Theoretical models on group lending assume the formation of groups of homogenous risk types. Recent theoretical and empirical findings challenge this view arguing that when markets for insurance are missing, risk homogeneity may not hold any more and risk heterogeneity can be the optimal...

In developing countries livestock are kept not only for their physical products, but also for insurance, financing, and to display status. Though this range of purposes is acknowledged, livestock policies nevertheless often emphasize physical production: a limited perspective that hampers the...

Strategies for poverty alleviation and sustainable natural resource management usually focus on land use options for improving yields. Increasing the returns to critical factors requires possibilities for input substitution. Inadequate timing of input applications or nonavailability of...

Household characteristics are commonly used to explain variation in smallholder efficiency levels. The underlying assumption is that differences in intended behavior are well described by such variables, while there is no "a priori" reason that this is the case. Moreover, heterogeneity in...