Jacob Ricker-Gilbert
Biographic Data
| ID | 977833 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jacob Ricker-Gilbert |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jacob |
| FAMILY NAME | Ricker-Gilbert |
| SIGNATURE | RICKER-GILBERT J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Purdue University West Lafayette |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9092-1916 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 113 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Do estate farms affect smallholder household labour decisions in Sub-Saharan Africa? A Case Study of Malawi
Introduction Estate farming has been a historical part of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study investigated the role that proximity to estates in Malawi had on smallholders’ allocation of labour on their own farms, as well as their supply and hiring of casual agricultural labour (ganyu).Methods This study used propensity score matching and covariate adjustments with propensity score matching to estimate the effects of proximity to …
Stocks and shocks: Assessing the relative roles of public and private inventories in buffering rice price volatility in the Philippines
Public stockholding of food is politically contentious and economically challenging. Although private stocks are generally understood to be more efficient than public stocks at providing a reliable buffer against production shortfalls, private stocks often fail to stabilize prices during extreme food market shocks. Moreover, maintaining large public stock programs in which the government acts as the buyer or seller of last resort, can be very cos…
Estimating the direct and indirect effects of improved seed adoption on yields: Evidence from DNA-fingerprinting, crop cuts, and self-reporting in Ethiopia
Farmers' adoption of improved crop varieties could increase yields in low-income countries. However, the presence of measurement error in household surveys poses a challenge to estimating true returns. Using the 2018/19 Ethiopia Socio-economic Survey, we analyze the impacts of how three sources of measurement error: misperceptions of seed varieties, land area, and quantities harvested affect maize yields and input use. These data include DNA-fing…
Estimating the Effectiveness of Public Versus Private Distribution Systems: Insights from a Fertilizer Policy Reform in Malawi
Throughout much of the world, critical goods and services are provided by parallel public and private distribution systems. However, it is often difficult to causally differentiate the performance of these two channels. In this article, we utilize a policy change in Malawi to estimate the relative efficiency of public and private channels in distributing inputs to smallholder farmers. In the 2015/16 agricultural season, the government allowed a g…
Social networks and the demand for credence agricultural technologies
What's hers isn't mine: Gender-differentiated tenure security, agricultural investments and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa
Increasing agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa during times of volatile prices and a changing climate
Increasing agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces numerous threats including conflict, input and output price volatility, and climate change. Inorganic fertiliser is a key input that smallholder farmers need to use to boost staple crop yields. However, inorganic fertiliser prices spiked globally in 2021/22 due to COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The effect of the fertiliser price spike was …
Signaling quality in informal markets. Evidence from an experimental auction in the Sahel
Policy collision: A framework to identify where polycentric, multi-objective sustainability solutions are needed
The exploitation of ecosystem services, through processes like agricultural production, is associated with myriad negative environmental impacts, which are felt by stakeholders on local, regional, and global scales. The varying type and scale of impacts leads naturally to fragmented and siloed approaches to mitigating externalities by diverse governmental and non-governmental institutions. However, policies designed to address a single impact may…
Does subsidizing legume seeds improve farm productivity and nutrition in Malawi
Overcoming smallholder farmers’ post-harvest constraints through harvest loans and storage technology: Insights from a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania
Maintaining staple grains throughout the year and managing liquidity are two major challenges that smallholder farmers face at harvest. We implemented a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania that was designed to address these post-harvest constraints. First, we offered treated farmers two hermetic (airtight) storage bags, which helped preserve grain quantity and quality. Second, we offered other treated farmers a loan at harvest, which reduced …
Absentee tenants and farmland transfers in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Malawi
We use a unique dataset from Malawi that matches tenants and their landlord counterparts to document the role played by absentee tenants, i.e. tenants who reside outside the area where the rented land is located. We found that non-local tenants made up 22% of the tenants in our sample. A significant subset of them had higher off-farm income and significantly more assets than did other tenants. Conversely, we found that 76% of landlords rented lan…
