This paper studies how the internal structure of agriculture export markets and the level of competition affect poverty and welfare in rural areas in Africa. We develop a game-theory model of supply chains in cash crop agriculture between many atomistic smallholders and a few exporters. The...

This paper analyzes the sources of rural non-farm sector growth in the Philippines, which has become the main driver of rural poverty reduction. We find that agricultural growth has significantly positive effects on service sector growth (with elasticity of about 0.20) but little effects on...

Why do many smallholder farmers fail to adopt improved land-use practices which can improve yields and incomes? The reason is not always because these practices are uneconomical but sometimes it is because resource poverty prevents farmers from taking advantage of yield and income enhancing...

Agricultural employment in industrialized countries has been steadily decreasing despite important levels of farm subsidies. In this paper we provide a new explanation for this puzzle, namely the positive impact of subsidies on the education level of farmers’ children. If farmers are credit...

This paper examines the impacts of prenatal conditions on child growth using recent data from Indonesia. There is seasonality in birthweight: This measure is significantly higher immediately after the main rice harvest in the country. The empirical results show that an increase in birthweight...

Between 2001 and 2007, the poverty headcount in Cameroon has remained steady around 40%. In fact, poverty has reduced in urban areas while it has increased of about 3 points in rural areas. This, despite the numerous agro-pastoral programs that were undertaken by the government between 2002 and...

This paper deals with the social implications of ethanol expansion in Brazil. The evolution of the labor market in sugar cane production in the country is analyzed together with its regional patterns of expansion, to illustrate how the changes in the recent expansion are modifying the...

We analyze the consequences of seasonal variation in maternal consumption on child health using two nationally representative Gambian household surveys. Seasonal fluctuation in consumption stems from difficulties borrowing when incomes are low during the rainy season and saving when they peak...

We analyze the consequences of seasonal variation in maternal consumption on child health using two nationally representative Gambian household surveys. Seasonal fluctuation in consumption stems from difficulties borrowing when incomes are low during the rainy season and saving when they peak...