The effective design and implementation of interventions that reduce vulnerability and poverty require a solid understanding of underlying poverty dynamics and associated behavioral responses. Stochastic and dynamic benefit streams can make it difficult for the poor to learn the value of such...

The present paper aims to give insight into critical issues contributing to the successful building of viable and sustainable regional netchains, focussing on chain governance mechanisms (coordination mechanisms, quality management systems, information systems) and social embedding. It uses...

The sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is constantly challenged on today’s dynamic operating environment. Evolving regulatory trends, difficult economic conditions, and diminishing natural resources, pose serious questions for all players across the food system....

In this final article of our three-part series, we demonstrate why stochastic coefficients models are well suited to predict future variables We analyze the forecasting problem and consider various criteria of prediction If a forecaster must choose one from among several coherent predictors,...

This paper explores ways of improving education quality in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Uganda. Following the introduction of UPE in Uganda in 1997, primary school enrolment increased tremendously, leading to a strain on existing teaching resources such as classrooms, teachers’...

The paper develops and illustrates the application of criteria for ranking risky investment alternatives that are based on their certainly equivalent (cE) outcomes and determines expressions for approximating the cE outcomes by means of the central moments of their distribution. The paper...

In applications of expected utility analysis, researchers are confronted with a choice among several utility functional forms. Subjective utility values and probability distributions for price and yield were elicited from Sri Lankan producers of minor export crops. Exponential quadratic and...

A risk management model based on portfolio theory which accounts jointly for price, quantity, interest rate and exchange rate risks is developed and applied to cocoa and coffee production and exports in the Ivory Coast. Utilizing commodity and financial futures markets jointly, the results show...

Cropping pattern in the Himalayan region of India has undergone a significant change in the recent past. Introduction of horticultural crops of vegetables, fruits and flowers have led to more intensive agriculture. Such a change, resulting in higher incomes and improvements of the overall living...

In arid countries worldwide, social conflicts between irrigation-based human development and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems are widespread and attract many public debates. This research focuses on the analysis of water and agricultural policies aimed to conserve groundwater resources and...