Policy-induced Innovation in Sub-Saharan African Agriculture: A Multilateral Malmquist Productivity Index Approach

To meet the [African] crisis one must turn to agricultural-led growth. But, based on historical experience, an agricultural-led strategy must be framed in no less than a twenty-year horizon and must entail a combination of technological innovation, policy reform, and institutional restructuring because each, by itself, is limited. (Eicher, 1989)     

Solidarity.com? Class and collective action

conclusion In detailing the evolution of the economic landscape from factory town to electronic vil-lage and in discussing how class and collective action may be analyzed in the context of the electronic village, my goal has been to provide a framework that researchers can use to develop meaningful studies of class and collective action in the electronic village.     

Some methodological aspects of innovation research

From the policy point of view it is essential to understand the links between firm and management characteristics and the outcome of the firm's innovative endeavours, i.e. success or failure. This is achieved via firm behaviour variables, and the causal links between variables at all three levels (characteristics, behaviour, outcome) are demonstrated using interelated sub-systems of variables derived from empirical data obtained from the SAPPHO results.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Healthcare Costs in Adult Life

ABSTRACT

The current study aims to present the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and examine the healthcare costs associated with primary, allied, and specialist healthcare services. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health is a general health survey of four nationally representative age cohorts. The current study uses 20 years of survey and administrative data (1996–2015) from the cohort born 1973–1978. Overall, 41% of women indicated at least one category of childhood adversity. The most commonly reported type of childhood adversity was having a household member with a mental illness (16%), with the most commonly reported ACES category being psychological abuse (17%). Women who had experienced adversity in childhood had higher healthcare costs than women who had not experienced adversity. The healthcare costs associated with experiences of adversity in childhood fully justify a comprehensive policy and practice review.     

A Structural Evaluation of a Large‐Scale Quasi‐Experimental Microfinance Initiative

This paper uses a structural model to understand, predict, and evaluate the impact of an exogenous microcredit intervention program, the Thai Million Baht Village Fund program. We model household decisions in the face of borrowing constraints, income uncertainty, and high‐yield indivisible investment opportunities. After estimation of parameters using preprogram data, we evaluate the model's ability to predict and interpret the impact of the village fund intervention. Simulations from the model mirror the data in yielding a greater increase in consumption than credit, which is interpreted as evidence of credit constraints. A cost–benefit analysis using the model indicates that some households value the program much more than its per household cost, but overall the program costs 30 percent more than the sum of these benefits.     

POLICIES AND IMPACT: AN ANALYSIS OF VILLAGE‐LEVEL MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS

This paper uses variation in policies and institutional characteristics to evaluate the impacts of village‐level microfinance institutions in rural Thailand. To identify impacts, we use policies related to the successful/unsuccessful provision of services as exogenous variation in effective financial intermediation. We find that institutions, particularly those with good policies, can promote asset growth, consumption smoothing and occupational mobility, and can decrease moneylender reliance. Specifically, cash‐lending institutions—production credit groups and especially women's groups—are successful in providing intermediation and its benefits to members, while buffalo banks and rice banks are not. The policies identified as important to intermediation and benefits: the provision of savings services, especially pledged savings accounts; emergency services; and training and advice. Surprisingly, much publicized policies such as joint liability, default consequences, or repayment frequency had no measured impacts. (JEL: 012, 016)