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Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. 

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country Programs

Research by country and region

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partnerships

The International Growth Centre (ICG) encourages sustainable growth in developing countries by providing demand-led policy advice based on frontier research. ICG directs a global network of researchers and in-country teams in Africa and South Asia to create research and policy advice on vital growth challenges. ICG is based at the London School of Economics (LSE) and in partnership with the University of Oxford. The ICG is majority funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

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Publications

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Working Paper

Systematic risk profiling: A novel approach with applications to Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi

2024Mukashov, Askar; Robinson, Sherman; Thurlow, James; Arndt, Channing; Thomas, Timothy S.
Details

Systematic risk profiling: A novel approach with applications to Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi

This paper uses machine learning, simulation, and data mining methods to develop Systematic Risk Profiles of three developing economies: Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi. We focus on three exogenous shocks with implications for economic performance: world market prices, capital flows, and climate-driven sectoral productivity. In these and other developing countries, recent decades have been characterized by increased risks associated with all these factors, and there is a demand for instruments that can help to disentangle them. For each country, we utilize historical data to develop multi-variate distributions of shocks. We then sample from these distributions to obtain a series of shock vectors, which we label economic uncertainty scenarios. These scenarios are then entered into economywide computable general equilibrium (CGE) simulation models for the three countries, which allow us to quantify the impact of increased uncertainty on major economic indicators. Finally, we utilize importance metrics from the random forest machine learning algorithm and relative importance metrics from multiple linear regression models to quantify the importance of country-specific risk factors for country performance. We find that Malawi and Rwanda are more vulnerable to sectoral productivity shocks, and Kenya is more exposed to external risks. These findings suggest that a country’s level of development and integration into the global economy are key driving forces defining their risk profiles. The methodology of Systematic Risk Profiling can be applied to many other countries, delineating country-specific risks and vulnerabilities.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mukashov, Askar; Robinson, Sherman; Thurlow, James; Arndt, Channing; Thomas, Timothy S.

Citation

Mukashov, Askar; Robinson, Sherman; Thurlow, James; Arndt, Channing; and Thomas, Timothy S. 2024. Systematic risk profiling: A novel approach with applications to Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2286. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Kenya; Rwanda; Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Climate; Computable General Equilibrium Models; Machine Learning; Risk; Uncertainty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges

2024Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie
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Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges

This study describes the employment patterns of rural households in Rwanda and explores their challenges and opportunities for rural income diversification. Detailed analysis using a 2022 rural household smallholder survey on agricultural production and employment in Rwanda, reveals that: • Agricultural wage labor is the dominant source of off-farm income and is the primary means of supplementing rural household income. This is different than other LMICs where households are more likely to develop nonfarm enterprises that bring in extra income and diversify the rural economy towards more value-added output while also increasing demand for rural inputs. • This research suggests that factors like access to education and financial services are key factors to employment decisions and improved rural urban linkages.

Year published

2024

Authors

Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie

Citation

Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; and Rosenbach, Gracie. 2024. Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges. Rwanda Strategy Support Program Policy Note 16. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155441

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Employment; Rural Population; Households; Income; Diversification; Agricultural Production; Access to Finance; Education

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

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Book Chapter

Vulnerability and welfare during multiple crises

2024van Asselt, Joanna; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Aung, Zin Wai
Details

Vulnerability and welfare during multiple crises

The triple transition that took place between 2011 and 2019 in Myanmar—from a planned to an open market economy, from military to civilian rule, from conflict to peace—was not without its limitations. As discussed in Chapter 1, poverty reduction was modest relative to economic growth, a fully democratic system was not established, and ethnic conflict continued in many areas. In this mixed context of social welfare improvements and unfulfilled reforms, COVID-19 hit—the first in a series of crises. The pandemic had an immediate adverse impact on Myanmar’s economy and pushed many households into poverty. Then, while the country remained under threat from the pandemic, in February 2021, the military took over in a coup, and Myanmar fell into a political crisis. Declines in welfare accelerated for many. One year later, the Myanmar economy faced sharp rises in prices for food, fuel, and fertilizer as a result of a global economic crisis triggered by the start of the conflict in Ukraine. This triple crisis—pandemic, political, economic— has had enormous impacts on welfare and livelihoods in Myanmar. (Chapter 1 summarizes how the triple crisis unfolded; refer to that chapter for details on the causes, levels, and apparent consequences of the sequence of shocks.)

Year published

2024

Authors

van Asselt, Joanna; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Aung, Zin Wai

Citation

van Asselt, Joanna; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; and Aung, Zin Wai. 2024. Vulnerability and welfare during multiple crises. In Myanmar’s agrifood system: Historical development, recent shocks, future opportunities, Duncan Boughton, Ben Belton, Isabel Lambrecht, and Bart Minten, eds. Chapter 5, Pp. 121-148. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155152

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Development; Economic Shock; Governance; Vulnerability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

Events

Some Welfare Consequences of COVID-19 in Ethiopia
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

August 24, 2020, 4:00 – 5:30 pm

Some Welfare Consequences of COVID-19 in Ethiopia

Cross-country experience so far shows that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and responses to combat are multidimensional. It is thus reasonable to expect the occurrence of these effects in Ethiopia. Findings of several studies will be reported during this webinar. The presentations focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of mothers and […]

Blogs

Can sports and life skills programs improve labor force outcomes for vulnerable youth?
IFPRI Blog
 | 
February 11, 2021

Can sports and life skills programs improve labor force outcomes for vulnerable youth?

By Lori Beaman, Sylvan Herskowitz, Niall Keleher, and Jeremy Magruder

Analyzing impacts of a program in Monrovia, Liberia.

What happens when you incentivize primary education in Uganda
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 15, 2019

What happens when you incentivize primary education in Uganda

By Daniel Gilligan, Naureen Karachiwalla, Ibrahim Kasirye, Adrienne Lucas, and Derek Neal

Incentives that hold teachers accountable for achievement can increase educational attainment when paired with adequate instructional resources, research shows.