Governance and rural public expenditures in Latin America: The impact on rural development

In this paper we examine the effects of the composition (between private and public goods) of government expenditures in the rural world, and the effect that corruption has in the political game that determines these allocation decisions. In the first section of this paper we develop a political economy model where corruption and trade openness counteract to determine, within a political equilibrium, the amount of public funds to be devoted to the rural world, and their composition between public and private goods. In the second section we contrast the implications of the political economy model with recently released data on rural public expenditures in Latin America. We find that corruption reduces the amount of public funds that reach the rural world, but not its composition. We also find that after accounting for the endogeneity of public expenditure decisions, the composition of these expenditures significantly determines rural development (as proxied by agricultural GDP)

Long-term rural demographic trends

This paper studies rural demographic trends at the global level with an analysis of a specially prepared database of population age/gender/rurality tables from population censuses. The focus is to identify the main demographic differences in the evolution of rural and urban populations. Among the main findings of this study, we report that with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa there is no rural feminization. Also, rural ageing is not observed at aggregate levels in rural regions of the developing world. Perhaps the main adverse demographic trend of rural populations is the high dependency ratios brought about by higher fertility rates. This paper also carries out a census-based cross-country net-migration study identifying the main characteristics of rural out-migration in Latin America, and searches for common threads in East Africa. This analysis shows important improvements of welfare indicators and asset accumulation in rural Latin America (promoting an upward convergence of poorer and richer areas of countries), partially explained by migration. We did not find common characteristics in rural out-migration in East Africa, but report that education is the key asset that enables out-migration from poorer rural communities in East Africa

Foreword Beyond agriculture? The promise of the rural economy for growth and poverty reduction

In January 2006, the Agricultural and Development Economics Division of FAO gathered experts from around the world to a workshop to discuss major issues of relevance for rural development and rural poverty alleviation in today’s rapidly changing and globalizing world. Agricultural markets are changing at unprecedented speed through vertical integration of supply chains and demands for ever more stringent food safety standards. Another significant trend affecting the rural world is the growth in migration and remittances, which can imply an increased availability of private funds to promote rural development but, at the same time, carries the risk of constraining farm output as working hands leave the fields behind.

A back of the envelope estimation of the effect of soaring food prices on world hunger

This paper suggests a methodology for estimating the effects of higher food prices on global undernourishment. The paper also presents the results of its implementation. The merits and drawbacks of this methodology are also discussed. The estimations of the number of new undernourished as a result of the current agricultural commodity price boom should not be taken as official FAO estimates, but rather as an illustration of the proposed methodology, and the promotion of an ongoing discussion

Rural population change in developing countries. lessons for policymaking

Rural agriculture uses more than one-third of the earth's land and employs more than 40% of the population, a figure that approaches 75% in developing countries. As a result, rural demographic change is of vital importance. This paper monitors four driving factors in rural demographic change including the ratio of youth to the aged, the ratio of males to female, fertility levels and migration. Alongside conclusive findings, the authors bring to light the relevance of AIDS-related deaths, urbanisation, and city planning in demographic research

Governance and Rural Public Expenditures in Latin America. The Impact on Rural Development.

In this paper we examine the effects of the composition (between private and public goods) of government expenditures in the rural world, and the effect that corruption has in the political game that determines these allocation decisions. In the first section of this paper we develop a political economy model where corruption and trade openness counteract to determine, within a political equilibrium, the amount of public funds to be devoted to the rural world, and their composition between public and private goods. In the second section we contrast the implications of the political economy model with recently released data on rural public expenditures in Latin America. We find that corruption reduces the amount of public funds that reach the rural world, but not its composition. We also find that after accounting for the endogeneity of public expenditure decisions, the composition of these expenditures significantly determines rural development (as proxied by agricultural GDP).Corruption, trade openness, public spending, rural development, public goods.

A Back of the Envelope Estimation of the Effect of Soaring Food Prices on World Hunger

This paper suggests a methodology for estimating the effects of higher food prices on global undernourishment. The paper also presents the results of its implementation. The merits and drawbacks of this methodology are also discussed. The estimations of the number of new undernourished as a result of the current agricultural commodity price boom should not be taken as official FAO estimates, but rather as an illustration of the proposed methodology, and the promotion of an ongoing discussion.Food Prices, Undernourishment.

An extended cross-country database for agricultural investment and capital

This paper presents a database of investment and capital in agriculture, an essential input for cross-country macro analysis of the primary sector of the economy. Our work stems from the innovative research undertaken by Larson et al. (2000). With respect to these authors, we extend country coverage and time span. Further we introduce some refinements to the methodology used to construct the series of fixed capital stock by changing how the agricultural GDP and investment is forecasted. Finally we document in details our data sources and the STATA program used to implement all the methods