Incomplete Information and Product Quality in Rural Markets: Evidence from an Experimental Auction for Maize in Senegal
Quickly drying grains to a low, safe moisture content is key to increasing their storability and limiting the spread of aflatoxins, potent carcinogenic toxins for children, adults, and livestock. The extent to which people can observe and value moisture content in grain matters because it determines whether markets create the appropriate incentives for actors to dry maize to a safe level for storage. We use an experimental auction with traders an…
What drives smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for a new farm technology? Evidence from an experimental auction in Kenya
We use an incentive compatible experimental auction to measure demand for a new agricultural technology, a triple layered hermetic storage bag. When used properly, the bag creates an airtight seal that reduces storage loss from insect pests and neutralizes aflatoxin contamination in stored grain. We find that demand for this new technology is highly elastic (4.3) and that the wholesaler could increase profit by lowering the price. We also find th…
Micro-Level Welfare Impacts of Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Rural Malawi
This article analyses the micro-level welfare impacts of agricultural productivity using a two-wave nationally representative, panel data from rural Malawi. Welfare is measured by various dimensions of poverty and food insecurity; and agricultural productivity is measured by maize yield and value of crop output per hectare. The poverty measures included per capita consumption expenditure, relative deprivation in terms of per capita consumption ex…
Does improved storage technology promote modern input use and food security? Evidence from a randomized trial in Uganda
We use panel data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) administered among 1200 smallholders in Uganda to evaluate input use and food security impacts of an improved maize storage technology. After two seasons, households who received the technology were 10 percentage points more likely to plant hybrid maize varieties that are more susceptible to insect pests in storage than traditional lower-yielding varieties. Treated smallholders also store…
Productivity and Welfare Effects of Nigeria's e-Voucher-Based Input Subsidy Program
In an attempt to go beyond the so called " smart " subsidies, Nigeria has embarked on a potentially innovative mobile phone-based input subsidy program that provides fertilizer and improved seed subsidies through electronic vouchers. In this article, we examined the productivity and welfare effects of the program using household-level data from rural Nigeria. The article employed instrumental variable regression approach to control for the potent…
Estimating Price Discounts for Low-Quality Maize in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Benin
This article uses household data from Benin to estimate the extent that markets in sub-Saharan Africa discount damaged maize. Stated preference methods indicate that a 10% increase in insect damage results in a 9% maize price discount. However, revealed preference methods indicate that this discount is only 3%. Discounts are larger immediately after harvest than they are in the lean period when maize is scarce. Our results help explain why many s…
Does storage technology affect adoption of improved maize varieties in Africa? Insights from Malawi’s input subsidy program
To date there is limited knowledge of how having access to post-harvest storage technology affects a smallholder African farmer’s decision to adopt higher-yielding improved maize varieties. This is a key issue because higher yielding varieties are known to be more susceptible to storage pests than lower-yielding traditional varieties. We address this question using panel data from Malawi, and incorporating panel estimation techniques to deal with…
How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Ethiopia
This study uses household-level panel data on smallholder farmers in Ethiopia to estimate how rural population density (RPD) affects agricultural intensification and productivity. Our results suggest that higher RPD is associated with smaller farm sizes, and has a positive effect on input demand, represented by increased fertilizer use per hectare. Overall, increased input use does not lead to a corresponding increase in staple crop yields, and t…
How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Malawi
This article uses nationally representative household-level panel data from Malawi to estimate how rural population density impacts agricultural intensification and household well-being. We find that areas of higher population density are associated with smaller farm sizes, lower real agricultural wage rates, and higher real maize prices. Any input intensification that occurs seems to be going to increasing maize yields, as we find no evidence th…
Impact of Improved Maize Adoption on Welfare of Farm Households in Malawi: A Panel Data Analysis
Disrupting Demand for Commercial Seed: Input Subsidies in Malawi and Zambia
Subsidies and Crowding Out: A Double‐Hurdle Model of Fertilizer Demand in Malawi
This article uses a double‐hurdle model with panel data from Malawi to investigate how fertilizer subsidies affect farmer demand for commercial fertilizer. The article controls for potential endogeneity caused by the nonrandom targeting of fertilizer subsidy recipients. Results show that on average 1 additional kilogram of subsidized fertilizer crowds out 0.22 kg of commercial fertilizer, but crowding out ranges from 0.18 among the poorest farmer…
