Psychological health before, during, and after an economic crisis : results from Indonesia, 1993 - 2000

The 1997 Indonesian financial crisis resulted in severe economic dislocation and political upheaval, and the detrimental consequences for economic welfare, physical health, and child education have been previously established in numerous studies. We also find the crisis adversely impacted population psychological well-being. We document substantial increases in several different dimensions of psychological distress among male and female adults across the entire age distribution over the crisis period. In addition, the imprint of the crisis can be seen in the differential impacts of the crisis on low education groups, the rural landless, and residents in those provinces that were hit hardest by the crisis. Elevated levels of psychological distress persist even after indicators of economic well-being such as household consumption had returned to pre-crisis levels suggesting long-term deleterious effects of the crisis on the psychological well-being of the Indonesian population.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Disease Control&Prevention,Gender and Health,Population Policies,Health Systems Development&Reform

Measuring power

This paper focuses on dynamics within couples, although the authors recognize that dynamics among extended family members and across generations are of substantial interest. Decisions about resource allocations, control over economic resources, whether and how much one works, are all examined.Households. ,Resource allocation. ,Labor. ,Gender. ,

What Kind of Agricultural Strategies Lead to Broad-Based Growth: Implications For Country-Led Agricultural Investment Programs

Without renewed attention to sustained agricultural productivity growth, most small farms in developing countries will become increasingly unviable economic and social units. Sustained agricultural productivity growth and poverty reduction will require progress on a number of fronts, most importantly increased public goods investments to agriculture; a policy environment that supports private investment in input, output, and financial markets and provision of key support services; a more level global trade policy environment; supportive donor programs; and improved governance. Subsidies, if they are focused, appropriately conceived, effectively implemented, and temporary, can play a complementary role but should not – based on both the Asian and African evidence presented here – be seen as the primary engine of growth. Most of these challenges can be met through country-led agricultural investment strategies that mobilize the political will to adopt the policies and public investments which substantial evidence demonstrates have the greatest chances of 5 driving sustainable pro-poor agricultural growth.Agricultural strategies, investment programs, Feed The Future, Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty,