In disadvantaged districts of Bihar, one of the poorest states in India and an area where smallholders dominate, we find that there have been dramatic increases and rapid up-scaling of modern cold storages, triggered by market reform, investment subsidies, and better overall public service...

There is a vigorous debate on the liberalization of heavily regulated agricultural markets in India. A crucial institutional characteristic is the role of state regulated brokers in wholesale markets. Relying on data from a unique survey in Uttarakhand, a state in North-India, we find that...

Food quality has become an important determinant of success in global food trade and growers for international markets have to continuously adjust to buyers’ requirements. It is however not clear to what extent there is a demand for food quality - and how much buyers are willing to pay for it...

The Indian government has provided large subsidies to stimulate the take-off of the cold storage sector. However, the impact of this policy is not well understood. In a case study of the potato sector in Bihar, we find that there have been dramatic increases and rapid up-scaling of cold...