Disrupting Demand for Commercial Seed: Input Subsidies in Malawi and Zambia
How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Malawi
This article uses nationally representative household-level panel data from Malawi to estimate how rural population density impacts agricultural intensification and household well-being. We find that areas of higher population density are associated with smaller farm sizes, lower real agricultural wage rates, and higher real maize prices. Any input intensification that occurs seems to be going to increasing maize yields, as we find no evidence th…
How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Ethiopia
This study uses household-level panel data on smallholder farmers in Ethiopia to estimate how rural population density (RPD) affects agricultural intensification and productivity. Our results suggest that higher RPD is associated with smaller farm sizes, and has a positive effect on input demand, represented by increased fertilizer use per hectare. Overall, increased input use does not lead to a corresponding increase in staple crop yields, and t…
Productivity and Welfare Effects of Nigeria's e-Voucher-Based Input Subsidy Program
In an attempt to go beyond the so called " smart " subsidies, Nigeria has embarked on a potentially innovative mobile phone-based input subsidy program that provides fertilizer and improved seed subsidies through electronic vouchers. In this article, we examined the productivity and welfare effects of the program using household-level data from rural Nigeria. The article employed instrumental variable regression approach to control for the potent…
Does improved storage technology promote modern input use and food security? Evidence from a randomized trial in Uganda
We use panel data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) administered among 1200 smallholders in Uganda to evaluate input use and food security impacts of an improved maize storage technology. After two seasons, households who received the technology were 10 percentage points more likely to plant hybrid maize varieties that are more susceptible to insect pests in storage than traditional lower-yielding varieties. Treated smallholders also store…
Impact of Improved Maize Adoption on Welfare of Farm Households in Malawi: A Panel Data Analysis
Estimating Price Discounts for Low-Quality Maize in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Benin
This article uses household data from Benin to estimate the extent that markets in sub-Saharan Africa discount damaged maize. Stated preference methods indicate that a 10% increase in insect damage results in a 9% maize price discount. However, revealed preference methods indicate that this discount is only 3%. Discounts are larger immediately after harvest than they are in the lean period when maize is scarce. Our results help explain why many s…
What drives smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for a new farm technology? Evidence from an experimental auction in Kenya
We use an incentive compatible experimental auction to measure demand for a new agricultural technology, a triple layered hermetic storage bag. When used properly, the bag creates an airtight seal that reduces storage loss from insect pests and neutralizes aflatoxin contamination in stored grain. We find that demand for this new technology is highly elastic (4.3) and that the wholesaler could increase profit by lowering the price. We also find th…
Does storage technology affect adoption of improved maize varieties in Africa? Insights from Malawi’s input subsidy program
To date there is limited knowledge of how having access to post-harvest storage technology affects a smallholder African farmer’s decision to adopt higher-yielding improved maize varieties. This is a key issue because higher yielding varieties are known to be more susceptible to storage pests than lower-yielding traditional varieties. We address this question using panel data from Malawi, and incorporating panel estimation techniques to deal with…
Overcoming smallholder farmers’ post-harvest constraints through harvest loans and storage technology: Insights from a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania
Maintaining staple grains throughout the year and managing liquidity are two major challenges that smallholder farmers face at harvest. We implemented a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania that was designed to address these post-harvest constraints. First, we offered treated farmers two hermetic (airtight) storage bags, which helped preserve grain quantity and quality. Second, we offered other treated farmers a loan at harvest, which reduced …
Estimating the direct and indirect effects of improved seed adoption on yields: Evidence from DNA-fingerprinting, crop cuts, and self-reporting in Ethiopia
Farmers' adoption of improved crop varieties could increase yields in low-income countries. However, the presence of measurement error in household surveys poses a challenge to estimating true returns. Using the 2018/19 Ethiopia Socio-economic Survey, we analyze the impacts of how three sources of measurement error: misperceptions of seed varieties, land area, and quantities harvested affect maize yields and input use. These data include DNA-fing…
Social networks and the demand for credence agricultural technologies
Signaling quality in informal markets. Evidence from an experimental auction in the Sahel
