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Rural Institutions, Agricultural Development, and Pro-Poor Economic Growth

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  • Roumasset, James

Abstract

According to conventional wisdom, the ideal form of pro-poor economic development is through investment in agriculturally-led growth. In the early stages of growth, increased production decreases food prices and shifts out the demand for labor. Inasmuch as poor households disproportionately consume food and earn a relatively large share of their income from labor, both mechanisms benefit the poor. Agricultural economists typically recommend a panoply of government interventions to go along with the investments in new technology and infrastructure, including price-supports and stabilization schemes, credit and input subsidies, and crop insurance. The interventionist policy recommendations, however, are based on a variety of misconceptions and misinterpretations about farmer behavior and rural institutions.
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  • Roumasset, James, 2004. "Rural Institutions, Agricultural Development, and Pro-Poor Economic Growth," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 1(01), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:phajad:165765
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.165765
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    Cited by:

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    2. Watanabe, Michio & Jinji, Naoto & Kurihara, Mitsuyo, 2009. "Is the development of the agro-processing industry pro-poor?: The case of Thailand," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 443-455, September.
    3. Herath, Deepananda P.B. & Weersink, Alfons, 2007. "Peasants and plantations in the Sri Lankan tea sector: causes of the change in their relative viability," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(01), pages 1-17.
    4. James Roumasset, 2006. "The Economics of Agricultural Development: What Have We Learned? Processes," Working Papers 200604, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    5. Inga Mareike Nienkerke & Yogesh Sawant & Jonas Jörin & Anish Holla & Anthony Patt, 2025. "Escaping chronic poverty: long-term impacts of an agricultural development program," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 5073-5093, February.
    6. Llanto, Gilberto M. & Geron, Maria Piedad S. & Badiola, Jocelyn Alma R., 2016. "Comprehensive Study on Credit Programs to Smallholders," Discussion Papers DP 2016-48, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    7. Herath, Deepananda P.B. & Weersink, Alfons, 2006. "Structural Changes in the Sri Lankan Tea Industry: Family Farms vs. Plantations," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25406, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Majah-Leah Ravago & James Roumasset & Kimberly Burnett, 2008. "Resource management for Sustainable Development of Island Economies," Working Papers 200804, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    9. James Roumasset, 2007. "Population and Agricultural Development," Working Papers 200702, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    10. Roumasset, James, 2008. "A new institutional approach to pro-poor agricultural development: Lessons from Asia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5-6), pages 378-388.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Security and Poverty;

    JEL classification:

    • Q14 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Finance
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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