This paper analyses the impact of the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) on rural labor migration in China. We use recent survey data from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and a difference-in-difference approach to assess the impact of the policy on labor migration decision. We find a...

Using the latest forest inventory, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of China’s forest sector by focusing on new forest trends, forest policy changes and challenges to achieve a sustainable forest management. We analyze the dynamics of forest resources and provide an impact...

This paper discusses the determinants of firewood consumption in a poor township in rural northern China, with a special focus on the relationship between households’ economic wealth and firewood consumption. We find strong support for the poverty-environment hypothesis since household...

The implementation in 2020 of binding national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and use of renewable energy has increased the interest in biomass as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Thus agriculture acquires a primary role for the reduction of CO2 but raises many issues: CBA,...

Despite the dramatic reduction of poverty in China over the past thirty-five years, poverty has not been fully eradicated in rural areas, and in the context of growing inequalities, it remains a national concern. This paper examines a local cash-for-work program launched in mountainous areas of...

In the last few years interest in short food supply chains has been steadily increasing, finding ever more room in both institutional and scientific debate. This paper aims at identifying the implications of short food chains for environmental, social and economic issues, as they emerge from the...

The World Development Report 2008 was a call for better use to be made of agriculture for development. The urgency of the call has been enhanced by the food crisis. Will governments and international development agencies hear the call and stop turning their backs on agriculture? What will it...

This comment to the article by de Janvry and Sadoulet focuses on the actions needed to make agricultural systems more environmentally sustainable. The Author highlights three global trends that will drive the relationship between agriculture and the environment in the coming decades: the climate...

In this paper empirical analysis is made of the long-term evolution of the world agro-food systems. Subsequent to comparative-historical analysis of the long-term trajectories, the hypothesis of “club convergence” in the structural features of the advanced economies’ agricultural systems...

This comment to the article by de Janvry and Sadoulet highlights the prospects for developing and least developed countries in world food markets. The Author puts the recent agricultural price developments in perspective and suggests what trade policies ought to be implemented to enhance...