Filter by series
Publications
Fiscal policies to fight malnutrition – An analysis of the sugar-sweetened beverages tax in Catalonia, Spain
04/2021
This paper analyses the potential signalling effect from a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) that Catalonia introduced in May 2017, with a view to understand the ways in which, and the extent to which taxes discourage SSBs consumption.
Leveraging social protection to advance climate-smart agriculture – Evidence from Malawi
03/2021
In many developing countries the adoption of climate sustainable practices is hindered by resource and risk barriers. This paper assesses the interactions between participation in Malawi’s largest public works programme,...
Refugee-host proximity and market creation in Uganda
02/2021
Uganda currently hosts more than 1.4 million refugees and the relationship with the host population is complex. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the interactions between refugee and host-communities by using a unique dataset and by exploring a broad range of economic outcomes – such as employment opportunities, sources of income, agriculture production, and enterprises.
Adapting to high temperatures – Evidence on the impacts of sustainable agricultural practices in Uganda
02/2021
Rising temperatures due to climate change pose a significant threat to agricultural systems and the livelihoods of farmers across the globe. Identifying farm management strategies that reduce sensitivity to high temperatures is, therefore, critical for moderating the adverse effects of climate change.
The challenge of making climate adaptation profitable for farmers – Evidence from Sri Lanka’s rice sector
02/2021
Increased incidences of drought and water scarcity due to climate change is an important challenge facing Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector. Identifying farm practices that can reduce its adverse impacts on agricultural production and farmers’ livelihoods is a key policy objective in Sri Lanka.
Role of income inequality in shaping outcomes on individual food insecurity
11/2020
Despite relatively high economic growth rates in many developing countries in the last two decades, income inequality has remained high and even increased. This has important policy implications as high-income inequality undercuts the benefits of economic growth in reducing food insecurity.
Valuation of the health and climate-change benefits of healthy diets – Background paper for The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020
10/2020
The health and environmental consequences of our dietary choices impose costs on society that are currently not reflected in the price of those foods or diets that contribute to these detrimental impacts. This paper provides updated estimates of two major cost items: the healthcare-related costs associated with unhealthy diets, and the climate-change costs associated with the emissions attributable to diets and food production.
Coffee in crisis offers a lesson in resilience – Evidence from Guatemala
10/2020
The idea that resilience plays a role in mitigating the effects of disaster and climate change is becoming widespread across the development community. As a result, efforts have been made to translate the concept of resilience into actionable metrics to better understand it.
Assistance in chronic conflict areas – Evidence from South Sudan
02/2020
People living in context prone to or affected by conflict suffer from many forms of deprivation. The international community plays a crucial role in strengthening the wellbeing of affected populations, including their food security.
Farms, family farms, farmland distribution and farm labour – What do we know today?
11/2019
A better and more complete understanding of family farms is urgently needed to guide policy makers’ efforts towards achieving a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper takes stock of the number of farms worldwide, and their distribution and that of farmland, on the basis of agricultural censuses and survey data.
Smallholder adaptive responses to seasonal weather forecasts – A case study of the 2015/16 El Niño Southern Oscillation in Zambia
11/2019
Does receiving information on potential adverse weather conditions induce adaptive responses by smallholders? Do market institutions ease constraints to adaptation of these practices? This report examines these questions using a unique panel dataset of Zambian smallholder households collected before and after 2015/16 El Niño Southern Oscillation event.
Household vulnerability to food insecurity in the face of climate change in Paraguay
02/2019
This working paper analyses the effect climate change is expected to have on agricultural productivity, caloric consumption, and vulnerability to food insecurity of household agricultural producers in Paraguay.
Economic development and the evolution of internal migration – Moving in steps, returnees, and gender differences
02/2019
This paper sheds new light on internal migration processes by estimating migration flows for 31 countries, focusing on step migration and on return migration back to rural areas from urban areas. The approach is to estimate the shares of the population (by gender) that move or stay in rural and urban areas over three periods (childhood and two forward periods).
Climate-change vulnerability in rural Zambia – The impact of an El Niño-induced shock on income and productivity
02/2019
This paper examines the impacts of the El Niño during the 2015/2016 season on maize productivity and income in rural Zambia. The analysis aims at identifying whether and how sustainable land management (SLM) practices and livelihood diversification strategies have contributed to moderate the impacts of such a weather shock.
Paving the way to build the resilience of men and women – How to conduct a gender analysis of resilience
02/2019
Despite significant recent improvements in measuring resilience, there are still relevant gaps in the analysis. One of the relatively unexplored aspects of resilience is whether a genderspecific analysis of resilience capacity can become relevant for policy use. This paper contributes to the literature on resilience by analysing a data set with one of the most adopted resilience indicators and highlighting the emerging gaps.
How do extreme weather events affect livestock herders’ welfare? Evidence from Kyrgyzstan
11/2018
This paper examines the impact of the harsh 2012 winter on livestock herding households in Kyrgyzstan and identifies policy options to increase household resilience to such shocks.
Climate resilience pathways of rural households – Evidence from Ethiopia
11/2018
Climate variability and extreme events continue to impose significant challenges to households, particularly to those that are less resilient. By exploring the resilience capacity of rural Ethiopian households after the drought shock occurred in 2011, using panel data, this paper shows important socio-economic and policy determinants of households’ resilience capacity.
Cropping system diversification in Eastern and Southern Africa – Identifying policy options to enhance productivity and build resilience
09/2018
Crop diversification is an important policy objective to promote climate change adaptation, yet the drivers and impacts of crop diversification vary considerably depending on the specific combinations of crops a farmer grows.
Food security and conflict – Empirical challenges and future opportunities for research and policy making on food security and conflict
09/2018
During the previous decade there has been an increased focus on the role of food security in conflict processes, both in the academic and policy communities. While the policy community has pushed forward with new programs, the academic debate about the causal linkages between food security and conflict remains debated.
Food security and armed conflict – A cross-country analysis
08/2018
Significant progress has been made in improving global food security, yet some countries still face severe challenges. In some cases, violent armed conflict has potentially contributed to local food insecurity due to disruption of food production and agricultural markets.