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Institution

International Food Policy Research Institute

NonprofitWashington D.C., District of Columbia, United States
About: International Food Policy Research Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Food security & Agriculture. The organization has 1217 authors who have published 4952 publications receiving 218436 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors collected and analyzed data from worldwide field observations of major LUCs from cropland, grassland, and forest to lands producing biofuel crops (i.e. corn, switchgrass, Miscanthus, poplar, and willow).
Abstract: Soil organic carbon (SOC) change can be a major impact of land use change (LUC) associated with biofuel feedstock production. By collecting and analyzing data from worldwide field observations of major LUCs from cropland, grassland, and forest to lands producing biofuel crops (i.e. corn, switchgrass, Miscanthus, poplar, and willow), we were able to estimate SOC response ratios and sequestration rates and evaluate the effects of soil depth and time scale on SOC change. Both the amount and rate of SOC change were highly dependent on the specific land transition. Irrespective of soil depth or time horizon, cropland conversions resulted in an overall SOC gain of 6–14% relative to initial SOC level, while conversion from grassland or forest to corn (without residue removal) or poplar caused significant carbon loss (9–35%). No significant SOC changes were observed in land converted from grasslands or forests to switchgrass, Miscanthus, or willow. The SOC response ratios were similar in both 0–30 and 0–100 cm soil depths in most cases, suggesting SOC changes in deep soil and that use of top soil only for SOC accounting in biofuel life cycle analysis (LCA) might underestimate total SOC changes. Soil carbon sequestration rates varied greatly among studies and land transition types. Generally, the rates of SOC change tended to be the greatest during the 10 years following land conversion and had declined to approach 0 within about 20 years for most LUCs. Observed trends in SOC change were generally consistent with previous reports. Soil depth and duration of study significantly influence SOC change rates and so should be considered in carbon emission accounting in biofuel LCA. High uncertainty remains for many perennial systems and forest transitions, additional field trials, and modeling efforts are needed to draw conclusions about the site- and system-specific rates and direction of change.

157 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined the association between restricted fetal growth and diseases in adulthood and found that famine has a negative impact on various health outcomes, such as depression, major affective disorder, and schizophrenia.
Abstract: There is an increasing body of literature that examines the association between restricted fetal growth and diseases in adulthood as proposed by Barker. One common way to test the hypothesis in humans is to make use of a natural disaster, such as famine, that happened during gestation and examine disease prevalence in later life. Most of the famine-based epidemiological studies use the 1944-5 Dutch Hunger Winter when a sharp decline in food intake occurred due to a German army blockade. Drawing on retrospective cohort analyses, these studies in general find that famine has a negative impact on various health outcomes. For example, prenatal exposure to famine is believed to be associated with antisocial personality disorder in early adulthood (Neugebauer, Hoek, and Susser), major affective disorders (Brown et al.), and schizophrenia (Hulshoff et al.) in adulthood, and higher BMI and waist circumference in fifty-year-old women (Ravelli et al.). However, studies (Stanner et al.) based on a small sample (less than 600 people) of survivors of the Leningrad siege of 1941-4 lead to opposite findings from those on the Dutch famine (Ravelli, van de Meulen, and Michels).1 In a word, the findings are inconclusive. Compared to the Dutch Famine, the Great Famine in China from the late 1950s to the early 1960s lasted much longer and affected more people. The estimated excess deaths numbered from 20 to 30 million (Johnson). The regional distribution of the famine was highly uneven. As shown in table 1, the percentage change of the highest mortality rate during 1959-62 relative to the average mortality rate prior to the famine in 1956-8 ranged from 14.9% in Tianjin to 474.9% in Anhui province (Yang). In addition, cities suffered much

157 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the authors surveyed the empirical literature using multi-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) models to analyse potential and actual regional trade agreements (RTAs) and found that these RTAs improve welfare, that trade creation greatly exceeds trade diversion, and that they are consistent with further global liberalisation.
Abstract: We surveyed the empirical literature using multi-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) models to analyse potential and actual regional trade agreements (RTAs). The studies indicate that these RTAs improve welfare, that trade creation greatly exceeds trade diversion, and that they are consistent with further global liberalisation. The welfare gains are bigger when models incorporate aspects of "new trade theory" such as increasing returns, imperfect competition, and links between trade liberalisation, total factor productivity growth, and capital accumulation. We also conjectured that an RTA expands market size and stability, allowing firms to pursue economies of fine specialisation, generating additional "Smithian" efficiency gains.

156 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The economic benefits of reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries, both through lower mortality rates and medical costs and through increased learning and productivity are estimated, at about $510 per infant moved from a low-birth-weight status.
Abstract: Reducing the incidence of low birth weight not only lowers infant mortality rates but also has multiple benefits over the life cycle. This study estimates the economic benefits of reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries, both through lower mortality rates and medical costs and through increased learning and productivity. The estimated economic benefits, under plausible assumptions, are fairly substantial, at about $510 per infant moved from a low-birth-weight status. The estimated gains are primarily from increases in labor productivity (partially through more education) and secondarily from avoiding costs due to infant illness and death. Thus there may be many interventions to reduce the incidence of low birth weight that are warranted purely on the grounds of saving resources or increasing productivity.

156 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the impact of emergency food aid programs after the 2002 drought in rural Ethiopia on future welfare and show that participation in food-for-work increases growth in total consumption and food consumption eighteen months after the drought.
Abstract: We identify the impact of emergency food aid programs after the 2002 drought in rural Ethiopia on future welfare. Based on a difference-in-differences matching estimator, participation in food-for-work increases growth in total consumption and food consumption eighteen months after the drought. Separately, receiving free food raises growth in food consumption, but, surprisingly, negatively impacts food security. Food-for-work benefited households in the middle and upper tail of the consumption distribution, while the better-targeted free food program benefited the poorest. Evidence suggests these impacts demonstrate accumulated and persistent effects of food aid received in the first twelve months after the drought.

156 citations


Authors

Showing all 1269 results

NameH-indexPapersCitations
Michael B. Zimmermann8343723563
Kenneth H. Brown7935323199
Thomas Reardon7928525458
Marie T. Ruel7730022862
John Hoddinott7535721372
Mark W. Rosegrant7331522194
Agnes R. Quisumbing7231118433
Johan F.M. Swinnen7057020039
Stefan Dercon6925917696
Jikun Huang6943018496
Gregory J. Seymour6638517744
Lawrence Haddad6524324931
Rebecca J. Stoltzfus6122413711
Ravi Kanbur6149819422
Ruth Meinzen-Dick6123713707
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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Institution in previous years
YearPapers
202321
202267
2021351
2020330
2019367
2018272