New evidence on the rural poverty and energy choice relationship.

We combine a global micro level dataset that includes 17 different rural Sub-Saharan countries with satellite information about precipitation during the growing season to estimate the impact of economic conditions on energy choice. Differently from the existing literature, we aim to causally estimate the impact of household welfare variation on the likelihood of choosing a specific energy source. It is found, consistent with theory, that increases in income do determine an increase in the likelihood of using relatively cleaner and more efficient sources of fuel.

The Anticancer Drug Discovery Potential of Marine Invertebrates from Russian Pacific.

Despite huge efforts by academia and pharmaceutical industry, cancer remains the second cause of disease-related death in developed countries. Novel sources and principles of anticancer drug discovery are in urgent demand. Marine-derived natural products represent a largely untapped source of future drug candidates.

Altruism and the pressure to share: Lab evidence from Tanzania.

We propose a novel laboratory experiment to document the pressure to share income within social networks in Africa. We find that the redistributive pressure exerted via the possibility of receiving a claim increases altruism, while the possibility of hiding from such claim reduces it. Our results indicate that sharing norms are crucial drivers of giving to other members of the network.

Consumption of salt rich products: impact of the UK reduced salt campaign.

This paper uses a leading UK supermarket's loyalty card database to assess the effectiveness and impact of the 2004 UK reduced salt campaign. We present an econometric analysis of purchase data to assess the effectiveness of the Food Standard Agency's (FSA) 'reduced salt campaign'. We adopt a general approach to determining structural breaks in the time series of purchase data, using unit root tests whereby structural breaks are endogenously determined from the data.

Soil fertility, crop biodiversity, and farmers' revenues: Evidence from Italy.

This paper analyzes the interplay between soil fertility, crop biodiversity, and farmers' revenues. We use a large, original, farm-level panel dataset. Findings indicate that both crop biodiversity and soil fertility have positive effects on farmers' revenues.