Suchergebnisse

Back in the 1970s, when discussion concerning economic development was monopolized by the concept of Gross National Product (GNP), King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan developed the term Gross National Hapiness (GNH) as an alternative approach to development. Though the last 25 years of his reign saw Bhutan's economy grow at an average annual rate of 7% while maintaining environmental quality and social capital, the recent stepping down of the king and the transition to democracy have left Bhutanese policy with an aspiration to uphold his GNH legacy, but without his intuitive guidance on its practical pursuit. In its absence, there is a need to base the concept of GNH on a concrete, objective basis. As an effort to place the discussion on a quantitative and rigorous social scientific basis, Bhutan is inviting scholars from around the world through its annual international conference on GNH. This field note offers a discussion reflecting upon the conference and the concept of GNH.

Worsening environmental conditions threaten to undermine progress in reducing rural poverty. Little is known, however, about the prospects for farmer adaptations to mitigate this threat, in particular through opportunities for income diversification presented by recent non-agricultural growth. We study the effects of increasing water scarcity in India using quasi-random, geologically determined differences in access to groundwater. The drying up of wells results in a precipitous and persistent decline in farm income and wealth, with little evidence of agricultural adaptation. However, labor reallocation to off-farm employment appears successful in maintaining overall income, particularly in locations with a more developed manufacturing sector. (JEL O13, O18, Q12, Q15, Q18, Q25, Q28)

The imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers in India is widely blamed for low yields, poor soil health, pollution of water resources, and large public expenditures on subsidies. To address the issue, the government of India is investing in a large-scale, expensive program of individualizedsoil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations, with the hope that scientific information will lead farmers to optimize the fertilizer mix. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the Indian state of Bihar in what we believe to be the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the program as currently implemented. We found no evidence of any impact of soil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations on actual fertilizer use or the willingness to pay for lacking nutrients (elicited using aBecker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism). Several factors could be driving these results, including a lack of understanding, lack of confidence in the information's reliability, or the costs of the recommended fertilizer mixes. We provide evidence that suggestslack of confidence is the main factor inhibiting farmers' response ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; CSISA; DCA; CRP7 ; SAO; EPTD ; CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)