Most decisions involve variability in two dimensions: uncertainty across states of nature and fluctuations over time. The stakes involved in tradeoffs between these variability dimensions are especially high for the poor who have difficulty managing and recovering from shocks. We assume Epstein...

Potential poverty traps among the rural poor suggest a need to reduce poor farmers?vulnerability by stabilizing crop yields and limiting yield losses. Advances in biotechnology will help address this need directly with crops that tolerate climate fluctuation or resist biotic stresses. Evaluating...

This paper analyzes stocks' price behavior after IPO events in the pharmaceutical sector and explores the role of social media in determining this behavior. The results indicate positive and significant cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) of 3.70% in the first 20 days following an IPO...

This paper experimentally studies labour supply responses to earnings uncertainty. 301 low-income, working age, non-student individuals took part in an on-line experiment simulating standard and zero-hours contractual conditions. Results unambiguously support the hypothesis that work uncertainty...

The focus of this paper is on the rural poor of south Asia and their struggle to cope with the seasonal risk of unemployment and the ensuing income risks. In the absence of formal credit or insurance markets the rural poor typically resort to, among other options, the following informal...

This paper examines the relationship between measures of income poverty, undernourishment, childhood undernutrition, and child mortality in developing countries. While there is, as expected, a close aggregate correlation between these measures of deprivation, the measures generate some...

This study complements the inclusive growth literature by examining the determinants and consequences of the middle class in a continent where economic growth has been relatively high. The empirical evidence is based on a sample of 33 African countries for a 2010 cross-sectional study. OLS,...

The South Asia region is home to the largest pool of individuals living under the poverty line, coupled with a fast-growing population. The importance of access to basic infrastructure services on welfare and the quality of life is clear. Yet the South Asia region?s rates of access to...

This paper explores the link between poverty and resource allocation, including the management of natural resources, by chronically indebted rural smallholders in developing countries. The paper proposes a formal intertemporal model of a credit constrained farm household that can invest in...

Success in reducing monetary poverty in Southeast Asia has not fully translated into reduction in malnutrition. Using a two-year panel data from one province each in Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam, we study the correlation between monetary poverty and nutritional outcomes of children under five....