The Green revolution and infant mortality in India

Bharadwaj, Prashant; Fenske, James; Kala, Namrata; Mirza, Rinchan Ali

doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102314

Cited by 29 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Our findings are in line with the results of Conley et al (2007), who find a negative correlation between fertility and infant mortality on the one hand and actual adoption of HYV on the other (at the country level). Bharadwajy et al (2015) likewise find a negative effect of HYV adoption on infant mortality within districts in India.…”

Section: Decomposing the Population Effectmentioning

confidence: 79%

Two Blades of Grass: The Impact of the Green Revolution

Gollin¹,

Hansen²,

Wingender³

2018

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We examine the impact of the Green Revolution, defined as the diffusion of high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs), on aggregate economic outcomes in developing countries during the second half of the 20th century. We use time variation in the development and diffusion of HYVs of 10 major crops, and the spatial variation in agro-climatically suitability for growing them, to identify the causal effects of adoption. In a sample of 84 counties, we estimate that a 10 percentage points increase in HYV adoption increases GDP per capita by about 15 percent. This effect is fully accounted for by a combination of the direct effect on crop yields, factor adjustment in agriculture, and structural transformation. Our analysis also reveals that the Green Revolution reduced fertility and that the reduction was only partly offset by decreasing mortality rates. The net effect on population growth was therefore negative. AbstractWe examine the impact of the Green Revolution, defined as the diffusion of high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs), on aggregate economic outcomes in developing countries during the second half of the 20th century. We use time variation in the development and diffusion of HYVs of 10 major crops, and the spatial variation in agro-climatically suitability for growing them, to identify the causal effects of adoption. In a sample of 84 counties, we estimate that a 10 percentage points increase in HYV adoption increases GDP per capita by about 15 percent. This effect is fully accounted for by a combination of the direct effect on crop yields, factor adjustment in agriculture, and structural transformation. Our analysis also reveals that the Green Revolution reduced fertility and that the reduction was only partly offset by decreasing mortality rates. The net effect on population growth was therefore negative.

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Section: Decomposing the Population Effectmentioning

confidence: 79%

Two Blades of Grass: The Impact of the Green Revolution

Gollin¹,

Hansen²,

Wingender³

2018

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“…Chronic underinvestment in agriculture has kept yields low (8), while competition from underpriced and sub-sidized imports has often limited agricultural development in many of the regions that are targeted by land investors (9). However, areas that were able to adopt modern agricultural technologies experienced improvements in health outcomes (10,11). In that context, it has been argued that LSLAs might facilitate technology transfers, intensify agricultural production, achieve economies of scale, and contribute to closing the yield gap (12), thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions (13).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of transnational land acquisitions on local food security and dietary diversity

Müller

Penny

Niles

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Foreign investors have acquired approximately 90 million hectares of land for agriculture over the past two decades. The effects of these investments on local food security remain unknown. While additional cropland and intensified agriculture could potentially increase crop production, preferential targeting of prime agricultural land and transitions toward export-bound crops might affect local access to nutritious foods. We test these hypotheses in a global systematic analysis of the food security implications of existing land concessions. We combine agricultural, remote sensing, and household survey data (available in 11 sub-Saharan African countries) with georeferenced information on 160 land acquisitions in 39 countries. We find that the intended changes in cultivated crop types generally imply transitions toward energy-rich, but nutrient-poor, crops that are predominantly destined for export markets. Specific impacts on food production and access vary substantially across regions. Deals likely have little effect on food security in eastern Europe and Latin America, where they predominantly occur within agricultural areas with current export-oriented crops, and where agriculture would have both expanded and intensified regardless of the land deals. This contrasts with Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where deals are associated with both an expansion and intensification (in Asia) of crop production. Deals in these regions also shift production away from local staples and coincide with a gradually decreasing dietary diversity among the surveyed households in sub-Saharan Africa. Together, these findings point to a paradox, where land deals can simultaneously increase crop production and threaten local food security.

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“…We test the validity of the identifying assumptions in several ways and follow recent papers in this regard including Bharadwaj et al (2020). First, we check for selection on observables for our sample of children with mothers born before or during the famine.…”

Section: Section 42 Tests Of the Identifying Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%