Download or read book Will China s demographic transition exacerbate its income inequality written by Wang, Xinxin and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-09-29 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demographic transition due to population aging is an emerging trend throughout the developing world, and it is especially acute in China, which has undergone demographic transition more rapidly than have most industrial economies. This paper quantifies the distributional effects in the context of demographic transition using an integrated recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model with top-down behavioral microsimulation. The results of the poverty and inequality index indicate that population aging has a negative impact on the reduction of poverty while its impact is positive with regard to equality. In addition, elderly rural households are experiencing the most serious poverty, and their inequality problems compared with other household groups and within group inequality worsens with demographic transition. These findings not only advance the previous literature but also deserve particular attention from Chinese policy makers.

Download or read book Will China s Demographic Transition Exacerbate Its Income Inequality A CGE Modeling with Top Down Microsimulation written by Xinxin Wang and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demographic transition due to population aging is an emerging trend throughout the developing world, and it is especially acute in China, which has undergone demographic transition more rapidly than have most industrial economies. This paper quantifies the distributional effects in the context of demographic transition using an integrated recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model with top-down behavioral microsimulation. The results of the poverty and inequality index indicate that population aging has a negative impact on the reduction of poverty while its impact is positive with regard to equality. In addition, elderly rural households are experiencing the most serious poverty, and their inequality problems compared with other household groups and within group inequality worsens with demographic transition. These findings not only advance the previous literature but also deserve particular attention from Chinese policy makers.

Download or read book Learning from China written by Chen, Yunnan and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question of how to promote structural transformation is central in fostering sustainable growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries in Africa. Following China’s domestic economic transformation and its growing outward investments in the developing world, we seek to understand how Chinese investment in Africa, particularly in manufacturing, may help to foster industrialization and in turn the structural transformation of African economies. We focus on Chinese investments and partnerships in Nigeria, a salient destination for Chinese manufacturing foreign direct investment in Africa, and examine the potential mechanisms of technology transfer that might catalyze such transformation. We find some small but significant cases of potential technology transfer, particularly through technical partnerships between firms. However, the future potential of such mechanisms will depend on the initiative of Nigerian actors to leverage Chinese investment to their interest.

Download or read book Using zero tillage to ameliorate yield losses from weather shocks written by Khan, Md. Tajuddin and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zero tillage (ZT) for wheat is one of the most widely adopted resource-conserving technologies in the rice-wheat systems in northern India. In areas of Haryana with rice-wheat systems, 36.5 percent of all farmers practice ZT on 35 percent of their wheat area. Yet the literature measuring the impact of ZT on farmers’ fields is scarce. This study fills this gap by using the data collected from a random sample of 717 farmers from 50 villages in 10 districts of Haryana. It applies the difference-in-differences method to five-year recall data on wheat yields in ZT and conventionally tilled plots of land to quantify the crop loss due to unseasonal rains right before wheat harvests in March 2015. The results reveal significantly lower wheat yield losses in the ZT plots than in the conventionally tilled plots. On average, farmers suffered yield losses ranging between 3.73 and 4.53 quintals per hectare in 2015 due to unseasonal rains. The loss was lower by 1.05–1.10 quintals per hectare in ZT plots. The analysis clearly shows that adoption of ZT helped in reducing crop loss in wheat by 24–28 percent, valued at 1,523–1,595 Indian rupees (Rs.) per hectare (approximately US$22.50 per hectare). The loss avoided due to ZT is nearly equal to the prevailing rental rate of the ZT machine (Rs. 1,500 per hectare) in Haryana. Climate models suggest that the incidence of short-duration acute hydro meteorological events is likely to increase in years to come. Such events are hard to predict and prepare for, and dealing with them hinges mainly on disaster relief. However, our results show that adoption of ZT is one possible way to reduce potential loss from some of these weather events and that ZT is therefore well characterized as a climate-smart technology.

