The food price crisis of 2007–2008 and recent resurgence of food prices have focused increasing attention on the causes and consequences of food price volatility in international food markets and the developing world, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara. In this paper, we examine...

In the context of the Ghanaian government’s objective of structural transformation with an emphasis on manufacturing, this paper provides a case study of economic transformation in Ghana, exploring patterns of growth, sectoral transformation, and agglomeration. We document and examine...

Secure land rights are a critical, but often overlooked, factor in achieving household food security and improved nutritional status in rural areas of developing countries. This study evaluates the impact of India’s land-allocation and registration program in West Bengal, a program that...

Using the 2009 round of the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey, this paper examines the medium-term impact of the land registration on investment behavior by households, particularly the adoption of soil conservation techniques and tree planting. It investigates whether men’s and...

This paper discusses potential solutions to the current impasse related to food security stocks, including a concrete proposal by the author on language to be included in the Agreement on Agriculture that may help comply with the mandate of the Bali Ministerial to find a solution in the next...

This study examines the role of research in agricultural policy making in Malawi at a time when the Africa Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development have been seeking to promote greater evidenced-based decision making in agriculture. Drawing on both theory and actual past...

This paper uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze the impact of Helen Keller International’s Enhanced-Homestead Food Production pilot program in Burkina Faso on women’s and men’s assets and on norms regarding ownership, use, and control of those assets. Even though men...

Large gaps in labor productivity between the traditional and modern parts of the economy are a fundamental reality of developing societies. In this paper, we document these gaps and emphasize that labor flows from low-productivity activities to high-productivity activities are a key driver of...

China’s growing economic engagement with other developing countries has aroused heated debates. Yet there has been relatively little research on when, how, and why the Chinese state intervenes in the overseas economic activities of its firms. We examine China’s program to establish...

In this paper we develop a dynamic regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for Honduras that incorporates regional disaggregated sectors for agriculture. We undertook this research to address two pressing policy concerns in Honduras. First, what growth strategy should the country...