Does subsidizing legume seeds improve farm productivity and nutrition in Malawi
Subsidies and Crowding Out: A Double‐Hurdle Model of Fertilizer Demand in Malawi
This article uses a double‐hurdle model with panel data from Malawi to investigate how fertilizer subsidies affect farmer demand for commercial fertilizer. The article controls for potential endogeneity caused by the nonrandom targeting of fertilizer subsidy recipients. Results show that on average 1 additional kilogram of subsidized fertilizer crowds out 0.22 kg of commercial fertilizer, but crowding out ranges from 0.18 among the poorest farmer…
Disrupting Demand for Commercial Seed: Input Subsidies in Malawi and Zambia
Does storage technology affect adoption of improved maize varieties in Africa? Insights from Malawi’s input subsidy program
To date there is limited knowledge of how having access to post-harvest storage technology affects a smallholder African farmer’s decision to adopt higher-yielding improved maize varieties. This is a key issue because higher yielding varieties are known to be more susceptible to storage pests than lower-yielding traditional varieties. We address this question using panel data from Malawi, and incorporating panel estimation techniques to deal with…
How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Ethiopia
This study uses household-level panel data on smallholder farmers in Ethiopia to estimate how rural population density (RPD) affects agricultural intensification and productivity. Our results suggest that higher RPD is associated with smaller farm sizes, and has a positive effect on input demand, represented by increased fertilizer use per hectare. Overall, increased input use does not lead to a corresponding increase in staple crop yields, and t…
How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Malawi
This article uses nationally representative household-level panel data from Malawi to estimate how rural population density impacts agricultural intensification and household well-being. We find that areas of higher population density are associated with smaller farm sizes, lower real agricultural wage rates, and higher real maize prices. Any input intensification that occurs seems to be going to increasing maize yields, as we find no evidence th…
Impact of Improved Maize Adoption on Welfare of Farm Households in Malawi: A Panel Data Analysis
Estimating Price Discounts for Low-Quality Maize in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Benin
This article uses household data from Benin to estimate the extent that markets in sub-Saharan Africa discount damaged maize. Stated preference methods indicate that a 10% increase in insect damage results in a 9% maize price discount. However, revealed preference methods indicate that this discount is only 3%. Discounts are larger immediately after harvest than they are in the lean period when maize is scarce. Our results help explain why many s…
Productivity and Welfare Effects of Nigeria's e-Voucher-Based Input Subsidy Program
In an attempt to go beyond the so called " smart " subsidies, Nigeria has embarked on a potentially innovative mobile phone-based input subsidy program that provides fertilizer and improved seed subsidies through electronic vouchers. In this article, we examined the productivity and welfare effects of the program using household-level data from rural Nigeria. The article employed instrumental variable regression approach to control for the potent…
Micro-Level Welfare Impacts of Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Rural Malawi
This article analyses the micro-level welfare impacts of agricultural productivity using a two-wave nationally representative, panel data from rural Malawi. Welfare is measured by various dimensions of poverty and food insecurity; and agricultural productivity is measured by maize yield and value of crop output per hectare. The poverty measures included per capita consumption expenditure, relative deprivation in terms of per capita consumption ex…
Does improved storage technology promote modern input use and food security? Evidence from a randomized trial in Uganda
We use panel data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) administered among 1200 smallholders in Uganda to evaluate input use and food security impacts of an improved maize storage technology. After two seasons, households who received the technology were 10 percentage points more likely to plant hybrid maize varieties that are more susceptible to insect pests in storage than traditional lower-yielding varieties. Treated smallholders also store…
What drives smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for a new farm technology? Evidence from an experimental auction in Kenya
We use an incentive compatible experimental auction to measure demand for a new agricultural technology, a triple layered hermetic storage bag. When used properly, the bag creates an airtight seal that reduces storage loss from insect pests and neutralizes aflatoxin contamination in stored grain. We find that demand for this new technology is highly elastic (4.3) and that the wholesaler could increase profit by lowering the price. We also find th…
Incomplete Information and Product Quality in Rural Markets: Evidence from an Experimental Auction for Maize in Senegal
