A spatial econometric model is used to link road upgrading to forest clearing and biodiversity loss in the moist tropical forests of Bolivia, Cameroon, and Myanmar. Using 250-meter cells, the model estimates the relationship between the rate of forest clearing in a cell and its distance to the...

The tropical timber market is characterized by multiple species, multiple products, and regional patterns of trade and production. In such a market, finding a representative price is a difficult and perhaps an irrelevant task. So Varangis conducted tests to see whether prices from different...

This paper estimates the causal effects of index insurance coverage on subjective well-being among livestock herders in southern Ethiopia. The randomization of incentives to purchase index-based livestock insurance and three rounds of panel data are exploited to separately identify ex ante...

This paper uses a stochastic dynamic programming model to characterize the optimal savings-consumption decisions and the role of livestock inventories as a buffer stock in rural Ethiopia. The results show that relatively land-rich households use accumulation and liquidation of cattle and other...

Although the importance of diet quality for improving child health is widely recognized, the roles of environmental factors and the absorption of nutrients for children's physical growth and morbidity have not been adequately integrated into a policy framework. Moreover, nutrient intakes...

Livestock systems globally are changing rapidly in response to human population growth, urbanization, and growing incomes. This paper discusses the linkages between burgeoning demand for livestock products, growth in livestock production, and the impacts this may have on natural resources, and...

In many developing countries, consumption of animal source foods among the poor is still at a level where increasing its share in total caloric intake may have many positive nutritional benefits. This paper explores whether ownership of various livestock species increases consumption of animal...

This paper develops the structural Ricardian method, a new approach to modeling agricultural performance using cross-sectional evidence, and uses the method to study animal husbandry in Africa. The model is intended to estimate the structure beneath Ricardian results in order to understand how...

This paper uses quantitative methods to examine the way African farmers have adapted livestock management to the range of climates found across the African continent. The authors use logit analysis to estimate whether farmers adopt livestock. They then use three econometric models to examine...