This research theme includes both structural changes in agriculture and their linkages to upstream and downstream sectors and the environment, as well as the design and impacts of public policies on agricultural productivity and food security.
We analyze long-run changes in land use, deforestation, infrastructure, population dynamics, agricultural productivity and the relationship between them, as well as their reaction to climate change and shifts in the terms of trade conditions. To this end, we use a combination of remote sensing data, household, firm level and census data, and draw on a variety of empirical methods and approaches.
The analysis of public policies focuses, on the one hand, on analyzing impact of trade policies on smallholder welfare and food security, including by focusing on changes in the agricultural value chain. On the other hand, the evaluation of land rights, agricultural subsidy schemes and different extension approaches on learning, adoption, productivity and household welfare, are studied through randomized control trials and original household data collection.
Selected Projects
Formalizing land rights can reduce forest loss: Experimental evidence from Benin| Liam Wren-Lewis, Luis Becerra-Valbuena and Kenneth Houngbedji
Socioeconomic and Environmental Effects of Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia | Jérémie Gignoux, Damien Arvor, Cécile Bessou, François Libois, Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann et PSE Researchers: Jérémie Gignoux, François Libois, Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann and Julia Hélie
Providing Agricultural Inputs in the Democratic Republic of Congo| Karen Macours, Sylvie Lambert, Margaux Vinez, Tanguy Bernard
Related Publications
Benonnier, Théo, Millock, Katrin and Taraz, Vis, “Long-term migration trends and rising temperatures: The role of irrigation“, Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy (2022)
Gignoux, Jérémie, Macours, Karen, Stein, Daniel and Wright, Kelsey, “Inputs subsidies, credit constraints and expectations of future transfers: evidence from Haïti”, conditionnally accepted at the American Journal of Agricultural Economics
Bateman, Ian J., Astrid Dannenberg, Robert Elliott, Michael Finus, Phoebe Koundouri, Katrin Millock, Alistair Munro, et al. 2020. “Editorial: Economics of the Environment in the Shadow of Coronavirus.” Environmental and Resource Economics 76 (4): 519–23.
Bertelli, Olivia. 2020. “Food Security Measures in Sub-Saharan Africa. A Validation of the LSMS-ISA Scale.” Journal of African Economies 19 (1): 90–120.
Valle, Alejandro del, Alain de Janvry, and Elisabeth Sadoulet. 2020. “Rules for Recovery: Impact of Indexed Disaster Funds on Shock Coping in Mexico.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 12 (4): 1–33.
Wren-Lewis, Liam, Becerra-Valbuena, Luis and Houngbedji, Kenneth. 2020. “Formalizing land rights can reduce forest loss: Experimental evidence from Benin” Science Advances 6 (26).
Cattaneo, Cristina, Michel Beine, Christiane J. Fröhlich, Dominic Kniveton, Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso, Marina Mastrorillo, Katrin Millock, Etienne Piguet, and Benjamin Schraven. 2019. “Human Migration in the Era of Climate Change.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 13 (2): 189–206.
Macours, Karen. 2019. “Comment on ‘Estimating the Productivity Impacts of Technology Adoption in the Presence of Misclassification.’” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 101 (1): 17–18.
Macours, Karen. 2019. “Farmers’ Demand and the Traits and Diffusion of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries.” Annual Review of Resource Economics 11 (1): 483–99.
Alern, Yonas, Mathilde Maurel, and Katrin Millock. 2018. “Migration as an Adaptation Strategy to Weather Variability: An Instrumental Variables Probit Analysis.” In Adaptation to Climate Change in Sub Saharan Africa, edited by P. Berck and S. Di Falco. Environment for Development and RFF Press.
Baland, Jean-Marie, François Libois, and Dilip Mookherjee. 2018. “Forest Degradation and Economic Growth in Nepal, 2003-2010.” Journal Of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 5 (2): 401–39.
Libois, François, and Vincent Somville. 2018. “Fertility, Household Size and Poverty in Nepal.” World Development 103 (March): 311–22.
Burnod, Perrine, Heriniaina Rakotomalala, Camille Saint-Macary, and Flore Gubert. 2017. “After 10 Years of Land Reform in Madagascar: Is the Process of Land Certification Massive and Inclusive?” In Responsible Land Governance: Towards an Evidence Based Approach. Washington, D.C: The World Bank.
Dallman, Ingrid, and Katrin Millock. 2017. “Climate Variability and Inter-State Migration in India.” CESifo Economic Studies 63 (4): 560–94.
Choumert, Johanna, Pascale Combes Motel, and Katrin Millock. 2015. “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing and Transition Countries: Introduction to the Special Issue.” Environment and Development Economics 20 (4): 425–33.
Ferriere, Nathalie, and Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann. 2015. “Does Food Aid Disrupt Local Food Market? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia.” World Development 76 (C): 114–31.
Gignoux, Jérémie, Karen Macours, and Liam Wren-Lewis. 2015. “Impact of Land Administration Programs on Agricultural Productivity and Rural Development: Existing Evidence, Challenges and New Approaches.” Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies – Revue d’Etudes En Agriculture et Environnement 96 (3): 467–98.
