Our study provides a nationally representative analysis of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Malawi. We decompose the gap, for the first time, at the mean and selected points of the agricultural productivity distribution into (i) a portion driven by gender differences in levels of...

Summary This paper analyzes the characteristics of beneficiaries who drop out of the Mexican conditional cash transfer program Oportunidades to determine if dropping out of the program is a result of self-targeting by the non-poor or the exclusion of the target poor population. Using...

Summary This paper uses a newly constructed cross-country database composed of comparable income aggregates to examine the full range of income generating activities carried out by rural households. The analysis paints a clear picture of multiple activities across rural space in countries on all...

Summary This paper assesses the current rural development practice against the main trends in recent rural development thinking, based on evidence from four country case studies. While much progress has been made in understanding the need to look beyond only agriculture for the promotion of...

Summary This paper examines the links between the assets and the economic activities of rural households in developing countries to provide insight into how the promotion of certain key assets--particularly education, land, and infrastructure--influences the economic choices of these households....

In poverty reduction programs, a significant number of beneficiaries change program status. An analysis of Oportunidades’ data from urban Mexico shows that beneficiaries that drop out for behavioral and administrative reasons are those who are marginally eligible, improving targeting through...