Shifting from an exogenous weather-based to an endogenous yield-based index introduces concerns of asymmetric information, which can lead to market failures that constrain supply from providers. Larger insurance zones inhibit index manipulation, but average yield is less informative about any individual plot. We quantify this tradeoff for maize in Ghana using a spatial yield model calibrated to match observed production.

An examination of the effect of the Ghana government’s flagship program known as the One-Village-One-Dam (1V1D) initiative on the livelihoods of rural farmers in Northern Ghana. Challenges such as insufficient water storage and poor dam maintenance hindered the dams' effectiveness for irrigation and livestock rearing. The shallowness of most of the dams meant that they dried up during the dry season and therefore did not have a significant effect on crops and livestock productivity.

This study investigates the relationships between financial inclusion, gender and household welfare. The results of the study show that male-headed households are more financially included and have better welfare status than female-headed households, and that financial inclusion is associated with the welfare status of farmers.

Eight years after activities ceased, the Treatment Modality Research Initiative (TMRI) showed protective effects on household food security during and after the pandemic, but positive impacts were only seen in the treatment arm that combined cash transfers with nutrition behavior change communication (Cash+BCC)

This book outlines the origins and evolution of index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) and discusses the economics of poverty, risk management, and drylands development, as well as the value and challenges of integrating research with operational implementation to tackle development and humanitarian challenges.

This paper studies the effect of a low-cost intervention that reformulates a livestock insurance contract so that it directly addresses women's risk and is sold in units that are commensurate with women's expenditure responsibilities.

This meta-analysis, drawing on estimates of 37 primary studies, suggests potential for large-scale agricultural investments to contribute to development outcomes. However, the smaller mean effect size and the observed heterogeneity highlight the need for further research to fully understand the nuances of large-scale agricultural investments.

Gallenstein uses a modified dictator game to explore how different sources of unearned inequality influence distribution decisions. He presents evidence that distributional decisions are responsive to multiple sources of unearned inequality.

This paper explores the effect of inequality on risk sharing and insurance uptake, and proposes a theoretical model around how fairness preferences influence these behaviors.

Using a four-year post-endline followup survey of households from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of ANGeL, a nutrition-and-gender-sensitive agricultural intervention in Bangladesh, this study suggests that bundling nutrition and agriculture training may contribute to resilience as well as to sustained impacts on consumption, women’s empowerment, and asset holdings in the medium term.