Variable Returns To Fertilizer Use And Its Relationship To Poverty

Author : Harou, Aurélie,Liu, Yanyan,Barrett, Christopher B.,You, Liangzhi
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2014-09-29
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Variable returns to fertilizer use and its relationship to poverty by Harou, Aurélie,Liu, Yanyan,Barrett, Christopher B.,You, Liangzhi Pdf

Despite the rise of targeted input subsidy programs in Africa over the last decade, several questions remain as to whether low and variable soil fertility, frequent drought, and high fertilizer prices render fertilizer unprofitable for large subpopulations of African farmers. To examine these questions, we use large-scale, panel experimental data from maize field trials throughout Malawi to estimate the expected physical returns to fertilizer use conditional on a range of agronomic factors and weather conditions. Using these estimated returns and historical price and weather data, we simulate the expected profitability of fertilizer application over space and time. We find that the fertilizer bundles distributed under Malawi’s subsidy program are almost always profitable in expectation, although our results may be reasonably interpreted as upper-bound estimates among more skilled farmers given that the experimental subjects were not randomly selected.

Author : Unnevehr, Laurian,Ronchi, Loraine
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 28 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2024-06-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Food safety and developing markets by Unnevehr, Laurian,Ronchi, Loraine Pdf

To better inform donor support for public food safety interventions, this paper reviews the literature on the impact of more stringent food safety standards on developing-country markets. This literature has primarily focused on the market access and economic implications of higher standards in export markets rather than on the extensive debate around market failure and public health benefits that dominates the literature in developed countries. We find that the market access benefits from compliance with public and private food safety standards are clear, as is the market exclusion that results from noncompliance. These benefits are now well documented, with more recent evidence pointing to added benefits of poverty reduction and spillovers for health and productivity. Rigorous evidence is also found concerning the positive role of technical assistance and public or donor support. Most of the literature, however, has focused on the relatively small market for EU horticultural products, which will provide opportunities for only a fraction of developing-country producers. This narrow focus causes important gaps in the literature informing meaningful public roles in addressing food safety in developing countries. Future research should examine and rigorously evaluate alternative models for how best to support improved food safety management outside of the export channels that have been the focus of the literature thus far. Further, evaluating the impact of public–private approaches on reduction in enforcement costs and improving compliance through supporting industry-led efforts would better inform donor support for food safety reforms, as would research among developing-country consumers with respect to food safety reforms and public health.

Author : Narayanan, Sudha,Das, Upasak,Liu, Yanyan,Barrett, Christopher B.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 68 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2017-04-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India by Narayanan, Sudha,Das, Upasak,Liu, Yanyan,Barrett, Christopher B. Pdf

This study investigates the consequences of poor implementation in public workfare programs, focusing on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in India. Using nationally representative data, we test empirically for a discouraged worker effect arising from either of two mechanisms: administrative rationing of jobs among those who seek work and delays in wage payments. We find strong evidence at the household and district levels that administrative rationing discourages subsequent demand for work. Delayed wage payments seem to matter significantly during rainfall shocks. We find further that rationing is strongly associated with indicators of implementation ability such as staff capacity. Politics appears to play only a limited role. The findings suggest that assessments of the relevance of public programs over their lifecycle need to factor in implementation quality.

Author : Andrew Dabalen,Alejandro de la Fuente,Aparajita Goyal,Wendy Karamba,Tomomi Tanaka
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 166 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2017-07-06
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781464809989

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Pathways to Prosperity in Rural Malawi by Andrew Dabalen,Alejandro de la Fuente,Aparajita Goyal,Wendy Karamba,Tomomi Tanaka Pdf