Download or read book Limits to green revolution in rice in Africa written by Ragasa, Catherine and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-09-29 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines closely the constraints in productivity improvements and evaluates available rice technologies looking at the heterogeneity of irrigated and rainfed ecologies in 10 regions in Ghana. Employing yield response models, profitability analysis, and adoption models, results show various practices contribute to yield improvements in irrigated and rainfed systems including chemical fertilizer use, use of certified seed of improved varieties, transplanting, bunding, leveling, use of a sawah system, seed priming, and row planting. Evidence also shows that extension services on rice production are limited and that intensifying extension services can contribute to increases in rice yield.

Download or read book New modalities for managing drought risk in rainfed agriculture written by Ward, Patrick S. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this paper we explore the potential for a new approach to managing drought risk among rainfed rice producers in Odisha, India. Droughts have historically been a serious constraint to agricultural production in rainfed agricultural systems, with droughts resulting in significant reductions in both yields and cultivated area, in turn leading to significant impacts on rural livelihoods and food security. Scientists and policy makers have proposed various strategies for managing risks, with limited success. In this study we consider two such strategies, specifically drought-tolerant rice and weather index insurance. While neither drought-tolerant cultivars nor weather index insurance products are perfect solutions for adequately managing drought risk in and of themselves, there is scope to exploit the benefits of each and bundle them into a complementary risk management product, specifically through proper index calibration and an optimized insurance design. In this study, we explore preferences for such a complementary risk management product using discrete choice experiments in Odisha, India. We are able to estimate the added value that farmers perceive in the bundled product above and beyond the value associated with each of the independent products. We also show that valuations are sensitive to the basis risk implied by the insurance product, with farmers less enthusiastic about risk management products that leave significant risks uninsured.

Download or read book Framework to assess performance and impact of pluralistic agricultural extension systems written by Faure, Guy and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extension and advisory services (EAS) are well recognized as a key factor in contributing to agricultural productivity and growth. However, rigorous evaluation of EAS approaches and assessment of complex national or subnational pluralistic EAS systems are rare. This working paper examines the literature on experiential and empirical insights and explores methods to assess complex pluralistic EAS systems. The authors present conceptual thinking on innovation systems and EAS, and review the IFPRI “best-fit” framework. This framework remains relevant because it is based on a holistic perspective with an impact pathway orientation. The paper aims to operationalize and improve the best-fit framework to guide the evaluation of complex EAS systems. The authors draw on and summarize existing literature to illustrate methods and tools used to analyze each component of the framework. The review pays close attention to the literature and methods for assessing the diversity of service providers and their various delivery tools and learning approaches. The discussion also pays close attention to the interaction of each component and how it affects the performance and impact of EAS from a systems perspective. This paper adds key points and considerations on how to operationalize the best-fit framework to carry out evaluations of pluralistic EAS.

Download or read book Do development projects crowd out private sector activities written by Lambrecht, Isabel and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-12-02 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contract farming (CF) is attractive as a possible private-sector-led strategy for improving smallholder farmers’ welfare. Yet many CF schemes suffer from high turnover of participating farmers and struggle to survive. So far, the dynamics of CF participation have remained largely unexplored. We employ duration analysis to examine factors affecting entry into and exit from different maize CF schemes in northern Ghana, focusing specifically on the impact of development projects on CF entry and exit. We find that agricultural development projects reduce the likelihood of scheme entry and increase the likelihood of exit. Our findings confirm concerns that, if interventions are not planned in accordance with relevant private-sector actors, private-sector initiatives can be hindered by competing development projects.

