Land and water degradation caused by soil erosion and climate change pose major environmental threats, particularly in agricultural watershed like Kakia-Esamburmbur. Soil erosion in the catchment has led to decreasing crop yields due to a declining soil quality, productivity and sustainability....

This paper explores the historical roots of land inequality in Sicily and its relationship with the Mafia presence. Using earthquake intensity as an instrumental variable to address endogeneity concerns, we find that greater land inequality in the past leads to a higher incidence of Mafia...

Climate change is amplifying the threat of drought to food security. While drought can cause significant agricultural production loss through both crop yield and acreage, previous studies have mostly overlooked the impacts of drought on crop acres. To address this gap, we study corn and soybean...

We discuss reasons why traditional rural communities may be reluctant to voluntarily relinquish their access to land despite being compensated at market prices, thereby limiting the scope for reallocating land to more productive uses in agriculture or urban development. Owing to financial market...