New IFPRI Book Provides Insight into Food Aid Debate
Foreign aid to developing countries is the subject of debate among economists and development specialists. While some argue that aid promotes prosperity and reduces poverty, others assert that it hurts the economy and fosters poverty. Still others argue that aid has little impact one way or another. There is also disagreement about whether or not a nation’s quality of governance affects foreign aid’s impact. Do democratic governments, for example, use aid to promote economic growth more effectively than other forms of government?
New Seminar Series Looks at Impact Evaluation
With more and more money being spent on international development programs, there is growing demand from donors and policymakers for evidence that such programs actually make a difference in the lives of the world’s poor. The field of impact evaluation looks to answer the questions of whether research has led to desired policy changes and whether those policy changes in turn have led to improvements in desired economic, social, and environmental outcomes.
HarvestChoice Launches New Website
Features Interactive Tools, Data
HarvestChoice has just made accessing data about agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa easier. Launched this week, the newly-revamped HarvestChoice website gives easy access to interactive tools based on live databases and model simulation results.
The cutting-edge MAPPR, for example, enables users to pick and choose among hundreds of “layers” of map-based information about all aspects of smallholder agriculture in Africa—from poverty to rainfall—and make customized maps and summary tables.
Greening Agriculture in South Asia
South Asia is a paradox. The region enjoys high economic growth but suffers from extreme poverty, undernourishment, and the deterioration of its natural resources. It houses more than 42 percent of the world’s poor earning less than US$ 1.25 per day. Undernourishment is widespread, especially among women and children. Nearly 21 percent of the population is undernourished. Astonishingly, more than 41 percent of children are underweight and 8 percent die before reaching the age of 5.
Indigenous Adaptation Strategies for Improving Land Degradation in Ethiopia
In spite of Ethiopia’s widespread poverty and weak capacity for resilience against climate change, one region has used indigenous adaptation strategies to combat land degradation. People in the Tigray highland region of the country have mobilized collective action to manage land degradation exacerbated by the area’s poverty, high population, and recurrent droughts.
Copenhagen Consensus Paper Suggests Investments for Improving Food Security
If you had $75 billion for worthwhile causes, where should you start? That is the question the Copenhagen Consensus project posed to researchers worldwide.
Marriage and Rising Housing Prices in China
As a result of the preference for males, China’s one-child policy has significantly impacted the country’s sex ratio. The ratio of males to females is about 6 to 5. The disparity has increased competition in the marriage market. The effect of this imbalance on urban housing prices in China is the topic of a recent paper published in the National Bureau of Economic research.
Global Food Policy Report Launched Today
2011 saw significantly increased support of agriculture and food policy as tools for global poverty reduction. It also brought serious challenges, most notably in the form of food price volatility, extreme weather shocks, famine, unrest, and conflicts.
Climate Change and Farmers
Upcoming IFPRI Report Offers Insight into “Extreme” Problem
Farmers around the world are grappling with the impacts of climate change and their struggle is only going to get worse as extreme weather events, shifting weather patterns, and increased temperatures make it more difficult to grow enough food to feed an increasing world population.
Price Spikes, Volatility, and Global Food Markets
The 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 food price crises have had lasting impacts on global food security, and the world will likely continue to face high prices and price volatility, given the global food economy’s structure. Since 2001, food price volatility has been at its highest level in 50 years, and the uncertainty caused by this volatility particularly harms the world’s poor producers and consumers. Global leaders now recognize the need to guard against price volatility and to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations against food insecurity.
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Upcoming and Recent Events
- May 15, 2013
- May 2, 2013