By most accounts, rural Malawi has lacked dynamism in the past decade. Growth has been mostly volatile, in large part due to unstable macroeconomic fundamentals evidenced by high inflation, fiscal deficits, and interest rates. When rapid economic growth has materialized, the gains have not always reached the poorest. Poverty remains high and the rural poor face significant challenges in consistently securing enough food. Several factors contribute to stubbornly high rural poverty. They include a low-productivity and non-diversified agriculture, macroeconomic and recurrent climatic shocks, limited non-farm opportunities and low returns to such activities, especially for the poor, and poor performance from some of the prominent safety net programs. The Report proposes complementary policy actions that offer a possible path for a more dynamic and prosperous rural economy. The key pillars of this comprise macroeconomic stability, increased productivity in agriculture, faster urbanization, better functioning safety nets, and more inclusive financial markets. Some recommendations call for a reorientation of existing programs such as the Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) and the Malawi Social Action Fund Public Works Program (MASAF-PWP). Others identify promising new areas of intervention, such as the introduction of digital IDs and biometric technologies to enhance the reach of mobile banking and deepen financial inclusion. Finally, and importantly, the report recommends the scaling up of investments on girls’ secondary education to curb early child marriage and early child bearing among adolescents. This will empower women at home and work and bend the trajectory of fertility rates in rural areas in order to boost human development and reduce poverty.

Author : Jonathan Haughton,Shahidur R. Khandker
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 442 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2009-03-27
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0821376144

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Handbook on Poverty + Inequality by Jonathan Haughton,Shahidur R. Khandker Pdf

For anyone wanting to learn, in practical terms, how to measure, describe, monitor, evaluate, and analyze poverty, this Handbook is the place to start. It is designed to be accessible to people with a university-level background in science or the social sciences. It is an invaluable tool for policy analysts, researchers, college students, and government officials working on policy issues related to poverty and inequality.

Author : Stephen A. Vosti,Thomas Anthony Reardon
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 407 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2007-01-01
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780801856075

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Sustainability, growth, and poverty alleviation by Stephen A. Vosti,Thomas Anthony Reardon Pdf

Developing countries are under pressure to produce more food for their growing populations, conserve natural resources, and reduce poverty. In the short term, however, these goals may compete with one another. This book focuses on the interactions between agricultural growth and environment and between environment and poverty. The chapters analyze and illustrate these interactions with case study evidence from the developing world in general and from specific agroclimatic zones in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The contributors also discuss what these links mean for development policies, agricultural technologies, and social and economic institutions. With a clearer picture of how these goals interact, policymakers and researchers can design strategies for working more effectively to meet them.

Author : Laurence Chandy,Hiroshi Kato,Homi Kharas
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 425 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2015-07-20
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780815726340

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The Last Mile in Ending Extreme Poverty by Laurence Chandy,Hiroshi Kato,Homi Kharas Pdf

Viewed from a global scale, steady progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty—defined by the $1.25-a-day poverty line—over the past three decades. This success has sparked renewed enthusiasm about the possibility of eradicating extreme poverty within a generation. However, progress is expected to become more difficult, and slower, over time. This book will examine three central changes that need to be overcome in traveling the last mile: breaking cycles of conflict, supporting inclusive growth, and managing shocks and risks. By uncovering new evidence and identifying new ideas and solutions for spurring peace, jobs, and resilience in poor countries, The Last Mile in Ending Extreme Poverty will outline an agenda to inform poverty reduction strategies for governments, donors, charities, and foundations around the world. Contents Part I: Peace: Breaking the Cycle of Conflict External finance for state and peace building, Marcus Manuel and Alistair McKechnie, Overseas Development Institute Reforming international cooperation to improve the sustainability of peace, Bruce Jones, Brookings and New York University Bridging state and local communities through livelihood improvements, Ryutaro Murotani, JICA, and Yoichi Mine, JICA-RI and Doshisha University Postconflict trajectories and the potential for poverty reduction, Gary Milante, SIPRI Part II: Jobs: Supporting Inclusive Growth Structural change and Africa's poverty puzzle, John Page, Brookings Public goods for private jobs: lessons from the Pacific, Shane Evans, Michael Carnahan and Alice Steele, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia Strategies for inclusive development in agrarian Sub-Saharan countries, Akio Hosono, JICA-RI The role of agriculture in poverty reduction, John McArthur, Brookings, UN Foundation, and Fung Global Institute

Author : Aparajita Goyal,John Nash
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 350 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2017-03-10
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781464809408

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Reaping Richer Returns by Aparajita Goyal,John Nash Pdf

