The objective of this paper is to frame the key issues and summarize the current state of knowledge about and innovations in index-based risk transfer products (IBRTPs) as they relate to the management of climate risk for poverty reduction, especially of chronic or persistent poverty. In the...

Although microcredit demand is frequently assumed to be inelastic, understanding the price elasticity of demand for microcredit is exceptionally relevant in designing appropriate microfinance institution (MFI) financial products and policy. Using a unique survey instrument, this paper extracts...

This paper investigates a viable alternative to traditional credit products through the development of risk-contingent credit for operating loans and farm mortgages and applies the concept to agricultural loans for pulse crops in India. We analyze daily commodity spot prices and design risk...

How would a possible food safety scare influence food consumption? Using techniques from experimental psychology, a study of 103 lunchtime participants suggests that a food scare -- avian influenza -- would decrease food by 17% if they believed it was naturally occurring and by 26% if they...

1 China’s Agriculture in the 1930s: An Overview -- 2 John Lossing Buck and Land Utilization in China -- 3 Calamities and Conflict Affecting Rural China 1929–1933 -- 4 The Discovery and Restoration of Buck’s Original Data -- 5 Reliability of John Lossing Buck’s Land Utilization Survey...