Using detailed trader surveys in Benin, Madagascar and Malawi this paper investigates the presence of increasing returns in agricultural trade. After analyzing margins, costs, and value added, we find little evidence of returns to scale. Motorized transport is found more cost effective for large...

This paper investigates the relationship between poverty and crime. Following a disputed presidential election, fuel supply to the highlands of Madagascar was severely curtailed in early 2002, resulring in a massive - if temporary - increase in poverty. Using original survey data collected in...

This paper investigates the role of ethnicity and networks in domestic agricultural trade in Africa. Using a theoretical model of self- disciplining markets, we begin by demonstrating that statistical discrimination and networks can generate similar patterns of ethnic concentration. We then test...

First draft: April 1996 This draft: October 1996 <p>This paper investigates the rationale for statistical discrimination and networks effects in the allocation of supplier credit. It examines the role they may play in favoring market participation and, hence, in the emergence and persistence of...</p>

Using original data from client-community assessments, we examine motivations in the Ugandan NGO sector. In general, client-community satisfaction with NGO interventions is high, even though some NGO staff are viewed as unresponsive, underskilled, or self-serving. We find evidence that NGOs...