Enhancing the productivity of agriculture is vital for Sub-Saharan Africa's economic future and is one of the most important tools to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in the region. How governments elect to spend public resources has significant development impact in this regard. Choosing to catalyze a shift toward more effective, efficient, and climate-resilient public spending in agriculture can accelerate change and unleash growth. Not only does agricultural public spending in Sub-Saharan Africa lag behind other developing regions but its impact is vitiated by subsidy programs and transfers that tend to benefit elites to the detriment of poor people and the agricultural sector itself. Shortcomings in the budgeting processes also reduce spending effectiveness. In light of this scenario, addressing the quality of public spending and the efficiency of resource use becomes even more important than addressing only the level of spending. Improvements in the policy environment, better institutions, and investments in rural public goods positively affect agricultural productivity. These, combined with smarter use of public funds, have helped lay the foundations for agricultural productivity growth around the world, resulting in a wealth of important lessons from which African policy makers and development practitioners can draw. 'Reaping Richer Returns: Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth' will be of particular interest to policy makers, development practitioners, and academics. The rigorous analysis presented in this book provides options for reform with a view to boosting the productivity of African agriculture and eventually increasing development impact.

Author : Max Spoor
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2008-09-26
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781134045327

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The Political Economy of Rural Livelihoods in Transition Economies by Max Spoor Pdf

Rural poverty is a phenomenon that is widespread yet often ignored by policy makers and researchers. This edited volume looks critically at rural poverty in Central Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, China and Vietnam in relation to land reform, farm restructuring and the development of rural markets and in the context of a large gap between rural and urban incomes and deteriorating rural social services and infrastructure. Although in most countries rural poverty has been decreasing in the past few years, economic growth in rural areas is slow, and rural incomes are not ‘catching up’ with the rapid overall growth rates of these transition economies. In general, the livelihoods of rural dwellers remain relatively poor. Next to comparative studies, the chapters in this book explore various aspects of agrarian reform, and analyze the interlocking or interlinking (land, input and output) markets that are crucial for rural development that have often remained weakly developed in transition economies, including case studies from Russia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Vietnam and China and a wealth of detailed analysis. These chapters reflect the striking differences between transition countries in their processes of rural reform and development of rural poverty. These differences are generally dependent on the initial conditions at the eve of transition, the policies implemented, the sequencing of reforms, and the importance that was given to the sector in the overall development strategy, such as can be seen if the Asian transition economies (ATEs) are compared with many of those in Eastern Europe.

Author : Kathleen Beegle,Luc Christiaensen
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 451 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2019-10-09
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781464812330

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Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa by Kathleen Beegle,Luc Christiaensen Pdf

Sub-Saharan Africa's turnaround over the past couple of decades has been dramatic. After many years in decline, the continent's economy picked up in the mid-1990s. Along with this macroeconomic growth, people became healthier, many more youngsters attended schools, and the rate of extreme poverty declined from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2015. Political and social freedoms expanded, and gender equality advanced. Conflict in the region also subsided, although it still claims thousands of civilian lives in some countries and still drives pressing numbers of displaced persons. Despite Africa’s widespread economic and social welfare accomplishments, the region’s challenges remain daunting: Economic growth has slowed in recent years. Poverty rates in many countries are the highest in the world. And notably, the number of poor in Africa is rising because of population growth. From a global perspective, the biggest concentration of poverty has shifted from South Asia to Africa. Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa explores critical policy entry points to address the demographic, societal, and political drivers of poverty; improve income-earning opportunities both on and off the farm; and better mobilize resources for the poor. It looks beyond macroeconomic stability and growth—critical yet insufficient components of these objectives—to ask what more could be done and where policy makers should focus their attention to speed up poverty reduction. The pro-poor policy agenda advanced in this volume requires not only economic growth where the poor work and live, but also mitigation of the many risks to which African households are exposed. As such, this report takes a "jobs" lens to its task. It focuses squarely on the productivity and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable—that is, what it will take to increase their earnings. Finally, it presents a road map for financing the poverty and development agenda.

