In general, reported rates of return to agricultural R&D are high, but questions have been raised about upward biases in the evidence. Among the reasons for this bias, insufficient attention to attribution aspects-matching of research benefits and costs-is a pervasive problem, the magnitude of...

Green Revolution technologies were developed and promoted to boost food supplies and foster development, both of which were expected to create "breathing space" for achieving demographic transitions in developing countries through lowered human fertility. Little comprehensive research, however,...

In general, reported rates of return to agricultural R&D are high, but questions have been raised about upward biases in the evidence. Among the reasons for this bias, insufficient attention to attribution aspects. Matching of research benefits and costs is a pervasive problem, the magnitude of...

The success of modern technology in increasing yields on high-potential lands has been so great that researchers and policymakers alike have been quick to use modern inputs on marginal lands as well. But the results of applying Green Revolution technologies to marginal lands have often been...

Meeting food and livelihood security needs in developing countries will require the conservation and enhancement of natural resources that contribute to agricultural production. Chief among the resources to be sustainably managed are soils and forests. Once forests fall, what land-use patterns...

"Despite the importance of tropical moist forests for conserving biodiversity and storing carbon, forests continue to fall, because the private benefits of clearing land for agriculture far outweigh tangible economic gains from retaining forests. This report measures the financial disparity...

Policymakers, managers of water use associations, and many others in developing countries are considering policy actions that will directly or indirectly change the costs and availability of groundwater and surface water for agricultural users. While in many cases such actions may bring about...

Information on the spatial distribution of poverty can be useful in designing geographically targeted rural poverty reduction programs. This paper uses recently released município-level data on rural poverty in Brazil to identify and analyze spatial patterns of rural poverty in the São...