This monograph probes the role of information in service delivery by focusing on key sectors in Kenya and Ethiopia. Findings from comparative studies done in 2005-06 in the health, education, and water and sanitation sectors plus public and private partnerships (PPPs) illustrate the significance...

Hunger during pre-harvest lean seasons is widespread in the agrarian areas of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. We randomly assign an $8.50 incentive to households in rural Bangladesh to out-migrate during the lean season. The incentive induces 22% of households to send a seasonal migrant, their...

This paper analyses food demand patterns of Indonesian households from a resource intensity perspective, and quantifies the impact of changed demand patterns on the use of three major resource inputs -fossil fuel, land and water – in agricultural production. 13 major food items are categorised...

This paper examines the impact of spatial connectivity on household income growth and non-agriculture labor supply, combining household panel data and village census in Indonesia during the period of 1995-2007. Empirical results show that the impacts of improved local road quality on income...

Elite capture in the context of decentralization and democratization is a general concern in public good provision in developing countries. In this paper, we have empirically examined this hypothesis using a large rural household survey conducted in Indonesia concerning access of households to...

The rural northwestern districts of Bangladesh, home to 10 million people, experience a preharvest seasonal famine, locally known as Monga, with disturbing regularity. Surprisingly, outmigration from the Monga-prone districts is not all that common. This research tests whether migration could...