Microcredit has expanded rapidly since its beginnings in the last 1970s, but whether and how much it reduces poverty is the subject of intense debate. Generally it depends on how the program is implemented and the set of policies that regulate it. In this spirit, microcredit impacts in the...

Some hypothesize that poor consumers pay more for food because stores that serve them have higher costs. We assess how supermarket characteristics and operating costs differ with the percentage of sales from food stamp redemptions. Results do not support the hypothesis that costs are higher for...

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is the biggest governmental consumer in the Korean agro-food sector. In 2006, the quantity of purchased agricultural products was about 260 thousand tons and the MND spent about 300 billion won for this purchase. The purpose of this paper is to review the...

Getting the food and agriculture system moving faster is crucial for structural transformation and poverty reduction in Africa. This requires investing in basic productive and market infrastructure, and expanding appropriate research, knowledge, and technology for increased productivity at all...

Smallholder farmers in southern Africa face acute food insecurity because the productive capacity of their soils has declined. These resource-poor farmers increasingly cannot afford mineral fertilizers Farmers mentioned the lack of fertilizers for their depleted soils as the most important...