One of the basic debates in African development is whether agriculture can be the instrument for the transformation of a rural economy. A common question is whether agricultural policies can provide the impetus to move agriculture in developing economies from subsistence to commercial...

This study examines, using quantile regression, the linkage between food security andefforts to enhance smallholder coffee producer incomes in Rwanda. Even though in Rwanda smallholder coffee producer incomes have increased, inhabitants these areas still experience stunting and wasting. This...

Purpose This chapter examines whether donor investments in a market channel that rewards product quality increase food security in Rwanda. Specifically, do policy interventions that improve marketing channels increase the price received by farmers also increases smallholder income? Furthermore,...

This paper documents a form of private sector bailout that is much more common (and yet unnoticed) than the typical bank bailout. Building on the newly-created Global Debt Database, we show that excess private debt systematically turns into higher public debt, regardless of whether the credit...

Countries increasingly rely on independent fiscal councils to constrain policymakers' discretion and curb the bias towards excessive deficits and pro-cyclical policies. Since fiscal councils are often recent and heterogeneous across countries, assessing their impact is challenging. Using the...

This paper documents a form of private sector bailout that is much more common (and yet unnoticed) than the typical bank bailout. Building on the newly-created Global Debt Database, we show that excess private debt systematically turns into higher public debt, regardless of whether the credit...