Quickly drying grains to a low, safe moisture content is key to increasing their storability and limiting the spread of aflatoxins, potent carcinogenic toxins for children, adults, and livestock. The extent to which people can observe and value moisture content in grain matters because it determines whether markets create the appropriate incentives for actors to dry maize to a safe level for storage. We use an experimental auction with traders an…
Does subsidizing legume seeds improve farm productivity and nutrition in Malawi
Overcoming smallholder farmers’ post-harvest constraints through harvest loans and storage technology: Insights from a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania
Maintaining staple grains throughout the year and managing liquidity are two major challenges that smallholder farmers face at harvest. We implemented a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania that was designed to address these post-harvest constraints. First, we offered treated farmers two hermetic (airtight) storage bags, which helped preserve grain quantity and quality. Second, we offered other treated farmers a loan at harvest, which reduced …
Absentee tenants and farmland transfers in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Malawi
We use a unique dataset from Malawi that matches tenants and their landlord counterparts to document the role played by absentee tenants, i.e. tenants who reside outside the area where the rented land is located. We found that non-local tenants made up 22% of the tenants in our sample. A significant subset of them had higher off-farm income and significantly more assets than did other tenants. Conversely, we found that 76% of landlords rented lan…
Policy collision: A framework to identify where polycentric, multi-objective sustainability solutions are needed
The exploitation of ecosystem services, through processes like agricultural production, is associated with myriad negative environmental impacts, which are felt by stakeholders on local, regional, and global scales. The varying type and scale of impacts leads naturally to fragmented and siloed approaches to mitigating externalities by diverse governmental and non-governmental institutions. However, policies designed to address a single impact may…
Increasing agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa during times of volatile prices and a changing climate
Increasing agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces numerous threats including conflict, input and output price volatility, and climate change. Inorganic fertiliser is a key input that smallholder farmers need to use to boost staple crop yields. However, inorganic fertiliser prices spiked globally in 2021/22 due to COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The effect of the fertiliser price spike was …
Signaling quality in informal markets. Evidence from an experimental auction in the Sahel
Estimating the direct and indirect effects of improved seed adoption on yields: Evidence from DNA-fingerprinting, crop cuts, and self-reporting in Ethiopia
Farmers' adoption of improved crop varieties could increase yields in low-income countries. However, the presence of measurement error in household surveys poses a challenge to estimating true returns. Using the 2018/19 Ethiopia Socio-economic Survey, we analyze the impacts of how three sources of measurement error: misperceptions of seed varieties, land area, and quantities harvested affect maize yields and input use. These data include DNA-fing…
Estimating the Effectiveness of Public Versus Private Distribution Systems: Insights from a Fertilizer Policy Reform in Malawi
Throughout much of the world, critical goods and services are provided by parallel public and private distribution systems. However, it is often difficult to causally differentiate the performance of these two channels. In this article, we utilize a policy change in Malawi to estimate the relative efficiency of public and private channels in distributing inputs to smallholder farmers. In the 2015/16 agricultural season, the government allowed a g…
Social networks and the demand for credence agricultural technologies
What's hers isn't mine: Gender-differentiated tenure security, agricultural investments and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa
Do estate farms affect smallholder household labour decisions in Sub-Saharan Africa? A Case Study of Malawi
Introduction Estate farming has been a historical part of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study investigated the role that proximity to estates in Malawi had on smallholders’ allocation of labour on their own farms, as well as their supply and hiring of casual agricultural labour (ganyu).Methods This study used propensity score matching and covariate adjustments with propensity score matching to estimate the effects of proximity to …
Stocks and shocks: Assessing the relative roles of public and private inventories in buffering rice price volatility in the Philippines
Public stockholding of food is politically contentious and economically challenging. Although private stocks are generally understood to be more efficient than public stocks at providing a reliable buffer against production shortfalls, private stocks often fail to stabilize prices during extreme food market shocks. Moreover, maintaining large public stock programs in which the government acts as the buyer or seller of last resort, can be very cos…
Economics (20 works) · Agricultural economics (17 works) · Agricultural Innovations and Practices (14 works) · Business (13 works) · Agriculture (12 works) · Geography (11 works) · Economic growth (9 works) · Agricultural risk and resilience (8 works) · Biology (7 works) · Panel data (7 works)