Institutions and economic policies for pro-poor agricultural growth

"This paper draws together findings from different elements of a research project examining critical components of pro-poor agricultural growth and of policies that can promote such growth in poor rural economies in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural growth, a critical driver in poverty reducing growth in many poor agrarian economies in the past, faces many difficulties in today's poor rural areas in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of these difficulties are endogenous to these areas while others result from broader processes of global change. Active state interventions in 'kick starting' markets in 20th century green revolutions suggest that another major difficulty may be current policies which emphasize the benefits of liberalization and state withdrawal but fail to address critical institutional constraints to market and economic development in poor rural areas. This broad hypothesis was tested in an analysis of the returns (in agricultural growth and poverty reduction) to different government spending in India over the last forty years. The results reject the alternate hypothesis underlying much current policy, that fertilizer and credit subsidies, for example, depressed agricultural growth and poverty reduction in the early stages of agricultural transformation. The results show initially high but then declining impacts from fertilizer subsidies; high benefits from investment in roads, education and agricultural R&D during all periods and varying benefits from credit subsidies over four decades; low impacts from power subsidies; and intermediate impacts from irrigation investments. These findings demand a fundamental reassessment of policies espousing state withdrawal from markets in poor agrarian economies. Given widespread state failure in many poor agrarian economies today, particularly in Africa, new thinking is urgently needed to find alternative ways of 'kick starting' markets ways which reduce rent seeking opportunities, promote rather than crowd-out private sector investment, and allow the state to withdraw as economic growth proceeds. Authors' AbstractAgricultural growth ,Poverty, Rural ,South Asia Rural poor ,Africa, Sub-Saharan ,Agrarian economies ,Globalization ,Green Revolution ,Poverty alleviation ,Government spending policy India ,

Severn Tidal Power - What have we learned ?

In 2008. Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) were appointed to lead a consortium of consultants to assist the UK Government in undertaking a two year feasibility study to determine their policy on the development of the tidal power resource from the Severn Estuary. The Severn Estuary has a tidal range in excess of 14m and has the potential to provide the UK with approximately 5% of its electricity demand from a tidal range power project. The paper provides an overview of the technical studies undertaken during the study as well as the many issues and challenges that have to be addressed when considering a tidal power project in an environmentally protected and commercially active estuary with one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. The paper will describe the process used to determine and assess the five short-listed projects (three tidal barrages and two land connected tidal lagoons) and the key outputs and outcomes from the study. It will also cover the potential embryonic technologies that have been proposed as more environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional tidal range solutions.L''énergie marémotrice dans la Severn -Qu''avons-nous appris ? En 2008, Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) a été nommé chef de file d’un consortium de bureaux d’études, pour aider le gouvernement du Royaume Uni à entreprendre une étude de faisabilité sur deux ans, destinée à déterminer la politique d’exploitation de la ressource marémotrice de l’estuaire de la Severn. L’estuaire de la Severn possède un marnage de plus de 14 m et a le potentiel de fournir au Royaume Uni environ 5% de ses besoins en électricité au moyen d’une centrale marémotrice. L’article fournit un aperçu des études techniques réalisées dans le cadre de ce projet ainsi que les nombreux problèmes et défis qui ont dû être traités en raison de la situation particulière de cet estuaire qui possède parmi les plus hautes amplitudes de marées au monde, dans un environnement particulièrement protégé et avec une activité commerciale intense. L’article décrit le processus mis en place pour déterminer et évaluer les cinq projets marémoteurs retenus (trois barrages et deux lagons raccordés à la côte) ainsi que les principaux livrables et résultats de cette étude. Est également abordé le potentiel de développement de technologies dites embryonnaires, proposées comme alternatives aux centrales marémotrices classiques et offrant des solutions impactant moins l’environnement de l’estuaire.Kydd Peter M. Severn Tidal Power - What have we learned ?. In: 33èmes Journées de l’Hydraulique Grands Aménagements Hydrauliques Enjeux Sociétaux, Bénéfices Economiques et Innovations Techniques 14 - 16 novembre 2012. 2012

Intramolecular OH···S hydroen bonds and molecular conformations in 2-methylmercaptoethanol

The infrared absorption spectrum of monomeric 2-methylmercaptoethanol in dilute CC1<SUB>4</SUB>, solution exhibits four overlapped bands in the fundamental OH stretching region. The individual band components were resolved using digital computing techniques [1], and the relative band intensities are temperature dependent. The "free" OH bands at 3634 and 3623 cm correspond to gauche and trans orientations about the C-O bond, respectively, by analogy with similar band components in the infrared spectrum of ethanol in dilute CC1<SUB>4</SUB>, solution. The OH bands at 3539 and 3446 cm<SUP>-1</SUP> are assigned to gGt and gGg<SUP>1</SUP> conformers, respectively, each involving an intramolecular OH&#183;&#183;&#183;S hydrogen bond (conformer notation refers to the orientation about the C-O, C-C and C-S(CH<SUB>3</SUB>) bonds, respectively). A similar interpretation of the matrix isolated infrared spectra of ethylene glycol, involving two conformers with intramolecular OH&#183;&#183;&#183;O hydrogen bonds and differing principally in the orientation of the proton-acceptor OH group, has been presented recently [2]. The microwave spectrum of 2-mercaptoethanol in the vapour phase arises from an all-gauche conformation with an intramolecular OH&#183;&#183;&#183;S hydrogen bond [3]

Institutions and Policies for Pro-poor Agricultural Growth

"This paper draws together findings from different elements of a research project examining critical components of pro-poor agricultural growth and of policies that can promote such growth in poor rural economies in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa."PRISI; IFPRI3; GRP32; Theme 9; GRP3DSG