Download or read book Strong democracy weak state written by Resnick, Danielle and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-12-02 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the political and institutional prerequisites for pursuing policies that contribute to structural transformation? This paper addresses this question by focusing on Ghana, which has achieved sustained economic growth in recent decades and is broadly lauded for its environment of political pluralism, respect for human rights, free and fair elections, and vocal civil society. Yet, despite these virtues, Ghana remains unable to achieve substantial structural transformation as identified as changes in economic productivity driven by value-added within sectors and shifts in the allocation of labor between sectors. This paper argues that Ghana is strongly democratic but plagued by weak state capacity, and these politico-institutional characteristics have shaped the economic policies pursued, including in the agricultural sector, and the resultant development trajectory. Specifically, three political economy factors have undermined Ghana’s ability to achieve substantive structural transformation since then. First, democracy has enabled a broader range of interest groups to permeate policymaking decisions, often resulting in policy backtracking and volatility as well as fiscal deficits around elections that, among other things, stifle credit access for domestic business through high interest rates. Secondly, public sector reforms were not pursued with the same vigor as macroeconomic reforms, meaning that the state has lacked the capacity typically necessary to identify winning industries or to actively facilitate the transition to higher value-added sectors. Thirdly, successive governments, regardless of party, have failed to actively invest in building strong, productive relationships with the private sector, which is a historical legacy of the strong distrust and alienation of the private sector that characterized previous government administrations.

Download or read book Does a Blue Revolution help the poor written by Rashid, Shahidur and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-12-02 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The impressive growth in aquaculture is now commonly dubbed a “blue revolution.” In some Asian countries, fish availability has increased at a faster rate in recent decades than did cereal availability during the Green Revolution. As an example, Bangladesh is one country where aquaculture has increased almost eightfold since the early 1990s. This growth has important implications for food and nutrition securities. Yet, there is little research on the determinants and impacts of this growth to document the lessons, identify evolving issues, and guide policy discussions. This paper attempts to fill that gap. Using several rounds of nationally representative household survey data, the authors conducted microsimulations to generate disaggregated estimates. The results show that, between 2000 and 2010, about 12 percent of Bangladesh’s overall poverty reduction can be attributed to aquaculture growth. In other words, of the 18 million Bangladeshis who escaped poverty during this period, more than 2 million of them managed to do so because of the growth in aquaculture. However, the results vary widely across income groups, with households in the third income quintile (which is not the poorest) benefiting the most. The implications of the results, methodological issues, and areas of future research are also discussed.

Download or read book Agricultural extension messages using video on portable devices written by Van Campenhout, Bjorn and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-24 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To feed a growing population, agricultural productivity needs to increase dramatically. Agricultural extension information, with its public, non-rival nature, is generally undersupplied, and public provision remains challenging. In this research, we explore the effectiveness of alternative modes of agricultural extension information delivery. We test whether simple agricultural extension video messages delivered through Android tablets increase knowledge of recommended practices in seed selection, storage, and handling among a sample of potato farmers in southwestern Uganda. Using a field experiment with ex ante matching in a factorial design, we find that showing agricultural extension videos significantly affects farmers’ knowledge. However, our results suggest impact pathways that go beyond simply replicating what was shown in the video. Video messages may also trigger a process of abstraction, whereby farmers apply insights gained in one context to a different context. Alternatively, video messages may activate knowledge farmers already posses but, for some reason, do not use.

Download or read book Using household consumption and expenditure surveys to make inferences about food consumption nutrient intakes and nutrition status written by Fiedler, John L. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES) are multipurpose surveys that are routinely conducted to collect data on household food consumption and availability in more than 120 countries. HCES are increasingly being used to calculate proxy estimates of food consumption, nutrient intakes, and nutrition status, often at the individual level. Rarely, however, do they collect information on meal participation, despite growing evidence that it is an increasingly important and variable component of the quantity of food consumed or available in a household. This paper explores the significance of adjusting for meal participation in making inferences about apparent food consumption and nutrient intakes. It focuses on two distinct sets of additional information requirements for enhancing the reliability and precision of measures of food consumption: (1) individual household members’ and household guests’ meal-eating behaviors, and (2) the number and apparent nutritional significance of meals. While the most comprehensive and precise accounting of intakes of individual food consumption and nutrients requires both types of information, the magnitude of the changes required in HCES questionnaires to capture them is likely to be prohibitive. Consequently, for many HCES, a “second best” approach may be the most effective method, at least in the short term. The paper empirically explores some of the relatively few HCES that currently attempt to capture some of these information requirements. In addition, it assesses their value-added to prioritize the global agenda for strengthening HCES measurement of food consumption in support of more evidence-based nutrition policy making.

