Three essays on agricultural development

This dissertation is composed by three essays on agricultural development with focus on three different developing countries: Bolivia, Philippines and Mexico. These essays aim to analyze different issues related to agricultural economics from a development perspective by using three data sets representative of different agricultural communities and collected at the household level in specific rural regions located in the aforementioned countries.;The first essay "Evaluating Biodiversity and Yields: Impact of Access to Markets and Transaction Costs for Potato Farmers in Bolivia" explains the relationship between access to markets and transaction costs on intracrop biodiversity and analyzes the effect of agricultural diversification on yields using data from potato farmers in Bolivia. After dividing the sample into two sub samples of farmers: integrated and non integrated to the seeds market, the results show that transportation costs reduce intracrop biodiversity. With respect to the relationship between biodiversity and yields, the results are contrasting. Experiencing higher levels of intracrop biodiversity does not affect productivity for the farmers who are integrated to the seeds market while for non integrated farmers the demand for intracrop biodiversity reduces yields.;The second essay "Assessing the Impact of Gendered Labor Markets in the Rural Philippines" is an intergenerational analysis of the relationship between women's participation in non agricultural activities and children's nutrition. Using longitudinal data collected in Bukidnon, Philippines in 1985 and 2003, the results from instrumental variable regressions provide substantial evidence to confirm that mothers' participation in non agricultural activities improves children's level of nutrition. In addition, vertical transmission of wealth and bargaining power as well as horizontal transmission of social norms do indirectly affect children's welfare by increasing the probability of their mothers' participating in non agricultural activities.;Lastly, the third essay "The Impact of PROCAMPO on Agricultural Productivity and Production Choices of Mexican Farmers" evaluates the impact of PROCAMPO which is a decoupled agricultural subsidy implemented in Mexico since 1994. Using the nationally representative ENHRUM data set collected in the year of 2002 in rural areas in Mexico, this paper measures the impact of participating in PROCAMPO on outcomes closely linked to agricultural productivity. Results obtained implementing a propensity score matching provide evidence that PROCAMPO has an impact mainly on small farmers through input increase and technology use.