The 2024 Kuznets Mini-Conference: Agriculture and Development

Held in conjunction with the 33rd Kuznets Lecture, the Kuznets Mini-Conference on Agriculture and Development will highlight current work in these areas.

Papers are linked as available.

7:30-8:00 Breakfast

8:00-8:10 Opening Remarks: Christopher Udry (Northwestern University), 33rd Annual Kuznets Memorial speaker

8:10-9:40 Session 1: "Technology Adoption"

• Kyle Emerick (Tufts University): "Targeted Subsidies for Water Conservation in Smallholder Agriculture"
• Hope Michelson (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign):  "Misperceptions About Input Quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania”
• Brian Dillon (Cornell University): "Technology Adoption After Relaxing Supply and Demand Constraints" 

9:40 - 10:00 Coffee Break

10:00 – 11:30 am Session 2: "Input Markets and Rural Poverty"

• Lorenzo Casaburi (University of Zurich): "Land Markets and Land Allocation: Evidence from East Africa" 
• Namrata Kala (MIT): "Mechanizing Agriculture"
• Leah Bevis (Ohio State University): “Soils, Stunting, and the Green Revolution in South Asia" (Work in progress. Sources: "Soil Zinc Deficiency and Child Stunting: Evidence from Nepal", "Soil Micronutrients Linked to Human Health in India," and a third source in progress

11:30 – 12:15 pm Lunch

12:15 – 1:00 pm Plenary Panel: Doug Gollin (Tufts University), Mark Rosenzweig (Yale University), and Christopher Udry (Northwestern University)

1:00 – 2:30 pm Session 3: "Intermediation and Supply Chains"

• Meredith Startz (Dartmouth College): "Search Costs Intermediation and Trade: Experimental Evidence from Ugandan Agricultural Markets”
• Eleanor Wiseman (Stanford University): “Border Trade and Information Frictions: Evidence from Informal Traders in Kenya”
• Jie Bai (Harvard University):  "Demand-side Incentives and Quality Upgrading in Uganda’s Coffee Supply Chain.” 

2:30 pm: Concluding Remarks