Two women making great strides in reducing hunger and poverty in Africa—both of whom have ties to IFPRI— were tapped today as recipients of a prestigious, Africa-focused prize.

What happens when there are too many men (and not enough women)? They become entrepreneurs, work harder and longer, and save more. That’s what two researchers revealed in a new IFPRI study on the economic impact of too many marriage-eligible men in 1960s Taiwan.

A series of natural disasters in several food producing countries have lowered current and future production forecasts and driven up prices of many staples central to the global agricultural market. Much of the United States is experiencing the worst drought since the 1950s. About 75 percent of the corn and soybean production in the US is being affected by drought “considered severe or greater”, as reported by the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

China’s cities are attracting rural residents in droves. Since the 1990s, the number of Chinese migrating to urban centers from the countryside to find jobs has spiked. According to estimates, some 79 million rural residents migrated to cities in 2000, up from 20 million in 1990 and 45 million in 1995. The reasons for this movement are complex—but include the relaxation of the household registration system, or hukou, which categorizes residents as either urban or rural.