This paper investigates the relationship between theft and poverty in rural areas. Following a disputed presidential election, fuel supply to the highlands of Madagascar was severely curtailed in early 2002, resulting in a massive -- if temporary -- increase in poverty. This situation...

Formalizing land rights has been promoted as a way to encourage agricultural investment and stimulate land markets, yet little is known about the benefits of such policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the preconditions for success are less favorable. The analysis uses a large sample of plots...

Traditional models of export bonus programs focus only on the effects of disposing public stocks on the world market. We show that the economic effects of export bonus programs are significantly different when one includes the costs of acquiring these stocks. Including stock acquisition costs...

Using original survey data collected at the county (commune) level, we examine the relationship between insecurity and welfare in Madagascar. Correcting for unobserved heterogeneity at the commune level, we find that insecurity is associated with lower incomes and health status in all our...

Using data on agricultural traders in Madagascar, this paper shows that social network capital has a large effect on firm productivity. Better connected traders have significantly larger sales and value added than less connected traders after controlling for physical and human inputs as well as...

"Using detailed trader surveys in Benin, Madagascar, and Malawi, this paper investigates the presence of increasing returns in agricultural trade. After analyzing margins, costs, and value added, we find little evidence of returns to scale. Motorized transport is found more cost effective for...

This paper studies liberalized grain markets in Madagascar and examines how property rights are protected and contracts are enforced among agricultural traders. We find that the incidence of theft and breach of contract is low and that the losses resulting from such instances are small. This,...

The effect of recent agricultural market reforms in many developing countries is often measured through tests for market integration by analyzing co-variation of food prices. However, market integration studies often fail to link the discovery of the lack of integration to causal factors. This...

Using data on agricultural traders in Madagascar, this paper shows that social capital has a large effect on efficiency. Better connected traders are shown to have significantly larger sales and gross margins than less connected traders after controlling for physical and human inputs. The...