This paper examines changes in agricultural productivity in 10 Subsaharan countries. The relative performance of agricultural sector was gauged using data envelopment analysis. From a panel data set of the 10 countries which included the 28-year period 1972-1999, mathematical programming methods...

This paper uses historical census data from Burkina Faso to characterize local demographic pressures associated with internal migration into river valleys after onchocerciasis eradication, combined with a new survey of village elders to document change over time and differences across villages...

Using data collected in rural Burkina Faso, this working paper examines how children's cognitive abilities influence households' decisions to invest in their education. The analysis uses variations in rainfall experienced in utero or early childhood to measure ability. It finds that rainfall...

I use variation in cotton production in Burkina Faso to measure changes in local economic conditions between 1994 and 2003, which proxy for the value of children's time. I test how this variation affects schooling and child labor using three rounds of nationally representative household surveys....

We evaluate a 'girl-friendly' primary school program in Burkina Faso using a regression discontinuity design. After 2.5 years, the program increased enrollment by 19 percentage points and increased test scores by 0.41 standard deviations. For those caused to attend school, scores increased by...

The authors conducted a unique randomized experiment to estimate the impact of two alternative cash transfer delivery mechanisms on household demand for routine preventative health services in rural Burkina Faso. The two-year pilot program randomly distributed cash transfers that were either...