This note analyses the design of agri-environmental schemes for risk-averse producers whose input usage is only observable by costly monitoring. The scheme penalises producers in proportion to input use in excess of a quota. A striking result is that if the scheme is designed in such a way that...

The long-running debate concerning the special characteristics of peasant production in less developed countries which may lead to perverse supply responses in their agricultural sectors is explored. Four stages in the debate are identified. The first was based on casual observation and the...

There are currently two contrasting approaches towards aid policy in Africa: that followed by the West is well known for its conditionality and selectivity and focus on direct financial support, while the approach adopted by China eschews conditionality and concentrates on infrastructure...

It has been suggested that supply curves may be negatively sloped under conditions of output price uncertainty and risk aversion if the effect of an increase in expected price is offset by the effect of an associated increase in uncertainty/risk. This hypothesis, first articulated by Schultz and...

Mainstream economics almost completely ignores the role power plays in determining economic outcomes, which means it can only provide partial explanations of the distribution of wealth and income, and of the problems associated with inequality and poverty. For many, this is a fundamental failing...