New climate emphasis within analysis of multilateral agricultural investments in Sub-Saharan Africa
Agriculture plays a dominant role in the economies of sub-Saharan African countries though productivity has historically lagged behind other regions.
Presenting an Evaluation of Existing Poverty Measures
Agreeing on a definition of poverty is central to producing valid and reliable measures. Defining poverty, and a normative adequate standard of living, also carries practical significance for targeting assistance and tracking outcomes.
Introducing a new project-level glimpse of multilateral agricultural investments in Sub-Saharan Africa
Through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) adopted in 2003, African countries have re-prioritized agriculture as a key lever for development.
Categorizing Small-Scale Producers – Part 2: Visualizing Definitions with Consequences
This is part two in a two-part series on categorizing small-scale producers. In the last post, we looked at the fact that the majority of the literature does not offer a definition o
Categorizing Small-Scale Producers – Part 1: Defining the Problem
The idea of working with small-scale producers, also known as small-scale farmers, is ubiquitous in the development literature, so much so that the term made it into SDG target 2.3: “By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers…” However, an exact defini
Measurement Choices - Multi-Crop Plot Area (Part 2)
Over the last year and a half, EPAR has constructed over 150 indicators related to agricultural development, and shared our decisions on data cleaning and indicator construction.
Explorable Data around Self-Help Group Prevalence and Coverage
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa can be defined as mutual assistance organizations through which individuals undertake collective action in order to improve their own lives. “Collective action” implies that individuals share their time, labor, money, or other assets with the group.
Measurement Choices - Yield Area Measure (Part 1)
Over the last year and a half, EPAR has constructed over 150 indicators related to agricultural development, and shared our decisions on data cleaning and indicator construction.
Climate Change Impacts on Small Scale Producers
Agricultural systems worldwide are undergoing changes due to shifts in a variety of factors including socioeconomic development, population growth and increasing variable and unpredictable climate conditions.
The EPAR Indicator Query Tool: From Data to Dashboard
For over two years, EPAR has worked to create agricultural indicators based on the data collected through the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Survey – Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA).
Private, Public, and Philanthropic Funding for Global Agricultural and Health Research and Development
Research and development (R&D) is work that pertains to innovation, introduction, and improvement of products and processes.
Explorable Data around Self-Help Group Prevalence and Coverage
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa can be defined as mutual assistance organizations through which individuals undertake collective action in order to improve their own lives. “Collective action” implies that individuals share their time, labor, money, or other assets with the group.
Measurement Choices - Multi-Crop Plot Area (Part 2)
Over the last year and a half, EPAR has constructed over 150 indicators related to agricultural development, and shared our decisions on data cleaning and indicator construction.
Measurement Choices - Yield Area Measure (Part 1)
Over the last year and a half, EPAR has constructed over 150 indicators related to agricultural development, and shared our decisions on data cleaning and indicator construction.
Climate Change Impacts on Small Scale Producers
Agricultural systems worldwide are undergoing changes due to shifts in a variety of factors including socioeconomic development, population growth and increasing variable and unpredictable climate conditions.
The EPAR Indicator Query Tool: From Data to Dashboard
For over two years, EPAR has worked to create agricultural indicators based on the data collected through the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Survey – Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA).
Explorable Data Around Self-Help Group Prevalence and Coverage
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa can be defined as mutual assistance organizations through which individuals undertake collective action in order to improve their own lives. “Collective action” implies that individuals share their time, labor, money, or other assets with the group.
Guide to Topic Modeling for Qualitative Research – Interpreting the Results (Part 2)
This is Part 2 in a two-part series about topic modeling for qualitative research.
Guide to Topic Modeling for Qualitative Research – Building the Model (Part 1)
This post is Part 1 in a two-part series about topic modeling for qualitative research. In this post, we focus on what topic modeling is, how EPAR uses topic modeling, and the technical nitty-gritty of writing and running your own topic modeling code.
Regulating Cash-in Cash-Out Networks in LMICs
Many individuals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face a financial infrastructure gap. One way organizations have begun addressing this financial infrastructure gap in low-income and rural communities is through the provision of digital financial services (DFS). To utilize DFS however, users must be able to convert physical cash into electronic money through cash-in, cash-out (CICO) networks.
