The Differential Impact of Regional Policies on Economic Growth: One Size Does Not Fit All

We analyze the impact of Michigan economic development policies and highway infrastructure improvements on per capita income and job growth in 1990s using fixed effect estimation procedure. We also improve measurement of policy treatment while accounting for possible spillover effect. The policies considered for analysis have significant impact on growth outcomes. However this effect is non-linear. The size of this impact changes over time and the path of change varies by type of policy. Policy impacts are different between metro and non-metropolitan areas. Also, cross-policy effects are found. The results can assist decision makers in targeting policies.Public Economics,

EXPLORING THE PARADOX OF RWANDAN AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES IN 1990 AND 2000

Nationally representative surveys regarding sources of income among agricultural households in Rwanda, fielded in 1990 and 2000, provide insights into how families responded to changes in their environment in a turbulent decade. Despite political upheavals and increasing land pressure, the survey evidence suggests that by 2000 average incomes returned to the 1990 level, while the nutritional status among rural children was better in 2000 than in the early 1990s. The nutrition improvement is tempered by evidence of increasing rural inequality. While the least poor households expanded their access to income through skilled labor, the majority of households retreated into a more autarkic mode of production focused on key subsistence crops. The change in crop mix seems to be associated with the improved the nutritional status of children. This has important implications for the current agricultural commercialization strategy in Rwanda and other countries where similar conditions prevail.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE ON SHIFT-SHARE ANALYSIS

Shift-share analysis is a method of decomposing regional income or employment growth patterns into expected (share) and differential (shift) components. Since its inception in the 1940s, over seventy academic contributions have criticized, defended, and extended the original concept. These contributions are summarized, and research needs for the future are identified.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Strategies for Extension Specialists with Research or Classroom Instruction Assignments

Many Extension Specialists hold appointments including classroom teaching and research functions. The article discusses using the classroom to enhance Extension work, structuring a research program synergistic with Extension, and developing a focused program consistent with a smaller percentage time appointment in Extension. Integrating research and classroom teaching with a meaningful Extension appointment may seem daunting, but it can be done. The key to success is to creatively assess opportunities for blending the activities in a synergistic way instead of simply segmenting time across the three functions

The Origins of Devolution: A Speculative Note

Why is devolution gaining strength both in the United States and in other highly developed countries? This note looks at broad social and economic trends that may be contributing to the movement toward more local control of government operations. Among the points discussed are: the end of the cold war; the information age, the booming economy, the increasing globalization of the economy, the rise of the south; and society’s increased understanding of environmental issues. A concluding section comments on what it all means for regional scientists

Forces Driving Change in Rwandan Smallholder Agriculture 1990-2001

Food Security Research Project (FSRP) and Division of Agricultural Statistics (DSA) Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry MINAGRIfood security, food policy, Rwanda, smallholder agriculture, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Farm-level Perspectives in Rwanda's Coffee Supply Chain Coordination Challenge

This synthesis shows the need to update and improve household-level information on Rwanda’s coffee sector, so that appropriate policies may be put into place to increase the level and diversity of smallholder and rural business income.food security, food policy, Rwanda, coffee, Agribusiness, Q18,

Decaffeinated? Situation, Trends and Prospects for Smallholder Coffee Production in Rwanda: Analysis of a Rural Household Survey, 2002

Food Security Research Project (FSRP) and Division of Agricultural Statistics (DSA) Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry MINAGRIfood security, food policy, Rwanda coffee, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Decaffeinated? Situation, Trends, and Prospects for Smallholder Coffee Production in Rwanda

Most Rwandan coffee is currently grown and processed the same way it was a decade ago. Consequently, Rwanda’s coffee production and marketing system has not been able to keep up with changes in the global market for high quality coffee. Given world market gluts of relatively poor quality coffee, Rwanda is now exporting a product that fetches low prices. Despite the challenges in coffee marketing and production, coffee remains one of Rwanda’s most important official sources of foreign exchange and the drop in production is of major concern to both the public and private sectors. In an effort to assist decision makers in the coffee sector better understand factors affecting farmers’ production decisions and their attitudes about coffee, the FSRP fielded a nationally representative survey in 2002. The survey results show that the sector appears to be at a turning point—significant numbers of farmers have moved away from coffee with more seemingly on the cusp of removing more trees, or “decaffeinating” their fields. While the overall picture presented in this report is one of decline, there are also some encouraging changes. Liberalization of coffee policies in the mid-1990s seems to have increased yields by taking the poorest fields out of production. Growing farmer interest in intercropping coffee with food crops suggests that there may be a means of stretching Rwanda’s most limiting resource—land area— thereby enabling farmers to achieve a better combination of food and cash crops. Also, the fact that the coffee sector survives at all in the face of numerous adversities is a weighty testament to its potential.food security, food policy, Rwanda, coffee, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,