnam to the country’s industrial core. Employing a market access framework with geo-coded highway network and firm-level panel data, we estimate the causal impact of improved interregional connectivity, while accounting for spillovers via production input-output linkages. To address endogeneity issues arising from non-random route placements, we construct least-cost path spanning tree networks. Our instrumental variable estimates reveal that enhanced market access spurred manufacturing firm agglomeration and employment growth, particularly in peripheral rural areas. We further explore the underlying sources of polycentric development patterns, finding pronounced effects in second-tier cities characterized by less intense competition and better access to national road networks. Our findings are robust to controls for industrial zones, underscoring the pivotal role of the upgraded highway connectivity in transforming previously marginalized regions and supporting economy-wide industrialization over the past decade. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2025cf1251 |
| By: | Anne-Sophie Robilliard |
| Abstract: | This paper examines income inequality in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region, using recent harmonized household survey data across eight member countries. The study explores the levels and drivers of inequality by assessing the differences between income- and consumption-based measures and measuring the contributions of various income sources. Findings indicate that income inequality is substantial in WAEMU, with the top 10% capturing 43.2% of total income on average, significantly higher than the top 10% consumption share. Income from non-agricultural self-employment and wage employment are key drivers of inequality, while agricultural income and transfers exhibit equalizing effects. The study also investigates the role of education, revealing that high returns to education in countries with low tertiary attainment—such as Niger and Burkina Faso—further exacerbate income disparities. Despite their cultural and geographical proximity and similar institutional frameworks, the eight WAEMU countries display diverse inequality patterns, pointing to the influence of country-specific factors.Measurement challenges, including the predominance of informal employment, underscore the need for supplementary data sources to enhance accuracy.This analysis emphasizes the importance of policies focused on equitable education access, economic diversification, and improved data collection to address inequality effectively across the region. |
| Keywords: | Bénin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sénégal, Togo |
| JEL: | Q |
| Date: | 2025–03–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:avg:wpaper:en17986 |
| By: | Gautier, Thomas |
| Abstract: | How do civil conflicts affect female empowerment? I study the effects of household-level victimization during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda on the human capital of surviving children. Identification stems from differential mortality rates by age groups and sex. I construct a Bartik-style instrument for household-level victimization based on whether the siblings of a child are likely to be targeted during the genocide due to their demographic characteristics. Victimization leads to a large increase in schooling, especially for surviving girls relative to surviving boys. Victimization mostly takes the form of losing male siblings. These results can be explained by the impact of relief programs and by increased parental investments in the human capital of surviving children following the loss of a child. This paper underscores the role of education in empowering female survivors, highlighting that rapid reconstruction of educational infrastructure and targeted scholarship programs were essential in fostering female educational gains and mitigating the long-term impacts of victimization. |
| Keywords: | Civil conflicts, Human capital, Family, Quantity–quality trade-off |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:318207 |
| By: | Santosh Anagol; Thomas Fujiwara; Martin Navarrete |
| Abstract: | Conditionality can prevent poor households from receiving cash transfers. Re-analyzing five randomized evaluations of conditional cash transfers, we find: (1) non-compliers — households that do not meet education conditions — are common, representing 4.6% to 37% of eligible households; (2) non-compliers often have lower baseline consumption than compliers; (3) under standard social welfare function assumptions, a budget-neutral switch to unconditional cash transfers can raise the welfare gains from increased consumption by up to 46%, although we find important heterogeneity by context. Our results suggest that conditionality exacerbating consumption inequality can be quantitatively important for the welfare impacts of cash transfer programs. |
| JEL: | H53 I38 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33841 |
| By: | Foster, Elizabeth Mary; Jolliffe, Dean Mitchell; Ibarra, Gabriel Lara; Lakner, Christoph; Baah, Samuel Kofi Tetteh |
| Abstract: | Recent improvements in survey methodologies have increased measured consumption in many low- and lower-middle-income countries that now collect a more comprehensive measure of household consumption. Faced with such methodological changes, countries have frequently revised upward their national poverty lines to make them appropriate for the new measures of consumption. This in turn affects the World Bank’s global poverty lines when they are periodically revised. The international poverty line, which is based on the typical poverty line in low-income countries, increases by around 40 percent to $3.00 when the more recent national poverty lines as well as the 2021 purchasing power parities are incorporated. The net impact of the changes in international prices, the poverty line, and new survey data (including new data for India) is an increase in global extreme poverty by some 125 million people in 2022, and a significant shift of poverty away from South Asia and toward Sub-Saharan Africa. The changes at higher poverty lines, which are more relevant to middle-income countries, are mixed. |
| Date: | 2025–06–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11137 |
| By: | Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; ElDidi, Hagar; Falk, Thomas; Sanil, Richu |
