Socio Economic Research and Analysis (SERA)

FAO estimates that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020, an increase of 1.5 percentages points over the previous year (FAO 2021). The adverse effects of climate change and structural inequalities in economic opportunities are key drivers of food insecurity and poverty globally. Addressing these interlinked challenges through improved policies and programmes requires solid evidence.

To this end, the research agenda of the SERA team is structured around the two interconnected thematic pillars of economic inclusion and inclusive climate change actions in rural spaces.

Inclusive climate change actions

Climate change and associated increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather is causing widespread and, in some cases, irreversible damage to natural and human systems (IPCC 2022). This challenge is particularly acute in rural spaces, where the intersection between climate dependent livelihoods and socio-economic vulnerabilities are pushing people into conditions of poverty and hunger that are extremely hard to escape.

Adaptation to climate change in small-scale producer settings is critical for sustaining rural transformation processes. Yet, populations living in poverty or facing other social and economic barriers to accessing productive and protective resources, institutions, and markets face substantial constraints to adaptation.

In this context, the SERA team seeks to build evidence to identify effective interventions to reduce the costs and risks of adaptation for vulnerable small-scale producers and to create conditions for them to benefit from efforts to mitigate emissions and sequester carbon through nature-based solutions.

Key areas of work under this theme include:

  1. Leveraging social protection to support climate adaptation among small-scale producers
  2. Inclusive and equitable landscape restoration and conservation actions
  3. Actionable weather services and early warning approaches
Investments in surface water management infrastructure, input transfer programmes, and advisory services yield large benefits for crop producers in coastal Bangladesh
2024

This brief is based on the report on Estimating returns to surface water management infrastructures – Evidence from coastal Bangladesh.

The unjust climate. Measuring the impacts of climate change on the rural poor, women and youth: Annexes
2024

These annexes are supplementing "The unjust climate - Measuring the impacts of climate change on rural poor, women and youth" report, offering in-depth...

Promoting inclusive climate actions in agrifood systems
2023

Agrifood systems are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, while at the same time they are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions....

Projects
Climate-adaptive capacities and livelihood strategies under a prolonged drought. Baseline findings and policy implications for community-based support in Isiolo, Kenya.
2023

This impact evaluation provides information regarding evaluation design of the “Building back better and greener: Integrated approaches for an inclusive...

Economic inclusion

The term “economic inclusion” is conceptualized as a transformative process that leads to greater income-generating capacity, while addressing the productive, financial, social, and psychological factors that hinder this process (FAO 2020; World Bank 2021). Its multi-dimensional nature requires complex and multifaceted interventions. Economic inclusion policies and programmes typically involve varying combinations of direct transfers, skills and knowledge generation, and support to link beneficiaries to markets and institutions. How these various elements are combined, targeted, and sequenced can influence their efficacy.

The SERA team supports evidence generation to enhance the efficacy of economic inclusion projects and programmes. The team draws on a long history of evidence generation initiated under the From Protection to Production (PtoP) project, which was a partnership with national governments, UNICEF, and national research institutions of seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It extends this work new activities focused on:

  1. Transitioning from humanitarian responses to developmental approaches in fragile contexts
  2. Support countries to increase the market engagement and commercialization of small-scale producers, particularly youth, women, and poor and vulnerable people, through evidence generation in the context of value chain interventions
Projects
Building evidence on agricultural value chains interventions in refugee settings. Baseline analysis in Uganda.
2023

This baseline report examines the Refugee Agricultural Value Chains for Economic Self-reliance (RAVES) project in Uganda. The programme adopts an innovative...

Policy Brief
The impacts of COVID-19 and policy responses in rural economies. Findings from a local-economy general equilibrium modelling study.
2023

In this study, we use multiple local economy-wide impact evaluation (LEWIE) models to estimate the impacts of the pandemic and lockdowns on rural producers...

Publications
Cash transfers and women's economic inclusion: Experimental evidence from Zambia
2021

This paper investigates whether an increase in exogenous income through the Child Grants model of the Social Cash Transfer programme in Zambia fosters...

Policy Brief
Cash transfers and women's economic inclusion: Evidence from Zambia
2022

This is the policy brief of a paper that investigates whether an increase in exogenous income through the Child Grants model of the Social Cash Transfer...