The financial surplus of agriculture has been central to theories of the role of agriculture in economic development. Morrisson and Thorbecke (MT) have used a constant-price social accounting matrix (SAM) framework to measure rigorously the financial surplus of agriculture and decompose the...

We develop and estimate a model of supply response when transactions costs create a situation where some producers buy, others sell, and others do not participate in markets. We present two rationales for why producing households may have different relationships to the market: proportional and...

Formal village organizations can be classified into market-oriented (MO) and community-oriented (CO) organizations, with the former aimed at raising members' incomes and the latter at delivering local public goods. This study investigates the role of community conservatism in opposing economic...

Agriculture has multiple functions to fulfill for the development of the sub-Saharan Africa countries. It should be a source of growth and an instrument for poverty reduction and contribute to the provision of environmental services. Yet it is still used far below its potential, with gains in...

Using data from a randomized experiment in rural China, we study the influence of social networks on weather insurance adoption and the mechanisms through which they operate. To quantify network effects, the experiment provides intensive information sessions about the product to a random subset...