In the past dozen years, a literature
has developed arguing that urbanization has unfolded
differently in post-independence Sub-Saharan Africa than in
the rest of the developing world, with implications for
African economic growth overall. While African countries are
more urbanized than other countries at comparable levels of
income, it is well-recognized that total and sector gross
domestic product data are of very low quality, especially in

This paper uses farm panel data from
Indonesia to examine dynamic patterns of land use, capital
investments, and wages in agriculture. The empirical
analysis shows that an increase in real wages has induced
the substitution of labor by machines among relatively large
farmers. Large farmers tend to increase the scale of
operation by renting in more land when real wages increase.
Machines and land are complementary if the scale of

Despite its vast agriculture potential,
Africa is increasingly dependent on food imports from the
rest of the world to satisfy its consumption needs. Food
output has not kept pace with population growth, and more
than 80 percent of production gains since 1980 have come
from the expansion of cropped areas rather than from greater
productivity of areas already cultivated. This paper looks
at the current requirements for seed trade in Africa, the

The wide media coverage of the series as
well as the interest in the blog show that the debate has
been gradually moving from ministerial corridors to the
public arena. This latest update foresees that the Tanzanian
economy will maintain its resilience by continuing to grow
at about 7 percent in the coming years. If some clouds are
looming on the external and fiscal horizons, the update
argues that the risks they pose should be manageable. The

Ukraine has untapped growth potential.
Ukraine has one of the most fertile agricultural lands in
the world, an attractive geographical location in Europe,
bordering the European Union, the largest market in the
world with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than $16
trillion, and a large domestic market of almost 50 million
consumers. This note argues that the stunted growth of the
private sector goes a long way in explaining Ukraine's

This document provides a gendered
analysis of the horticulture, tourism, and call center
global value chains (GVCs), based on a survey of the
literature and case studies carried out in Honduras, Kenya,
and the Arab Republic of Egypt. The studies focus on export
sectors that have had high female employment and have been
relatively underexplored from the angle of trade and gender
research. The studies show that GVCs and their upgrading

This paper employs decomposition methods
to analyze differences in agricultural productivity between
male and female land managers in Ethiopia. It employs data
from the 2011-2012 Ethiopian Rural Socioeconomic Survey. An
overall 23.4 percent gender differential in agricultural
productivity is estimated at the mean in favor of male land
managers, of which 10.1 percentage points are explained by
differences in land manager characteristics, land

Whether the negative relationship
between farm size and productivity that is confirmed in a
large global literature holds in Africa is of considerable
policy relevance. This paper revisits this issue and
examines potential causes of the inverse productivity
relationship in Rwanda, where policy makers consider land
fragmentation and small farm sizes to be key bottlenecks for
the growth of the agricultural sector. Nationwide plot-level

Urban agriculture contributes to local
economic development, poverty alleviation, the social
inclusion of the urban poor and women, as well as to the
greening of the city and the productive reuse of urban
wastes. Urban agriculture encompasses a wide variety of
production systems in both urban as well as peri-urban
areas. This study examines the contribution of urban
agriculture to livelihoods, food security, health, and the

This discussion paper summarizes
observed and projected trends in extreme weather events,
present-day climate variability, and future climate change
and their impacts on China's different regions.
Findings are presented from China's national assessment
report on climate change (2007) and second national
assessment report on climate change (2011) as well as other
studies by Chinese and international experts. In addition to

This document summarizes the approach
that the global partnership for oceans (GPO) will take in
its work with countries to help improve the health of the
oceans and reduce coastal poverty. Restoring the health of
the world's ocean is a global challenge that can and
must be solved if one has to alleviate poverty, build
resilient communities, and foster strong coastal economies.
The natural systems underpinning the health of the ocean and

This sourcebook summarizes the outputs
and lessons of the Livestock in Africa: improving data for
better policies project. It aims to present the challenges
facing professionals collecting and analyzing livestock data
and statistics and possible solutions. While the Sourcebook
does not address all conceivable issues related to enhancing
livestock data and underlining statistical issues, it does
represent a unique document for a number of reasons. To