| Abstract: | Women’s decision-making in agriculture has received considerable research and policy attention in recent years. Decision-making is a key aspect of empowerment. For example, women’s input in productive decisions is a key indicator in the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). Inclusion of women in decision-making can also help ensure that their knowledge and priorities are considered, which can lead to better agricultural outcomes and resource conditions. A cross-sectional study found that in Burkina Faso, India, Malawi, and Tanzania, households where women were more included in decision making on agricultural production produced more varied food-group crops with higher nutrient density. The question is how to strengthen women’s decision-making ability. A review of 12 agricultural development projects with explicit aims for women’s empowerment found that only 3 had a significant impact on women’s participation in agricultural and livelihood decision-making. An evidence scan on programmatic approaches to increasing women’s decision-making power found that the majority of such interventions focused on household- or community-level changes to social norms, technical training, or leadership, role models, and mentoring. The study notes the need for more contextualized studies of different programmatic approaches to increase women’s decision-making power and outcomes associated with the interventions. |
| Keywords: | experiential learning; women's participation; agriculture; women's empowerment; social norms; India; Asia |
| Date: | 2024–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:163731 |
| By: | Bosker, M.; Haasbroek, M. |
| Abstract: | We use detailed historical data on India’s domestic infrastructure to show how its high domestic transport costs have conditioned the local labour market consequences of its drastic import tariff liberalization in the early 1990s. We find that districts located farther away from the country’s main international gateways are better shielded from the resulting increased foreign import competition: their non-agricultural employment falls less than in otherwise similarly exposed districts located closer to India’s major ports. At the same time, they also benefit less from improved access to foreign intermediates: non-agricultural employment increases less than in districts with a similar input-output structure but located closer to the country’s main ports. These employment responses also vary across firms of different sizes: employment in small to medium sized firms is hit hardest by increased import competition, whereas employment in medium to large firms benefits most from better access to foreign intermediates. This difference between small and large firms is also most pronounced in districts best-connected to India’s major ports. |
| Keywords: | Words Gains from Trade, Domestic Infrastructure, Local Labour Demand, India |
| JEL: | F14 F15 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–04–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2529 |
| By: | de Almeida, Amanda Martins; Strozza, Cosmo (University of Southern Denmark); Rentería, Elisenda |
| Abstract: | Highly educated children can be a resource for improving parents’ health and increasing their longevity by providing them with health-related information, financial help, and other forms of support. However, in countries with limited data, this association remains uncertain due to the absence of linked information on children's education and parental mortality. To overcome this limitation, we use the orphanhood method to estimate maternal survival by maternal and adult children’s educational levels in Chile. We find that higher educational attainment among adult children is positively associated with better maternal survival outcomes, particularly among mothers with low education. The results are consistent with the literature on the association between children's education and parental survival. We contribute to this literature by highlighting the possibility of assessing such an association using an indirect method to estimate mortality, which may be more applicable to countries without available data. |
| Date: | 2025–05–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:rxdqz_v2 |
| By: | Mugabo, Serge; Warner, James |
| Abstract: | This paper explores crop commercialization among smallholder agricultural households in Rwanda from a cost and revenue perspective to determine profitability at the farm level. We use standard revenue and cost equations to assess the commercial viability of the smallholders. In general, we find that a household’s total crop production creates positive returns even if implicit costs, such as own family labor and fertilizer subsidies, are included. Specifically, over 80 percent of our sample households generated positive economic returns from farming— referred to as demonstrating a positive gross economic margin (GEM). However, if only crop market sales and market input costs are used in the calculations, only 40 percent of agricultural households generated positive returns—referred to as demonstrating a positive gross marketing margin (GMM). Most of the explanation for this difference is that the typical farm household sells only about one-third of its crop production by value. This outcome suggests that many agricultural households continue to focus on cultivating food crops for their own consumption and do not specialize in commercial production. This is to be expected in an economic context where input, credit, and commodity markets are still developing, production decisions are still shaped by high levels of weather and market risk, and production risk management options are limited, among many other factors. The results of this research provide a better understanding of how Rwandan smallholders might move towards higher value production, with the ultimate goal being to increase household revenues and welfare and accelerate the country’s economic transformation. |
| Keywords: | crops; commercialization; smallholders; agriculture; profitability; Rwanda; Africa; Eastern Africa |
| Date: | 2024–06–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:poshad:148697 |
| By: | Joubert, Clement (World Bank); Beegle, Kathleen (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Although microenterprises are the most prevalent employer in Africa, boosting their productivity remains a development challenge. Theoretically, microenterprise business associations could foster technology, improve access to inputs, pool risk, ensure coordination, and facilitate credit for businesses. However, basic facts about their scope and roles are missing from the literature. This study establishes descriptive results to shed light on the nature of these networks in West Africa. First, fewer than 10 percent of informal business owners are members, although there is large industry variation. Second, members tend to be older and larger incumbent businesses with male owners, potentially stifling competition and entrenching gender gaps. Third, most associations are more aptly described as providers of excludable, industry-specific services than as vehicles for collective action and advocacy. Fourth, membership helps explain performance differences among observably similar businesses. Members are more productive, profitable, and financially included relative to similar non-members, although such premia only materialize in a few industries. |
| Keywords: | business associations, Africa, microenterprises, productivity |
| JEL: | D22 O16 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17887 |