In an effort to inform strategic options to improve agricultural productivity, we examine the impact of social service expenditures on the marginal productivity of agricultural inputs. Increasing agricultural productivity is often advocated as a way to reduce poverty, especially in sub-Saharan...

In this paper we explore how a value chain framework can inform the design of interventions for achieving improved nutrition. Conceptually, there are three main channels for value chains to improve nutrition: (1) through increased consumption of nutritious foods (a demand side pathway); or (2)...

Widespread malnutrition in developing countries calls for appropriate strategies, presupposing good knowledge about nutritional impacts of policies. Little previous work has been carried out in this direction, especially with respect to micronutrients. We use representative household data from...

This study, supported by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), obtained information on a range of topics associated with food security and nutrition, gender, and water access in selected villages of Honduras. The data collection prioritized a set of communities of interest to the civil...

Using the most recent data from Tanzania, we investigate the impacts of district-level health and education expenditures on marginal productivities of agricultural inputs and overall production. We use a covariance structural model combined with a mixed linear model to account for the...

This dissertation is an empirical investigation of the implications of the Indonesian oil palm sector for rural village communities located in Jambi province, on the island of Sumatra. It consists of three contributions to the scientific literature on land-use dynamics, economic development, and...