Author : Tewodaj Mogues,Samuel Benin
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2012-03-15
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781136445408

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Public Expenditures for Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa by Tewodaj Mogues,Samuel Benin Pdf

Whereas there is plenty of work looking at macroeconomic effect of public spending on growth and poverty in Africa as well as studies of the impact of spending or investment in one economic sector on outcomes in that sector or on broader welfare measures, this book fills a much needed gap in the research looking how the composition of public spending affects key development outcomes in the region. The book brings together recent analysis on the trends in, and returns to, public spending for agricultural growth and rural development in Africa. Case studies of selected African countries provide insights on the contributions of different types of public expenditures for poverty, growth and welfare outcomes, as well as insights into the constraints in gaining development mileage from investments in the agricultural sector.

Author : Abay, Kibrom A.,Abay, Mehari Hiluf,Amare, Mulubrhan,Berhane, Guush,Aynekulu, Ermias
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 41 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2021-06-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Mismatch between soil nutrient requirements and fertilizer applications: Implications for yield responses in Ethiopia by Abay, Kibrom A.,Abay, Mehari Hiluf,Amare, Mulubrhan,Berhane, Guush,Aynekulu, Ermias Pdf

Lack of accurate information about soil nutrient requirements coupled with limited access to appropriate fertilizers could lead to mismatch between soil nutrient requirements and fertilizer applications. Such anomalies and mismatches are likely to have important implications for agricultural productivity. In this paper we use experimental (spectral soil analysis) data from Ethiopia to examine farmers’ response to soil nutrient deficiencies and its implications for yield responses. We find that farmers’ response to macronutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) deficiencies is not always consistent with agronomic recommendations. For instance, we find that farmers in our sample are applying nitrogen fertilizers to soils lacking phosphorus, potentially due to lack of information on soil nutrient deficiencies or lack of access to appropriate fertilizers in rural markets. On the other hand, farmers respond to perceivably poor-quality soils and acidic soils by applying higher amount of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers per unit of land. We further show that such mismatches between fertilizer applications and soil macronutrient requirements are potentially yield-reducing. Those farmers matching their soil nutrient requirements and fertilizer application are likely to enjoy additional yield gains and the vice versa. Marginal yield responses associated with nitrogen (phosphorus) application increases with soil nitrogen (phosphorus) deficiency. Similarly, we find that farmers’ response to acidic soils is not yield-enhancing. These findings suggest that such mismatches may explain heterogeneities in marginal returns to chemical fertilizers and the observed low adoption rates of chemical fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa. As such, these findings have important implications for improving input management practices and fertilizer diffusion strategies.

Author : M. Dinesh Kumar,Nitin Bassi,A. Narayanamoorthy,M.V.K. Sivamohan
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2014-02-05
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9781317907619

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The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus by M. Dinesh Kumar,Nitin Bassi,A. Narayanamoorthy,M.V.K. Sivamohan Pdf

It is becoming increasingly recognized that for the optimal sustainable development and use of natural resources, an integrated approach to water management, agriculture, food security and energy is required. This "nexus" is now the focus of major attention by researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. In this book, the authors show how these issues are being addressed in India as part of its economic development, and how these can provide lessons for other developing nations. They address the conflicting claims of water resources for irrigation and hydropower, where both are scarce at the national level for fostering water and energy security. They also consider the relationship between water for irrigated agriculture and household use and its impact on rural poverty. They identify weaknesses in the current hydropower development programme in India that are preventing it from being an ecologically sustainable, socially just and economically viable solution to meeting growing energy demand. The empirical analyses presented show the enormous scope for co-management of water, energy, agricultural growth and food security through appropriate technological interventions and market instruments.

Author : Sukhadeo Thorat
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2024-06-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Investment, Subsidies, and Pro-Poor Growth in Rural India by Sukhadeo Thorat Pdf

Author : Scott Wisor
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2016-12-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317574699

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The Ethics of Global Poverty by Scott Wisor Pdf

The Ethics of Global Poverty offers a thorough introduction to the ethical issues surrounding global poverty. It addresses important questions such as: What is poverty and how is it measured? What are the causes of poverty? Do wealthy individuals have a moral duty to reduce global poverty? Should aid go to those who are most in need, or to those who are easiest to help? Is it morally wrong to buy from sweatshops? Is it morally good to provide micro-finance? Featuring case studies throughout, this textbook is essential reading for students studying global ethics or global poverty who want an understanding of the moral issues that arise from vast inequalities of wealth and power in a highly interconnected world.