SUBTHEME 6.3 URBAN-RURAL LINKAGES AND NONFARM RURAL DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT 1: EFFICIENCY OF THE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF FARMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IFPRI Team:
Miguel Robles
Project Duration: Objectives of project
October 2009- October 2011
The objective of this project is to develop a modeling framework to better understand the determinants of the size distribution of farms in developing countries and to evaluate whether the typical size distribution of farms in developing countries can be regarded as efficient or not. If inefficiencies are present, two questions are of interest: what is the size of that inefficiency and what are the determinants?
Research Approach
This project relies on a dynamic macro modeling framework in which the size distribution of farms arises endogenously. In the model, the size distribution of farms will depend on the functioning of credit, labor and land markets as well as on the stock of human capital located in rural and urban areas. Also, the ability to bring resources from urban areas to rural ones will be analyzed as a determinant of the size distribution of farms
Progress, Research Results, and Major Research Findings in 2010
During 2010, we have established links with potential researchers interested in joint collaborations with IFPRI. However, as the project has been in a stand-by situation during 2010, no other concrete progress has been possible during the year. As the project implies more intense conceptual and theoretical work, it has been taken more time than expected to find potential sources of funding for its implementation.
Plans for 2011 In 2011, we will work on concrete proposals with external collaborators to secure funding opportunities and begin research activities.
PROJECT 2: DETERMINANTS OF REMITTANCES IFPRI Team:
Project Duration: Objectives of project
Maximo Torero andAngelino Viceisza June 2009 –Ongoing
Remittances form a very important source of income for many developing countries and can constitute a large percentage of the livelihood of many poor families in these countries. Understanding the behavioral determinants of remittances, in particular the types of motives drive remittances, is therefore important for designing policies that reduce poverty. This project intends to enhance such understanding primarily by designing new field experiments to test different determinants of remittance behavior. The project will also analyze quasi-experimental and field observational data to address related questions.
Research Approach Basic theoretical modeling Behavioral field experiments Household surveys Standard analysis of cross-sectional (and perhaps, panel) data
Progress, Research Results, and Major Research Findings in 2010
A main working paper titled ―To remit or not to remit: that is the question. An experiment” was established based on a pilot study conducted in 2009. The subject population comprised Salvadoran migrants residing in the metro DC area. The pilot comprised a field experiment in which migrants were randomly allocated to one of the following treatments: (1) a low-stakes ($200) treatment in which the amount remitted arrived as cash, (2) a low-stakes treatment in which the amount remitted arrived as grocery vouchers, (3) a high- stakes ($400) treatment in which the amount remitted arrived as cash, and (4) a high-stakes remittance treatment in which the amount remitted arrived as grocery vouchers. The grocery vouchers were in the name of a designated recipient in El Salvador (non-transferrable) and could only be exchanged at a major supermarket chain in El Salvador for items that did not include alcohol or cigarettes. This 2x2- design enabled a test of two hypotheses:
2010 Internal Program Review-Markets, Trade and Institutions Division Page 23
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