Using panel data from rural Ethiopia, the article discusses the determinants of consumption growth (1989–1997), based on a microgrowth model, controlling for heterogeneity. Consumption grew substantially, but with diverse experiences across villages and individuals. Rainfall shocks have a substantial impact on consumption growth, which persists for many years. There also is a persistent growth ...

This paper describes and analyzes the results of a unique field experiment especially designed to test the effects of the level of commitment and information available to individuals when sharing risk. We find that limiting exogenously provided commitment is associated with less risk sharing, while limiting information on defections can be associated with more risk sharing. These results can be...

This paper investigates the relationship between poverty and crime. Following a disputed presidential election, fuel supply to the highlands of Madagascar was severely curtailed in early 2002, resulting in a massive increase in poverty and transport costs. Using original survey data collected in June 2002 at the height of the crisis, we Þnd that crop theft increases with transitory poverty. We ...

An identity links the rate of economic growth, the speed of poverty reduction and changes in the distribution of income during some time period in a given country. A few authors used that identity to understand the causes for observed changes in poverty and to identify the exact role of economic growth in poverty reduction. Yet, many empirical cross-country studies of the relationship between g...

The impact of ICT (information and communication technology) on economic performance has been the subject of academic research for several decades, and despite the remarkable and significant innovation in computer technology, usage, and investments, only a small growth in productivity was observed. This observations has been coined the productivity paradox. Usingmeta-analysis, my paper answers ...

Does Joining the EU Make You Happy? Evidence from Bulgaria and Romania* We examine the effect of joining the European Union on individual life satisfaction in Bulgaria and Romania in the context of the 2007 EU enlargement. Although EU membership is among the most important events in Bulgaria and Romania’s modern histories, there is no evidence on how it affected the subjective well-being of ord...

The effects of exchange coupling on magnetic switching properties of all-garnet multilayer thin film structures are investigated. All-garnet structures are fabricated by sandwiching a magneto-soft material of composition type Bi1.8Lu1.2Fe3.6Al1.4O12 or Bi₃Fe₅O12:Dy₂O₃ in between two magneto-hard garnet material layers of composition type Bi₂Dy₁Fe₄Ga₁O12 or Bi₂Dy₁Fe₄Ga₁O12:Bi₂O₃. The fabricated ...