Download or read book Using cognitive interviewing to improve the Women s Empowerment in Agriculture Index survey instruments written by Malapit, Hazel J. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper describes the cognitive interviews undertaken in Bangladesh and Uganda in 2014 as part of the second round of pilots intended to refine the original version of the Women’s Empowerment in Agricultural Index (WEAI). The WEAI is a survey-based tool that assesses gendered empowerment in agriculture. Baseline data were collected in 19 countries following the WEAI’s launch in 2012, but implementers reported a number of problems, such as confusion among both respondents and enumerators regarding the meaning of abstract concepts in the autonomy sub-module and difficulties recalling the sequence and duration of activities in the time-use sub-module. In our cognitive interviews, we asked detailed follow-up questions such as, “Did you think this question was difficult, and if so, why?” and “Can you explain this term to me in your own words?” The results revealed potential problems with the survey questions and informed the revision of the WEAI, now called the Abbreviated WEAI (or A-WEAI), which has less potential for response errors.

Download or read book Micronutrient policy process in Malawi written by Babu, Suresh Chandra and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-14 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Micronutrient deficiencies are common across the developing world and have major effects on the health outcomes of its population. Although this is well understood, many countries find it difficult to bring about policy change in this regard. This paper uses micronutrient policies designed and implemented in Malawi as a case study to shed light on the barriers and gaps faced by developing countries for similar programs and policies. To understand the drivers of policy change, this paper uses the kaleidoscope model to trace the policy processes of three major micronutrients—iodine, vitamin A, and iron. Using a select set of policy process tools, as well as field interviews with key informants who were part of Malawi’s micronutrient policy process, the authors test a set of hypotheses on 16 variables that drive policy change in the micronutrient policy sphere. Results indicate that much of the agenda setting for micronutrient policies and programs was triggered by external events that focused on the elimination of micronutrient deficiencies as part of the global development agenda. These events include the International Conference on Nutrition, the Millennium Development Goals, and, more recently, Scaling up Nutrition. The design of micronutrient policies and program interventions in Malawi was adopted by locally mandated ministries and institutions, in collaboration with development partners who provided both financial and technical support at the design stage. The adoption of micronutrient policies and intervention programs was driven primarily by external funding, particularly through supplementation programs related to vitamin A and iron. Adoption of fortification standards for vitamin A has been going on for more than a decade due to continuous resistance from the private sector, which faces additional costs and needs greater technical expertise. The biofortification method of micronutrient interventions for iron and vitamin A is externally driven and relatively new in Malawi. Although this method is widely accepted by policy makers, no concrete strategy has been developed for its design, adoption, and implementation. Further, supplementation and fortification programs continue to face implementation challenges due to poor physical infrastructure and monitoring systems. However, the national institutional architecture required for agenda setting, design, adoption, implementation, evaluation, and review to address micronutrient deficiencies is in place in Malawi. The system needs continued support from development partners for effective functioning at all levels. The use of various tools for the policy change part of the kaleidoscope model indicate that policy change is a dynamic process; over time, changes in the nature and composition of the members of policy and institutional architecture can result in different policy outcomes. The Malawi case study demonstrates two things. First, local leadership is crucial in keeping micronutrient deficiencies on the policy-making agenda, and second, it matters where coordinating power is placed in the policy hierarchy. This paper finds that, even with policy champions, adopted policies will face implementation challenges unless they are supported with adequate resources and are systematically followed through to final execution and delivery.

