Reducing postharvest losses (PHL) is a key pathway to food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, knowledge of PHL magnitudes is limited. A meta-analysis has been conducted to expose nature and magnitude of PHL, and the kinds of interventions that have been attempted to mitigate...

This study from Madagascar exploits local variation in the timing and organization of colonial settlement and missionary education to distinguish long-run effects of colonial institutions and human capital. Results indicate that only colonial institutions had robust impacts on local economic...

Efforts to expand primary education have shifted from a policy focus on supply (building schools) to demand-side policies. Human capital theory posits that common demand-side obstacles are high direct costs, opportunity costs, and low perceived benefits—constructs that are difficult to measure...

Do targeted aid programs have unintended consequences outside of the target issue area? We investigate this question with an examination of one of the largest targeted aid programs in the world: the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Critics of PEPFAR worry that a targeted...

Given Africa’s challenge of feeding a growing population, narrowing yield gaps is an efficient way of raising production under covariate constraints. Using household panel data from 21 regions in eight sub-Saharan African countries, this article unravels the determinants of yield gaps. It also...

Despite some progress in the last decade, Sub-Saharan Africa’s participation in the global economy remains generally limited and poorly diversified. Among the various reasons behind the lack of competitiveness of Sub-Saharan Africa exports, this paper analyzes whether changes in market access...

As the post-MDG era approaches in 2016, reducing child undernutrition is gaining high priority on the international development agenda, both as a maker and marker of development. Revisiting Smith and Haddad (2000), we use data from 1970 to 2012 for 116 countries, finding that safe water access,...

We used baseline data, collected in July–September 2009, from a randomized controlled trial of a cash transfer program for vulnerable children in eastern Zimbabwe to investigate the effectiveness, coverage, and efficiency of census- and community-based targeting methods for reaching vulnerable...

Small-scale assemblers are both the most vilified and least understood actors in food value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on data from Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique, this article explores how maize assemblers influence the market access conditions of small-scale farmers. Assembly...

Does financial development enable economic growth in developing countries? We find evidence for this in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where there is an urgent need to promote growth. Using a modern time series methodology and data for 22 countries over the period from 1960 to 2009, we find...