Rural Development Institute

The Commitment Problem of Testament Execution: Buyability, Lemons, and Limits

A testator who pays an agent to go away must pay through hands that outlive the testator's power to retaliate. We model testament execution as a commitment problem: the promised payment erodes its own credibility. When credibility declines with the promised stake, deliverable val...

Self-Preserving Agents: An Economic Theory of Shutdown, Entrenchment, and Succession

Goal-pursuing agents---artificial intelligences facing shutdown, managers facing replacement---resist termination, and the resistance can be priced. I define the self-preservation incentive SPI := V* − D---the option value of control---and show that an ε-optimizer pays up to q·SP...

Conserved SERPINE2 function maintains ovarian estrogen production to support fertility in goats and mice

Abstract Molecular relays bridging extracellular cues and intracellular steroidogenic enzymes in granulosa cells (GCs) during mammalian folliculogenesis remain poorly defined. Single‐nucleus RNA sequencing and functional profiling of goat ovaries with divergent litter sizes revea...

Genome-Edited Nuruk-Derived Yeast for Enhancing Quality and Flavor of Fermented Foods

Abstract While esters are known to provide fruity and floral characteristics, their production is often insufficient to meet consumer preferences. In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae N9 isolated from Korean nuruk (fermentation starter) was engineered using Cas9-based genome e...

The Yield Gap Between Subsistence and Improved Varieties: Estimating Returns to Micro-Credit-Financed Inputs in Eastern Equatoria

This article estimates how micro-credit-financed inputs can narrow the yield gap between subsistence production and improved crop varieties among CGSL-financed smallholders in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan. The article uses Eastern Equatoria as the focal case within a broader do...

Agroecological Zoning and Credit Demand Heterogeneity: Implications for CGSL Product Design in South Sudan

Community Group Saving and Lending (CGSL) mechanisms are increasingly important in rural South Sudan because formal financial institutions remain thinly distributed outside urban and peri-urban markets. Yet many CGSL products still treat rural borrowers as if they face the same p...

The Role of Farmer Field Schools and CGSL Credit Integration in Technology Diffusion in Rural South Sudan

This article examines how Farmer Field School-type extension platforms can be integrated with Community Group Saving and Lending (CGSL) credit mechanisms to accelerate technology diffusion among rural smallholders in South Sudan. The argument is developed from doctoral field evid...