It is often difficult to determine the extent to which observed output gains are due to a new technology itself, rather than to the skill of the farmer or the quality of the plot on which the new technology is tried. This attribution problem becomes especially important when technologies are not...

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the most important development challenge of the 21st century. Poverty is higher in most African countries than elsewhere in the developing world. According to the recently published Report of the Commission for Africa, economic growth in Africa is necessary for...

Poverty is higher in most African countries than elsewhere in the developing world, and highest in the ruralareas. Accelerating growth in agriculture will therefore be critical to sustain growth and reduce poverty,but policy makers are unsure which sub-sector will yield the highest return for a...

Poverty is higher in most African countries than elsewhere in the developing world, and highest in the rural areas. Accelerating growth in agriculture will therefore be critical to sustain growth and reduce poverty, but policy makers are unsure which sub-sector will yield the highest return for...

The burgeoning literature on how the benefits from research may be negative for a given price support arbitrarily ignores the costs of price supports for a given level of research. Furthermore, the very existence of price supports is inconsistent with the normative criterion that governments...

This paper develops a political economy framework that determines the factors causing underinvestment in public research expenditures. Governments are unable to fully compensate for unequal income distribution effects of research because of either their inability to make credible commitments or...