When we began working with the government of Tanzania to evaluate a pilot conditional cash transfer program, we heard similar concerns from policymakers: would cash transfers provided by the state erode informal safety nets?

Public stockholding programs are essential for food security but can present various problems for many developing countries.

How do perceptions of relative economic status affect gender attitudes regarding women’s economic participation and decision-making authority in their household and community? Several recent trends highlight the importance of this question.

At a recent House hearing, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that USDA would terminate the Farmers to Family Food Box program.

COVID-19 has impacted urban and rural households throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Mark Twain once warned, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Yet statistics are a fundamental tool for economic policy and decision-making by governments, international institutions, and even the private sector.

In many developing countries, poor delivery of public services remains an important problem. Public infrastructure, such as roads or boreholes for drinking water, is poor. The quality of service provided in hospitals or schools is low.

Feeling poor relative to others can spur families to support women in pursuing work outside the household and to invest more in girls’ schooling, according to our new study. But that does not mean women become more empowered.

With increased focus on the shortfall in learning outcomes around the world (the “learning crisis”!), one might assume that just about every child is in school, or at least that every young child is in primary school.

Globally, 30 percent of women will experience physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

There is increasing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic will have dire consequences for food security unless adequate safeguards are established.

COVID-19 and the measures governments have put in place to prevent its aggravation have triggered an economic recession that will increase poverty rates and hunger.

In early 2020, global alarms went off as a new virus threatened to take the lives of millions, prompting numerous countries into lockdown.

The global outbreak of Covid-19 has disrupted the food system throughout the world.

In Africa south of the Sahara, more than 12 million new jobs a year are needed in rural areas to absorb young entrants. Agriculture provides scalable economic opportunities that can also reduce poverty.

If the government can ensure that the benefits of credit facilities reach farmers in a time-bound fashion, the sector could finally leapfrog into a new regime of growth and enhanced farmer welfare.

The better approach would be to start designing policies which support “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, and invest sufficiently in becoming comparable with China in terms of benefits due to economies of scale.