Search our database of 1,200+ summaries of randomized evaluations conducted by our affiliates in 98 countries. To browse key policy recommendations from a subset of these evaluations, visit the Policy Publications tab above.

Displaying 9-16 of 119
Two construction workers shoveling dirt.

Investigating Rural Labor Markets Among the Ultra-Poor in Northern Ghana

Abhijit Banerjee
Dean Karlan
Robert Osei
Hannah Trachtman
Christopher Udry
Researchers designed an employment program in northern Ghana and evaluated participants’ willingness to engage in paid labor and carry out complex tasks on the job.
Man bends over between rows of sugarcane

Agricultural Microinsurance for Sugar Cane Farmers in Kenya

Lorenzo Casaburi
Jack Willis
Researchers partnered with a large sugar cane company to see if delaying the premium payment until after the harvest would increase farmers’ demand for insurance. Researchers found that farmers were much more likely to purchase insurance when the payments were delayed until after the harvest.
farmer sitting with his crop (onions)

Providing Foodstuffs and Cash Loans to Improve Smallholder Farming in Zambia

Gunther Fink
Kelsey Jack
Felix Masiye
In Zambia, researchers examined the impact of access to seasonal credit on farming households’ consumption, labor allocation, and agricultural output. The results suggest that access to food and cash loans during the lean season increased agricultural output and consumption, decreased off-farm labor...
two female farmers looking at a cell phone

Mobile Money and Agricultural Investment in Mozambique

Catia Batista
Pedro Vicente
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering interest-paying mobile money saving accounts to farmers, and in some cases farmers’ friends, on their financial behavior such as agricultural investment. Providing farmers access to interest-bearing mobile savings accounts...
Man walking in corn field

Innovative Finance for Technology Adoption in Western Kenya

Lauren Falcao Bergquist
Marshall Burke
Edward Miguel
Researchers randomly evaluated whether well-timed access to credit would allow maize farmers in Kenya to make better use of storage and sell their output at higher prices. The loan offers allowed farmers to store more maize and earn higher revenues, with larger revenue impacts for farmers granted...
Three men bend over to plant seeds in plowed field

Agricultural Input Subsidies and Savings in Mozambique

Michael Carter
Rachid Laajaj
Dean Yang
Researchers partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique to assess the impact of both vouchers and savings programs on smallholder farmers’ use of agricultural technologies and household well-being. The temporary subsidy for technology adoption increased use of fertilizer and improved...
Farmer holds a hoe

Are Rainwater Harvesting Techniques Profitable for Small-Scale Farmers? The Adoption and Impact of RWH Techniques in Niger

Jenny Aker
Kelsey Jack
In Niger, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing training and conditional or unconditional cash transfers on farmers’ adoption and use of an environmental technology, their resulting land use, agricultural production and profitability, and labor allocation...
Farm worker text messaging on mobile phone in rural field

Improving Price Negotiations and Profits through SMS-based Agricultural Information for Farmers in India

Marcel Fafchamps
Bart Minten
Researchers partnered with Thomson-Reuters to evaluate whether receiving information through SMS messages generated economic benefits for farmers in India. Results showed no effect of the intervention on prices, crop losses, or cultivation practices. However, increased access to information seems to...