Research and publications
Journal articles/Monographs/Book chapters
Conflict, Food Security and Crop Diversification Strategies: Evidence from Cote d’Ivoire
By Paul, S.
This study examines the household coping mechanisms during civil conflict in Cote d’Ivoire; the most powerful political economy factor dictating policy and performance in agriculture since the late nineties. The civil conflict that broke out in 2002 disrupted the socio-economic development caused by political instability and massive population displacement. It left the country divided into two halves - the tropical rain forest of the south, controlled by the government and the savannas of the north, controlled by the opposition forces. The north- south division demarcated by the enforcement of the UN peace-keeping line disrupted the food supply chain from the North to the rest of the country. Presumably, this had differential effects on agricultural strategies between the north and the South. This report provides theoretical discussion supported by empirical outcomes on the crop diversification as a coping mechanism for households facing the risk of conflict in the southern parts of Cote d’Ivoire. These households believed that if they can access land, they could make use of the available labor supply and thus feed their families. In other words, self-sufficiency became the common principle. In the pre-war period cassava was the only food crop grown by more than 10% of the farmers in the South Forest; however, in the post conflict period, a sizable portion of the farmers were also involved in growing rice, maize, sorghum, vegetables, etc. Published in V. R. F. Monograph Series, 2015, February, Institute of Developing Economies (IDE- JETRO), Japan.
The Effects of the Intensity, Timing and Persistence of Personal History of Mobility on Support for Redistribution
By Dabalen, A., Pariduri, R. and Paul S.
This paper examines the effect of the intensity, timing, and persistence of personal history of mobility on individual support for redistribution. Using both rounds of Life in Transition Survey, we build measures of downward mobility for about 57 thousand individuals from 27 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We find that more intensive, recent, and persistent downward mobility increases support for redistribution. Accounting for systematic bias in perceived mobility experience and omitted variable bias and considering alternative definition of redistributive references do not alter the basic results. Published in Economics of Transition 2015, Vol 23, Issue 3.
Dr Prentice shares his experience as the Editor, Economics Papers
Dr. Prentice is the editor for
Economic Papers – one of two journals published by the Economics Society of Australia – the main professional body for Economists there.
He writes: “After having submitted papers and reviewed papers for academic journals, it is an interesting experience being on the other side. The journal publishes papers from all areas of Economics and all papers are reviewed, anonymously, by two reviewers. Though the journal has a specific interest in research around Australian policy issues, the journal is also interested in and publishes academic papers of more general interest. Recently we have published papers on the connection between exchange rate misalignment and productivity in East Asia; the relationship between child labour and microfinance and the demand for alcohol in Thailand."
In the past Economic Papers has published papers by graduate students and papers based on honours dissertations. And the best honours dissertations at UNMC, with a bit of work, would certainly be publishable. If, after completing your dissertation, you would like to have a go at publishing it as a paper, you are welcome to talk to Dr. Prentice for advice on what would need to be done to get it ready for peer review. And, of course, colleagues are also welcome to submit their work there too.
Dr. Prentice comments: “It is important before submitting your paper that it be as polished and well-written as possible. Deirdre McCloskey once wrote something like bad writing is responsible for more rejections than bad t-statistics and my experience as an editor is consistent with this. Reviewers (and the editor) are more likely to be interested in a well written and professionally presented paper that addresses a novel question or provides distinctive evidence on a policy issue than one that is not well written and covers an already heavily researched area, even if the latter paper is more technically accomplished.”