The debate on the land–poverty nexus is inconclusive, with past research unable to identify the causal dynamics. We use a unique global panel dataset that links survey and census derived poverty data with measures of land ecosystems at the subnational level. Rainfall is used to overcome the endogeneity in the land–poverty relationship in an instrumental variable approach. This is the first global study using quasi-experimental methods to uncover the degree to which land improvements matter for poverty reduction. We draw three main conclusions. First, land improvements are important for poverty reduction in rural areas and particularly so for Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, land improvements are pro-poor: poorer areas see larger poverty alleviation effects due to improvements in land. Finally, irrigation plays a major role in breaking the link between bad weather and negative impacts on the poor through reduced vegetation growth and soil fertility.

The emerging large-scale production units (LSPUs) have become increasingly important in Chinese agricultural production and rural transformation due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. Based on household and plot-level data from Jiangsu and Jiangxi Provinces in China, this study provides insights into the farming systems of these LSPUs and examines how contract type, as a proxy for land tenure security, impacts on the production unit's soil-improving investments. Results from the two-stage control function approach show that the written nature of contracts positively affects the application of organic fertilizer and green manure on rented-in plots. Descriptive analysis also confirms the collateralization effect of contract type by showing that plots that are used as collateral for credit are characterized by written contracts. Policies facilitating LSPUs' access to farmland with more formal contracts may therefore play an important role in improving soil quality and land productivity.

Share contracts are the dominant remuneration system in artisanal fisheries. Introducing regulations based on collective use rights may affect the way profits are distributed. The literature on the effect of regulatory reform on factor income distribution, however, is scarce. In this paper, we look at differences in the implementation of the Extractive Artisanal Regime in Chilean hake artisanal fisheries to test its effect on share contracts. We estimated a switching regression model using census data to calculate the average treatment effect. Our results show that crewmembers in communities regulated by some form of collective use rights receive, on average, 6 per cent more of total net incomes compared to those regulated by a limited access with global quota regime. Differences in the relation between crew size and labor rewards, as well as in the negotiating power of crewmembers under different regimes, may explain the results.

Many developing countries lack universal sanitation services for residents. Years of inappropriate disposal of solid waste and wastewater have increased the potential for devastating environmental and health issues. An economic valuation of sanitation services may help in planning investment projects by demonstrating the benefits that households derive from having access to improved sanitation. We examine Guatemala as a case study and employ a series of hedonic models to estimate the value that households in Guatemala assign to the sanitation services of solid waste collection and connections to sewer infrastructure. Findings indicate that residents are willing to pay higher rents for both wastewater and solid waste removal. Policy implications are discussed.

As countries develop, they are likely to face challenges in meeting growing energy demand and in ensuring energy security. Given this, and the problem of climate change, improving demand-side energy efficiency is pivotal to ensuring sustainable development. However, agents often underinvest in energy-efficient technologies due to behavioral failures such as low levels of energy-related financial literacy, defined as the combination of energy knowledge and cognitive abilities needed to evaluate the lifetime costs of durables. Using novel data, we analyze the levels and determinants of energy-related financial literacy of households in urban areas in the eastern lowlands of Nepal, and whether it is correlated with their attitudes towards replacement of energy-inefficient appliances. We find that respondents have low levels of energy-related financial literacy, and higher levels of literacy are associated with more rational attitudes towards appliance replacement. The findings of this study are relevant to addressing the energy-efficiency gap in developing countries.