Download or read book Improving household consumption and expenditure surveys food consumption metrics written by Fiedler, John L. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-18 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the nature of global malnutrition changes, there is a growing need and increasing urgency for more and better information about food consumption and dietary patterns. The past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number, availability, and analysis of the food consumption data collected in a variety of multipurpose household surveys, referred to collectively as household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCESs). These surveys are heterogeneous, and their quality varies substantially by country. Still, they share some common shortcomings in their measurement of food consumption, nutrient intakes, and nutrition status that undermine their relevance and reliability for purposes of designing and implementing food policies and programs. This review crafts a strategic approach to the unfinished global agenda of improving HCESs’ collection of food consumption data. Starting with the priority studies recommended by a 100-country HCES review (Smith, Dupriez, and Troubat 2014), it focuses on a strategic subset of those studies that deal most directly and exclusively with the measurement of food, and that are of fundamental importance to all HCES stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries. Drawing from the literature, this study provides a more detailed, more circumspect justification as to why these particular studies are needed, while identifying key hypotheses, explaining why these studies are of growing urgency, and demonstrating why now is a propitious time for undertaking them. The review also identifies important study design considerations while pointing out potential challenges to successful implementation stemming from technical capacity, economic, administrative, and political considerations. Six key studies are rank ordered from a global perspective as follows, taking into account (1) the likely shared consensus that a topic is an important source of measurement error in estimating consumption; (2) the perceived urgency of the need for addressing a particular source of measurement error; (3) the perceived likelihood of success—that is, that the efforts will improve the accuracy of measurement; (4) whether or not the study entails modifying the questionnaire; (5) the ease with which a study may begin; and (6) the extent to which the study is independent of necessary negotiations with existing HCES stakeholders because of the types of changes it is likely to entail (in either the questionnaire or the way the data have traditionally been processed).

Download or read book Microcredit in Viet Nam written by Haughton, Jonathon and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-17 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With 7 million borrowers and US$5.4 billion in outstanding loans in 2012, the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) is the largest single microcredit lender in the world. We measure the impact of VBSP lending and seek to answer the question of whether continued subsidies to the bank, which amount to about 2 percent of the value of its loans, are justified. VBSP grew particularly rapidly between 2004 and 2008, when its share of total loans in Viet Nam rose from 10 to 27 percent, and by 2008 an estimated two-fifths of its loans were ostensibly used for directly productive purposes. Using data from a panel of 1,846 rural households interviewed in 2004, 2006, and 2008 as part of the Viet Nam Household Living Standards Survey, we estimated the impact of VBSP lending on consumption and income per capita, as well as self-employment earnings. Both an intention-to-treat model with fixed effects, and a quantity-of-credit model with fixed effects and using instrumental variables, show significant or close to significant impacts of VBSP microloans on consumption and income, but our data do not have enough power to determine whether this mainly works via agricultural or nonagricultural self-employment income. Without VBSP, the rural poverty rate would have been 0.7 percentage points higher in 2008 than it actually was. The subsidy is likely justified, given the evidence and scale of the positive impact of VBSP loans on consumption spending and the concentration of benefits among poorer households in Viet Nam.

Download or read book What drives input subsidy policy reform written by Resnick, Danielle and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-24 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When and why do suboptimal agricultural policies persist despite technical evidence highlighting alternatives? And what explains episodes of reform after prolonged periods of policy inertia? This paper addresses these questions by applying the Kaleidoscope Model for agricultural and food security policy change to the specific case of agricultural input policy in Zambia. Since 2002, the Farmer Input Support Program (formerly the Fertilizer Support Program) has been a cornerstone of Zambia’s agricultural policy. Over the years, however, many researchers have highlighted weaknesses in the program and proposed other options. Based on semistructured interviews with key stakeholders and intensive process tracing using media, donor, parliamentary, and research reports, this paper examines how the program initially began in 2002 and during subsequent periods of reform in 2009 and 2015. Based on the findings here, periods of reform for input support programs are most likely when there is a confluence of multiple factors. These include the emergence of a window of opportunity in the form of either a focusing event (for example, a food crisis) or an institutional shift (for example, a new president or new ruling party) that coincides with broad stakeholder support for empirically grounded alternatives, available material resources, and sustained commitment from politically important policy makers.