This paper investigates the effects of network based individual social capital on the access of rural households to services. In the context of development economics, an innovative data collection approach is used to determine network based social capital. The approach originates from the field...

The purpose of this study is to assess the potential of clustering in the development of agriculture and rural communities in China. We shall examine in detail the food industry, which is the link in the food chain that propels the industrialization of agriculture, and identify instances of...

The impact of genetically modified (GM) crops on the poor in developing countries is still the subject of controversy. While previous studies have examined direct productivity effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and other GM crops, little is known about wider socioeconomic outcomes. We...

This paper evaluates the potential of Jatropha curcas Linnaeus (Jatropha) as an alternative source of energy for rural households. The plant is said to have potential to diversify rural incomes, reclaim unproductive lands, reduce importation of fossil fuels, and consequently accumulation of...

Edited volume of the contributions to the mini-symposium of the same title at the IAAE conference 2009.

This paper examines the implications of the institutional designs employed by two types of NGOs for the functions performed by indigenous self-help village groups called kafos in The Gambia. NGOs were found to be only a partial substitute for the financial and insurance functions traditionally...

This paper assesses the impact of the composition of government spending on economic growth in developing countries. We use a dynamic GMM model and a panel data set for 44 developing countries between 1980 and 2004. We find that the various types of government spending have different impact on...

This paper analyzes the participation of small farmers in the fresh fruit and vegetable supply systems of supermarkets in Mexico, using the case of small-scale guava farmers in the state of Michoacán. Several findings emerge. The most important determinants of access of these farmers to “more...

Since the end of the 50's, a series of producer associations have been formed for working land in common in Spain, thus forming a new enterprise starting with small farms which were cultivated individually before. Usually two legal forms are applied to them: The Cooperatives and the Syndical...