The effective design and implementation of interventions that reduce vulnerability and poverty require a solid understanding of underlying poverty dynamics and associated behavioral responses. Stochastic and dynamic benefit streams can make it difficult for the poor to learn the value of such...

We evaluate the impact of agricultural land market liberalization policies in Latin America by empirically examining the degree to which the reforms have broken down the dependence of operational area on owned area. We use panel data sets from Honduras and Peru to estimate the relationship...

The Government of Mozambique is considering legal changes in its land law and administration of state leasehold property-an enormous challenge given its past socialist history and the uncertainties created by its current transition to a private market economy. The present research sought to...

The availability of immigrant farm-workers from Mexico is a critical factor affecting the U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable sector. This paper uses retrospective panel data from rural Mexico to examine the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Immigration Reform and Control Act...

This paper explores the productivity and income distribution effects of asymmetric information and risk preferences on the credit market. A model of contract design in the presence of moral hazard is developed in which competitive, risk neutral lenders offer contracts to risk averse agents who...