The 1933 Soviet famine was not the inevitable result of poor harvests but of Stalin’s collectivisation and procurement policies, which disproportionately targeted Ukrainians and produced catastrophic,...

Firms were more likely to enter Angola’s market after the civil war if they employed managers with prior, Angola-specific export experience – highlighting the critical role of managerial human capital in overcoming fixed entry costs in post-conflict economies.

Greenfield investment plays a critical role in Africa’s integration into global value chains, with inward investment in manufacturing boosting forward participation, while outward African investment in services enhances overall participation.

China’s New Rural Pension Scheme unexpectedly lowered the high cost of migration by freeing younger workers from household duties – boosting migration, wages, household welfare, and even national GDP.

Index insurance can help smallholder farmers take on more productive risks, but its impacts remain modest, uncertain, and highly context dependent.

Economic research plays a very useful role in testing our priors and establishing when widely held beliefs turn out to be false.

Agricultural productivity in developing countries remains low and uneven, with high-return crops offering significant potential gains but limited adoption due to clustered social networks that restrict the diffusion of new technologies.

Argentina’s volatile macroeconomic and political environment – marked by inflation, debt crises, and policy instability – makes it difficult to commit to the long-term investments needed for climate adaptation, despite the country’s high vulnerability to extreme climate events. While the advanced and export-oriented agricultural sector has incentives to adopt adaptive technologies, weak institutions, limited finance, and short-term policy cycles hinder broader resilience efforts against escalating climate risks.

Index insurance can help smallholder farmers take on more productive risks, but its impacts remain modest, uncertain, and highly context dependent.

Competing for development grants helped divided communities in Indonesia work together – and fight less.

Pakistan’s tax system shows that even with extensive withholding and VAT-based reporting, weak documentation and limited enforcement capacity – exacerbated by political resistance – undermine revenue ...

In Uganda, digital cash transfers had contrasting effects on women’s empowerment: mobile money boosted women’s personal income and decision-making power, while jointly disclosed cash transfers reduced...

Deforestation is a major source of global carbon emissions, but efforts to curb deforestation rates have faced significant challenges. In this VoxDevLit, we synthesise recent economic research that at...

How can researchers write accessible summaries of academic research? In this blog, I reflect on some key takeaways from editing over 500 VoxDev articles that summarise policy-relevant research in deve...

How can researchers write accessible summaries of academic research? In this blog, I reflect on some key takeaways from editing over 500 VoxDev articles that summarise policy-relevant research in deve...