Longstanding development issues are revisited in the light of our newly-constructed dataset of poverty measures for India spanning 60 years, including 20 years since reforms began in earnest in 1991. We find a downward trend in poverty measures since 1970, with an acceleration post-1991, despite...

Minimum wages are generally thought to be unenforceable in developing rural economies. But there is one solution - a workfare scheme in which the government acts as the employer of last resort. Is this a cost-effective policy against poverty? Using a microeconometric model of the casual labor...

This paper evaluates the impact of farmer field schools, an intensive participatory training program emphasizing integrated pest management. The evaluation focuses on whether program participation has improved yields and reduced pesticide use among graduates and their neighbors who may have...