Jedwab, Remi, and Alexander Moradi. 2015. “The Permanent Effects of Transportation Revolutions in Poor Countries: Evidence from Africa.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 98 (2): 268–84.
Millock, Katrin. 2015. “Migration and Environment.” Annual Review of Resource Economics 7 (1): 35–60.
Macours, Karen. 2014. “Adoption and Adaptation in Developing Country Agriculture.” Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies – Revue d’Etudes En Agriculture et Environnement 95 (1): 13–24.
Macours, Karen. 2013. “Volatility, Agricultural Risk, and Household Poverty: Micro-Evidence from Randomized Control Trials.” Agricultural Economics 44 (s1): 79–84.
Millock, Katrin. 2013. “The Clean Development Mechanism.” In Encyclopedia of Energy, Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, edited by Jason Shogren, 15–21. Elsevier.
Related Projects and Working Papers
Abele, Christian. “Firm Reputation in International Trade – Evidence from Disruptions to Chilean Food Exports.”
Arvor, Damien, Cécile Bessou, Jérémie Gignoux, François Libois, Andrea Renk, Daniel Miteva, Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann, and Niels Wieelard. “Long Run Social and Environmental Impact of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia.”
Baland, Jean-Marie, N. Delbart, François Libois, and S. Pattanayak. “Community Forest Management: The story behind a success story in Nepal.”
Beaumais, Olivier, Anne Briand, Katrin Millock, and Céline Nauges. 2014. “What Are Households Willing to Pay for Better Tap Water Quality? A Cross-Country Valuation Study.” Feem Working Papers 24 (March).
Becerra Valbuena, Luis, and Katrin Millock. “Gendered Migration Responses to Drought in Malawi.”
Behaghel, Luc, Jérémie Gignoux, Monica Karuhanga Beraho, Jane Kungonza, Karen Macours, Margaret Najjingo Mangheni, and Judith Odiol. “Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa: Making Extension Work.”
Ben Salem, Melika, Madior Fall, and Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann. “Prix Des Matières Premières Locaux et Internationaux Dans l’UEMOA.”
Benonnier, Théo, Katrin Millock, and Vis Taraz. 2019. “Climate Change, Migration, and Irrigation.” PSE Working Papers, April.
Bernard, Tanguy, Sylvie Lambert, Karen Macours, and Margaux Vinez. 2019. “Adoption of Improved Seeds, Evidence from DRC.” IFPRI : International Food Policy Research Institute Working Paper.
Boudreau, Laura, Alejandro del Valle, and Liam Wren-Lewis. “Public-Private Partnerships as a Commitment Device: Evidence from Mexican Disaster Insurance.”
Burnod, Perrine, Nicole Andrianirina, Céline Boue, Flore Gubert, Nelly Rakoto-Tiana, Julia Vaillant, Rado Rabeantoandro, and Raphael Ratovoarinony. 2012. “Land Reform and Certification in Madagascar: Does Perception of Tenure Security Matter and Change? : [Draft].” In Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, Washington, USA, 23-26 April, 2012. Washington, D.C: World Bank.
Cogneau, Denis, Lara Tobin, and Liam Wren-Lewis. 2015. “Land Use and Agricultural Productivity in Ghana.”
Defrance, Dimitri, Esther Delesalle, and Flore Gubert. 2020. “Is Migration Drought-Induced in Mali? An Empirical Analysis Using Panel Data on Malian Localities over the 1987-2009 Period.” 2020003. Discussion Papers (IRES – Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales).
Gignoux, Jérémie, François Libois, and Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann. “Local Health and Labour Market Effects of Palm Oil Expansion and Certification in Indonesia.”
Gignoux, Jérémie, Karen Macours, Daniel Stein, and Kelsey Wright. “Constraints to Productivity Investments by the Rural Poor in Haiti: The Role of Liquidity and Information.”
Gignoux, Jérémie, Katrin Millock, and Tristan du Puy. “Adaptation to Climate Change and Smallholding Agriculture in Indonesia.”
Gittard, Mélanie. 2020. “Climate Variability, Migration and Population in Kenya.”
Halleck-Vega, Solmaria, Antoine Mandel, and Katrin Millock. 2018. “Accelerating Diffusion of Climate-Friendly Technologies: A Network Perspective.” Ecological Economics 152 (October): 235–45.
Hu, Irène, and François Libois. 2020. “Man Overboard! Industrial Fishing as a Driver of out-Migration in Africa.”
Jedwab, Rémi. “Urbanization without Industrialization: Evidence from Consumption Cities in Africa.”
Libois, François, and Thierry Verdier. “NGO as Commitment Device for Bad Governments.”
Mallia, Paola, “You reap what (you think) you sow? Evidence on farmers’behavioral adjustments in the case of correct crop varietal identification”.
Millock, Katrin, and Stefanija Veljanoska. “Water Inequality and Conflict.”
Vanden Eynde, Oliver and Wren-Lewis, Liam, Complementarities in Infrastructure: Evidence from Rural India.