This paper examines the high value chains (HVC) for green bean exports from Africa to identify the critical points at which exporters exercise great caution in preventing produce contamination with pathogens and pesticide residues. It then examines the control points that pose greatest threat to...

While a substantial amount of research has been devoted to showing what social capital does, research explaining social capital itself lags behind. In this paper we examine whether local economic development can explain the variation in social capital across various geographical clusters in the...

We investigate whether social capital in the form of community involvement affects farmers’ choice to use sustainable agricultural practices. Using associational memberships as a measure of community involvement we study its effects on agricultural practices among Georgia farmers. Our...

This paper examines the hypothesis that social capital at the individual level affects environmentally friendly practices. Social capital represents the social connectedness of the individual. An individual with higher social capital is more likely to have better exposure and access to...

While a substantial amount of research has been devoted to showing what social capital does, research explaining social capital itself lags behind. The literature has a long tradition of examining the effect of social capital on local economic growth and development. In this paper we examine...

This paper describes the United States recently enacted Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and assesses its quantitative impact on African exports. The AGOA expands the scope of preferential access of Africa's exports to the United States in key areas such as clothing. However, its medium...

In this paper we investigate the role of poultry in the livelihoods portfolios of households and the impact of supply and demand shocks that may be caused by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on various livelihoods outcomes of households in four Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The...

Social trust can facilitate access to alternative sources of finance to firms when formal finance is scarce or entails large transaction costs, especially in economies with less developed financial systems. Since exporting firms are relatively more dependent on external finance, we find that...

Do the economic effects of potential avian flu outbreaks justify policy attention and resource allocation in a poor country like Ethiopia? We address this question by assessing both economywide (macro-level) economic impacts and household (micro-level) livelihood impacts that might be caused by...