The collection, primary processing, and subsequent sale of shea-based products make an important contribution to rural women’s cash income in many of Mali’s shea producing areas. Internationally, shea has recently become popular in high-valued cosmetics thanks to its therapeutic...

This paper outlines proposed research, using concepts of New Institutional Economics, to identify the factors constraining the emergence of a market for domestically produced improved seed potatoes in Mali. It uses the Principal –Agent model to outline how to investigate the feasibility of...

This study aimed to investigate the strategic assumptions and practices in World Bank project appraisal programs. Semistructured interviews of senior World Bank field officers in Addis Ababa and Nirobi and extensive review of World Bank appraisal directives and related documents provided the...

Economic planning is undertaken in the belief that development can be brought about or accelerated by government intervention. Referring to the countries of South Asia, Myrdal points out that these countries have long remained in a state of relative stagnation, and that "a strong impetus is...

Generally, economists have analyzed development planning in developing countries (LDC's) under the following aspects. First, attention is focused on the plan strategies, policies and targets. Special emphasis is often devoted to whether the targets have been or could be achieved over the...

This paper briefly examines how social capital affects overall economic growth processes and individual firm development, both positively and negatively, in low- and middle-income countries. The paper discusses how the concept of social capital is related to simple economic growth models and to...

The study of the Linkages between Child Nutrition and Agricultural Growth (LICNAG) seeks to understand the positive and negative repercussions that agricultural-led growth has on children's health and nutritional status. The project's goal is to identify means of strengthening positive linkages...

This paper provides a systematic definition of food security, focusing on its different dimensions; examines the nature and magnitude of the different dimensions of food insecurity in developing countries; discusses the difficult tradeoffs that policy makers face in trying to address food...