Contract farming (CF) is attractive as a possible private-sector-led strategy for improving smallholder farmers’ welfare. Yet many CF schemes suffer from high turnover of participating farmers and struggle to survive. So far, the dynamics of CF participation have remained largely unexplored. We employ duration analysis to examine factors affecting entry into and exit from different maize CF schemes in northern Ghana, focusing specifically on the impact of development projects on CF entry and exit. We find that agricultural development projects reduce the likelihood of scheme entry and increase the likelihood of exit. Our findings confirm concerns that, if interventions are not planned in accordance with relevant private-sector actors, private-sector initiatives can be hindered by competing development projects.

This paper assesses the Subramanian and Deaton (S–D) approach for imputing the caloric intake of households from food prepared away from home (FAFH) and composite foods (CF) by juxtaposing it with the imputations of alternative approaches, and extends these approaches to four additional nutrients—vitamin A, iron, zinc, and calcium. The apparent relative nutritional insignificance of FAFH and CF in Bangladesh obfuscates our efforts to assess alternatives to the S–D approach to imputation, and we remain uncertain about the relative value of the alternative imputation approaches examined. FAFH and CF—although widely consumed in Bangladesh—constitute a relatively unimportant source of nutrients, regardless of how the nutrient content of FAFH and CF is imputed.

Ethiopia pursues a public sector-led growth strategy that focuses on promoting growth through high public investment supported partly by low nominal interest rates. While the strategy has contributed to robust economic growth in the past, recent developments indicate a buildup of vulnerabilities which need to be addressed in order to sustain this growth performance. While inflation remains high (21 percent at end-2011/12), real GDP growth, which is estimated at around 7 percent in 2011/12 and is projected to decline to 6.5 percent in subsequent years under the continuation of current policies, is still robust.

This paper aims to inform policymakers, and other interested parties, about the IMF’s approach to fiscal adjustment. The approach focuses on the role of sound and sustainable government finances in promoting macroeconomic stability and growth. Achieving, and maintaining, such a fiscal position often requires adjusting fiscal policy, as well as strengthening fiscal institutions. Fiscal adjustment may involve either tightening or loosening the fiscal stance, depending on individual country circumstances.

It is widely accepted that countries' institutions play a major role in their economic development. Yet, the way they affect, and are affected by, development, and how to reform them are still poorly understood. In this companion volume, State and Business in Tanzania diagnoses the main weaknesses, root causes, and developmental consequences of Tanzania's institutions, and shows that the uncertainty surrounding its development paths and its difficulty in truly 'taking off' are related to institutional challenges. Based on a thorough account of the economic, social, and political development of the country, this diagnostic offers evidence on the quality of its institutions and a detailed analysis of critical institution- and development-sensitive areas among which state-business relations rank high, even though the institutional features of land management, civil service and the power sector are shown to be also of prime importance. This title is also available as Open Access.

This document (which is a corrected edition of the publication first issued in January 2005) sets out the Government's five year plan to create sustainable mixed communities by addressing the varied housing challenges faced in different parts of the country and improving the supply and quality of housing for everyone, including first time buyers, social tenants, key workers and private sector tenants. Proposals for reforms include: investment in housebuilding and infrastructure to tackle housing shortages in the South East, using the private finance initiative; a new Code for Sustainable Buildings, new powers to limit low density development and to protect the Green Belt; measures to help 80,000 first time buyers and an extension of the Key Worker Living scheme; a new Choice to Own scheme for council and housing association tenants; a new moveUK system to provide information about availability of jobs and homes to offer people the opportunity to move to new areas; improved quality and availability of private rented accommodation; an enhanced strategic role for local authorities in planning housing and growth; investment in housing related services to help older and disabled people live independently; and plans to address homelessness, including halving the number of households living in temporary accommodation by 2010.

This Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (MTNDPF) 2022-2025 seeks to operationalize Article 36, Clause 1 of Ghana’s 1992 constitution, which enjoins Government to ensure that the national economy is managed efficiently to maximize the welfare of the citizenry. It was prepared with broad-based stakeholder participation including the use of cross-sectoral planning groups (CSPGs) as enjoined by article 15 of the National Development Planning Commission Act, 1994 (Act 479). Public consultations were also undertaken across the country, including engagement with parliament and the presidency. It was finally approved by the Commission following approval from the presidency and presented to Parliament.