Risk Perceptions among Smallholder Farmers in Mali
Risk – and the perception of risk - shapes our lives and the decisions we make every day. In a recent paper published in Risk Analysis, EPAR with lead author Alison Cullen analyzes perceptions of risk among smallholder farmers in Mali, with a focus on exploring how gender affects risk perceptions.
Conceptualizing Self-Sufficiency for Aid Recipient Countries
Multilateral and bilateral donors generally intend for economic development aid to recipient countries to decrease over time and for those countries to move toward greater self-sufficiency. Recent EPAR research looks at whether the concept of "self-sufficiency" for aid recipient countries is defined in the academic literature, grey literature, and donor policy documents.
Factors Affecting Private Sector Investment in Global Health R&D
Private sector investment in overall health research and development (R&D) exceeds $150 billion annually, but only $5.9 billion of this is focused on global health diseases that primarily affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A recent EPAR review examines the evidence in the literature for five hypothesized disincentives to private sector investment in global health R&D, and looks at examples of policy incentives that may help promote private sector investment.
Addressing Challenges to Private Global Health R&D Investment Through Partnerships
EPAR reviewed the literature on factors affecting private sector investment in global health R&D. Partnerships are common across all phases of preclinical and clinical research. Both within the private sector and spanning the private, public, and philanthropic sectors, partnerships are generally seen as effective mechanisms to overcome research disincentives and increase private investment in global health R&D.
Long-term Impacts of Cash Transfer Programs: What Does the Evidence Say?
Cash transfer programs have become an increasingly common tool used in low- and middle- income countries to promote investments in education, improve health outcomes, and combat poverty. EPAR conducted “a review of reviews”, with an emphasis on reported evidence of long-term impacts of cash transfer programs.
Who Has Heard of Mobile Money?
Being aware of the potential benefits and services of Digital Financial Services is pre-requisite to accessing them. We analyzed the effect of various sociodemographic characteristics on an individual’s likelihood to be aware of DFS, focusing in particular on differences by gender.
Donors’ Dilemma: Bilateral versus Multilateral Aid Channels
Foreign aid donors face many decisions about how they should disburse aid, and must be able to justify these choices to their constituents. Among the choices that donors must make is whether to allocate via bilateral versus multilateral channels.
Providing Legal Identity to All
There are more than 1.1 billion individuals without official proof of identity throughout the world today, according to the World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) program.
Private, Public, and Philanthropic Funding for Global Agricultural and Health Research and Development
Research and development (R&D) is work that pertains to innovation, introduction, and improvement of products and processes.
Digital Credit Regulatory Oversight, Overlaps, and Gaps
Digital credit refers to loans that are issued remotely (often without any brick-and-mortar infrastructure), automatically (minimizing the time and number of steps between registration and the distribution of loans), and instantly (often in less
Digital Credit: An Emerging Market
Digital credit products are rapidly emerging in the digital financial services (DFS) market as a new, innovative form of accessing electronic money.
Food Security and Nutrition in Low-Income Countries
Food insecurity and poor nutrition, which can lead to physical and mental impairment, are widespread problems in many low-income countries. We review EPAR's researchto date on issues related to food security and nutrition.
Thinking About the Impact of Gender in Development Questions
How might policy decisions and interventions have a different effect for women compared to men in rural households? We explore what EPAR's body of research to date on gender in developing countries reveals about this question.
Does Money Grow on Phones?
Mobile money, or the use of mobile devices to send, receive, and transfer money digitally, is becoming more popular around the world and offers a potential pathway to increase financial inclusion amon
National Identification Programs Presentation in Myanmar
EPAR was invited to present their work on national identity card programs at a workshop organized by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue for Myanmar's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, and Population.
Global Mobile Phone Coverage and Expansion
Researchers at the World Bank, in a 2012 report, estimated that nearly 3 in 4 people worldwide now have access to a mobile phone.
Economic Growth & Poverty in Nigeria: Part 2 of 2
This is the second in a two-part series on measuring and understanding economic growth and poverty in Nigeria, presenting findings from EPAR Technical Report #327. Nigeria became Africa’s largest economy in 2014.
Economic Growth & Poverty in Nigeria: Part 1 of 2
This is the first in a two-part series on measuring and understanding economic growth and poverty in Nigeria, presenting findings from EPAR Technical Report #327.
Impact of Rural and Agricultural Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 60% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa depend on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods.