Agricultural productivity and mortality: evidence from Kagera, Tanzania

We ask whether prime-age adult mortality due to HIV/AIDS decreases the endowment of knowledge for agricultural production in Kagera, Tanzania, reducing total factor productivity. We also quantify how much this negative effect contributes to the decrease in long-term household agricultural output growth compared to the contribution of decreased accumulation of productive assets; household members, land, and livestock. We find that prime-age adult mortality decreases the accumulation of knowledge stock as total factor productivity and the contribution of this negative effect to the decrease in agricultural output growth is larger than the contribution of decreased accumulation of each productive asset.mortality, human capital, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, total factor productivity, Tanzania

Agricultural productivity and mortality: evidence from Kagera, Tanzania

We ask whether prime-age adult mortality due to HIV/AIDS decreases the endowment of knowledge for agricultural production in Kagera, Tanzania, reducing total factor productivity. We also quantify how much this negative effect contributes to the decrease in long-term household agricultural income growth compared to the contribution of decreased accumulation of productive assets; household members, land, and livestock. We find that prime-age adult mortality decreases the accumulation of knowledge stock as total factor productivity and the contribution of this negative effect to the decrease in agricultural income growth is larger than the contribution of decreased accumulation of each productive asset.mortality, human capital, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, total factor productivity, Tanzania

Agricultural productivity and mortality: evidence from Kagera, Tanzania

We ask whether prime-age adult mortality due to HIV/AIDS decreases the endowment of knowledge for agricultural production in Kagera, Tanzania, reducing total factor productivity. We also quantify how much this negative effect contributes to the decrease in long-term household agricultural output growth compared to the contribution of decreased accumulation of productive assets; household members, land, and livestock. We find that prime-age adult mortality decreases the accumulation of knowledge stock as total factor productivity and the contribution of this negative effect to the decrease in agricultural output growth is larger than the contribution of decreased accumulation of each productive asset

Agricultural productivity and mortality: evidence from Kagera, Tanzania

We ask whether prime-age adult mortality due to HIV/AIDS decreases the endowment of knowledge for agricultural production in Kagera, Tanzania, reducing total factor productivity. We also quantify how much this negative effect contributes to the decrease in long-term household agricultural income growth compared to the contribution of decreased accumulation of productive assets; household members, land, and livestock. We find that prime-age adult mortality decreases the accumulation of knowledge stock as total factor productivity and the contribution of this negative effect to the decrease in agricultural income growth is larger than the contribution of decreased accumulation of each productive asset

Poverty traps and social protection

This paper demonstrates that there are potentially large returns to having a social protection policy that stakes out a productive safety net below the vulnerable and keeps them from slipping into a poverty trap. Much of the value of the productive safety net comes from mitigating the ex ante effects of risk and crowding in additional investment. The analysis also explores the implications of different mechanisms of targeting social protection transfers. In the presence of poverty traps, modestly regressive targeting based on critical asset thresholds may have better long-run poverty reduction effects than traditional needs-based targeting.Safety Nets and Transfers,Rural Poverty Reduction,Population Policies,Debt Markets

IVth symposium on ‘intracellular protein catabolism’ Reinhardsbrunn Castle, Thuringia, DDR, 21–27 May 1981

While index-based microinsurance has attracted considerable attention, uptake rates have been weak in many low-income countries. We explore the purchase patterns of index-based livestock insurance in southern Ethiopia, focusing on the role of accurate product comprehension and price. We find that randomly distributed learning kits improve subjects’ knowledge of the products; however, we do not find strong evidence that the improved knowledge per se causes greater insurance uptake. We also find that reduced price due to randomly distributed discount coupons has an immediate, positive impact on uptake, without dampening subsequent period demand due to reference-dependence associated with price anchoring effects

Quasi-experimental evidence on the drivers of index-based livestock insurance demand in Southern Ethiopia

Microinsurance is widely considered an important tool for sustainable poverty reduction, especially in the face of increasing climate risk. Although index-based microinsurance, which should be free from the classical incentive problems, has attracted considerable attention, uptake rates have generally been weak in low-income rural communities. We explore the purchase patterns of index-based livestock insurance in southern Ethiopia, focusing in particular on the role of accurate product comprehension and price, including the prospective impact of temporary discount coupons on subsequent period demand due to price anchoring effects. We find that randomly distributed learning kits contribute to improving subjects\u27 knowledge of the products; however, we do not find strong evidence that the improved knowledge per se induces greater uptake. We also find that reduced price due to randomly distributed discount coupons has an immediate, positive impact on uptake, without dampening subsequent period demand due to reference-dependence associated with price anchoring effects

Pastoral livelihood pathways transitions in northern Kenya: The process and impact of drought

Abstract Recurrent droughts and long-term changes to climate, social structures, and the economy in the world’s arid and semi-arid lands have impacted pastoralists’ livelihood activities over time, resulting in different livelihood pathways. Some pastoralists continue to follow more traditional strategies of herd accumulation, while others frequently engage in livestock markets and value addition activities, and others still are dropping out of pastoralism. Using data collected over 6 years from 924 households in northern Kenya and applying a generalized structural dynamic multinomial logit model, this study quantitatively determined the dynamic transitions between livelihood categories conditional on drought incidences. From the results, there were considerable and frequent transitions between livelihood pathways within the panel period (2009–2015). Notably, many households that started in the low-cash income, larger herd size category denoted as hanging in, were transitioning to lower cash income with small herds (dropping out). At the same time, there was a great deal of back and forth between the category with low-cash income and small herd size (dropping out) and the category with higher cash income and small herd size (moving out), indicating that moving out was the only way out of poverty. Also, an increase in vegetation index from a drought season where the index was at a 10% level to a good season where the level was 90% decreased the likelihood of households dropping out from a predicted probability of 37.9 to 28.7% and increased the likelihood of moving up and moving out from 22.2 to 25.0% and 22.6 to 34.3%, respectively, unconditionally. The study findings imply that any livelihood interventions aimed at reducing the impact of drought and alleviating poverty among pastoral households should support the transition to market-oriented, relatively successful pathways and also protect households from falling back into the ranks of poverty by dropping out

Insuring against drought‐related livestock mortality: Piloting index based livestock insurance in northern Kenya

Climate related shocks are among the leading cause of production and efficiency losses in smallholder crop and livestock production in rural Africa. Consequently, the identification of tools to help manage the risks associated with climactic extremities is increasingly considered to be amongst the key pillars of any agenda to enhance agricultural growth and welfare in rural Africa. This paper describes the application of a promising innovation in insurance design – index‐based insurance – that seeks to bring the benefits of formal insurance to help manage the weather‐related risks faced by rural crop and livestock producers in low‐income countries. In particular, we highlight the research and development agenda of a comprehensive effort to design commercially viable index‐based livestock insurance aimed at protecting the pastoral populations of Northern Kenya from the considerable drought‐related livestock mortality risk that they face. Detailing the conditions that make the pastoral economy in Northern Kenya an ideal candidate for the provision of index‐based insurance products, the paper describes the contract design, defines its structure, offers analysis that indicates a high likelihood of commercial sustainability among the target market and describes the process of implementation leading up to the launch of a pilot in Marsabit district of Northern Kenya in early 2010