A society that believes wealth to be determined by random "luck", rather than by merit, demands more redistribution. We present evidence of this behavior by exploiting a natural experiment provided by the L'Aquila earthquake in 2009, which hit a large area of Central Italy through a series of...

Many development programs are based on short-term interventions, either because of external funding constraints or because it is assumed that impacts persist post program termination ("sustainability"). Using a novel randomized phase-out research method, we provide experimental tests of the...

ILO pub-WEP pub. Working paper, literature survey of theories and experience relating to technology transfer, generation and diffusion of agricultural technology - covers modernization, factor endowments, income distribution, dependence relations, agricultural research, agricultural extension...

ILO pub-WEP pub. Working paper, case study examining obstacles to the commercialization of local agricultural technology in Nepal - investigates constraints to manufacturing agricultural equipment and tools by small scale industry and their use by farmers; looks at agricultural extension...

ILO pub-WEP pub. Working paper, case study of the geographic distribution and commercialization of agricultural technology for rice grain processing in West Sumatra, Indonesia - considers farm size, land tenure, labour utilization, etc.; discusses the role of industrial extension, agricultural...

In view of the market failures and the state failures inherent in providing agricultural extension, community-based approaches, which involve farmers‘ groups, have gained increasing importance in recent years as a third way to provide this service. The paper discusses the conceptual...

In most developing countries, poverty is more widespread and severe in rural than in urban areas. The author reviews some important aspects of rural poverty and draws key implications for public policy. He presents a policy framework for reducing poverty, taking into account the functional...