In this paper, we use the nationally representative Indonesian Family Life Survey dataset (IFLS-3), to examine if access to loans from informal networks such as family and friends influences borrowing behavior in formal credit markets. Our empirical results show that there is a gender dimension...

Non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and parametric Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) have become very popular in the analysis of productive efficiency. This study undertakes a comparison of the SFA and the constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS)...

We discuss and test the relevance of the adaptation of the controversial sociological concept of “Middle Class” to African rural areas. We propose the concept of Moderate Prosperity and apply it to the Malagasy rural area, particularly in the Itasy region. This paper aims to emphasize the...

Having a title to land can be associated with increased farm output for two distinct reasons. On the one hand, access to credit may require the use of land, to which there is secure title, as collateral. The classical channel through which title affects output, however, is by increasing the...

In 2009, the Thai government implemented a price insurance scheme for rice farmers. The program, which was abandoned after only one year, added to the incomes of registered farmers a non-negative but stochastic amount that was decoupled from farmers' agricultural activities. A rich panel data...

The recent trend of development policy makes emphasis on gender disparity in performance, especially in the agricultural sector whereby women partake and play a crucial role and their contribution to the sector cannot be overemphasized. However, the contention is whether such disparity in...

While price premiums incentivise farmers to engage in organic farming, these premiums are frequently insufficient to compensate for lower yields, resulting in no monetary benefits from adopting organic farming. This study goes beyond purely monetary outcomes and investigates how organic farming...

Government payments have been a part of agriculture since 1933 and at no time has the government stated a policy objective of decreasing the agricultural labor force. The reality of the matter may be considerably different. Using time series data and new econometric techniques, this study finds...

This paper analyses the effects of activity choices on farm household income and consumption in a war-affected developing country. The study uses household survey data from Mozambique and controls for the endogeneity of activity choices with instrumental variables. War-time activity choices...

This paper reviews the main theoretical and empirical contributions analysing production choices of farm households in the developing countries, where the markets are imperfect and incomplete. Recent developments in the micro-economic literature have highlighted the existence of a trade-off...