"The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted a comprehensive study of the efficiency of food distribution in food aid-supported programs in Bangladesh. The capacity and efficiency of the food distribution system was assessed from entry ports to targeted beneficiaries. The...

Agroecological conditions largely determine the production potential of an agrarian area and its ability to support a number of people. It seems to make sense, therefore, to base economic and policy research on ecoregional zones, rather than on geographical or political boundaries alone. This...

This paper analyzes the repayment rates of credit groups belonging to three group-based credit programs in Bangladesh: the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and the Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS). Hypotheses are drawn from...

Table of Contents: Tables, Figures, Foreword, Acknowledgments, and Summary; 1. Introduction; 2. Determinants of the Placement and Outreach of Group-Based Financial Institutions:A County-Level Analysis; 3. Group-Based Financial Institutions:Structure, Conduct, and Performance; 4. Household...

It has been long hypothesized that lack of access to credit is the main reason why, despite higher profitability of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs), farmers in developing countries continue to allocate a portion of their land to traditional crop varieties. The empirical testing of this hypothesis...

In agrarian developing countries the natural environment is a key determinant of both poverty and nutritional status. Climate, terrain, and soil characteristics drive the agricultural system, determining in large part cropping patterns, choice of crops, yield rates, and overall productivity...

Development institutions and projects frequently seek to target poorer segments of the population. Yet, existing methods for evaluating their outreach are generally unsuited to most operational settings, since they are either too costly and cumbersome (e.g., detailed income or household...

"This case study examines the scaling-up experiences of two microfinance institutions: the Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited (NUBL) in Nepal and the Self-Help Group (SHG)-Bank linkage program of the National Agricultural Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in India. Both NUBL and...

The estimated average leakage in the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme due to short ration and undercoverage is 8 percent of the total wheat allotment. These losses are low by international and Bangladesh standards, and are due, in part, to monitoring and evaluation throughout the...

Helping to reduce vulnerability poses a new set of challenges for public policy. The most immediate challenge is to determine the appropriate role for public action if there should be a role at all. A starting point is the ways that communities and extended families try to cope with...