Papers and Presentations

This paper exploits a natural experiment wherein tens of thousands of microfinance borrowers across rural Haiti received a quasi-random value of insurance benefit in the aftermath of catastrophic hurricanes, and shows that greater insurance increased a beneficiary's demand for credit on the extensive margin, e.g. made formal lending relationships more durable.

This presentation was part of an Oxfam Brownbag that took place on February 22, 2016.

Today there is a renewed research and policy focus on raising agricultural productivity in Africa. This presentation took place on January 14, 2016.

The research team evaluates the impacts of forest user group participation under Malawi's Forest Co-management Program on forest clearing and household income. Using propensity score weighting and propensity score analysis with non-parametric regression, the team finds that the program lowered the rate and extent of forest clearing.

A randomized trial in urban Ghana for microenterprises separated participants by providing advice from an international consulting firm, cash, both, or nothing. The treatments led to immediately expected results, however, no treatment let to higher profits on average so businesses reverted to previous practices.

In this paper I ask whether exposure to the strategic considerations of a collective action dilemma in an experimental setting can change behavior in real-world scenarios in which those individuals face similar strategic trade-offs.

This ILRI Research Brief describes the Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) product, piloted in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia since early 2010.

In this paper, we employ a dynamic, stochastic, heterogeneous agent model where farm households have access to contingent credit and make savings, technology and loan repayment choices.

This presentation took place at George Washington University, United States on November 6, 2014 describing how greater use of improved technologies could raise productivity and welfare in developing countries.

This presentation took place at George Washington University, United States on November 6, 2014 describing the adoption of improved seeds in Uganda and Senegal using index insurance.