Staple food prices in Uganda

Prepared for the Comesa policy seminar on “Variation in staple food prices: Causes, consequence, and policy options”, Maputo, Mozambique, 25-26 January 2010 under the African Agricultural Marketing Project (AAMP)Uganda, food security, food prices, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, International Relations/Trade, q11, q13, q17, q18,

Spatial coordination in public good allocation: Nonparametric evidence from decentralized Indonesia

"This paper examines dynamics in public good accessibility and cross-community inequality in Indonesia, using village-level panel data from 2000 to 2006 from their decentralized public-good allocation system. The introduction of decentralization makes public-good investment dependent on initial local income and endowment, and makes it difficult to coordinate investment decisions across communities. Our analysis also shows that possible strategic interactions among communities connected with transportation infrastructure (externalities) implies spatial divergence. Empirical evidence on education and heath facilities, however, demonstrates that during the decentralized period, (1) accessibility to school has improved and school investments were effectively coordinated over space; (2) hospital access has improved only marginally; but (3) per-capita availability of schools and local medical clinics (puskesmas) in the community shows convergence toward low-level equilibria. Despite the coordination in spatial allocation even in the decentralization period (observed in intervillage accessibility), endogenous population mobility and growth partially cancel the benefits of the coordinated efforts in public-good allocation. This point requires further policy attention." from Authors' AbstractPublic goods, Education, health, Spatial coordination, Poverty dynamics,

Governance decentralization and local infrastructure provision in Indonesia:

This paper examines the recent decentralization of governance in Indonesia and its impact on local infrastructure provision. The decentralization of decisionmaking power to local jurisdictions in Indonesia may have improved the matching of public infrastructures provision with local preferences. However, decentralization has made local public infrastructures depend on local resources. Due to differences in initial endowments, this may result in the divergence of local public infrastructures in rich and poor jurisdictions. Using data from village-level panel surveys conducted in 1996, 2000, and 2006, this paper finds that (1) local public infrastructures depend on local resources, (2) decentralization has improved the availability of local public infrastructures, (3) local jurisdictions are converging to a similar level of local public infrastructure, and (4) to some extent, decentralized public infrastructures' provision reflects local preferences.Decentralization, local public goods, indonesia,

The Impact of Global Cotton and Wheat Prices on Rural Poverty in Pakistan

The incidence of rural poverty in Pakistan increased during the late 1990s after having declined during the 1980s and early 1990s. A number of structural factors have been identified as contributing to rural poverty in Pakistan. Among them are low levels of health and education spending and the unequal of farmland distribution. These structural factors help explain the levels of poverty in Pakistan, but not the increase in poverty in the late 1990s. One hypothesis is that the increase in rural poverty is the result of an adverse trend in world commodity prices, particularly cotton, a major commercial crop, and other agricultural commodities such as wheat, rice, and sugar. The overall objective of this paper is to measure the impact of changes in world commodity prices on poverty in rural Pakistan, with particular focus on cotton prices and the main cotton producing districts of Punjab and Sindh provinces.

Impact of trade liberalization on agriculture in the near East and North Africa:

Trade liberalization Africa, Agricultural trade., Economic development Africa, Sub-Saharan., Sustainable agriculture Africa, Sub-Saharan, Agricultural marketing, Agricultural policy Africa, Sub-Saharan, Agriculture Economic aspects Africa,

The Impact of Global Cotton Markets on Rural Poverty in Pakistan

The incidence of rural poverty in Pakistan increased during the late 1990s after having declined during the 1980s and early 1990s. A number of structural factors have been identified as contributing to rural poverty in Pakistan. Among them are low levels of health and education spending and the unequal of farmland distribution. These structural factors help explain the levels of poverty in Pakistan, but not the increase in poverty in the late 1990s. One hypothesis is that the increase in rural poverty is the result of an adverse trend in world commodity prices, particularly cotton, a major commercial crop, and other agricultural commodities such as wheat, rice, and sugar. The overall objective of this paper is to measure the impact of changes in world commodity prices on poverty in rural Pakistan, with particular focus on cotton prices and the main cotton producing districts of Punjab and Sindh provinces.Food Security and Poverty,

Spatial networks, labor supply, and income dynamics: Evidence from Indonesian villages

"This paper uses household panel and village census data from Indonesia to examine the impact of spatial connectivity (road) development on household income growth and nonagricultural labor supply. The empirical results show that the impacts of improvements in local road quality (which positively correlate with transportation speed) on income growth and the transition to nonagricultural labor markets depend on the distance to economic centers and the household education level. In particular, postprimary education significantly increases the benefit from local spatial connectivity improvement in remote areas and promotes labor transition to nonagricultural sectors. Education and local road quality are complementary, mutually increasing income growth and nonagricultural labor income in remote areas. The gain from improvements in local connectivity (measured by average road quality) depends on village remoteness and initial household-level endowments." from authors' abstractincome growth, Spatial connectivity, Rural economy, Education, Social protection, Human capital,

Agricultural Trade Liberalization in West Asia and North Africa

Replaced with revised version of paper 06/28/07.International Relations/Trade,

The Impact of Global Cotton and Wheat Prices on Rural Poverty in Pakistan

The incidence of rural poverty in Pakistan increased during the late 1990s after having declined during the 1980s and early 1990s. A number of structural factors have been identified as contributing to rural poverty in Pakistan. Among them are low levels of health and education spending and the unequal of farmland distribution. These structural factors help explain the levels of poverty in Pakistan, but not the increase in poverty in the late 1990s. One hypothesis is that the increase in rural poverty is the result of an adverse trend in world commodity prices, particularly cotton, a major commercial crop, and other agricultural commodities such as wheat, rice, and sugar. The overall objective of this paper is to measure the impact of changes in world commodity prices on poverty in rural Pakistan, with particular focus on cotton prices and the main cotton producing districts of Punjab and Sindh provinces

Cotton-Textile-Apparel sectors of Pakistan: Situations and challenges faced

"Cotton, textiles, and apparel are critical agricultural and industrial sectors in Pakistan. This study provides descriptions of these sectors and examines the key developments emerging domestically and internationally that affect the challenges and opportunities they face. One-quarter of Pakistani farmers, of whom about 40 percent have household incomes below the poverty line, grow cotton. Export controls and taxes kept cotton prices below international levels until the mid-1990s but have subsequently tracked export parity international levels following reforms to trade and pricing policies and a greater role for the private sector. Pakistani farmers have not formally adopted genetically modified Bt cotton but there is some field evidence of its unregulated use. Despite constraints in its production, storage, and ginning sectors, the production of cotton yarn increased at an annual rate of 4.7 percent during 1990–2005 and Pakistan's share of world output increased to nearly 10 percent. Cotton-related products account for nearly 60 percent of Pakistan's export earnings. The textile industry still produces mostly fabrics of relatively low count (low quality) although it has been successful in expanding its exports of some higher-value products. The industry will need further entrepreneurial initiatives to remain competitive in international markets. Among the farm households that produce cotton, about 40 percent of total income comes from its production. The decline in world prices that occurred in the late 1990s adversely affected these households. Household-level simulations suggest that a counterfactual 20 percent increase of cotton prices, which reflects the extent to which real cotton prices declined in Pakistan during this period, would have reduced the percentage of cotton-producing households below the poverty line in 2001 from 40 percent to 28 percent. The estimated effect from declining cotton prices explains about one-sixth of the overall observed increase of rural poverty in the period." from authors' abstractCotton, textiles, Apparel, Rural poverty, subsidies, Industry policy, World markets, Globalization, Markets, trade,