Targeting, bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing-country agriculture: Evidence from Malawi

Vista sencilla de ítem
dc.creatorHaile, Beliyou
dc.creatorAzzarri, Carlo
dc.creatorRoberts, C.
dc.creatorSpielman, David J.
dc.date2017-05
dc.date2017-01-30T15:13:09Z
dc.date2017-01-30T15:13:09Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:07:50Z
dc.descriptionAgronomic analyses of new technologies are often conducted under carefully controlled research station programs or trials managed by self‐selected farmers. Oftentimes, the technologies are then scaled up with minimal evaluation under real‐world conditions. Yet, the interim step between agronomic trials and large‐scale promotion is crucial to generate evidence on the social and economic impact of technologies that is both internally valid and generalizable. The article focuses on a participatory action research program in Malawi designed to test and identify scalable technology options to intensify the smallholder sector and contribute to poverty reduction and food and nutrition security. We examine the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers testing technologies and find evidence of systematic targeting of better‐endowed farmers. After controlling for observable differences using matching and a doubly robust estimator, we find evidence of early positive effects on maize yield and harvest value, although placebo tests suggest possible selection on unobservables. We note that attention should be given to program design and household characterization to better define and improve targeting criteria, technology selection, and external validity.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/79448
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/95435
dc.languageen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relationhttp://purl.umn.edu/211697
dc.relationhttps://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbab054
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceHaile, B., Azzarri, C., Roberts, C. and Spielman, D.J. 2016. Targeting, bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing-country agriculture: Evidence from Malawi. Agricultural Economics 48:1-10
dc.subjectagriculture
dc.subjectinnovation
dc.subjectresearch
dc.subjectintensification
dc.subjectpolicies
dc.subjectseeds
dc.subjecttechnology
dc.subjecthouseholds
dc.subjectmaize
dc.subjectsmallholders
dc.subjectnutrition
dc.subjectharvesting
dc.subjectfood security
dc.subjectdevelopment programmes
dc.subjectagronomy
dc.titleTargeting, bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing-country agriculture: Evidence from Malawi
dc.typeJournal Article

Archivos

Colecciones

Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)