This paper examines the relationship between community participation and theefficacy of interventions designed to reduce poverty. We develop some simple analyticsthat are used to structure a review of the extant literature and motivate the analysis of theimpact of participation on the efficacy...

This paper explores risk sharing in the Zone Lacustre, Mali, as viewed throughthe lens of consumption smoothing. We find that idiosyncratic shocks appear to havelittle impact on consumption, and that households respond to these shocks in a variety ofways. In general, nonpoor households are more...

In this paper we review the evidence on the impact of large shocks, such as drought, on child and adult health, with particular emphasis on Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Our focus is on the impact of shocks on long-term outcomes, and we ask whether there are intrahousehold differences in these effects....

Most empirical investigations of the effects of cognitive skills assume that they are produced by schooling. Drawing on longitudinal data to estimate production functions for adult verbal and nonverbal cognitive skills, we find that: (1) School attainment has a significant and substantial effect...

This paper provides an overview on the impacts of food aid. We consider its effects on consumption, nutrition, food markets and labour supply, as well as the extent to which it exacerbates or mitigates conflict. We also consider the comparative evidence on alternatives to food aid including...