Areas of Interest:
Economic development, natural resource management in developing countries, rural poverty in Africa.

Current Research: Markets and market integration over space, impact analysis of infrastructure and public goods, deforestation in Madagascar.

The two main themes in my current research are rural market development in Africa and technology adoption and promotion in developing countries. My work on markets focuses on inefficiencies in interregional trade and the effects of market inefficiency on farmers in Madagascar. I am currently working on the role of information networks and information provision in helping farmers find better prices and new markets for their goods. In terms of technology adoption, I am interested in identifying technologies that are feasible and profitable for poor farmers and policies that can enable farmers to innovate. In addition to the above topics, I am also interested in rural crime and insecurity, deforestation and conservation policy.

Selected Publications:

J.S. Butler, and Christine M. Moser. “The effect of cloud cover from satellite images on the measurement of deforestation.” forthcoming, Land Economics..

Christine M. Moser and Christopher B. Barrett, “Labor, Learning, Conformity and Smallholder Technology Adoption: The Case of SRI in Madagascar,” forthcoming Agricultural Economics 35(3): 373-388.

Christopher B. Barrett, Christine M. Moser, Joeli Barison, Oloro V. McHugh. “Better Technology, Better Plots or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes In Productivity And Risk Among Malagasy Rice Farmers,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 86(4): 869-888.

Marcel Fafchamps and Christine Moser. “Crime, Isolation, and Law Enforcement.” Journal of African Economies. 12: (4) 625-671. December 2003.

Christine M. Moser and Christopher B. Barrett, “The Disappointing Adoption Dynamics of a Yield-Increasing, Low External Input Technology: The Case of SRI in Madagascar,” Agricultural Systems. 76(2003) 1085-1100.

Christine M. Moser and Christopher B. Barrett, “The System of Rice Intensification in Practice: Explaining Low Farmer Adoption and High Disadoption in Madagascar,” Bouman BAM, Hegsdijk H, Hardy B, Bindraban PS, Tuong TP Ladha JK, eds. Water-wise rice Production. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Water-wise Rice Production 8-10 April 2002, Los Banos, Philippines. Los Banos (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute.